Gordie's trying to get rid of the Georgia Straight

[.muffy.]

Following a visit from a provincial-government auditor, the Straight has been stripped of its status as a newspaper under provincial sales-tax legislation and assessed fines and penalties that will total more than one million dollars by year's end. This fine must be paid immediately and can only be reversed through a difficult and expensive appeal process that could tie us up in court for several years to come.

read more...

http://www.straight.com/?defaultarti...=Load%20Layout

[Senior]

Fucking bastards, they're trying to shut down the last independant media outlet in Vancouver. This in my opinion is also a huge insult to the entire music and art scene's in Vancouver that relly on the Straight.

[bob]

less talk more action
let's hit the fucking streets.

[MissBehavior]

God. Reading that made me literally sick to my stomach.'

The public needs to take action against the Liberal's gross and indecent misuse of power.

The word ridiculous doesn't even come CLOSE to describing this. I seriously take pride in the fact that I did NOT vote Liberal.

[soma]

I can smell a huge protest comin on!!!!!!!!!

[miss.myra]

Originally posted by MissBehavior

The public needs to take action against the Liberal's gross and indecent misuse of power.
.

The same public that voted an almost entirely liberal cabinet? (minus only two for the NDP..)

I don't know if at this time there is a completely viable political choice in BC that sits nicely in the middle of the poltical spectrum. It's some weird mentality that BC voters have, they think that because they're not the other guys, they have to vote them. Every election's results just seems to be in place to punish the previous ruling party...

Seriously, you gotta wonder...with all this public outcry over the things that campbell's cabinet has done, I feel like asking 'yeah, who did YOU vote for?'...lots of them must have.

However, this whole political mess isn't entirely to blame on the liberal party, it's to blame on a leader who has wishes of turning his province around a'la Ralph Klein, but doesn't have the slightest idea of how to do it right.

[prozac]

independent media outlet????!!!

Fuck. The Georgia Straight is not only a total mainstream rag of a vehicle for commercialism...it's not even a good one. They are slooooow on the uptake, all their cover stories lately had already been done to death by the time they picked it up..."Batterers In Blue"?! It has been known for many years that law enforcement officials are the most likely to beat their wives and children, numerous studies have been done on it, huge national publications broke that story long ago. "The Dark Crystal"??!! We all have known for a few years now that meth is a big epidemic problem, and here's the Georgia Straight acting like they're the first to break the news.

The articles, editorials and weak, whining, jump-on-the-bandwagon excuse for political dissent are just filler for the advertising which brings them millions. The only thing The Georgia Straight is good for is it's concert and event listings...(even though they do not list all events/concerts/restaurants impartially, they give preference to those that have bought advertising) Ever notice how the only music/fashion reviews they do is of those that have bought ad space?

Their political views are not strong or interesting enough for Gordon Campbell to want to shut down........the government just finally noticed what I have pointed out---->the paper is mostly advertising, and they're making millions off it. They shouldn't count as a newspaper because 90% of their content is commercially based. So, with the change of their status (which they never should have had in the first place) means they are no longer exempt from provincial sales tax. I highly doubt this means the end for the Georgia Straight, they're just making a fuss because they don't want to cough up the cash, and they know people who think they are politically aware will be outraged that the big bad liberal wolf is trying to silence the little idependent media voice. BAH!

They are not the voice of the little guy, they are the entertainment catalogue of the mainstream! Give it up!

[Wood]

^dumbass, whether or not you like the straight is not the point. if you can't see this as the attack on independant media that it is, you need to take a closer look. regardless of what you think of the Straight's content, it is an independant paper, and our government is attacking them on grounds which could just as easily be applied to a corporate paper like the Vancouver Sun.

After communicating with my MLA about the matter, i'm not left with the feeling that Campbell's facing any real opposition from within his cabinet.....

the reply i got back from my email to Lorne Mayencourt basically passed the buck on to the previous NDP government, who apparently created the regulations for what qualifies as a newspaper (ie 25% editorial content). Even though it was Campell's liberals who decided that the Straight doesn't meet that reqirement because their 'Events Time Out' section is 'advertising'.... funny, i always thought advertising was something that you PAY FOR. And since when is ad copy written by editorial writers???

people, you MUST email your MLA and make your feelings known about this. Use this handy MLA Finder, it should find you an email address for your MLA, just by entering where you live. CC your email to [email protected] as well. This is an obvious infringement on our freedom of press and Premier Campbell CAN NOT be allowed to get away with this!! Here's the letter I wrote, feel free to copy any part of it if you don't wanna write your own. just don't forget to change the pertinent details.

Mr. Mayencourt,
As a resident & small business owner in your constituency, I'm writing to express my concern over the recent fining of the Georgia Straight by the BC Government, and also it's de-classification as a newspaper by the aforementioned party. As a regular reader of the Straight, i rely on that paper as my only unbiased, non-sensationalized source of local news. I do not consider Vancouver's daily papers, namely the Sun and the Province, to be either reliable or well written sources, and often find them overly sensational and outrageosly biased. The Straight's entertainment listing section is comprehensive and very informative, and is a vital source of information for locals and tourists alike. To consider that section as advertising is rediculous, as the listings are printed free of charge to the venues and events included. Hence, i can only see this as a politically motivated decision, intended to silence one of the BC Government's most outspoken critics. As my MLA i sincerely hope you will come out in opposition of your party's obviously underhanded move.

[prozac]

Originally posted by Wood:
is an independant paper, and our government is attacking them on grounds which could just as easily be applied to a corporate paper like the Vancouver Sun.

Independent of what? You don't think the Georgia Straight is corporate?! Maybe not actually owned by a corporation in the direct sense of the word, but they're catering to the mainstream and making money of off all the eager downtown Chamber of Commerce members, etc.

What's wrong with attacking them on grounds applicable to the Sun?! If they want to be classified as a NEWSpaper, like the Vancouver Sun is, then they have to publish NEWS. It's as simple as that.

[prozac]

Originally posted by Wood:
^dumbass,

By the way, that was immature and uncalled for.

[Wood]

Originally posted by prozac


Independent of what? You don't think the Georgia Straight is corporate?! Maybe not actually owned by a corporation in the direct sense of the word, but they're catering to the mainstream and making money of off all the eager downtown Chamber of Commerce members, etc.

They're a business, of course it's their intent to make money. I don't agree with you at all about their news, i find many of their articles interesting and well informed, for a mainstream paper - which no one has denied that they are. They take a far different stance than a shitrag like the Province, and i use the term 'shitrag' because it's filled with spelling & grammatical errors, not to mention their sensationalistic, tabloid approach to reporting. The Straight are not some ultra-left anarchist 'zine, they are a mainstream, arts & culture oriented newspaper who take a much more politically centered approach to reporting than our corporate papers. They offer well written & detailed (compared to the Province anyways) reporting on issues that matter to many Vancouver residents. Don't make the mistake of thinking that everyone is as informed on these issues as you are - maybe their articles are old news to those of us who stay aggressively informed about politics & issues, but that's a small percentage of our city's populace.

What's wrong with attacking them on grounds applicable to the Sun?! If they want to be classified as a NEWSpaper, like the Vancouver Sun is, then they have to publish NEWS. It's as simple as that.

well, if you think the Sun's reporting is of any greater quality than the Straight's, then you are waaaay out to lunch imo. And to answer your question - if the Straight's event listings are advertising, then so is the Sun's 'new homes' listing (actually those are paid listings, the Straight's event listings are not, you're totally wrong about them only listing advertisers, i know that from first hand experience), in which case BOTH are under the required 25% and BOTH should be charged. explain why you feel it's right for the straight to be singled out?

Originally posted by prozac


By the way, that was immature and uncalled for.

Duely noted.

[Sue Bitch]

this is all just soooo stupid just because they are a contriversial newspaper that doesnt listen to the gov and write what they tell them to write

[slug]

sad

[shorerider]

Originally posted by bob
less talk more action
let's hit the fucking streets.

I would if I was not so apethetic.

[Wood]

^that's the voice of Vancouver if i ever heard it

[MissBehavior]

^Amen.

[rawb]

my reactions:

1) this is probably wrong, but i have faith in the justice system. i'm not too worried.

2) the time out section isn't editorial? fuck, that's the only section worth reading the the last few years. I'VE BEEN PICKING UP A PAPER FOR ADS:(

3) every letter i've seen written or reply to this has been a "DEAR GRODO" or "MONEY GRUBBING LIBERALS SUCK" or "I DIDNT VOTE THESE BASTARDS IN" type of response. something tells me the government knows how to pick its battles, they aren't pissing off anyone new.

[prozac]

WOOD:

I didn't say that the Sun was so much better that the Straight. You seemed to be saying that a) the Straight should be classified as a newspaper(which the Sun is) and therefore be exempt from this legislation and b) it's not fair to judge the straight on grounds that could just as easily applied to the Sun. That is a contradiction. One the one hand, they should be classified the same way, on the other hand they shouldn't. What are you saying?

and "new homes" listings etc. included, I still would go out on a limb and say that at least 25% of the Sun's content is editorial. Good or bad isn't really the point here...The Straight has been assessed as not having this 25% and so they're getting taxed.

I was initially pointing out that IMO the loss of the Georgia Straight wouldn't be the loss of a fantastic "idependent media outlet"....and also that I highly doubt they're going to go out of business over this. They just want to sensationalize it to drum up some public outrage, which people on this post seem more than happy to assist them with.

[prozac]

P.S.

I'm not a huge fan of the liberal government, either, so don't think this is in defence of Campbell...I just think that there are other things more worth writing your MLA about.

[Hot Karl]

emails sent

[Wood]

Originally posted by prozac
WOOD:

I didn't say that the Sun was so much better that the Straight. You seemed to be saying that a) the Straight should be classified as a newspaper(which the Sun is) and therefore be exempt from this legislation and b) it's not fair to judge the straight on grounds that could just as easily applied to the Sun. That is a contradiction. One the one hand, they should be classified the same way, on the other hand they shouldn't. What are you saying?

whawhawhat?? i think you need to re-read my posts... i'm saying that both papers should be judged by the same standard, there's no contradiction there. If the government has decreed that a 'listings' section qualifies as advertising, not editorial, then the Sun's new homes section should be considered advertising as well - and it's been suggested to me by people who've done their research that it's the new homes section that is keeping the sun within the 25%, as is the Events Time Out to the Straight. So, if everything were fair & equal, BOTH papers, and probably a few others, would be hit with this tax....

However, that wouldn't sit too well with Premier Campbell's old-time buddies over at CanWest, aka the Asper family who own many of our local papers, including the Sun. Never mind the fact that the Straight's event listings are FREE, while the Sun's New Homes are PAID LISTINGS!! The only contradiction in this situation is our government's obviously biased decision to go after a small business like the Straight whilst ignoring their coprorate buddies CanWest who are equally if not more accountable to the imposed charges.

ps- what makes you think that a million bucks in back taxes, plus another quarter million a year, that NONE of their competitors are subject to, wouldn't put a small independant paper like the Straight out of business? I can't see how it wouldn't. Their revenue comes from advertising sales, if their overhead is increased by a quarter mil per anum, ad rates have to go up.... making it difficult or impossible to compete with other free local weeklies like, say, the CanWest owned Vancouver Courier.

[ebbomega]

Originally posted by prozac
P.S.

I'm not a huge fan of the liberal government, either, so don't think this is in defence of Campbell...I just think that there are other things more worth writing your MLA about.

This is where I disagree, HARSHLY.

Ask any Leninist, they'll tell you that Media Control is one of the first things you need when in power of a country. The less Free media gets the more power the remaining media in existence obtains. The three top local newspapers in the Greater Vancouver Area are The Vancouver Sun, The Province and The Georgia Straight. Keep in mind that 2/3 of these companies are owned by a single company (The same company that owns the National Post, I might add... and the same company that is notorious for keeping the Labour Party at bay through a smear campaign in England a few years ago). So when Gordo knocks out the one that isn't, a lot of ears perk up, especially considering the fact that he's going to meet no opposition to it.

But yeah. We voted these fucks, and whether or not you specifically voted for them, this is a perverse interpretation of democracy, and we've got to cope with what the vast majority of the public agrees to cope with.

"I should get two votes considering that stupid people are allowed to vote" - Michael Mann

[Wood]

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
2003REV0005-000890
Oct. 10, 2003

Ministry of Provincial Revenue

PROVINCE TO REVIEW NEWSPAPER TAX EXEMPTION POLICY

VANCOUVER - The province will review the existing policy regarding sales tax
exemption for newspapers, said Provincial Revenue Minister Bill Barisoff.

"The provincial sales tax includes an exemption for books, magazines and
newspapers," Barisoff said. "One objective of this policy is to exempt from
sales tax those publications that are generally considered to be newspapers.
If this objective is not being met, it needs to be changed.

"It was never our intention, or the intention of the previous government
that implemented this policy in 2000, that newspapers should be taxed.
Clearly the Georgia Straight is a newspaper, yet it is not treated as a
newspaper under the current policy. Accordingly, the Premier has asked me,
together with the Minister of Finance, to review this policy and how it is
applied, in order to solve this problem.

"We will consult with the newspaper and publication industry, and act to fix
this problem," Barisoff concluded.

-30-

Media contact:

Paige MacFarlane
Communications Director
250 387-9286

Visit the province's Web site at www.gov.bc.ca for online information and
services.

[AGROculture]

AGROout