Raise the Hammer

It shouldn't be necessary to point this out but the BBM results cited by Say What are for a twenty hour broadcast day. It's in the morning slot that Radio One has consistently led in Toronto. This is local rather than network programming. Hamilton already receives Radio One's network programming. What it does not receive is local CBC programming and local coverage.

You can argue for or against what CBC radio offers. You can argue for or against having a public broadcaster. Before you claim that an argument is based upon a lie, however, you might do better to determine what facts are at issue.

I don't have a whole lot at stake in this discussion and I've already identified an area in which I disagree with the author of the piece we are supposed to be commenting on. Say What's entry raises another issue.

RTH was recommended to me some time after I arrived in the city. I have followed it since. It's a source of information and generally informed argument. There is plenty written on this site I disagree with and a lot of politics that strike me as naive but, to me, RTH is a positive presence in the city.

Something else that I have found is that there is a band of individuals who lurk about the site waiting for the opportunity to deliver snaps or putdowns upon blog contributors. Apparently, there is too much risk in developing an argument one might have to defend in detail. Of course, every blogsite invites this kind of participation and there is little gained by paying it too much heed. I suppose that this kind of contribution is therapeutic, perhaps even cathartic, for these participants but it has convinced me that the system of voting down comments, applied properly, is a valuable tool--which is not what I thought about it at first.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before and I'm reluctant to use the occasion of one single entry to make a point and possibly inspire more of this sniping but I find it therapeutic to comment one time on this troubling phenomenon.