Newspapers as pansies. Journalists as post facto protagonists.

I find it quite revealing that now that the BCE deal has essentially died, those “brave” souls in the rough and tumble newspaper world are now, for the first time, saying that it’s a good thing that the BCE deal not proceed. Not proceed? Where have these journalistic pansies been for the last 18 months? The only two journalists that I know of who have consistently questioned the merits of this deal are Diane Francis and Barry Critchley of the Financial Post.

The rest of Canada’s media have been a group of pansies who never questioned what was being wrought on Canadians by this deal and the nefarious arrangements under which it was being cobbled together (dividend suspension, suppression of bondholders, straw man Morgan McCague).

Here is some of post facto wisdom the “brave” souls who have now emerged. Where have they been for 18 months? They are only now reporting on the things I have been writing about repeatedly since the deal was approved in September 2007, all of which were contained on my letter to Industry Minister Jim Prentice of February 2008. If the deals’ failure is now being hailed by these journalists, why weren’t they questioning Prentice’s approval back in June 2008, or is that when the pansies were in full bloom?

Doomed BCE deal never did make much sense
David Olive
Toronto Star
November 27, 2008

Hope for escape from high leverage
Globe and Mail
Editorial
November 27, 2008

Can you hear it? A collective sigh of relief
Derek DeCloet
Globe and Mail
November 27, 2008