On the one hand the press is complaining that the PM does not give enough interviews, and on the other hand the press is butchering a complex answer into something out of context that appears to be inconsistent. There has to be some accountability for the press here. They cannot have it both ways.
At the same time, Carney needs to be more careful. There is a nothing wrong with saying that you have a more precise statement later when more information is available.
I agree. The communications problems aren’t entirely Carney’s. I started watching the media more closely during the PMJT years and I found them to be quite disappointing. There are several who are intelligent, informed, thoughtful and effective. Many seem to be hyped up on pursuing drama and gotcha hits. They remain obtuse to the seriousness of governance, security, and boundaries, particularly in these trying times.
The press scrum setting is not the ideal setting for Carney. The rapid fire questions, typically heavily loaded, are more difficult for him because his instinct is to give fulsome detailed answers. That is extremely hard if you are limited to one, perhaps two, sentences.
Carney shines in the sit down interviews. This gives him an opportunity to give complete answers with nuances and details. The interview in Australia was a good example. There were no softballs and plenty of opportunities to step on the proverbial mine, but Carney navigates these with ease and humour.
So, what do you do as communication director? Do more sit down interviews. Avoid the press scrums or say I will have more to say later when I have received a complete briefing from my team. But do the sit down interviews on a regular basis and play to your strengths.
PM Mark Carney finally agrees to take unscripted questions from the press that fly with him on all of these trips abroad, and the press needs to be held accountable? 🤔
I have a real problem with the LPC attention to "comms" as the be all and end all. Simply telling the truth about a position and then sticking to that truth until such time as there is a clear change in circumstance at which point you say, "Yesterday I said X but this and that circumstance has changed so today I say Y" is what is necessary.
During the disastrous years of the Face Painter - and now obviously under MC - the LPC go to approach has been to blame "comms" and to avoid looking at what they are actually saying. Putting that differently, they will not take a principled position and stick to it and defend it; instead, they are damned weather vanes!
You are absolutely right with respect to the first two days. It would have been perfectly okay to say on day 2 that now the scope of this war is much larger than initially thought, I want to refine my statement as follows.
However, this does not apply to the past 2 days. Here the press has been acting in complete bad faith. For example the G&M headline “ Updates: Carney won't 'rule out' Canada joining military action in Middle East” is so far away from what Carney said that is effectively a lie.
He doesn’t control how the media will write the headline…Canadians know enough to get the whole context before reaching a conclusion or forming an opinion. Everything he says and how he says it, is scrutinized- ok- understood- but until the (most) Canadians that are in the Middle East are back here it’s going to be very tricky. I still trust him and his cabinet.
I do not always agree with you, Evan but on this you have my total support. I concur!
PM Carney has dropped the ball. War is serious. This war is serious. Not listening to POTUS' State of the Union speech is one thing, but giving us a series of word salad pressers about this latest tRumpian cock-up is direlict. It is very concerning because so many balls are being juggled and so much is going on behind the scenes. Canadians are well-educated and well-informed. We see the patterns Carney speaks of and we need to know where he's leading our country. Canadians have never been good with wishy-washy, especially when polling shows where our support lies right now.
If PM Carney believes continuing his trade junket as if the Middle East isn't rupturing is giving the impression "Don't worry, there's not much to see here", then he is not reading the room.
I wonder what PM Chrétien is thinking about this. 🤔
Not what he said, if our allies (NATO) that were not asked or consulted, so not the Americans or Israelis are pulled in somehow, then we would have to consider a request for help.
So get the story right before you go off the cliff, conservative wise.
"don’t give an answer susceptible to fucking misinterpretation."
Sure, but in our day and age ALL answers and ALL statements are susceptible to misinterpretation. We live in an age where legacy media focuses on the salacious and on word games, yes, but also there's a vast social media outrage machine dedicated to misinterpreting people's statements in the most outrageous and offensive ways they can.
It is important to state things clearly and in a way your audience can understand, but if you continually worry about someone maliciously misinterpreting you you will sooner or later end up saying nothing at all. I think political leaders, generally, should strive to say what they genuinely believe, without guile and without games.
On a fundamental policy level, I think Carney is taking the only approach politically and practically possible for Canada: The Iranian regime is bad, but this war is illegal, we're not militarily involved and, barring any changes in conditions which may require our involvement (i.e: Article 5), we're not going to become involved voluntarily.
You are right, the fuddling and back and forth ambiguity of his statements has been more harmful than helpful, politically. It would be better for Canadians to hear that policy stated clearly rather than have to reconstruct it from his various words and the country's practical actions. But everything Carney says is going to be subject to misinterpretation, often hostile misinterpretation, frankly.
Ultimately these criticisms are really rather petty IN FULL CONTEXT, to use your phrase Evan, something you're clearly aware of, and something I look to your articles FOR actually. Especially in the context of the dearth of that right now.
I would also say that I find male political commentary generally to be on a par with sports commentary, i.e. consistently vacuous AND weirdly avid.
I wonder if he is getting honest feedback on the shape of his communications. This is now becoming a theme across multiple sources and should have reached him by now. The performance of this latest trip where he didn't have media availability for a number of days is very concerning. Yes, he is dealing with many things at once and for sure there are some things that he can't talk about for security reasons, but for crying out loud he needs to be talking to us constantly. And in ways that we understand.
Forget "honest feedback" as he is the one saying all this stuff. If he cannot figure out that he is twisting like a pretzel then he is every bit as dumb as I think he is. Taking that point further, if he cannot figure out that his Ministry is providing starkly differing points of view then he is not simply dumb but stupid.
I’ve listened very carefully and repeatedly to both of Carney’s comments. You are wrong. 😑 He’s, on both occasions, been very careful and given very curated comments. He has not in any way suggested that trump was right in invading not that he’d be willing to put boots on the ground. Stop clutching pearls and being hysterical.
Well, yeah. But he's still getting the 50%+ support. Part of the problem is the shitty, inaccurate, and misleading headlines written by an irresponsible media. It's important to listen to exactly what he says. Finally, with all the shit that he's carrying, he doesn't suffer fools gladly, and I'm with him on that. Time for the public to grow up and stop expecting to be spoonfed.
Don't forget, Cecilia, he is paying the media and THIS is what he gets. Consider offering a tear for PP who is NOT paying the media and the lack of professionalism and the absolute hostility that he gets.
Put differently, this just shows the lack of ability of most media folk.
Evan will never write it but the Carney honeymoon is coming to an end, they see travels and MOU's and promises and commitments with little tangible result. Price increases continue and wags continue to fall behind. There is no question that the Canadian economy is lazy, both in its productivity and exploring for new markets, the entrepreneurial drive that drove the 1950's and 1960's has been lost in the haze of expecting the government to solve all problems and it won't and absolutely cannot!
He’s certainly a terrible communicator. And he seems to think people will be impressed with little slogans or aphorisms. But in this case, I don’t think the issue is communications - it’s that it’s that his policy ideas when it comes to foreign policy are simply outside the mainstream of Canadian sensibilities. Plus he seems to decide what “Canadas position” is in some murky way without actually talking to anyone. He is quite simply not making legitimate statements on behalf of Canadians in the sense he has no apparent desire to properly represent our actual feelings or preferences.
On the one hand the press is complaining that the PM does not give enough interviews, and on the other hand the press is butchering a complex answer into something out of context that appears to be inconsistent. There has to be some accountability for the press here. They cannot have it both ways.
At the same time, Carney needs to be more careful. There is a nothing wrong with saying that you have a more precise statement later when more information is available.
I agree. The communications problems aren’t entirely Carney’s. I started watching the media more closely during the PMJT years and I found them to be quite disappointing. There are several who are intelligent, informed, thoughtful and effective. Many seem to be hyped up on pursuing drama and gotcha hits. They remain obtuse to the seriousness of governance, security, and boundaries, particularly in these trying times.
The press scrum setting is not the ideal setting for Carney. The rapid fire questions, typically heavily loaded, are more difficult for him because his instinct is to give fulsome detailed answers. That is extremely hard if you are limited to one, perhaps two, sentences.
Carney shines in the sit down interviews. This gives him an opportunity to give complete answers with nuances and details. The interview in Australia was a good example. There were no softballs and plenty of opportunities to step on the proverbial mine, but Carney navigates these with ease and humour.
So, what do you do as communication director? Do more sit down interviews. Avoid the press scrums or say I will have more to say later when I have received a complete briefing from my team. But do the sit down interviews on a regular basis and play to your strengths.
Excellent points. Someone get these to the PM 😉
PM Mark Carney finally agrees to take unscripted questions from the press that fly with him on all of these trips abroad, and the press needs to be held accountable? 🤔
Yes. Especially when they take partial sentences and put these in headlines. That is acting in bad faith.
I have a real problem with the LPC attention to "comms" as the be all and end all. Simply telling the truth about a position and then sticking to that truth until such time as there is a clear change in circumstance at which point you say, "Yesterday I said X but this and that circumstance has changed so today I say Y" is what is necessary.
During the disastrous years of the Face Painter - and now obviously under MC - the LPC go to approach has been to blame "comms" and to avoid looking at what they are actually saying. Putting that differently, they will not take a principled position and stick to it and defend it; instead, they are damned weather vanes!
You are absolutely right with respect to the first two days. It would have been perfectly okay to say on day 2 that now the scope of this war is much larger than initially thought, I want to refine my statement as follows.
However, this does not apply to the past 2 days. Here the press has been acting in complete bad faith. For example the G&M headline “ Updates: Carney won't 'rule out' Canada joining military action in Middle East” is so far away from what Carney said that is effectively a lie.
He doesn’t control how the media will write the headline…Canadians know enough to get the whole context before reaching a conclusion or forming an opinion. Everything he says and how he says it, is scrutinized- ok- understood- but until the (most) Canadians that are in the Middle East are back here it’s going to be very tricky. I still trust him and his cabinet.
I do not always agree with you, Evan but on this you have my total support. I concur!
PM Carney has dropped the ball. War is serious. This war is serious. Not listening to POTUS' State of the Union speech is one thing, but giving us a series of word salad pressers about this latest tRumpian cock-up is direlict. It is very concerning because so many balls are being juggled and so much is going on behind the scenes. Canadians are well-educated and well-informed. We see the patterns Carney speaks of and we need to know where he's leading our country. Canadians have never been good with wishy-washy, especially when polling shows where our support lies right now.
If PM Carney believes continuing his trade junket as if the Middle East isn't rupturing is giving the impression "Don't worry, there's not much to see here", then he is not reading the room.
I wonder what PM Chrétien is thinking about this. 🤔
❤️🇨🇦
Not what he said, if our allies (NATO) that were not asked or consulted, so not the Americans or Israelis are pulled in somehow, then we would have to consider a request for help.
So get the story right before you go off the cliff, conservative wise.
Way to go! I absolutely agree with you. This diatribe was unacceptable. Left comment below.
"don’t give an answer susceptible to fucking misinterpretation."
Sure, but in our day and age ALL answers and ALL statements are susceptible to misinterpretation. We live in an age where legacy media focuses on the salacious and on word games, yes, but also there's a vast social media outrage machine dedicated to misinterpreting people's statements in the most outrageous and offensive ways they can.
It is important to state things clearly and in a way your audience can understand, but if you continually worry about someone maliciously misinterpreting you you will sooner or later end up saying nothing at all. I think political leaders, generally, should strive to say what they genuinely believe, without guile and without games.
On a fundamental policy level, I think Carney is taking the only approach politically and practically possible for Canada: The Iranian regime is bad, but this war is illegal, we're not militarily involved and, barring any changes in conditions which may require our involvement (i.e: Article 5), we're not going to become involved voluntarily.
You are right, the fuddling and back and forth ambiguity of his statements has been more harmful than helpful, politically. It would be better for Canadians to hear that policy stated clearly rather than have to reconstruct it from his various words and the country's practical actions. But everything Carney says is going to be subject to misinterpretation, often hostile misinterpretation, frankly.
Ultimately these criticisms are really rather petty IN FULL CONTEXT, to use your phrase Evan, something you're clearly aware of, and something I look to your articles FOR actually. Especially in the context of the dearth of that right now.
I would also say that I find male political commentary generally to be on a par with sports commentary, i.e. consistently vacuous AND weirdly avid.
I wonder if he is getting honest feedback on the shape of his communications. This is now becoming a theme across multiple sources and should have reached him by now. The performance of this latest trip where he didn't have media availability for a number of days is very concerning. Yes, he is dealing with many things at once and for sure there are some things that he can't talk about for security reasons, but for crying out loud he needs to be talking to us constantly. And in ways that we understand.
Forget "honest feedback" as he is the one saying all this stuff. If he cannot figure out that he is twisting like a pretzel then he is every bit as dumb as I think he is. Taking that point further, if he cannot figure out that his Ministry is providing starkly differing points of view then he is not simply dumb but stupid.
I’ve listened very carefully and repeatedly to both of Carney’s comments. You are wrong. 😑 He’s, on both occasions, been very careful and given very curated comments. He has not in any way suggested that trump was right in invading not that he’d be willing to put boots on the ground. Stop clutching pearls and being hysterical.
For all of you screeching about the U.S bombing Iran, lest we forget, je me souviens 🇨🇦
https://www.international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/response_conflict-reponse_conflits/crisis-crises/flight-vol-ps752.aspx?lang=eng
Well, yeah. But he's still getting the 50%+ support. Part of the problem is the shitty, inaccurate, and misleading headlines written by an irresponsible media. It's important to listen to exactly what he says. Finally, with all the shit that he's carrying, he doesn't suffer fools gladly, and I'm with him on that. Time for the public to grow up and stop expecting to be spoonfed.
Don't forget, Cecilia, he is paying the media and THIS is what he gets. Consider offering a tear for PP who is NOT paying the media and the lack of professionalism and the absolute hostility that he gets.
Put differently, this just shows the lack of ability of most media folk.
All I have to say about this is “yes!!!!!!” To all of it.
Evan will never write it but the Carney honeymoon is coming to an end, they see travels and MOU's and promises and commitments with little tangible result. Price increases continue and wags continue to fall behind. There is no question that the Canadian economy is lazy, both in its productivity and exploring for new markets, the entrepreneurial drive that drove the 1950's and 1960's has been lost in the haze of expecting the government to solve all problems and it won't and absolutely cannot!
I heard what he said. And it's not what your saying he said. He was forthright and clear your essay is a mud puddle and a snear.
And maybe this is why he doesn’t do very many pressers? And the rest of our politicians have learned even better at how to say nothing at all?
He’s certainly a terrible communicator. And he seems to think people will be impressed with little slogans or aphorisms. But in this case, I don’t think the issue is communications - it’s that it’s that his policy ideas when it comes to foreign policy are simply outside the mainstream of Canadian sensibilities. Plus he seems to decide what “Canadas position” is in some murky way without actually talking to anyone. He is quite simply not making legitimate statements on behalf of Canadians in the sense he has no apparent desire to properly represent our actual feelings or preferences.
Sorry. I thought his comments yesterday in Australia were quite clear, considering the complexity of this situation.