Despite the devide and conquer strategy at work regarding the
nationality of the producer the seed has been planted that what canada
needs is less government and more people taking care of themselves -
see  Live Right Now and
"http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20110103/health-system-needs-changes-110103/"
both of which suggest the onus is on the individual rather than the
government, which we all pay to take care of our healthcare needs, and
totally disregarded the SDOH.

So those in power and their pawns can keep on playing the blame game
while neglecting the real issues.

On Tue, Jan 4, 2011 at 8:10 AM, Dennis Raphael <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From a paper I am hoping to publish...
>
> Hypothesis 1: Reporters Think Just Like Everyone Else in Society
> A key tenet of the critical political economy approach is that our ideas are
> shaped by the society in which we are embedded: “That is, we who produce
> ideas are all products of our upbringing in a particular kind of society at
> a particular time -- social structure or society comes first, then our own
> subjectivities, identities, or 'selves' " (Coburn, 2010, p. 61). The growing
> emphasis of neo-liberal views on economic and political processes (Leys,
> 2001) as well as the importance of private individualized solutions to
> problems – including health problems – (Hofrichter, 2003) may be driving
> both the societal processes that shape overall health and create health
> inequalities but also the media’s approach to reporting on health and its
> determinants (Raphael et al., 2008). This embeddedness becomes even more
> important since reporters are employed by publishers who may have very clear
> preferences for one set of explanations of how health is determined over
> another (see below).
>
> In Canada, reporters have not only been subjected to the same barrage of
> behavioural risk and healthy lifestyle choice messaging as have the rest of
> Canadians but they are also more exposed in their employment activities to
> the well-organized research industry which emphasizes biomedical and
> behavioural explanations for health.ii Why would we expect that reporters’
> understandings of the determinants of health – currently focused on diet,
> exercise, and tobacco use — would be any different from the general public?
> For every health researcher trying to communicate findings about the social
> determinants of health and the public policy antecedents of these
> determinants, there are very many more traditional health researchers
> providing the
> media with their stories.
>
> On a a purely practical level, what would be the implications for reporters
> – and their editors and publishers — now beginning to point out that their
> few hundreds of stories about the vital importance of ingesting fruits and
> vegetables, taking exercise, and avoiding tobacco use as the primary
> determinants of health have been misguided at best and inaccurate at worst.
> Witness how the media maintains its saturated fat and heart disease fixation
> in spite of a decade of research disconfirming the link (Ravnskov, 2003;
> Taubes, 2001, 2002, 2008). Similar issues concerning media reporting of
> discredited associations arise on a whole series of fronts (Freeman, 2010).
>
> Hypothesis 2: Reporters are Expected to Tow the Accepted Line
> The mainstream media has become increasingly concentrated under the
> ownership of corporations whose political views can -- without much argument
> -- be classified as conservative supporters of free market, individualized
> approaches concerning societal issues. This is especially the case in Canada
> where newspapers, radio, and television are increasingly controlled by fewer
> and fewer corporations (Socialist Project, 2009).
>
> There is clear evidence that such concentration comes to be associated with
> what has been called “filters and blind spots in Canada’s press” (Hackett &
> Gruneau, 2000). One detailed analysis concluded that during the 1990s there
> was a noticeable reduction in the number of new stories about poverty and
> social inequality. Related to this was a growing tendency to favour right-
> over left wing policy institute reports. The report concludes: “The results
> of these trends, arguably, is a news media environment that is increasingly
> unable to capture both the everyday experience of poverty and the role that
> government and corporate policies may play in sustaining it” (Hackett &
> Gruneau, 2000, p. 201) . How would this be converted into lack of media
> coverage of the social determinants of health?
>
> As noted, most mainstream reporters now work for corporations whose
> ideological proclivities favour market over communal analysis of public
> policy issues. Evidence exists that the social determinants is an issue that
> lends itself to political persuasion (Gollust, Lantz, & Ubel, 2009). Gasher
> and colleagues acknowledge that social determinants approaches towards
> understanding health issues clash with such individualized interpretations
> but fail to link reporters’ activities with their employment situations.
> Reporters are probably well aware of these corporate preferences – either
> generally through detecting the changing winds in the newsroom or directly
> though their editors’ responses to their work activities – and like most
> other salaried workers would hesitate to put their futures on the line by
> consistently presenting a social determinants of health perspective in their
> stories.
>
> Hypothesis 3: Emphasizing Biomedical and Behavioural Approaches to Health is
> Profitable
> Mainstream print media in Canada have huge “Food” and “Living Sections” and
> radio and TV provide similar segments that generate significant reader
> interest and advertising dollars. These incentives certainly support news
> reporting that helps maintain the belief that individual healthy lifestyle
> choices will help readers live longer and healthier lives. It seems
> reasonable that reporting that downplays the social determinants of health
> is viewed favourably by newspaper executives, editors, and their
> advertisers. Healthy living may be the “goose that continues to lay the
> golden egg” for the mainstream media. What would be the payoff for the
> mainstream media in emphasizing the social determinants of health and the
> public policy decisions that threaten
> their quality?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
> Canada Weighs In: Program schedule
> Last Updated: Tuesday, January 4, 2011
> CBC News
>
> Feeling overweight, overworked, tired and stressed out? You're not alone,
> according to a new CBC poll titled Canada Weighs In: Are We Measuring Up?
>
> When asked if they're overweight, 44 per cent of Canadians polled said yes,
> with seven per cent admitting to being obese. Canadians say obesity is the
> country's No. 1 health issue, rating higher than any other concern-including
> nutrition and the state of our health care system.
>
> The poll gives context to CBC's national, six-month initiative, Live Right
> Now. As a wake-up call, CBC News provides the straight goods on Canadians'
> health perceptions versus reality, the importance of exercise, the epidemic
> of sleep deprivation, the impact of sugar on diet and health, and Canadians'
> increasing reliance on the internet for health information.
>
> The week-long series with in-depth coverage of the poll results kicks off on
> Sunday, Jan. 2 on CBC-TV, CBC News Network, CBC Radio and CBCNews.ca. For
> more information check out the Canada Weighs In site where you can find
> in-depth features and streams of the top TV and radio stories from the
> series.
>
> Here are some highlights to look for:
>
> Sunday, Jan. 2: On The World This Weekend, CBC News Network and The
> National, reporter Ioanna Roumeliotis discovers that, compared to 30 years
> ago, average Canadians are now eating the equivalent of an additional meal
> every single day due to increasing portion sizes. We give one ordinary
> Canadian family a challenge: Write down everything … and we mean everything
> ... they eat every day for a week to find out where that extra meal is
> coming from. The results are shocking.
>
> Monday, Jan. 3: Tune in to The World at Six starting Monday for special
> coverage throughout the week with host Alison Smith on-location at various
> health hubs, talking to people about their health and how to live right.
>
> On The National, Kelly Crowe meets a man who is striving to lose 70 pounds
> by his wedding in October. Lynne Robson uncovers the physical activity
> crisis in Canada: nearly half of Canadians are not meeting the recommended
> exercise guidelines. CBC News has learned that there will be new targets to
> get Canadians moving again … but is it enough? And Reg Sherren extends a
> personal challenge to a group of Canadians to get active.
>
> Tuesday, Jan, 4: World Report on CBC Radio One and The National look at the
> role sleep deprivation may play in the obesity epidemic.
>
> On CBC Radio One's World Report, we are a sleep-deprived nation and CBC's
> Pauline Dakin looks at the barriers to getting a good sleep and the risks of
> not getting enough. Then, on The National, CBC's Kelly Crowe visits a sleep
> clinic and presents some unique solutions Canadians have discovered to help
> them get the rest they need.
>
> Also on CBC Radio One programs throughout the afternoon, listeners can turn
> to CBC's In-House physician Dr. Brian Goldman as he weighs-in on the poll
> results.
>
> Wednesday, Jan. 5: Nearly half of Canadians turn to online to get their
> health info. On Radio One (World Report and World at Six) and The National,
> the CBC's Lynne Robson explores how web technology is changing the way we
> get our health care. We meet a "cyberchondriac," a doctor who conducts 10
> per cent of his practice via Skype, profile a successful pilot study that
> shows for every $1 spent on telemedicine the health system saves $5, and
> tour a medical clinic where sick patients text for treatment tips.
>
> CBC News Network's Colleen Jones tells her very personal story about a
> recent online quest she took to diagnose a life-threatening virus.
>
> At www.cbcnews.ca, take part in a live chat at noon with Village on a Diet's
> Dr. Ali Zentner, who will answer your health questions.
>
> Thursday, Jan. 6: World Report, on CBC Radio One, asks whether sugar is the
> new hidden poison in our diets.
>
> CBC's Karen Pauls presents a regional breakdown of our eating behaviour,
> beginning with Winnipeg, the slurpee capital of Canada for 11 years
> straight. Pauls also does a grocery store label tour, seeking out the more
> hidden sugars in our food, their impact on our health/weight and how we can
> make better choices.
>
> On The National, Leslie MacKinnon speaks with John Abbot, CEO of the Canada
> Health Council, about how well the messages about improving diet and health
> are reaching different Canadian demographic groups.
>
> Village on a Diet's Dr. Ali Zentner goes grocery shopping with CBC News
> Network hosts Heather Hiscox and Suhana Meharchand to evaluate their food
> choices.
>
> On CBCNews.ca, take an interactive "Sugar Quiz" to help Canadians determine
> how much sugar is in various common food items.
>
> Friday, Jan. 7: On News Network, Colleen Jones looks at stress and how to
> change our behaviour. Marketplace looks at the business of professional
> gyms.
>
> Read more:
> http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/2011/01/04/f-canada-weighs-in-program-schedule.html#socialcomments-submit#ixzz1A4iVrV9e
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