Fuggetabout the Oscars and Grammies

......It's Time for the First Gyro Award

You've all heard of the Pulitzer Prizes and I'm sure there is a Canadian equivalent - an award given for journalistic excellence. As journalistic excellence becomes virtually extinct in the era of "info-tainment" and corporate media mergers it is only fitting that a new award be created to acknowledge the accomplishments of those hacks who demonstrate the best in Spin in this post-Journalism Age.

I have to admit that it was a tough choice to pick the winner for 2006 for spinning the Basi/Virk trial - Legislature Raids issue. The silence itself regarding this issue is astounding and I was considering a "vacuum" award, but how do you decide who to give the prize to for not mentioning something. I guess the Canned West chain of what used to be newspapers deserve an honorary "vacuum" for ignoring the whole affair as much as possible since the raids themselves, but that is more of a team effort than any individual achievement.

Actually I've changed my mind, already and as a warm up to the awarding of the coveted Gyro I will award a Vacuum today.
Let me open the envelope, though I think I know who's going to be the winner. I was right - it's Lucinda Chodan, Editor in Chief of the Victoria Times-Colonist, who earns the first Vacuum award for this amusing message and the subsequent complaint to BC Mary for publishing it on her blog.

From: "Chodan, Lucinda (Times-Colonist)"
Date: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:31:32 PM Canada/Eastern
To: bcmary14@rogers.com
Cc: "Helm, Denise (Times-Colonist)" , "Obee, Dave (Times-Colonist)" , "Patterson, Candace (Times-Colonist)"

Subject: Re: Basi, Virk, Basi in court yesterday?

Dear Ms. Mary:

There was indeed a pretrial appearance by Basi, Virk et al yesterday. Our reporter staffed the appearance, and nothing of note happened. As is the case in sucinstances, the reporter consulted with his editor and did not write a story. When there is news, we plan to report it.

Sincerely,
Lucinda Chodan
Editor-in-Chief
Victoria Times Colonist
2621 Douglas St.
Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M2

It's one thing to just ignore important public events, perhaps because they might be embarassing to certain Criminal Conspirators. But to go out of your way to explain how unimportant it is and then even get angry because someone made you accountable for your views, as the ad goes, PRICELESS!

Anyway, stay tuned I'm not going to announce the winner of the Gyro until later today , or even later this week. But I have opened the envelope, so I know who it is. I would like to find a picture of the winner, I mean that's the least I can do for someone who overcame such competition to be the Spinner of the Year for 2006 - BC Basi/Virk File. Who knows maybe I could even take/make a picture of him holding his Golden Gyroscope!