I was sitting at Curtis Tire on a busy morning waiting for my tire to get fixed when the video from the man who was filming the homeless camp in Abbotsford was broadcast on BC1 – Global BC’s 24 hour news channel.

The video was definitely shiny. By shiny I mean it attracted the eye and attention the way a flashy piece of costume jewellery does.

With its’ shininess to catch the viewers eye and get people talking about ‘that video of the crazy homeless person’ it would have been a surprise if BC1 didn’t choose to air it.

It left me feeling a little old because I remember a time when print and broadcast media was about the questions and context and not simply focused on filling up the space around and between the advertising.

It was obvious from the short edited video we saw that something was missing. The young woman’s words and demeanour told viewers who listened to her words that there was more to the story ‘the crazy homeless person’. It was obvious there was a history here, a history the viewer was not informed of but needed to put the video in context.

With my curiosity aroused I spoke to some residents from the camp and found out that the person assaulted had been hanging around taking video of the people at the campsite. When approached by the persons at the camp to respect their privacy and stop videoing the people, the the person taking the video did not deny that he was focused on the people and not the camp – nor did he stop violating the rights of the people at the camp but continued taking video.

That is the background, the context, that anyone interested in informing the public not inflaming the public would have sought out and easily ascertained.

I am not arguing the merits of the matter, that is what we have courts for. I am stating that knowing the history put what occurred into a different context.

By the by, carrying bear spray is illegal. However there is a product that people refer to as ‘bear spray’ that is formulated for women to carry in their purses to use for self defence. I wonder how many cans of ‘bear spray’ you would find in the possession of the female staff at BC1?

I could speak to the residents of the camp about what had lead up to the video broadcast by BC1. I couldn’t ask the person taking the video:

Why/for whom was he taking the video? Why was he taking video for that length of time? Why the focus on videoing the people not the camp?  Why did he continue taking video after he had been asked on several occassions to stop taking video of the people? Was he fishing for a shiny piece of video to sell? And what became of all that video of the residents of the camp asking him to stop?

You cannot understand what happened without the context. If the media chooses not to provide context it is their right to make that choice. Having so chosen however, the media should stop misleading the public by using the inappropriate label ‘The News’.

I suppose that the media could claim that they are constantly printing or airing multiple pieces of new material on new events – the news – to replace the olds; and that providing viewers [or readers] with context in order to be able to differentiate between the news the media now shares and News information that allows someone to make informed judgement is neither their job nor their concern.

Their job is to fill blank pages and empty air space. As to the public being misinformed – caveat emptor.