The morning papers brought yet another round of reasons why the practice of PR in Canada can be so completely frustrating.  You are going to have to stay with me here — follow the bouncing ball:  I am actually one of those people that enjoys the National Post — don’t get me wrong.  I don’t have a lot of sympathy with their political posture, but I am an admirer of their in-depth, original stories.  So I read with some interest the piece under ideas called “Canada Was a Free Country.”  Author F.H. Buckley, a professor at George Mason University, reflected yet again on the the self-doubt and negativism that plagues Canada’s self-perception.  Why are we so hard on ourselves?

A few pages on, Matt Harley had a huge story on RIM which focussed on the many travails that have dogged the Blackberry-maker over the past 18 months.  What is it about Canadian journalists?  Why is the “invented here, it must be bad” syndrome so entrenched.  By contrast, the Globe and Mail picked up a story from the Wall Street Journal that actually provided a very balanced account of an interview with Thorsten Heins, RIM CEO, that focused on the the first reveals of the much anticipated Blackberry 10. Apparently, the Canadian smart phone producer is ramping up production of test models over the next few months for an early 2013 launch.  Dare I say that WSJ reporters, Ben Dummett, Anton Troianovski and Spencer Ante actually mentioned that big-name investors have been buying into the company in recent months?

This Canadian attitude of self-denigration is a source of some consternation for anyone practicing public relations in Canada.  Canadian journalists seem intent on predicting the absolute worse case scenario for home grown talent.  Somebody tell me, why are Canadians so intent on eating their young?