Toronto Star Public Editor: The age old issue of reporting on age

“In the interest of accuracy why does the Star use this term given its highly subjective nature?” Pellier asked. “For the record, I am 73, and most assuredly, do not consider myself elderly.”

Another reader, who said he is 70, expressed a similar view of the headline: “You are being ageist and I am fed up with it,” he said.

The pedestrian who was killed Monday morning while using the crosswalk to cross McCowan Rd. on the north side of Steeles Ave. was a 79-year-old man. But, at the time his death was first reported, his exact age was unknown and the Star relied on information from police that referred to this victim as “elderly.”

While it is always preferable to be as precise as possible in both headlines and articles, the use of the word “elderly” seems understandable to me in this case given these realities. Had the man’s age been known at the time, the headline would have better stated, “Pedestrian, 79, killed at crosswalk.”