Ontario Press Council to hold hearings on Star, Globe stories on Ford family
The Ontario Press Council will hold two separate hearings in September to investigate complaints that the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail reported on the Ford family in an irresponsible, unethical manner.
By Tamara Baluja
The Ontario Press Council will hold two separate hearings in September to investigate complaints that the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail reported on the Ford family in an irresponsible, unethical manner.
The Globe and Mail will defend its use of anonymous sources for an investigative piece by Greg McArthur and Shannon Kari that looked into Mayor Rob Ford’s family's alleged drug dealings, the newspaper’s public editor Sylvia Stead told J-Source. Stead said she plans to attend the hearing along with one of the editors who oversaw the investigation.
The Star has been called to respond to complaints about an article the newspaper ran about a video that allegedly showed Ford smoking crack. That article was written by city hall reporter Robyn Doolittle and investigative reporter Kevin Donovan. Public editor Kathy English told J-Source the Star will be represented at the hearing by Donovan as well as editor Michael Cooke. “The thrust of the response is that the Star has reported responsibly in the public interest on the mayor of Toronto,” she said in an email.
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Related content on J-Source:
- Notice of Hearing by the Ontario Press Council
- “High” number of complaints filed to Ontario Press Council for stories on the Ford family
- Newspapers Canada considering a national press council
The mayor’s press secretary was not aware of the upcoming hearings when J-Source contacted him on Monday.
The complaint against the Star will be heard at 10 a.m. and will be followed by the complaint against the Globe at 1 p.m. on Sept. 9 at Ryerson University. If a complaint is upheld by the Ontario Press Council, the decision must be published unedited by the news organization in question.
Read the full notice of hearing and procedures from the Ontario Press Council here.
Tamara Baluja is an award-winning journalist with CBC Vancouver and the 2018 Michener-Deacon fellow for journalism education. She was the associate editor for J-Source from 2013-2014.