The complainant, Andrew Douglas, Managing Editor of Frank Magazine, was concerned that CBC News had left the false impression they had broken a story he ran first in his magazine by the use of heated language and references to investigation. While his magazine published first, CBC News had its own tip on the story and…
The complainant, Laura Finsten, was appalled – as were many others – at a question put to a senior Israeli political figure regarding the number of Palestinians killed by the IDF during protests at the Gaza-Israel border. She also thought there was no regard for Israel’s perspective. While the phrasing was harsh, it is legitimate…
In April, a man driving a van deliberately ran into civilians on a stretch of Toronto’s Yonge Street. The complainant, Mohamed Jiavdheen, objected to a tweet describing the driver, based on an eyewitness as “Middle Eastern.” He thought it irresponsible to publish that description before the information was verified. While live reporting breaking news will…
The complainant, Marc Poitras, thought the host of Ontario Today behaved differently to the callers on the edition which focused on the Progressive Conservative party, during the recent provincial election. He felt she was rude and dismissive. The host was challenging, as she was during episodes focused on other parties. There was no violation of…
Conflicts, coups and catastrophes: These are the stories Canadians are most often told about the world beyond our borders. Media coverage of international affairs has long been driven by dramatic breaking news events while deep reporting on the ongoing issues affecting the developing world has been as scarce as the GDP of some of the…
Off the record, a source said; a senior government official said on background; according to an insider. How important are anonymous sources in reporting? Overuse or misuse can hurt credibility, but you need those insider voices for many stories to get beyond the press releases and speeches. They are crucial when the news can’t be…
The complainant, Bodgan Gawroński, objected to an interview with historian Jan Grabowski on CBC Radio programme Day 6. He thought it was biased and that Mr. Grabowski represented an extreme position, blaming the Polish nation for the crimes of the Germans during World War II. The interview concerned the new Polish anti-defamation law and the…
The headline, published in the newspaper and online this week, reported on yet another victim of the terrible toll of Toronto’s deadly streets: “Elderly pedestrian killed at crosswalk,” it stated. Peter Pellier, a longtime Star reader from Oakville then posed a valid question to me about why the headline labelled the victim as “elderly.” It…
The complainant, Ira Zbarsky, objected to a story covering pro and anti-Kinder Morgan pipeline demonstrations. He said they were framed as equal. Programmers agreed with his assessment shortly after the story went up, and it was rewritten. He was not satisfied and wished to know how it happened and what consequences there might be. Here’s…
The complainant, Christopher Budgell, wanted to know why Sunday Edition host Michael Enright was able to attend the Canadian Institute for Advanced Legal Studies’ week-long lecture series in Cambridge, England. He thought it inappropriate for a journalist to be there and was a conflict of interest. He also wanted to know who paid his expenses.…