The complainant, Anthony Nolan, wrote to say that a report on an anti-white supremacy rally at Queen’s Park distorted the crowd size, and deliberately so, in his view. I agreed that reporting how many people expressed interest in coming, rather than the number of attendees, lacked clarity. COMPLAINT You took issue with a report about…
The complainant, Jyothi Jayaraman, was one of 9 who objected to the explanation of the process of medically-assisted death. In the course of taking questions live on Facebook, the interviewee gave wrong information. CBC admitted fault and despite best efforts, came up against the limitations of making corrections on a platform they don’t control. It’s…
The complainant, April Fahr, is the Director of Education and Advocacy for the HugABull Advocacy & Rescue Society. She was concerned that a Fifth Estate episode on whether pit bulls should be banned was biased and cherry-picked data and information. The documentary featured the highly polarized views of both the dog and the evidence about…
A reader in London, Ont., wrote to me to say there really shouldn’t be corrections – because all information should be checked before publication. “Doesn’t anybody proofread stories any more before a paper is printed? … To misspell a person’s name (Smyth instead of Smith, or other examples) I can see, BUT to use the…
As the Star reported this week, the Toronto District School Board says it never discussed the implications of allowing an 11-year-old girl to speak to a barrage of reporters after she had made false allegations that her hijab had been cut. It was “not part of the conversation,” TDSB spokesperson Ryan Bird told the Star…
The complainant, Jenni Byrne of Bayfield Strategy, Inc., wrote on behalf of her client, Fortress Developments. She stated that one of the reporters involved in ongoing coverage of Fortress was biased and sensationalistic in her reporting. She complained that there was no follow-up on a story regarding class-action suits against Fortress. The complaint against the…
The complainant, Jackie Thipthorpe, objected to a story about visitors at a veterinary school open house. The research project featured involved a cow with a fistula which enabled participants to reach into its stomach. She questioned the judgment of reporting the story in the first place, and its lack of criticism of the treatment of…
Earlier this week, I received a complaint about a Globe investigation into a fake news site. The writer, who is a Canadian professor, called the article “fake news.” The Globe story labelled “Media and ‘Fake News’” had the headline “NATO research centre sets sights on Canadian website over pro-Russia disinformation”. The article, by chief political…
The complainant, Mary Spensley, disputed the accuracy of a story about an LGBTQ teaching tool created by the Alberta Teachers’ Association. She was also concerned that hostile politicians were using the information to attack the toolkit. The CBC News stories were accurate, and journalists cannot refrain from reporting controversy because of the way it might…
Astrology is not science, so why do serious news organizations still publish daily horoscopes? Continue Reading Toronto Star Public Editor: What’s written in the stars?