Columns

When the Ottawa Morning Show ran an interview with Terry Woodard, the widow of the driver of the Ottawa bus that collided with a train, there was quite a lot of reaction. The interview was raw and painful to listen to. Was it the wrong decision to air it? The complainant, Chris Young, thought it was sensationalistic and should not have been done, even if Ms. Woodard agreed to it. The CBC's ombudsman Esther Enkin says the interview was hard to listen to, but agreed with the decision to air it.

Continue Reading CBC ombudsman: Decision to air interview with Ottawa bus driver’s widow was correct

If you are a fan of page A2 in the paper and the corrections online, you will be interested to know how The Globe and Mail staff find out about errors, writes public editor Sylvia Stead.

Continue Reading Public editor: How the Globe discovers and corrects errors

When a then 25-year-old Ben Peterson launched a global media development organization called Journalists for Human Rights in 2002, he faced his share of critics, skeptics and naysayers for somehow tainting the notion of “objectivity” in journalism. Fast forward 11 years, Journalists for Human Rights has become Canada’s largest media development charity. And as its founder put it, “If journalism isn’t for human rights, what is it for?” Kathy English, the Toronto Star's public editor, writes that no journalist need stand down from being for human rights.

Continue Reading Star public editor: Journalists embrace cause of human rights

A reader wondered: “Why does The Globe persist in using the sexist … and outdated term ‘schoolgirls’ in reference to the victims of Paul Bernardo? Public editor Sylvia Stead writes it may be time to find a better description. 

Continue Reading Globe public editor: Time to find a different word to describe Bernardo’s victims

Especially during times of ethnic tensions, it is much more important to tread carefully and not make connections that aren’t proven or even real, writes The Globe and Mail's public editor Sylvia Stead.

Continue Reading Globe public editor: Nairobi map unfairly suggested a terrorist community

A complainant said a CBC News story from Calgary unfairly singled out the pit bull to sensationalize the story and that the media has created the bias against these dogs. But CBC ombudsman Esther Enkin did not find any policy violation.

Continue Reading Ombudsman: No bias against pit bull in CBC Calgary stories

Tyler Olsen, a photographer for the Chilliwack Times in British Columbia, had questions about CBC’s use of a photograph from his paper when they were covering a news story. He acknowledged it was allowed under a Copyright Act provision called fair dealing, but asked the CBC's ombudsman if the use of his photo was ethical, and what CBC’s practice is.

Continue Reading CBC ombudsman: A closer look at “fair dealing” is needed

Kathy English, the Toronto Star's public editor, questions why journalists are being blocked in obtaining information that would have been readily available to them had they been in public court to witness the proceedings.

Continue Reading Star public editor: Reporters struggle to pry records out of court clerks

A complainant accused CBC of siding with the supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in its coverage of demonstrations in Toronto. During the height of the unrest in Egypt, she thought only a pro-Morsi rally had been covered in Toronto when a group of Coptic Christians held a rally the same week end. In fact, CBC had a story about the Coptic demonstration on The National, and all platforms had provided coverage of the concerns of the community here as well as stories about attacks on churches in Egypt, writes the CBC ombudsman Esther Enkin.

Continue Reading Ombudsman: CBC got it right covering local demonstration about Egypt

The complainant, Jon Melanson, thought the wording of a headline indicated CBC was taking the side of the Liberal party. CBC's ombudsman Esther Enkin responds that while it may have not been the most elegant headline ever written, it was not inaccurate and the story was balanced.

Continue Reading CBC ombudsman: No bias in headline about Justin Trudeau’s speaking fees