By Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman The complainant, Geoffrey Pounder, questioned the value and journalistic purpose of an Ideas programme called “Contrarians”. He said it was dangerous and deceptive to give air time to two climate change deniers. Part of their remarks from a conference aired on the programme. He thought it violated all the principles…
By Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman The complainant, Will Dubitsky, thought characterising the 1995 Quebec referendum as the “abyss of ethnic nationalism” was Quebec-bashing and tarred all Quebec nationalists as xenophobes. It was a passing comment and an opinion expressed in context. One might not like or agree with the sentiment, but it doesn’t cross a…
By Romayne Smith Fullerton, Ethics Editor Some journalists make fun of academics. You know: those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach and research. But we also have another function: we watch the watchdogs and critique the critics. And lately, I have been watching The Walrus, a publication that claims to be a general…
By Esther Enkin for the CBC The complainant, E. Gelb, accused CBC of bias by omission in a story that dealt with Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim immigration. Failure to mention the ban would be until officials “figured out” what is going on, was an attempt to discredit him, according to her.…
By Esther Enkin for the CBC The complainant, Stephen Birch, took issue with a Metro Morning interview with Finance Minister Bill Morneau. He said the minister had made a false statement about how Canadians are taxed and it was the responsibility of the program host to challenge it. It is not at all clear that…
By Phillip Smith It’s a question that many people working in Canada’s media ecosystem must be asking this month: Are foreign publishers simply naive? How can they see an opportunity in a country where the entire news sector appears to be downsizing rapidly? Or is the very opportunity they see to step in just as the existing institutions collapse — potentially…
By Diana Pereira It’s refreshing to read a book that tells real reporters’ stories from the front lines. That’s Why I’m a Journalist by former CBC journalist and current Ryerson journalism professor Mark Bulgutch is made up of essays from 44 Canadian journalists who write about the most memorable stories that they’ve covered. The stories…
By Sylvia Stead for the Globe and Mail It has been a banner year for investigative journalism in Canada. Witness the recent spate of awards for work that uncovers malfeasance or shines a light on deeply ingrained societal prejudices and problems. This is an area where the established media excel – if only because it…
By Kathy English for the Toronto Star “Did Nunavut hunter shoot grizzly-polar bear hybrid?” read a headline in the Toronto Star some six weeks ago. As it turns out, the answer to that question is no. The bear that Inuit hunter Didji Ishalook shot during a sanctioned hunt in Nunavut in late May was not…
By Kathy English for the Toronto Star Canada’s new National Newsmedia Council has dismissed – with reservation – a complaint about the Toronto Star’s March report of the Ford family event held at the Toronto Congress Centre to celebrate the life of Toronto mayor Rob Ford. The complaint concerned a question of the accuracy of…