Commentary - J-Source

Globe and Mail Public editor: A banner year for investigative journalism

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…
Toronto Star Public Editor: Updating the bear facts

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…
Toronto Star Public Editor: Estimating crowd sizes is always tricky

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…
Brunswick News Ombudswoman: Is it possible to be private at a public event?

By Patricia Graham for the Brunswick News On the night of June 13, a vigil was held in Fredericton to mourn those killed and injured at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The vigil was mentioned in a story in The Daily Gleaner about the response to the tragedy by St. Thomas University and the…
CBC Ombudsman: Truth in Syrian coverage—It’s not that simple

By Esther Enkin for the CBC The complainant, T.A. Anderson thought a piece on The National marking the fifth anniversary of the start of hostilities in Syria was distorted and biased. He thought there were many facts and perspectives that should have been included, and provided many links to that information. The story was far…
CBC Ombudsman: Context Matters—Sometimes you have to look at the big picture

By Esther Enkin for the CBC The complainant, Carman Miller objected to a reference that it’s hard to spot Canadian flags in Quebec. He thought it was inaccurate and amounted to Quebec bashing. It was a passing reference in an article about the results of a survey of Muslims in Canada. In its context, I…
Globe and Mail Public Editor: Credentials must always be checked

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Brunswick News Ombudswoman: Heed the rational voices, not the angriest and loudest ones

It’s human nature to sometimes want vengeance, but that doesn’t make it a desirable remedy.
Globe and Mail Public Editor: ‘Worst mass shooting’ in U.S. history

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CBC Ombudsman: Who said that? The use of paraphrase and direct quotes

By Esther Enkin, CBC ombudsman The complainant, Greg Hunter, was suspicious of statements attributed to the Syrian government and to Vladimir Putin. He thought it unlikely they had actually said what Carol Off attributed to them in the course of an interview on As It Happens. He questioned the accuracy. There was no violation of…