Wither Journalism

On August 10, 2009 the Globe and Mail published an article by Jane Taber that carried the headline "Can a busy female politician give reliable evidence?  A judge says no."

The article goes on to reprint comments from many individuals slamming the judge's sexist comments.  There is only one problem with this article....the judge didn't say that.

MPP Lisa McLeod was giving evidence in the influence peddling trial of Ottawa mayor Larry O'brien.  In her evidence SHE claimed that she could not remember some details accurately due to her busy schedule.  She impugned her own testimony and the judge properly rejected her evidence.

The Ontario Press Council upheld a ruling against the Globe for publishing an opinion piece without labelling it as an editorial piece.  They were right to do so since it was clearly an expression of opinion.  However they should have gone further because this article did not report the facts, it reported falsehoods and then fashioned an opinion based on untruths.  It failed basic standards of decency let alone journalism.

The Globe reported the Press Council's ruling in the middle of page 8.  They should have put it on the front page.  This kind of shoddy reporting/editorializing will only accelerate the decline of print media.  They should be ashamed of themselves.