In the last couple of years, the refrain “Enemy of the People” has become a common one from those who wear their distrust of the media like a badge of honour.
Even here in the Pontiac, THE EQUITY has been accused of publishing “fake news,” even though the claim couldn’t be backed up with proof.
With the abundance of news circulating on the internet, it seems there is a news source with a “slant” or editorial stance that caters to just about every set of political beliefs.
And with so much news out there, it’s inevitable that there will be some accounts that are less than true – to be generous.
Since social media companies like Facebook and YouTube control such a huge amount of information, they’ve had to take steps to vet the news items that appear on their website.
In some cases, these companies have banned controversial content creators from their platforms, which generates accusations of censorship.
Recently, that trend has shifted towards more traditional forms of journalism.
One of the most prominent newspapers in the world – The New York Times – recently declared it will not be running any more editorial cartoons after getting flak for a cartoon that depicted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu as a guide dog for a yarmulke-wearing President Trump.
The cartoon was criticized as anti-semetic and The Times quickly made the nuclear decision of axing all editorial cartoons.
Just this week in Canada, editorial cartoonist Michael de Adder had his contract terminated by Brunswick News, the owner of several newspapers in New Brunswick – de Adder’s home province.
The cartoon that got de Adder fired dealt with the recent image of Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter Valeria lying face down in the water after drowning while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the U.S.
In de Adder’s cartoon, President Trump is shown in his golf attire, nine iron in hand, stepping over the lifeless bodies while asking “Do you mind if I play through?”
The image is visceral – as good political cartoons usually are.
But it seems this was the last straw. The cartoonist was unceremoniously dumped by the newspaper owned by the Irving family of companies.
This is the same Irving behind Irving Shipbuilding – a company that recently made the news for how it deals with unfriendly media scrutiny.
In April of this year, a National Post journalist, David Pugliese was writing a story about a contract being completed by Irving Shipbuilding.
Pugliese asked Public Services and Procurement Canada for information on the contract. Not only did the federal department not respond to the request, but bureaucrats went a step further and directly informed Irving of the journalist’s name and what information he was after.
Irving responded by threatening the National Post with a lawsuit if there were any allegations of improper conduct.
This kind of chilling effect on the media is the last thing citizens need when they’re constantly inundated with news from a variety of sources.
It’s one thing for a company like Irving to be defensive about its image and economic interests, but for a department in the federal government to cater to a company like this should make citizens question whose side the government is on?
Now, journalists doing their jobs and protecting the public interest are threatened with lawsuits or – in extreme cases – fired.
It’s bad enough that reporters who are trying to hold power to account are being threatened with lawsuits – even if it’s a common occurrence. But now, editorial cartoons are apparently punching above their weight.
The job of the media is to talk about uncomfortable topics and contextualize them for their audience.
Since the job of the media involves such difficult discussions, editors and publishers should be ready to deal with the blowback when it inevitably comes.
If an editorial cartoon generates more consequences than the actual incident it’s depicting, it’s time to re-evaluate our priorities.
Now more than ever we need those brave voices that are willing to speak truth to power.
Chris Lowrey
