iPolitics: Where the Unethical Go to Obfuscate the Facts

Courtesy of would-be ethics watchdog Andrew Mitrovica, the iPolitics experiment continues to fail.

As we've seen in the past, Mitrovica likes to exploit his withering bona fides as a journalism instructor to shine a light on the alleged ethical lapses of journalists -- so long as they're not left-leaning journalists, or even himself.

In his most recent diatribe, Mitrovica sets out to fan the flames of a Twitter controversy regarding the alleged -- and as yet unconfirmed -- intervention by Globe and Mail Editor in Chief David Walmsley into the Globe's election endorsement of Tim Hudak. According to unnamed sources, Walmsley allegedly overturned the editorial board's alleged decision to endorse Kathleen Wynne and the Liberal Party.

Mitrovica refers to allegations made by Canadaland's Jesse Brown that the decision was made to benefit the interests of the Thompson family -- who own a controlling interest in the paper. What interests? Undisclosed. What evidence? Also undisclosed.

But one thing is for certain: UNIFOR -- the union that represents media workers at the Globe and Mail -- certainly thought that a Liberal government was in their best interests. And despite the increasing mass of evidence that Ontario's Liberal government is both the most inept and corrupt in Canadian history -- much of it featured prominently in the Globe and Mail -- the G&M's editorial board was allegedly about to give that their vote of approval. And this after UNIFOR's directive to their members to not support the Progressive Conservative Party.

Was this crucial and pivotal fact mentioned in Mitrovica's column?

No. Because mention of that crucial and pivotal fact is not of benefit to his ideological agenda. So of course he chooses to overlook these key facts. And here's how it so utterly reveals Mitrovica's disingenuous nature:

Union membership should not prevent any worker from plying their trade -- whatever it may be -- ethically. Yet as it pertains to Ontario's newsmedia, UNFIOR has managed to do precisely that. The UNIFOR-organized Globe & Mail editorial board has seemingly managed to give its vote of approval to a breathtakingly incompetent and corrupt government, practically under orders from UNIFOR itself. And would-be ethics crusader Andrew Mitrovica is choosing to look the other way.

It's ethically questionable, to say the least. But as it turns out, irrelevance -- in his column Mitrovica pouts at not being invited to a prominent media conference in Winnipeg -- is Andrew Mitrovica's friend. Not many people are really paying much attention to him.

Striking a Blow for Media Independence

When UNIFOR took a side in the Ontario election -- telling its members not to vote for Tim Hudak and the Progressive Conservative Party -- media impartiality and independence in Canada (or at least the public perception of it) was dealt a stunning blow.

All the mismanagement, scandal, and misappropriation of taxpayer funds by the Ontario Liberal Party suddenly didn't matter. All that mattered, suddenly, was UNIFOR's interests, and very clearly UNIFOR's interests are better served by a Liberal or NDP government.

So if sources complaining to the Canadaland blog are telling the truth, Globe and Mail editor in chief David Walmsley had absolutely no choice but to overrule the newspaper's editorial board in an alleged decision to obey UNIFOR's missive and endorse Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. Media workers at the Globe and Mail are organized by UNIFOR.

It's impossible to believe that when UNIFOR comes out and tells its members how to vote that this will not affect their reporting as well. This is why UNIFOR's decision to take sides in the election was so reckless, so unethical, and so utterly unacceptable. And it's also why Walmsley couldn't sit back and allow even the perception that the Globe and Mail's endorsement had been tainted by UNIFOR's don't-vote-for-Hudak directive.

Simply put, a free press must not only be free and independent, but must also be seen to be free and independent. When journalists start blatantly toeing the line openly drawn by union leaders, media brass must step in.

David Walmsley struck a blow for media independence. He did the right thing.