Plus: A new book dissects the media’s performance during the last federal election..

AIR INDIA Twenty years after the terrorist plot killed 331, there is still outrage, confusion, fear and a sense of injustice

THE CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS SPRING 2005 • VOLUME 11, NUMBER 2 • $3.95 L’ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES JOURNALISTES–

Spring 2005 Volume 11, Number 2

Publisher Nick Russell INSIDE Editor David McKie

Books Editor DEPARTMENTS Gillian Steward 4 First Word The media's track record of coverage after major inquiries and royal commissions is very weak. Legal Advisor By David McKie Peter Jacobsen (Bersenas Jacobsen Chouest Thomson Blackburn LLP) 5 JournalismNet For the adventurous types, there is an alternative to Internet Explorer. By Julian Sher Designer Bonanza Printing & Copying Centre 6 Book Review A new book on the last federal election compares the media's use of polls to the way a "drunken man would use a lamp post: for support rather than illumination." Printer Bonanza Printing & Copying By Chris Cobb Centre

8 Fine Print The lesson for newsrooms is clear: if search warrants have been sealed, don't take 'no' for an Editorial Board answer.A court challenge is likely to bring much of the information to light. Chris Cobb, Wendy McLellan, By Dean Jobb Sean Moore, Catherine Ford, Michelle MacAfee, FEATURE Lindsey Crysler, 10 The Air India Verdict The Vancouver Sun's Kim Bolan has covered this case ever since the plane went down on John Gushue, Doesn’t Make Sense June 23, 1985. She remains incredulous that after all of this time, we're no closer to finding Rob Cribb out what happened in Canada's worst criminal case. Advertising Sales John Dickins 12 And The Winner Is... It's awards season again, and there is some grumbling amid the back-slapping and Administrative Director congratulations. John Dickins By Michelle MacAfee (613)526-8061 Fax: (613)521-3904 E-mail: [email protected] When shock jock Jeff Fillion began using his morning show on Quebec City's CHOI-FM to 14 The Limits of Free Speech MEDIA is published three times launch blistering personal and sexist attacks on TV weatherperson, Sophie Chiasson, he went a year by: too far. Her successful defamation suit has some people wondering about the meaning of Canadian Association of free speech. Journalists, By Linda Kay 1385 Woodroffe Avenue., B-224 Algonquin College Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 1V8

DEPARTMENTS Reproduction without the written 16 Computer-assisted reporting Online databases can provide valuable information, everything from political donations to a permission of the publisher is description of schools in Newfoundland. strictly forbidden By Fred Vallance-Jones Media is a publication of the Canadian Association of Journalists. 17 Ethics There are seven lessons that journalists can learn from the Stevie Cameron affair. It is managed and edited By Stephen J.A.Ward independently from the CAJ and its contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the Association. 18 Opinion When it comes to scientific studies that affect our health, media will sometimes exaggerate the seriousness of the 'threat.' Subscriptions: $14.98 By Geoff Meeker (GST incl.) per year, payable in advance

20 Travelogue Amidst the dirt, heat, mini dust storms, low-flying aircraft, malaria-carrying mosquitoes and Indexed in the Canadian sand flies spreading the "Black Fever," Greg Locke found an oasis similar to any tropical Periodical Index. Canada Post Publications Canadian tourist destination. Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 182796 22 The Last Word Corruption has become a way of life in the Philippines. But during her recent visit to Canada, ISSN 1198-2209 Filipino investigative journalist Tess Bacalla came up with a few new ideas for expanding her Cover Photo coverage. Peter Battistoni/Vancouver Sun [PNG Merlin Archive] FIRST WORD BY DAVID MCKIE We lack inquiring minds Media outlets give lots of attention to public inquiries and royal commissions, then lose sight of the key recommendations they make

uring a national conference for journalists, So,unfortunately,Picard's words ring as true to Once the ad scandal inquiry is over and the The Globe and Mail's public health this day as they did back then. What's even more recommendations made, what shape will Dreporter, André Picard, was less than sobering is that his observations don't only apply subsequent coverage take? Will media outlets be enthusiastic about the way journalists covered the to our coverage of the tainted blood crisis. Media dogged in their pursuit to ensure that tainted blood tragedy and its aftermath. Towards outlets have failed to advance public debate in the governments clean up the way they dole out the end of his talk, he reached a conclusion that aftermath of many inquiries and royal commissions. money, be it under the guise of regional could only be described as grim. If we take a look at some of the major inquiries development, tax breaks or consulting fees? If an "I think the coverage…of tainted blood in and commissions that have been held during the inquiry into the Air India disaster is called, will recent years — the retrospectives, the looking at last 20 years or so,media outlets have done a poor journalists scrutinize more critically the ways in what went wrong,the coverage of the inquiry — I job of holding institutions accountable for the which the RCMP and CSIS, the country's spy think that has been important and useful. I don't lessons they were supposed to have learned. Did agency, investigate major crimes? If past evidence want to debate that coverage at all. coverage of aborginal issues improve in the wake is anything to go by,the answer to both these "But in many cases,what the media (are) doing of the royal commission that examined the questions is no. today is little more than burying the dead. We're problems besetting our first peoples? No. Is our And the reason for this conclusion speaks to the not advancing the story, and I don't think we coverage of the military any better after the way the fourth estate operates. Journalism has should content ourselves with simply being Somalia inquiry, which was able to point to been described as history on the run, meaning morticians, looking back and saying wasn't this enough weaknesses in the Canadian military and that our coverage tends to be episodic. We live in terrible.And we shouldn't content ourselves with the way it handled information before the the moment. We report the accusations, the what I'm doing, saying we failed. I'm not Chrétien government shut it down? Not really. denials and the promises. But then when the dust convinced that the institutions at the heart of this Are we any better at understanding the settles, we move on, forgetting what the fuss was tragedy have learned from their mistakes, and weaknesses of the health care system after former all about. As a result, governments are able to unfortunately, I don't think that the media have Saskatchewan premier, Roy Romanow, and the conveniently ignore promises they made in the learned from our mistakes either." commission headed by Liberal Senator Michael wake of recommendations put forward by a Given the truth that Picard's words hold, he Kirby suggested avenues for reform? No. We still myriad inquiries and commissions. could have been making those comments at a carry stories about hospital wait times without In his assessment of the fourth estate's lack of recent conference. But he wasn't. His fully understanding who should be held ability to hold institutions accountable,American observations were part of a presentation he gave accountable.And we're still mired in the intractable social scientist and author Daniel Yankelovich during a panel discussion at a Canadian debate about a two-tiered health care system. likened journalists to fire alarms, which are very Association of Journalists annual conference in This edition of Media magazine is being good at alerting people to a crisis,be it April 1994, roughly two months after the Krever published at a time when the families whose lives corruption, tainted blood or deplorable living Inquiry into the tainted blood scandal began were devastated by the Air India disaster are conditions of native people. Unfortunately, once holding hearings. calling for an inquiry after the suspects were the alarm has caught the attention of citizens, Justice Horace Krever was no shrinking violet. recently acquitted.In her assessment of the ruling media outlets move on to the next crisis, chasing He presided over testimony that called into that let the suspects walk, Vancouver Sun reporter someone else's agenda. Citizens are left to scratch question venerable institutions such as the Red Kim Bolan is incredulous about the decision,and their heads. Cross, and the federal and provincial feels, as do the families and many politicians, that It's really not supposed to be this way. Media governments that were supposed to ensure the there should be a public inquiry into the way this outlets constantly express a desire to set their own safety of our blood supply. He wanted to name 20-year investigation was handled — or, more agendas, examine key public policy issues in- names, lay blame. The Red Cross and accurately, mishandled. At press time, Deputy depth. And yet when you analyze the coverage, governments went to court to stop him. Does this Prime Minister Anne McLellan said she was outlets consistently fail to live up to their own sound familiar to an inquiry taking place right seeking advice on what to do. expectations. In our edition last fall, Media now into the federal sponsorship scandal? And, of course, there is the inquiry delving into published the results of a study that concluded When Krever finally got around to writing his the ad scandal that is responsible for denying Paul that newsgathering organizations spend more report, he recommended ways that institutions Martin his majority in the last federal election, time covering events then they do uncovering could avoid similar tragedies. Hence, to use and could well force him to lose his grip on problems that need to be explored. Picard's analogy, he wanted to go beyond simply power sooner than he could have ever imagined. To be sure, broadcasters, newspapers and burying the dead. And yet after the initial flurry Judge John Gomery is hearing testimony that magazines do launch special investigations into of coverage, media outlets failed to move the opens up a world of questionable deals, dubious important issues. And The Globe and Mail this public discussion ahead to lessons learned that morals and dirty politics — and all with would prevent similar deaths. taxpayers' money. Continued on Page 23 MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 4 JOURNALISMNET BY JULIAN SHER Firefox may be a better browser for journalists But if you’re faint of heart when it comes to trying new techie things, fine, stick with Internet Explorer

ost, if not all journalists — like same toolbar. These include dictionaries, To get any of these free extensions listed everyone else on the web — use translation tools and BBC News ... all very useful below, just put in the keywords in the search MInternet Explorer (IE) by default as for the journalist on deadline. box at the Firefox extensions page at their web browser. It's so automatic now people https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions. don't even think about it. One of the neat extensions I always use is "Copy But back in the early days of the web, the TABS AND MORE Plain Text." I am also always cutting and pasting "browser wars" between Netscape and IE were snippets of information,dates,facts and statistics. famous and the competition produced better Journalists rarely stay on one web page for Ever notice that when you copy large amounts of products. Now, Microsoft finally faces a new rival, long. But in IE, you have to keep clicking "CTL + text from a web page and then try to copy it into and journalists should take a serious look at N" if you want to have multiple windows open to Word, it often comes out garbled because it keeps Firefox. see and compare various web pages. the same format and coding as the web page? It's free, available for download at With Firefox, every new page opens in a new With Copy Plain Text, all you have to do is http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox. It's "tab" which is easily accessible. Clicking from, say, highlight the sections you want,hit "CTRL SHIFT "open source", which means no one owns it; the the New York Times to the London Times is a snap. C" and you can easily import the text into an email web community develops it and anyone can build Firefox also makes it much easier to save and or Word document. and propose improvements, add-ons or reorganize your bookmarks. I also often save web pages — either for future "extensions" as they are called. More on this later. For more advanced users, they also have reference or because in doing research I am afraid There is a simple guide at something called "Live Bookmarks" (SEE the target of my research might change their web http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/central. page or shut down during the course of the html. If you're faint of heart when it comes to investigation. "Scrapbook" allows you to instantly trying new techie things, fine, stick with Internet copy entire web pages by simply clicking "ALT K." Explorer. But if you have just the slightest Now Microsoft finally Another extension I adore is "AutoFill," which computer skills and want to explore a bit, Firefox allows me to fill in forms on web sites without can be a charm and especially useful to faces a new rival, having to retype my name, address and other journalists. information. and journalists There is even "ForecastFox" which pops up and should take a tells me the weather in whatever city I program it EASIER SEARCHES for. serious look at Firefox. The best thing about Firefox is that the main * * * address bar is an automatic search engine. Better still, it is by default Google's "I'm Feeling Lucky" Firefox isn't for everyone. You have to be a bit first choice result.In other words,everyone knows http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/live- tech-adventurous because it doesn't pay to you can type in cnn.com in the address bar and go bookmarks.html) download Firefox unless you use its extensions. to CNN. But let's say you want to find the British Live Bookmarks lets you view RSS news and Some web pages and download sites also work Foreign Ministry? blog headlines in the bookmarks toolbar or better under the old IE. In Internet Explorer, you would have to go to bookmarks menu. With one glance, quickly see But Firefox is at least challenging the boring Google, put in that term and click on the results. the latest headlines from your favorite sites. For and lazy Internet Explorer, and offers the With Firefox, all you do is type in "British Foreign example, I have the CBC, BBC and the New York resourceful journalist new and fast ways to search Ministry" and — Bingo! — it takes you to the Times installed and just by hovering my mouse the web. official page of the Foreign and Commonwealth over these bookmarks I can see their latest news. Ministry of the UK government. One click and I am directly at the articles I want. To save time, many people have already Julian Sher, the creator and webmaster of downloaded the Google Toolbar, which nestles at Journalism Net (www.journalismnet.com), the top of your browser. (You can get it on JNet's EXTEND YOUR POWER does Internet training in newsrooms around the main page under the Google logo at world. He can be reached by e-mail at www.journalismnet.com.) Once you download Firefox, you can go to the [email protected]. This article and many But Firefox goes one better.Same toolbar,but in extensions page and add on a bunch of neat other columns from "Media" magazine are available addition, you can download over 100 other search features (including "skins" to make your browser online with hot links on the JournalismNet Tips page tools that you can use instead of Google from the look much better). at www.journalismnet.com/tips

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 5 BOOK REVIEW BY CHRIS COBB Judging the 2004 federal election A new collection of essays casts a critical eye on an election that confounded many “experts”

with the Chrétienites, with whom they had been All this is grist for Election 2004: The Book,a warring for years, or the neutrals they had tried, compilation of essays by academics and edited by but failed, to recruit while Chrétien was prime Carleton University's Christopher Dornan, head minister. of the university's journalism school, and Slice it even thinner and you could find Liberal political scientist Jon H. Pammett, associate dean MPs who had been long-serving Martin loyalists of Public Affairs and Management at the and promised great things that the new prime university. minister had shown in his first cabinet selection The book does a commendable job of covering that he couldn't deliver.Suffice it to say that many the campaign waterfront with separate Liberal noses were out of joint and too many old, performance assessments of all the political experienced campaigners were sitting on their parties, critiques of the newspaper and TV hands waiting to be asked. coverage and the pollsters who led, or more Recording it all, hand in hand with their best correctly misled,much of that coverage.The book friends the pollsters, were the news media — also examines the groundbreaking role of The Canadian General Election of 2004 occasionally inspired, often predictable, and Internet and e-mail during the 2004 campaign, Edited by Jon H. Pammett and commendably undeterred by the chronic lack of and voter apathy, aka lack of engagement in the Christopher Dornan interest among its readers, viewers and listeners. campaign and abysmal turnout at the polls. Published by Dundurn, 390 pages; $36.99

or political junkies, the June 2004 election had lots of potential drama going for it: a Ffragile new party without coherent policy, three new party leaders battling their first campaigns, a Liberal prime minister desperately trying to distance himself from a government in which he had been a major player, and a juicy scandal as backdrop. Not bad ingredients considering the predictable, lackluster campaigns of 1997 and 2000 when there was no opposition to speak of and the Chrétien Liberals coasted to victory while the public dozed. As pollsters discovered to their cost, the public also dozed through much of the 2004 campaign, becoming alert in the last week (or less) and making the army of self-righteous pundits and self-important predicators sound rather foolish. What we learned along the way was that as much as the Liberals were disliked and people wanted to punish them for the sponsorship scandal, the spectre of a Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his rag-tag band of pretend progressives weren't worth the risk. And Jack Layton, who had done a remarkable job of resuscitating the NDP's image and fortunes, was just a bit too smug and self-righteous and still too much of a municipal councilman. And there were sideshows,none more apparent or significant than the split in the Liberal party caused by what one Ontario Liberal MP referred READING THE POLLS: During the last federal election, the majority of polls and seat to as "Martin goons" who went into the election projections gave an edge and, at one point, a whopping advantage to Stephen Harper without making a whit of effort to mend fences (pictured above ) and his Conservatives Party.

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 6 PHOTO CREDIT: CP/Adrian Wyld "It has been said that Canada's media use polls much like a drunken man would use a lamp post: for support rather than illumination. Never has this been truer than in the 2004 election."

— Michael Marzolini, Jean Chrétien's former pollster

THE FEEBLE SCIENCE OF SEAT PROJECTIONS: Paul Martin and his Liberals read stories that predicted how many seats his party would lose to the Conservatives. Prediction: during the next election campaign there will be no mention in the mainstream news media of seat projections.

Hindsight is 20-20, and nowhere more so than Chrétien's former pollster Michael Marzolini has Chapters on the media by Carleton's Paul after election campaigns, but the fact is that so produced a superb analysis of the pollster woes.He Attallah (TV) and Dornan (newspapers) offer much about the 2004 election was miscalculated, writes: "It has been said that Canada's media use some instructive observations but the two misread and therefore misreported. The sudden, polls much like a drunken man would use a lamp academics emerge with opposite opinions. TV bizarre obsession with seat projections, despite post: for support rather than illumination. Never offered generally good coverage, says Attallah; the feeble science behind it, led to a distortion has this been truer than in the 2004 election." newspapers — the Globe, Post and Star,anyway that cannot simply be explained by a last-minute The point, as Marzolini, sees it, is that news — were too often predictable and reactive, as change of mind by those who bothered to vote. media are too cheap and are using flimsy polling opposed to digging into the issues and offering Prediction: during the next election campaign data that canvasses too few people and factors in original insight. there will be no mention in the mainstream news the opinions of too many Canadians who have no A book such as this obviously demands a lot of media of seat projections. intention of voting.This parsimony makes regional time and effort. With the sponsorship scandal The majority of polls and seat projections gave polls especially unreliable. And, of course, there is threatening to undermine the Liberals, Dornan an edge and, at one point, a whopping advantage the horse-race obsession but that has been with us and Pammett must be dreading the prospect of to the Conservatives.This led to front-page talk of for many elections and will be with us for many having to do it all again before the ink is barely a prospective Conservative cabinet, which may more. Marzolini knows that but why not, he asks, dry on their 2004 edition. have done the new party more harm than good. drill down and learn more about Canadian Harper is apparently not liked by the majority of attitudes and motivation? Canadians and the prospect of Stockwell Day as The bottom line for pollsters is that they emerged Chris Cobb is a reporter and feature writer at the Foreign Affairs minister may have been a bridge from the 2004 election with their communal reputation Ottawa Citizen and a member of Media magazine's too far for many voters. badly damaged and have much to do to restore it. editorial board.

PHOTO CREDIT: CP/Tom Hanson MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 7 THE FINE PRINT BY DEAN JOBB Pressing the search for warrants At stake is the right of citizens and the media to monitor investigations and ensure police forces do not abuse their powers of search and seizure

n the late summer of 2003, the Ontario Journalists can be forgiven for thinking most publication ban — and to deal with them as they do Provincial Police, armed with six search search warrants remain off-limits. Section 487.2 other restrictions on publication. That means the Iwarrants, descended on a meat-packing plant (1) of the Criminal Code — implemented in 1985 media's right of access is as important as the need in Aylmer.The plant,police alleged,had processed in response to the MacIntyre ruling — bars the to protect investigations and reputations, and the dead cattle and illegally sold the meat as fit for media from identifying suspects or places authorities must show a sealing order is justified. human consumption. searched unless charges have been laid. The Toronto Star,the Toronto Sun and the CBC That, in a nutshell, was the sensational story. Courts in Ontario, Manitoba and Quebec went to court in September 2003 and won access Details of the allegations and the investigation quickly struck down the ban as a violation of the to most documents used to search the Aylmer were buried in documents authorizing the search. Charter right of freedom of the press and, even meat-packing plant. The Ontario Court of Appeal Those papers should have been in the public though the section remains on the books, media said sealing orders are a "significant intrusion" on domain but, within days of the search, the law experts consider it a dead letter.If a search has freedom of the press and "must be subject to close authorities convinced a judge to seal the file. been completed and evidence was seized, the file scrutiny and meet rigorous standards." Police The routine has become frustratingly familiar. is open to public scrutiny. concerns that publicity might taint witnesses yet Police seize evidence and apply to a justice of the to be questioned, the court ruled, were too vague peace to have the search warrant file sealed. The and the media's rights could not be sacrificed "to court official usually agrees and slips the file into The routine has become give police a 'leg up' on an investigation." an envelope, with little thought to the impact on A couple of months later, Justice Edward Then freedom of the press and the public's right to know. frustratingly familiar. of Ontario's Superior Court used the same The pattern of secrecy is being broken, though, Police seize evidence approach to reject concerns about privacy and by news organizations that have challenged fair-trial rights and unseal most of the search sealing orders in the courts. and apply to a justice warrants used to bring fraud charges against This is more than a battle to give journalists of the peace to have the Eurocopter Canada Ltd. over a contract for Coast inside information on investigations and dirt on Guard helicopters. those suspected of breaking the law.At stake is the search warrant file More victories followed in 2004. The Ottawa right of citizens and the media to monitor Citizen won access to much of the information the investigations and ensure police forces do not sealed. ... The pattern of RCMP used to justify invading reporter Juliet abuse their powers of search and seizure. secrecy is being broken, O'Neill's home in search of the source of leaked A search warrant file consists of three documents in the Maher Arar case. In British documents. The warrant itself identifies the place though, by news Columbia the Vancouver Sun and Province,the to be searched and what police hope to find.The organizations that have Victoria Times-Colonist and BCTV joined forces to second document, the return, is drafted after the convince a judge to release warrants used to raid a search and offers a brief description of each item challenged sealing orders motorcycle gang's clubhouse. of evidence seized. in the courts. In its ruling on the Aylmer warrants, Ontario's The third key document is the information to Court of Appeal also recognized the media's right obtain a warrant. It puts forward the evidence to intervene when motions are made to seal needed to justify the search and reveals the names Other access restrictions, however, may apply. search warrants. The case is now before the of suspects, the offences being investigated, and Section 487.3 (1) of the Code enables a judge to Supreme Court of Canada, which could set a new the evidence already in the hands of police. seal the file to prevent the information from being access precedent as significant as the MacIntyre Back in 1982, the Supreme Court of Canada misused, to ensure "the ends of justice" are not ruling of two decades ago. ruled that search warrant files are public subverted, or "for any other sufficient reason." The lesson for newsrooms is clear: if search documents as long as the search has been Police usually want the file sealed to protect warrants have been sealed, don't take 'no' for an completed and evidence was seized. In a ongoing investigations and undercover answer. A court challenge is likely to bring much landmark case, the court found that Linden operations, or to shield the identity of a of the information to light. MacIntyre,now with CBC's the fifth estate,had the confidential informant. right to see RCMP warrants used to seize political If the documents have been sealed, Section Dean Jobb teaches media law, investigative party financial records during an influence- 487.3 (4) of the Code gives the media the right to reporting, and newspaper writing and editing in peddling investigation. Openness is the rule, the ask a judge to determine whether all or part of the the School of Journalism at the University of King's court declared, and access can be denied only to file can be disclosed. College in Halifax. He is writing a legal guide for safeguard important interests such as the privacy Media lawyers have urged the courts to see journalists for Emond Montgomery Publications of of innocent parties. sealing orders for what they are — a form of Toronto.

MEDIA, WINTER 2005 PAGE 8 FEATURE The Air India verdict just doesn’t add up After 20 years covering the Air India probe and after 19 months sitting in the courtroom, Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan has a lot of questions about the way the case unfolded

hen Justice Ian Bruce Josephson picked off — one by one — the key Crown Wwitnesses against the first of two Air India suspects on March 16, it wasn't just the families of the victims who were gasping at the not guilty verdict unfolding before them. A number of journalists, including the veterans of the Air India trial like myself, were also somewhat surprised. It wasn't that Josephson's logic was flawed. He found reasons to question the credibility of each of the key witnesses against Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Vancouver millionaire who had financially supported the two Sikh separatists who Josephson said were behind the terrorist attack — Inderjit Singh Reyat and Talwinder Singh Parmar. He outright chastised the Crown for bringing forward one witness against Ajaib Singh Bagri — a founder of the Babbar Khalsa terrorist group — given that the man was paid $300,000 US by the RCMP before testifying. But after 20 years covering the Air India probe and after 19 months sitting in the courtroom,I felt that the respected Supreme Court justice had somehow missed the bigger picture — that a small group of extremists within the Sikh community has for years used violence and intimidation against anyone who opposed it. It is a picture that is clear to a handful of Canadian journalists who have covered the Air India case for two decades. The Air India bombing, and a related blast at Tokyo's Narita Airport the same day, were the worst incidents of retribution by this militant group — even Josephson accepted the terrorist plot that killed 331 was hatched in B.C., linked to Parmar and Reyat and had "its roots in fanaticism at its basest and most inhumane level." Sometimes the extremist violence has been directed at moderate Sikhs who dared question the separatists — like federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh, who was brutally beaten in February 1985. Sometimes the threats have been directed at those who could implicate the Air India suspects, An RCMP officer stands guard during a media tour of wreckage from the Air India crash at an undisclosed warehouse. Continued on Page 10

PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Battistoni/Vancouver Sun [PNG Merlin Archive] MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 9 Continued from Pg. 9 I can appreciate now that I took context into the I know that she was extremely conflicted in her The Air India verdict just doesn’t add up courtroom that Josephson didn't have, a context feelings for Malik — something Josephson ruled that was not fully conveyed by the evidence was impossible. He said he could not fathom her like Tara Singh Hayer,who was shot and paralyzed brought forward by prosecutors and the RCMP. protestations of love for a man she claimed had in 1988 and assassinated in 1998. There was just one U.S.academic called to explain confessed mass murder to her. And sometimes even mainstream journalists to Josephson the reaction of some Sikhs to the While Josephson was presented with evidence have been affected — Vancouver Province Indian Army's June 1984 assault on their Golden of Malik's illegal payments of more than $100,000 reporter Salim Jiwa faced threats in the 1980s and Temple. to Mrs. Reyat, he said it was not "hush" money. I have received them regularly from 1997 until This was the singular event the Crown said The RCMP failed to introduce documentation it today. inspired the bombing plot. It is a motive I have possessed of four other payments Malik made in That volatile political climate is something seen up close during four trips to India to cover 1985, before the bombing, into the bank account journalists have seen and understand. It the conflict in Punjab. of Parmar and Bagri's Babbar Khalsa group. influenced our analysis of the 115 witnesses who It is a motive attested to by B.C.Sikh leaders I While Josephson praised the Crown and defence testified at the Air India trial. interviewed who advocated for the assassination lawyers for unprecedented admissions that saved And it enabled us to reach a different conclusion of Indira Gandhi before she was gunned down on months in trial time, one has to wonder now if far than did Josephson about the credibility of some Oct. 31, 1984. too much was left out of the Crown's case. of those witnesses. I have covered Sikh separatist rallies in which Punjabi chants claimed that Hindus "sucked the blood of Sikh children." I have seen the bloody imagery on posters in local temple dining halls, calling Canadian Sikhs photographed in Punjab with AK-47s and rocket- launchers shaheeds or martyrs. I know Sikh moderates who have had to wear bullet-proof vests provided by the police and have had RCMP cameras and panic buttons installed in their homes after landing on hit lists. But that crucial context was often missing from the sterile environment of Courtroom 20, where lawyers in black robes on both sides politely presented their arguments and cited case law to make their points. I know that when I first starting writing about problems at Malik's school, I got death threats. How could Tara Hayer have been assassinated Sometimes they were written. Sometimes they when he was down on the Air India witness were uttered or broadcast on Punjabi radio and Among about 5,000 orthodox Sikhs attending list and had already received numerous threats? sometimes they were telephoned to my work line a gathering at John Oliver Secondary was Above, he's pictured in his office at the or that of the The Vancouver Sun's editor-in-chief. Ajaib Singh Bagri, a Babbar Khalsa Indo-Canadian Times on June 26, 1998, the same Sometimes I was not the only one mentioned in leader from Kamloops. year he was gunned down. the threats. The first letter I got, on Dec. 23, 1997, "What's astonishing is how much we know that said that both myself and Tara Hayer would be Josephson also said he did not believe two other the judge does not know," said Terry Milewski, killed if I did not stop writing about "good Mr. key witnesses against Malik because they did not the veteran CBC Television journalist who has also Malik." The anonymous writer said Hayer would come forward to police for years. Both said they covered Air India since 1985 and broken many "die like Gandhi woman." Hayer was gunned had been approached by Malik to carry bomb- stories over the years. down in much the same fashion 11 months later. laden suitcases to the airport. "We know about Hayer's sworn statements Another threat in February 1998 was broadcast But Milewski said there are obviously many describing Bagri's confession — but the judge on radio by Satwant Singh Sandhu, a friend of people in the Sikh community who are keeping ruled that inadmissible.We know about meetings Malik's who testified for him and admitted to the information about the bombing plot to of terrorist organizations at Malik's school and threat at the trial. But Sandhu lied on the stand themselves, even after 20 years. about the hijacker living in the basement. We about the circumstances leading up his ominous "We know — and the judge agrees — that know Malik's lawyers fought all the way to the prediction that myself and Punjabi journalist Reyat isn't telling the truth, even now. Mrs. Reyat Supreme Court to stop Mrs. Reyat from being Sukhminder Singh Cheema "would soon fall into got threats when she was subpoenaed to testify. questioned. That's all in the public domain, but a grave." Obviously a climate of fear has existed for years it's not in evidence. Cheema was going to be a witness at the Air and Hayer's death proves that people had good "We know the plaza where Malik allegedly India trial but backed out,saying he didn't want to reason to keep their mouths shut," Milewski said. spoke to a witness did exist at the time and we end up like Hayer. "What's amazing is not that they failed to speak have pictures to prove it, but the judge accepted Several of the threats I received were also up, but that they finally did." the defence argument that it did not exist.And we directed at the Crown's star witness against Clearly the delay in coming forward troubled know that, when the key witness against Malik Malik, who was one of my sources in the months the judge enough to conclude both men were talked to journalists, everything she said turned before she was forced into the witness protection lying. But the Air India journalists understand. out to be true. The judge said she lied. So maybe program. "We place it in the context," Milewski said. "The there was a failure to connect the dots and to look I remember her calling me in the middle of the law is a very imperfect creature. It does not at the totality of the evidence." night, terrified after vandal attacks on her house. appreciate reality."

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 10 PHOTO CREDIT: Lyle Stafford/Vancouver Sun [PNG Merlin Archive] PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Battistoni/Vancouver Sun [PNG Merlin Archive] Another issue that arose throughout the trial is I piped in: "But people are already getting that clever lawyers can have compelling evidence threats." ruled inadmissible on technicalities. Josephson repeated again: "That is most Hayer's statements to the RCMP saying he regrettable." overheard Bagri confessing to a role in Air India Then off he went for his lunch. were deemed too "prejudicial" to include. The lack of convictions in the country's biggest Incriminating statements to the Canadian criminal case has the frustrated families of Air Security Intelligence Service by a close female India victims renewing their calls for a public friend of Bagri's could not be used to convict him inquiry into the entire 20-year long because she feigned memory loss and therefore investigation. They want answers to questions could not be cross-examined by Bagri's lawyers, that journalists have been asking for years.At the Josephson said. time this story went to press, they were still But he ruled earlier that she lied because she waiting. was terrified of retaliation and told CSIS she had How did CSIS and the RCMP fail to identify the been threatened by Bagri. terrorist plot before it unfolded? Bagri then won the legal argument against using her CSIS statements. Much has been made of the CSIS erasure of taped phone calls between Parmar and other suspects around the time of the bombing. But journalists who covered Reyat's earlier trial in the Narita bombing know that another reputable B.C. Supreme Court judge, Raymond Paris, ruled the erasures didn't hurt the Crown's case against Reyat at all. "I'm not at all satisfied that there has been anything reprehensible in the conduct of the CSIS agents," Paris said during the 1991 trial. "I do not see any reasonable possibility that the information sought is required for a full answer and defence." Josephson ruled those erasures were "unacceptable negligence" that violated Bagri's Charter right to have access to all the evidence in A rally in support of the beleagured Khalsa the case. School drew various members of the Sikh One senior prosecutor,who was not part of the Air community who gave speeches. Ripudaman India team, commented on how the Air India trial Singh Malik, President of the Satnam Education and verdict focus attention on flaws he sees in the Society is pictured in the photo. Canadian justice system — where judges are only concerned about refereeing the match between Why were there so many screw-ups in the early lawyers on both sides and where the truth of what years of the investigation? happened is not a factor. Why have so few in the Indo-Canadian Canadian judges treat cases as academic exercises, community been willing to come forward and almost like they are adjudicating two sides in a provide police with information? debating society, completely removed from the real Where is the public explanation of how the world and the ramifications of their rulings. CSIS tapes could possibly have been erased? Milewski and I ran into Josephson in the How could Tara Hayer have been assassinated courthouse lobby two weeks after the verdict. We when he was on the Air India witness list and took the opportunity to chat up the judge, who had already received numerous threats? was waiting to go to lunch with some colleagues. Can our judiciary deal with complex terrorism He said he had just been lying on the beach in cases like Air India? Cuba for a week with his wife, oblivious to the Air If Public Security Minister Anne McLellan India news coverage raging back home. Milewski relents and finally allows a public inquiry to go gingerly raised the issue of the ruling. ahead, maybe she should appoint a reporter to "The problem now is that the whole Air India head it up. thing is still open for us," Milewski said. We might have a better chance of getting at the Josephson nodded in agreement. Milewski truth. commented that the local Sikh separatists are feeling pretty cocky again and that tensions are Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan has been running very high. covering the Air India case since the plane went "That is most regrettable," Josephson said. down on June 23, 1985. She is currently writing a "Let's hope it is just saber-rattling." book for McLelland and Stewart, which will be out "Let's hope it is just that," Milewski said. this fall.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ian Smith/Vancouver Sun [PNG Merlin Archive] MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 11 FEATURE BY MICHELLE MACAFEE The politics of journalism awards Some media outlets complain that they are frequently overlooked

h, 'tis awards season once again. The Calgary Sun has won one award and earned made what it thinks is an important change for nine nominations since it was founded in 1980. this year. A The Toronto Sun has had 34 nominations and For the first time,all entries must be submitted First up are the Golden Globes and the Oscars 19 wins since 1971. as computer printouts. Bylines will remain, but ... followed by the Micheners, the Canadian By contrast, The Toronto Star has chalked up White said the hope is the step will peel away Association of Journalists Awards, and the 100 victories from 189 nominations, giving it a another layer of factors that might subconsciously National Newspaper Awards. slight edge over The Globe and Mail, which had influence judges, such as layout and design. And whether you are drawn to the glitz and earned 96 wins from 186 nominations. glamour of Hollywood's red carpet or the more White counters the numbers are relative. The THE CAJs AND THE MICHENER down-to-earth honours for our peers, some of the Star and Globe have the biggest circulations in the buzz is strikingly similar. The CAJ's awards committee is also constantly Amid the applause, humble acceptance looking inward. speeches and back-slapping are the odd discreet While the awards started out recognizing whispers — questions about the judges, their excellence only in investigative journalism, they credentials and alleged bias, or how exactly they have evolved to include photojournalism, set apart one piece of good work from another. computer-assisted reporting and spirituality. Those who oversee some of journalism's top Judging criteria, however, note added weight honours say to grumble is human. should be given to investigative entries. But all insist they're doing their best to address CAJ President Paul Schneidereit says the national criticism, keep the judging process relatively board of directors and the executive director have transparent and make the awards as inclusive as fielded few complaints through the years. possible. It's a similar story with the Michener Awards, "Whether we can ever convince people that which presents one prize each year to the news stories, photos, layout and design are judged on organization that excels in "meritorious public merit — I don't know what else we can do," says service journalism," said David Humphreys, past Scott White, chair of the NNA Board of chair of the judging panel. Governors. "For the last several years we've felt there has "When there's something as subjective as "When there's something as subjective as been an acceptance that the right winner was judging, people are always going to be upset." judging, people are always going to be upset." chosen," said Humphreys, who is also vice- The NNAs were revamped in 2002 after an president of the Michener Awards Foundation. extensive review that led to several new categories — Scott White (pictured above), Humphreys says judges take into account the aimed at broadening the pool of prospective chair of the NNA Board of Governors resources the newsroom had to complete its nominees and winners. project. They also place heavy emphasis on the A Short Feature category, for example, with a country but also dramatically outpace most of impact the work had on the broader community. 1,200-word limit was in part intended to address their competitors in terms of entries each year. Mindful there can always be improvement, criticism that tabloids and wire service copy had Nelson says he thinks twice about entering staff however, the Micheners have changed their it tough competing with full-page spreads in the work each year,and that he and other Sun editors advertising to draw more French-language larger broadsheets. feel more at home with the chain's own internal submissions. The NNAs are also trying to reach But for Chris Nelson, editor-in-chief of the Dunlop Awards. out to francophone media. Calgary Sun, the categories aren't so much an "The proof is in the pudding," said Nelson. Unlike the NNAs, the CAJ does not publish the issue as a broader judging culture at the NNAs "You either think everyone who works in my names of its awards judges.However,Schneidereit that he thinks too quickly dismisses tabloid newsroom are second-class journalists or there's says the organization has a strict policy that entries. an intrinsic problem when their work isn't being judges be former journalists and he sees no "There is a general feeling that it's bulk that recognized over a 20-year period." reason to expand the pool to include non- quite often tends to win out," said Nelson. White insists the NNA judges represent a cross- journalists. "It's hard to fight that if you're dealing with section of Canadian journalism and are listed in "We're an association of and for journalists, judges and a general industry perception that the the awards banquet program along with their and so the judging of the best of the work done by only thing in the tabloid newspaper is credentials. Canadian journalists should be done by some of sensationalized, glitzy-type stuff." While the board of governors is weighing our most respected colleagues," said Schneidereit. Nelson said he only has to look at the numbers whether to expand the judging pool to regularly "That's what makes the CAJ awards special, it's to see that his argument goes beyond the include non-journalists who may happen to have the recognition that your peers find your work subjective nature of judging. expertise in sports or business, it has already outstanding in its category."

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 12 But with the deadlines for all three awards Some people in the newsroom still feel cheated crammed together in January, profile is an issue. Amid the applause, that colleague Jan Wong was not nominated in Many editors often tasked to organize their 1989 for her coverage of the massacre of pro- newsrooms' entries say they tend to make the humble acceptance reform demonstrators in Beijing's Tiananmen NNAs their priority. Square. For the NNAs, the Star, Globe, Ottawa Citizen speeches and back- But she adds it's hard to complain overall when and National Post have recently dominated the slapping are the good judges are chosen and "the country is entries. reflected in the results." The CAJs have their own frequent submitters — odd discreet whispers White, who is the editor-in-chief at The Canadian the CBC, the Edmonton Journal, Citizen and Star. Press, admits to his own teeth-gritting when his Schneidereit says the CAJ is pleased with the — questions about staff's work is not recognized by the judges. strong cross-section of support the awards get, the judges, their But he said he knows none of the awards have a although it plans to make a greater push among bias against CP. community newspapers. credentials and alleged He calls it "a really sad comment" if editors and "I think the success of our awards speaks for rank-and-file reporters steer clear of the awards itself," said Schneidereit. bias, or how exactly out of a what's-the-point attitude. "The number of entries has been increasing they set apart "You can't win if you don't enter." steadily each year and we've broadened our Nelson, who hasn't entered anything from the categories to open them up to more journalists one piece of good Calgary Sun in three years, says he's not ruling it doing more kinds of important work, making the out this time around. CAJ awards night banquet one of the highlight work from another. "I feel I sort of owe it to people because it is a events of the year in Canadian journalism." feather in their cap if they win," said Nelson. Sylvia Stead, deputy editor at The Globe and "There is nothing else in terms of awards that "I shouldn't let my bias get in the way of them Mail,said both the CAJs and the Micheners appeal even comes close to it." being recognized by their peers." to a "narrow slice of the newsroom," while the That's not to say folks at The Globe,despite their NNAs have something for everyone. well-worn path to the podium, don't have flashes Michelle MacAfee is national vice-president of "It's really the ultimate recognition for a of bitterness over certain results. the CAJ. She also chairs the awards committee and reporter-writer in the country," said Stead, who is "There's some,amazingly,that stick in the craw is the association's representative on the NNA also vice-chair of the NNA Board of Governors. years later," said Stead. Board of Governors.

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 13 OPINION BY LINDA KAY Using the courts to fight back When a Quebec City shock jock made sexist remarks about Sophie Chiasson, he went too far. And thankfully, a Quebec judge agreed with her

Following the court judgment rendered in her favour, the 30-year-old Chiasson (pictured in The Globe and Mail article) left the country, according to her attorneys, to recuperate from an ordeal that played havoc with her health.

ssst. She slept with the sports editor. Pssst. I did not learn the news on the radio, as did TV a progressive male who wanted to tell me about it That's how she got the job. weather announcer Sophie Chiasson, who before I heard it elsewhere, or before I read P recently won a defamation suit against former something similarly hurtful in an alternative It was the late 70s.The rumour spread like morning man Jeff Fillion, his co-hosts, and the newspaper, where reports of my incompetence, wildfire in the newsroom. The first female owner of radio station CHOI-FM in Quebec City. attributed to unnamed sources,appeared not long sportswriter on the San Diego Evening Tribune, Fillion suggested that Chiasson influenced the after I was assigned the plum job of covering the according to the rumour, slept not only with the trajectory of her career by bestowing sexual Super Bowl. sports editor, but with the managing editor as favours, some of which he described for listeners. A few years later, when I became the first well. Unlike Chiasson, I heard about the sexual female sports writer at the Chicago Tribune,it Bedding two editors evidently earned me a job. favours I allegedly bestowed in a far gentler way.I seemed I'd slept with the sports editor again. Not It was news to me. heard the rumour from the sports editor himself, the same one, mind you.

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 14 PHOTO CREDIT: David McKie In my case, I reasoned at the time that if I worked hard and well, befriended those who wanted me to succeed, and stopped caring about those who wanted me to fail, I would survive and Last summer, thrive. I did. It helped that I had support from the sports editor and the managing editor — and not on the wings of because I slept with them. the CRTC decision Last summer, on the wings of the CRTC decision not to renew the licence of CHOI, I not to renew the attended a dinner party with colleagues at Concordia and afterwards jousted over a precious licence of CHOI, right we have in Canada — the right to free speech. I attended a An absolutist at the gathering felt the CRTC had dinner party no business imposing limits on free speech; that it was wrong for the regulator to pull the station's with colleagues licence. That position resonates with many journalists, who argue that to shut down any at Concordia media outlet creates a chilling effect. After all,the argument goes,what is considered and afterwards offensive to some might not be offensive to others. jousted over In our informal discussion around the dinner table, I defended the CRTC's action, revolted by a precious Fillion's comments. But even at the time, I saw the wisdom of the right we have absolutist argument, and today find myself in agreement with it. In my gut, I've always felt in Canada — society is better off knowing where people truly stand, even if what they're saying is odious. Not the right to only that, banning speech deemed offensive can free speech. all-too-easily be a way to muzzle voices that powerful people don't care to hear. Checks and balances exist within media organizations in Canada to prevent personal attacks against individuals and groups.Almost all And so it went, and so it still goes for women media organizations have a code of ethics,and for who stand out in some way in the workplace and those who don't abide by it, remedies are now are thus objectified in sexual terms. available. Male reporters who respected my work as a The lawsuit is a potent one. Jeff Fillion and the cityside reporter in San Diego stopped speaking station now face a host of claims. When Media to me when I became a sportswriter. A senior magazine went to press, the station had yet to writer in the sports department was so disgusted decide whether it was going to appeal. Four by my presence in an all-male enclave,he fled to a individuals beside Chiasson have filed defamation rival paper. Another sportswriter routinely suits and four more have already settled out of opened my mail and eavesdropped on my phone court. conversations,prepared to pounce on any shred of Twenty-five years ago, when I worked as a impropriety. sportswriter, I had no such remedy in the Nowadays his actions would be called workplace. But today it's a different story. harassment, but we didn't have a word for it then. Concordia's Office of Rights and Responsibilities, Nevertheless, the words spoken against me for example, has advised faculty and staff that reverberated only in the newsroom, and did not under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and spread, for the most part, to a wider audience. Freedoms, "You are not obliged to put up with Thousands of strangers did not hear the rudeness or aggression while performing your remarks made about me, as they did when Jeff job.You have a right to civility and respect." Fillion commented on Sophie Chiasson's sexual So, too, do those who are defamed on the air. proclivities and on her breast size to a listening Sophie Chiasson's bravery in challenging a "shock audience numbering over 100,000. My difficulties jock" in the courts may have altered, pre- were minor compared to the harassment and emptively at least the way some radio stations do degradation that Chiasson endured. business. Following the court judgment rendered in her favour, the 30-year-old Chiasson left the country, Linda Kay is an assistant professor at Concordia according to her attorneys, to recuperate from an University in Montreal, where she does research on ordeal that played havoc with her health. female pioneers in Canadian journalism.

PHOTO CREDIT: CP/Jonathan Hayward MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 15 COMPUTER-ASSISTED REPORTING BY FRED VALLANCE-JONES Election donations and Newfoundland schools Information on these subjects and many more can be found in online databases

he spring of 2005 hasn't been a good time Both Elections Canada and Elections Ontario restrict searches to particular domains (e.g. .com, to be a Liberal in Canada. Testimony at the already post political contribution information on .ca), or to particular file types. TGomery inquiry has set off a political the Net, but those postings lag behind the Recently, I punched in the phrase "download scandal that at press time was being compared to disclosure in paper form. In Ontario, it can take database" and restricted the search to .ca the great Pacific Scandal that toppled the years for all of the contributions for a particular domains. government of Canada's first prime minister, Sir year to be checked and posted. Ottawa is Up popped a fascinating little database of all of John A. Macdonald. somewhat faster at it. the schools in Newfoundland. Testimony by former Montreal advertising Real-time disclosure, if it works, will make it Now you might be asking, what use is such a executive Jean Brault that top Liberal officials possible for journalists to track donations as they list unless you just moved there, and need forced him to funnel more than $1 million to the happen, or soon after they happen, and not somewhere to send your kids? Quebec wing of the federal Liberals, in exchange months or years later. The benefits of that to But this database (http://www.ed.gov.nl.ca/ for millions in advertising contracts, sparked reporting, and our democratic society can't be edu/dir/school/dbf.htm) tells you not only the speculation about a possible election. It may be name of the school and where it is, but has a underway by the time you read this. grade-by-grade breakdown of the number of In Ontario, a lesser "scandal" involving a students.It turns out some of the schools have not $10,000-a-plate fundraising dinner frequented by 100 or 50 or 25 students,but four,five,six or eight! Premier Dalton McGuinty and some powerful Recently, I punched In these institutions, the principal is the teacher, developers raised troubling questions about the and the guidance counsellor. ties between house-builders and those who build in the phrase Take Sts. J. Fisher & T. More school in Petite government policy. Forte, NL, a tiny community on the Burin There has always been potential for great copy "download database" peninsula southwest of St. John's. Just 362 people in the mysterious and shrouded world of political and restricted the search live there, in 278 dwellings, according to industry fundraising. Where power and money intersect, Canada's broadband Internet website. This place all kinds of interesting things can happen. After to .ca domains. is tiny. By going to the school's website all, you have a symbiotic relationship at play. (http://www.k12.nf.ca/pforte/school.htm),I found Political parties need money to seek power, and Up popped a fascinating out that almost half the students — three — are those with money seek to influence power. little database of all in Grade 4. The rest in Grades 1 and 2. The kind of corruption revealed at the Gomery I found similar information on Grand Bruit All proceedings is, thankfully, rather rare. But it was of the schools in Grade school, which apparently has two students the possibility of such scandal that persuaded in Grade 7,and one teacher principal.Grand Bruit Ottawa and the provinces to pass laws limiting Newfoundland. is an outport to the east of the Port Aux Basques who can donate, and how much, as well as ferry terminal,with no roads to the outside world. mandating public disclosure of anything more In all, I found seven schools with fewer than 10 than nominal gifts. The latest revelations serve to students, and a potentially wonderful story about underline the importance of those laws. overestimated. Reporters using computer- an aspect of Newfoundland life that surely is A debate unfolding in Ontario, however, assisted techniques might even catch a unknown to most Canadians. This wouldn't promises to revolutionize the way contributions sponsorship scandal as it develops, nipping such necessarily be just a feature story either. These are disclosed. corruption in the bud. tiny outports are often struggling to survive, and In the wake of that $10,000-a-plate dinner, the If you go to CARinCanada.ca. you'll find a list the schools database, and its information and McGuinty government dusted off one of its 2003 of links to downloadable government databases, contacts, would be a great entré into that story. campaign promises — a rare one that it may keep including that political contribution information Finding such sites just takes some creative — to mandate "real time" disclosure of political which is available. But the list is still a relatively searching. Happy surfing. gifts. It won't be literally real time, but legislation short one.Data are trickling online in Canada,but will require central parties to submit the for the most part, governments have been information to Elections Ontario within five days reluctant to give up control. Fred Vallance-Jones is a reporter with The of getting the cash. That agency would then post That said, if you hunt around, you can find Hamilton Spectator, part-time journalism the information on the Internet. Riding some gems. instructor at Ryerson University, and webmaster of associations will continue to follow the old rules, One great way to find them is to do an CARinCanada.ca You can contact him at which require annual, paper filings. advanced Google search. Google allows you to [email protected]

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 16 ETHICS BY STEPHEN J.A. WARD Can we talk? The Stevie Cameron affair demonstrates that journalists have problems debating ethical issues

n the harried world of daily journalism, calm Lesson #4: Stick to sober language; practice Lesson #7: Be inclusive and democratic. deliberation about ethical issues is not easy, at restraint. A committee must avoid inflammatory Composition of the committee should include a Ithe best of times. Journalists inhabit a language.It must not over-generalize.It must show large cross-section of types of people, such as competitive world where inflated egos lurk, thin restraint in not responding to personal attacks or working and retired journalists, media academics, skins abound and disagreeable disagreement is too provocations. It must always respond to questions ethicists and others. The committee's membership often the norm. Deliberation easily spirals and criticisms on the basis of the facts, the ethical should be diverse in gender. It should reflect the downward into flame-throwing rhetoric and ad issues, the standards and its mandate. This is the regions of Canada and the many types of hominem attacks. Journalists can be poor listeners only way to "de-personalize" a heated dispute. journalism. The process by which committee when the topic cuts close to home. Lesson #5: Play a positive, educative role. A membership is determined, and changed, should The volcanic outburst of emotion on the CAJ committee should seek to stimulate dialogue. It be as open and inclusive as possible, seeking listserv about the association's press release should not see itself as an ethical "cop" dishing out membership input at every turn. "denouncing" Stevie Cameron for allegedly reprimands. An ethics committee should be more These seven "lessons" from the Cameron listserv providing information to police made me wonder than a repository of complaints. It should hold affair provide a framework for more detailed why journalism debates can be so nasty. discussions about the committee process.However, Yes, there were thoughtful interventions. But some might complain that they are based on a they tended to come from people on the sidelines, questionable assumption — that the CAJ should urging the combatants to stop gouging each other's The volcanic outburst be in the business of evaluating ethical issues. eyes out. The Cameron debate underlines the need of emotion on the CAJ Should the CAJ engage in controversial ethical to establish a more constructive process to discuss commentary? ethical issues. If the Cameron listserv affair shows listserv about the I believe the CAJ has the right to appoint a anything, it is this: If you get the process wrong, committee to discuss ethical issues, worrying ethical discussion can be divisive, full of emoting association's press trends and troublesome behaviour — providing and finger-pointing. release "denouncing" that its ethics committee is duly appointed and The time to ponder a better process is now.The follows fair,rigorous and transparent procedures.It CAJ has asked an ad hoc group to bring forward Stevie Cameron for is part of the mandate of any profession to discuss recommendations for a permanent ethics allegedly providing problems and uphold its standards.Peer critique is committee to review ethical issues. What lessons part of journalism's self-regulation. could a committee glean from the Cameron affair? information to police It would be hypocritical of journalists to Lesson #1: Venerate the fact.A committee must demand ethical accountability from other stick to the facts like a sailor clings to a lifeboat in a made me wonder professions but not of itself. To be consistent, if the storm. As in court cases, the first thing to do is to why journalism debates CAJ is going to hand out awards for good attempt to reach an agreed-upon set of facts. Facts journalism, it should be prepared to oppose bad are the starting point for responsible ethical analysis. can be so nasty. journalism. If ethical discussion is needed, Lesson #2: Identify precisely the ethical journalists should not shrink from the task. issue(s).Using the facts and a code of ethics,clearly Instead, their aim should be to develop new identify what the ethical issues are. This is not as public fora on issues, and organize ethics sessions methods for fair and constructive debate. easy as it may seem. Any case can be approached at CAJ conferences. Committee members could Finally, there are positive reasons why the CAJ from numerous perspectives. Often, ethical issues write on issues for Media magazine and other should consider an ethics committee, and similar are confused with issues of skill, or of personality. publications. An ethics committee should review mechanisms. Such bodies encourage ethical Ethical issues can be confused with legal questions the CAJ codes annually,with revisions debated and discussion among journalists and the public. A or economic considerations. If you are unclear voted on by members. pro-active committee could lead to positive about the ethical issues, chances are your analysis Lesson #6: Be transparent in process and discussions about "best practices" and a better will be confused. Discussion will stray off-topic. To accountable for decisions. The committee's understanding of ethical issues, thereby increasing pursue my metaphor,you may cling to your lifeboat mandate should be clearly and exhaustively the credibility of journalists. of facts,but you will still get lost in a fog of rhetoric. explained to all members, and available for Even if,in the end,we disagree with all or part of Lesson #3: Use standards as an anchor. Any inspection on a website. Minutes of committee a committee's opinions, we may learn from the productive ethical discussion has two types of meetings should be available to CAJ members. The process, difficult though it may be. anchor: the facts, and clear, agreed-upon committee should have the resources to make good standards. An analysis will be consistent and fair to decisions, including access to legal counsel. the extent that it can show how its comments are Misunderstandings about the purpose of an ethics Stephen J.A. Ward is a columnist for Media rooted in the aims and principles of an association. committee are the single most serious threat to an magazine.He also teaches at the University of British Fortunately, the CAJ has two codes of ethics. effective,credible committee. Columbia's School of Journalism.

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 17 OPINION Toxic headlines are making me ill From his perch in the world of communications, former journalist Geoff Meeker casts a critical eye on some of the ways in which journalists cover health stories

ournalists will usually react with skepticism to Given the size of the British population and the reinforces the need for greater clarity around the any controversial release, digging deeper, apparently widespread consumption of BSE- actual health threat posed by BSE. Jasking tough questions and refusing to infected meat, this is a relatively small number. I am not suggesting that reporters should build conform to the newsmaker's agenda. There is, (UK residents might better focus their concerns in such balancing information in their early news however, at least one exception. When it comes to on second-hand cigarette smoke,which kills more coverage.When I worked as a reporter,if someone scientific studies that affect our health,media will than 11,000 people per year in that country, had suggested I include "softening" information sometimes amplify and exaggerate the according to a British Medical Journal study.) in breaking stories I would have told them to take seriousness of the "threat." In Canada, we have learned from the UK a hike. This is no idle accusation. It's a conclusion I've experience. We have much greater awareness, However, this type of information does have a drawn from years of media observation. I write a place as a story unfolds, when the public is media analysis column for The Express newspaper looking for background information to better in Newfoundland and,last year,did some research understand the issue. to substantiate my theory. My conclusion is that, when it comes to health stories, even the most respected news outlets will SOMETHING FISHY not read the fine print or delve into the science, rushing to conclusions that are sensational, not The headlines were pretty scary: 'Eating necessarily factual. salmon may pose health risks;' 'Farmed salmon laced with toxins;' 'Scare over farmed salmon safety'. MAD COW UNEASE These headlines were collected on the Internet from news sources around the world,reacting to a The crisis over mad cow disease has been 2004 study in the journal Science about toxin devastating Canadian cattle farmers since that levels in farmed salmon. first confirmed report in May 2003.It continues to The report was reasonably credible in its generate above-the-fold headlines, following the research, at least on first glance. However, the recent court decision in Montana, which blocks story it generated contained a major flaw in logic. the reopening of the U.S.border to Canadian beef. Articles in both The Globe and Mail and on the Yes, the story is significant. But it needn't have BBC News website took a similar approach to this dealt such a terrible blow to our cattle farming story.In the top paragraphs,they summarized the industry. How many news items have clearly findings as alarmingly as possible. explained the real health threat of mad cow? How "Farm-raised Atlantic salmon… are so laced many have compared our situation with that of with PCBs and other pollutants that they should the United Kingdom? be eaten only infrequently," said The Globe in its Reporters in Canada were quick to report on lead sentence. the crisis as its ramifications rippled into external Then they brought in opposing viewpoints markets, but they failed to offer balancing Reporters in Canada were quick to report on from health officials and the salmon farming information that might have tempered the the mad cow crisis as its ramifications rippled industry, but they came across as defensive and situation. into external markets, but they failed to offer self-serving. (Could it have sounded any other Two years later, I still haven't seen an effective balancing information that might have way, given the scandalous tone of the lead reality check from the media. If anything, they've tempered the situation. sentence?) been fanning the flames of confusion and fear The truly telling information came out in the around this story. more stringent health and safety controls on beef, bottom half of The Globe piece. Farmed salmon They might have explained that, in the United and four known cases of BSE in cows. had up to 50 parts per billion (ppb) of PCBs, Kingdom, cattle were fed animal carcasses As far as we know, no infected meat has been which is well below Canadian federal guidelines of infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy consumed in Canada or the U.S. No one has 2,000 ppb. (BSE) for years.Estimates are that anywhere from contracted the human variant of this disease, and However, one of the report's authors suggested 50,000 to one million infected cows were the real danger to consumers is practically nil. that this standard, developed in the 1970s, is out consumed in the UK.So far,more than 100 people I am not suggesting that this story is all about of date and should be reduced to 50 ppb. Which have died from the disease (though more cases health concerns. The protectionist agenda of the means that the highest concentration of PCBs are bound to surface). American cattle farmers is also a factor — which found in this study would still meet the proposed,

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 18 more stringent regulations — information that In January 2003, CBC Television's Marketplace early age from watching my father, Ken Meeker, renders the entire story almost completely reported that Health Canada was suppressing test when he worked as a broadcast journalist. I was pointless. information about acrylamide levels in foods, just 12 years old in 1969, when the U.S. The reporters in this case did manage to slip in whereas governments in Sweden, Germany and government banned cyclamates because they key balancing information, even if it might best Norway were issuing all sorts of precautions. caused cancer in eight out of 240 rats that were be described as "nullifying" information.And not "Marketplace has learned… that our fed the chemical. before playing the most sensational allegations government is keeping information from you," My father covered this story but, to his credit, first and loudest, thereby whipping consumers said co-host Wendy Mesley, who revealed that didn't take the scaremonger approach. He into a frenzy and possibly causing major damage Health Canada was indeed not telling us about debunked the story by revealing that the lab rats to the fish farming industry. test results they had conducted on our food.And ingested cyclamates at levels equivalent to If a government department had announced a if acrylamides were proven to be dangerous to humans drinking 350 cans of diet soda per day. new development scheme that contained an humans, it would have been a valid story. Is this starting to sound familiar? equivalent flaw in logic, the media would catch it But I was always suspicious about this one. I am not saying that reporters always over- and make this gaffe the focus of their story. But Mankind has been eating bread and cereal react to such stories.Sometimes,they nip them in when our health is at issue,they set aside rational products in large quantities for hundreds of the bud. For example, subsequent health scares thinking and run shrieking onto the airwaves and years; why haven't we noticed a cancer about other artificial sweeteners, most notably into print. correlation? I went to the CBC Marketplace website and found an entire section devoted to this story. After some mining, I found what I was looking How many news for under the heading 'Is acrylamide in food a threat to our health?' What we need are items have clearly According to a scientist with Health Canada, "the amounts of acrylamide humans consume on reporters and explained the real a daily basis is slightly over 1/100th of 1 per cent of the dose, adjusted for body weight, that gave editors who look health threat of cancer to half of an exposed group of rats." By my calculation, this means we would need more diligently mad cow disease? to consume 10,000 times more acrylamide than we do right now, in order to duplicate the into the science How many have experience of those unfortunate rats. If Marketplace had seriously considered this before creating compared our information, they might have concluded that those alarming, situation with Health Canada was right not to panic about this bogus health crisis. sensational that of the I invited Marketplace via e-mail to respond, but received no reply. headlines. United Kingdom? A LONG HISTORY

While doing Internet research for this article, I I invited The Globe and Mail via e-mail to found a fascinating essay by David Ropeik, respond to my argument, but received no reply. writing for CommonWealth magazine out of aspartame, have not been amplified by media That said, The Globe is not the only offender Massachusetts. (The magazine appears credible (despite falsehoods that persist on the Internet). here. Pretty much every major news outlet and free of any overt agenda.) Ropeik suggests And sometimes, it's OK to panic. The media played this story the same way.And the hysteria that editors and reporters develop stories based frenzy serves a useful purpose when the threat is created by this coverage is being perpetuated on "risk perception;" a combination of value- real, or when public awareness is necessary. For on the Internet, as a quick Google search — charged factors that trigger audience reaction. instance, all the publicity given to SARS, frantic using the words toxins, farmed and salmon — "In short, stories about health risks sell," as it was, helped keep that disease from will show. Ropeik writes. "Newspaper editors and broadcast spreading. news directors want stories the public will notice, What we need,however,are reporters and stories that sell papers and boost ratings. And editors who look more diligently into the science ACRIMONY OVER ACRYLAMIDES reporters — who aren't concerned with corporate before creating those alarming, sensational profits but are interested in their work getting the headlines. In 2002, we had another major health scare in widest possible audience — highlight the aspects Now,pass the salmon and french fries please. the form of acrylamides, which are chemicals of their stories that seem particularly frightening." reported to cause cancer in animals. Researchers To read the full article, visit in Sweden found acrylamides in fried foods, like http://www.massinc.org/commonwealth/mass_ Geoff Meeker is a former journalist and french fries, and even baked foods such as bread media.htm. managing editor who now works in and cereal. The acrylamide story received The media health scare phenomenon is communications. You can contact him at extensive coverage in this country. nothing new.I learned to be cynical about it at an [email protected]

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 19 TRAVELOGUE Just another day in Africa? Hardly Despite the refugee camps, teenagers with AK-47s and rocket launchers, corrupt government officials, bizarre Christian evangelists and attack-minded round-bodied guard chickens, Greg Locke fell in love with Africa during his recent travels

A Ugandan PDF soldier is pictured here on the lookout for Christian rebels, also known as the Lord's Resistance Army.

ou're late! … I was expecting you two "No, she left last week ... gone back to Europe, I aid agency to pay for the extra travel and weeks ago!" shouted the Dutch logistics think" he said, unconcerned. accommodation fees. "Yco-ordinator with an international On the bus from Wilson airport back to The irony was not lost on him. medical aid agency, in an uncaring tone over the Nairobi's Kenyatta International to see if I could "Well,you are kind of like a refugee," he said,"so roar of a cargo aircraft firing up outside the hanger. buy tickets to these new and unplanned (and I guess you are in my mandate for assistance." "Yes, I had problems with, with the funding unbudgeted for) locations, I had a bag stolen He chuckled, "You should know by now, Locke, and…." I tried to say, chasing after him down the along with a lot of cash. Now I was broke. how quickly things can spin out of control here." ramp. I realized he wasn't listening, so I let the This is how my trip to Africa started. My There was nothing left to do but head to Thorn begging excuse drift off. otherwise well-planned project to do a major Tree Bar to either drown my misery, salvage my "You missed the last flights into Congo for the piece of reporting about malaria was finished. project or figure out what I was going to do for the week" he called over his shoulder. So, here I stood with a blinding headache, my next three weeks in Nairobi with an unplanned "And it's looking doubtful for next week due to stomach threatening a rebellion from being forced 21-day hotel bill. Maybe I would rob a tourist. No, ..." I couldn't hear the rest. fed airplane food for the past 21 hours and a just kidding. "Can I call my contact in Bukavu to let her project shot to hell. On top of that I had to Before the week was out three other people I know?" I asked. borrow money from a friend who worked for an had arranged to interview either left their project

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 20 PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Locke locations in remote parts of central Africa or ways to get a 10-tonne Volvo truck with a drilling Other than being attacked by a dozen giant were no longer available due to other rig into an area of the upper Nile River where killer guard chickens for some strange reason, commitments. One was back in Geneva and I there are no roads, and what to do now that the this is the most relaxed I've been in three weeks. found another,by coincidence,a Swiss doctor,in Russian pilots had their fuel cache stolen by a People are genuinely decent here, and the Kampala on his way home when I arrived in perturbed Sudanese warlord,it could have been a foreign aid workers from Canada, Australia, Uganda. I managed to have a couple of hours to Caribbean resort village. Switzerland,France,Spain,Greece and a talk before our flights left. He was very thrilled Africa at its strangest …better check my wonderfully gregarious guy from the Basque with his new digital camera and showed me e-mail…. country (and the only one who knew where great pictures of the bullet wounds he had Newfoundland was) are an eclectic,quirky bunch patched up in the Congo. of overachievers who are a delight to hang out Thankfully, a couple of kind people at the TRAVELLIN’ IN THE with. Canadian High Commission took pity on me and HANDS OF THE LORD You never get the feeling in Uganda that you do invited me out to a couple of "news" things they elsewhere in Africa that everyone is trying to "do had on the go: the land mine conference and One of my side amusements while stranded in ya," as we say in St. John's. Shame I did not come visits to small aid projects around the Nairobi Nairobi was to make a list of the ironic and here first and just stay here for three weeks. area. colourful names painted on the Mutatus, the But that is what Africa seems to be about. It Then the press officer with the non- minivans used as local transportation. Decrepit, tosses your well-laid plans out the window, gives governmental organization (NGO) Médicines reckless, pounding reggae music and 14 souls you a glimpse of something better and just when Sans Frontières suggested a couple of trips that (think about that: 14 people in a minivan) you give up fighting and decide to go with the had some connection with my malaria story. But jammed inside, careening through the streets of current, you are yanked out of there ... unfulfilled even this did not go smoothly or without some Nairobi. and yearning for more. sweating. Nothing ever happens on time in Africa Most foreign agencies forbid their employees OK, OK ... back to the guard chickens. and when the man says, "No problem, mon!" ... from using them. These death-trap sardine cans A dozen of these turkey-sized birds with large there usually is. have been baptized by their lunatic pilots with round bodies, scrawny necks and big heads with noms de guerre such as "Ride with The Lord," a powerful beak are sitting on a 10-foot brick wall "Bound For Glory," "Mixed Nuts," "Wheel of squawking at everything that goes by. AT THE END OF THE ROAD Fortune," and, my personal favorite, "Jesus Wept." I, with my eyes down shielded against the This was all pretty funny until I was handed setting sun, forgot about these guys as I make my Finally, I headed up to Lokichoggio, "Loki" to my ticket on Eagle Air from Entebbe to Gulu, way to a Canadian doctor's house for supper. her friends. It's a frontier town on the Kenya- Uganda,by an MSF co-ordinator and told without Then they come screaming out of the sky. The Sudan border, which has become NGO City. A a trace of humour, "MSF staff are banned from security guard opens the gate as I run past. town, literally, built by the UN and other aid flying with these guys, but you'll be OK …I'm "What the hell are those things?" I scream. agencies as a base of operations for relief and aid sure.And besides, it's the only thing available for "Don't know," he says. "Not local birds. Come work in southern Sudan. the next three days." from Zaire ... very mean." You'll find a 8,000-foot runway,littered with the I took the ticket and thought best not to ask. I abandoned aluminum skeletons of planes whose nearly fainted when walking across the tarmac at pilots ran out of talent, built by the UN's World Entebbe towards a nice new turboprop and JUST A LOVE STORY Food program (WFP),an operating hospital built spotted "Glory to the Lord" painted on the nose. by the International Red Cross and the logistics Thankfully, the naming habits were the only While Africa has more than its share of serious base for just about every aid agency,construction thing in common with the mutatus. problems and misery, one cannot help but fall in company and charter air services working in love with the place after a while ... and I'm not southern Sudan. really sure why. All of this is mixed with the local nomadic GULU, UGANDA So, along with memories (and smells) of herdsman the Turkana and Samburu, who refugee camps, malaria, teenagers with AK-47s sometimes carry on their ancient pastoral tribal My last week and I end up in northern Uganda, and rocket launchers, corrupt government feuds. Hijacking of trucks and shootouts give the home of The Lord's Resistance Army. Gulu, the officials,bizarre Christian evangelists,mercenary place a true frontier feel. regional capital, is in a boom time, now that the pilots, western aid workers gone native and This hot,dusty outpost at the end of the road in army has been keeping the LRA out of town.New "lunch" at roadside oil drum barbecues offering Kenya is not without "civilization," however. If hotels, restaurants (which all suck, except for the up the "local meat" marinated in residual PCBs, nothing else, this is a place of entrepreneurship chicken and chips), wonderful GSM cellphone there is the sheer beauty of the place and the and where there is money to be made. Some network,and a great local gin to wash the red clay people, a complete lack of pretension and a enterprising types have set up bars, restaurants, dust out of your throat and make the 40 C days feeling of life lived close to the bone. housing, warehouses, cellular and satellite phone somewhat bearable. Until we meet again,Africa. At least I didn't get service, as well as Internet connections for the Outside of town, things get more desperate. malaria this time. couple of thousand foreign aid workers, pilots Crowded villages of refugees fleeing from the and UN administrators who work in and visit war further north don't have enough water or Greg Locke recently joined Rogers Television in Loki. medical care, and more than half the population St. John's, Newfoundland, as a current affairs Amidst the dirt, heat, mini-dust storms, low- has malaria. producer after 20 years as an independent flying aircraft, malaria-carrying mosquitoes and Standing, surrounded by kids, you can see the photojournalist, writer, editor and multimedia sand flies spreading the "Black Fever," I found an story in their jaundiced yellowed eyes ... but, hey, producer. He was a winner of the 2004 CAJ-CIDA oasis like any tropical tourist destination. the cellphones are cheap and they can use them Fellowship and has published three books. His Great pizza, cold beer, soccer on the TV and an anywhere in the world should they travel to most recent, Newfoundland ...Journey Into A Lost Internet café. If it wasn't for conversations about Europe or Asia. Nation, is published by McClelland & Stewart.

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 21 THE LAST WORD Corruption in the Philippines and what I learned in Canada Filipino investigative journalist Tess Bacalla says visting with Canadian counterparts got her thinking about new topics to cover

magine a tax official who is paid an annual politics. This I did, for example, at the McLuhan This is an area where I think investigative salary of less than $7,000 and yet can afford to Program and Massey College at the University reporting in the Philippines differs from that of Ilive in an elegant house in a posh village,drive Toronto, Centre for Southeast Asian Research at Canada (even as we share similar concerns in a fleet of luxurious cars, travel frequently abroad, the University of British Columbia, and Ryerson some respects, such as ease of access to sensitive and manifests other signs of an extravagant University. government data, the state's duty to protect lifestyle hardly befitting someone who calls Of course, my Canadian visit would not have journalists, and allocation of resources to the himself a public servant. been complete without observing the Question generation of more investigative reports that have In the Philippines, such ostentatious display of Period at the Parliament in Ottawa. an impact). wealth by government personnel receiving a Talking with Kevin Donovan of The Toronto The sheer magnitude of corruption in the modest salary and with no other known source of Star and David McKie of the CBC's investigative Philippines compels journalists like me to pursue income is cause for concern. It is an indication of unit brought me insights into investigative stories about various acts of malfeasance in corruption that merits an investigation, or more reporting in Canada. As an investigative government more than those dealing primarily specifically an asset and lifestyle check, as we call journalist myself, I had looked forward to with public policy and related issues. it in the Philippines. observing this aspect of North America. I was My investigative report about the lavish This was in fact the subject of my three-part interested not only in seeing some of its lifestyles of corrupt officials in the BIR is an investigative series,titled "BIR [Bureau of Internal gorgeous sites (Niagara Falls was on top of my example. The BIR consistently ranks among the Revenue — the main tax-collecting arm of list of must-sees), but I also wanted to learn most corrupt government agencies in the government] Officials Amass Unexplained about the distinctions, if any, between the Philippines. Beyond exposing corrupt revenue Wealth," for which I won the first prize in the Canadian press's pursuit of investigative officials and identifying their ill-gotten assets, my investigative category of last year's Jaime V. journalism and ours. story also explained the factors breeding this Ongpin* (JVO) Excellence in Journalism Awards, I was quite delighted to hear that investigative form of corruption — a breakdown of a system of considered the most prestigious print media reporting in Canada tends to focus on public checks and balances guaranteed by the law, as awards in the Philippines, and the Marshall policy issues, using data accessible through the well as lack of transparency, oversight, and McLuhan Fellowship, given out yearly by the federal Access to Information (ATI) Law and accountability — all of which make it easy for Canadian embassy in my country. provincial freedom of information (FOI) laws. them to bleed the government coffers dry. The embassy has given the McLuhan grant to These are legal provisions which we do not have Corruption is both massive and systemic in the the top prize winner of the JVO award since 1997. yet in the Philippines, although our constitution Philippines. It permeates all levels and branches This is undertaken in cooperation with the Center guarantees public access to government records of our government. Between 1977 and 1997, for for Media Freedom and Responsibility, which is subject to certain caveats and limitations. instance, the Philippines lost US $48 billion to behind the JVO Awards, Air Canada, and the Asia (Three FOI bills are currently pending in corruption, exceeding our $40.6-billion foreign Pacific Foundation of Canada, which organized Philippine Congress.In the past,similar bills were debt during that period. It is not surprising why my two-week fellowship from Oct. 23 to Nov. 6, filed, but nothing came of these.) we remain a poor nation, despite our rich natural 2004. Kevin told me about some of the stories he had resources that are the envy of other countries. I was the eighth Filipino journalist to have been written using data he was able to obtain by filing Poverty and corruption,they say,go hand in hand. awarded the grant and gone on a two-week tour of FOI requests.You've probably read some of them, Should journalists like me in the Philippines Canada as a McLuhan fellow. Marshall McLuhan, such as his series on federally licensed charities continue pursuing corruption stories? By all as every Canadian knows, was a well-known that spent far more for administration and means. We cannot leave the public in the dark communication theorist in Canada who coined fundraising than for charitable works; and about instances of corruption in our government, the phrase "global village" and the adage "the another on nursing homes where the elderly which was what Ferdinand Marcos did during his medium is the message." residents were found living in wanton neglect. 20 years of dictatorship, muzzling the press, Going to Canada on a McLuhan grant afforded David, taking advantage of the ATI law, cited among others, to keep the corruption that he me the chance to meet various individuals in among others his adverse drug reaction story, himself perpetuated away from public view and academe, government, and print and broadcast focusing on a drug called Accutane, known to create a semblance of democracy that was media. My encounters with them proved treat mild cases of acne but which, based on nothing but a sham. absolutely enriching, as I gained insights into the Health Canada's adverse drug reaction database, Still, I don't see why we should confine workings of the Canadian press and got a glimpse triggers reactions that are not what one could ourselves to exposing wrongdoing in government of Canadian politics and society as a whole. consider mild. and not explore other issues with the same level of In the course of my trip, I talked about some of I had no doubt that these were extremely enthusiasm and resources that we often devote to the issues confronting Philippine mass media and important stories that needed to be told. corruption stories — issues that equally affect

MEDIA, SPRING 2005 PAGE 22 * The late Jaime V.Ongpin, after whom the JVO Awards was named, was a great advocate of press freedom. He served as a Cabinet official during the administration of former President Corazon C. Aquino. Continued from Pg. 22 Continued from Pg. 4 following recommendations that once made Corruption in the Philippines... We lack inquiring minds headlines. What are governments doing to shorten the waiting times for certain kinds of our lives. (I don't remember reading a story on April deservedly won a Michener Award for its surgeries? charities or similar organizations, which we uncovering and continued coverage of the 2) More specialists: Generalists dominate have a lot of in the Philippines, or stories sponsorship scandal. While this is an example of newsrooms across the country, especially in delving into the quality of elderly care in excellent reportage from a newspaper committed broadcast.If we are to become less episodic in nursing homes, or the adverse effects of certain to enterprise journalism, there are too many our coverage, we need to learn how certain drugs.) examples of pack journalism that fails to advance institutions work, and write about how well Out there are many other stories waiting to discussion of important issues of the day. they're serving the public.Specialists who can be told, beyond the lavish lifestyles of corrupt So there is clearly a need for reform. focus on certain government departments revenue officials. I left Canada drawing up a Unfortunately, the cries have been muted with and their inner workings will break more mental list of other possible investigative some exceptions. In the United States, the Project stories that people care about. stories to pursue — stories that would put on for Excellence in Journalism critiqued the 3) More editorial boards: If we can't produce the public agenda issues that I and my performance of various media outlets including enough specialists, then why not regularly countrymen should be equally concerned about television, newspapers and radio. The report card ask politicians to sit down with us and while keeping an eye out for all kinds of was not very favourable and reflected some of the explain and defend what they have done? We shenanigans in government. concerns raised in this column. In Canada, the do this during elections, and then ignore the Stories that, like corruption exposés, inform Canadian Media Research Consortium also practice once life gets back to normal. policy discussions and expand the scope of produced its own report card, which in general 4) Forums for citizens to discuss concerns: public discourse while encouraging our people concluded that we have more work to do. Broadcasters can convene more town halls. to engage in meaningful action to enhance a My fear is that these reports, however well- And newspapers can open up their editorial fragile democracy that waited two decades to meaning, will suffer the same fate as pages to more guest columnists from the be restored. recommendations from inquiries and community, not just the elites. These venues To be sure, we are not entirely lacking in such commissions.And this would be a shame.Citizens will help to broaden public discourse. stories, but we can certainly do more — and we are losing confidence in us and tuning us out in Without reform, we will continue to witness should, because, trite as this may sound, the increasing numbers.This reality is reflected in the the erosion of the public's civic duty. This is not public needs to be informed. declining number of people who are consuming idle academic discussion. People who choose conventional news from established news outlets. not to vote don't have much need for So what are we to do? How do we convince newspapers. People who distrust government Tess Bacalla is a writing fellow of the people to pay attention to us? How do we ensure won't pay attention to public policy debates. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, we cover more issues people care about? For So let's do more than sound alarm bells. A from which most of the winners of the Marshall what it's worth, here are a few ideas: good start would be dusting off reports McLuhan Fellowship, sponsored by the Embassy 1) More reality checks. It wouldn't hurt to produced by royal commissions and public of Canada in the Philippines, have come. regularly examine if governments are inquiries to see if anything has really changed.

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