What will local editorial boards do?

Jean Chretien, David Asper, Izzy Asper and Russell Mills

What will local editorial boards do?

Bedford, Quebec - Thursday, June 20, 2002 - by: John Sheltus

Asper
view
The problem is not just that the Aspers write editorials or fire people who disagree with them. This has been going on since newspapers were invented.. The problem is their insistence that no CanWest paper can ever contradict the Asper view.

nation
wide
Their nation wide April 4th's editorial declared that Joe Clark was not a future Prime Minister. April 29th's attacked Canada's cumbersome tax system and contrasted it with an "elegantly simple" flat tax, May 2nd's made clear that only "marxists" were against globalization and June 3rd's addressed the "so called" scandal of Chretien's contract awards system seeing neither rot nor corruption. The next day (perhaps the Ottawa Citizen publisher missed it) the Aspers declared Jean Chretien had earned the right to pick the time of his departure.

editors
CanWest papers cannot endorse Joe Clark, attack the flat tax, object to globalization or tell the Prime Minister it's time to go--at least not in Ottawa. But since other publishers have made that call and survived, there are no clear rules. Editors and journalists must censor themselves, never knowing if an opinion will be merely frowned on or lead to being outed.

pronounced
Once the Aspers of Winnipeg have pronounced on stem cells, abortion, same-sex marriage, provincial governments, and, in the war against terrorism, the invariable rightness of the USA and Israel what will local editorial boards do?

potholes
With the Aspers handling minor stuff like defence, finance, ethics and foreign policy, local papers can run with church socials, potholes, municipal fund-raising and council elections. This is undoubtedly what the Aspers had in mind when they wrote on June 4th:

"Providing all facts surrounding an issue, not just the selective facts, is the cornerstone of journalistic integrity--a vital component of a free and democratic society."

Right!

John Sheltus

-----------------References:

Is this a PMO dagger we see before us? By LAWRENCE MARTIN Thursday, June 20, 2002 — Toronto Globe and Mail

What the Mills affair reveals about the PM, Aspers By JEFFREY SIMPSON, Tuesday, June 18, 2002 — Print Edition, Page A17, Toronto Globe and Mail


	Jean Chretien, David Asper, Izzy Asper and Russell Mills

What will local editorial boards do?

Bedford, Quebec - Thursday, June 20, 2002 - by: John Sheltus

Asper view	The problem is not just that the Aspers write editorials or fire people who disagree with them. This has been going on since newspapers were invented.. The problem is their insistence that no CanWest paper can ever contradict the Asper view.

nation wide	Their nation wide April 4th's editorial declared that Joe Clark was not a future Prime Minister. April 29th's attacked Canada's cumbersome tax system and contrasted it with an "elegantly simple" flat tax, May 2nd's made clear that only "marxists" were against globalization and June 3rd's addressed the "so called" scandal of Chretien's contract awards system seeing neither rot nor corruption. The next day (perhaps the Ottawa Citizen publisher missed it) the Aspers declared Jean Chretien had earned the right to pick the time of his departure.

editors	CanWest papers cannot endorse Joe Clark, attack the flat tax, object to globalization or tell the Prime Minister it's time to go--at least not in Ottawa. But since other publishers have made that call and survived, there are no clear rules. Editors and journalists must censor themselves, never knowing if an opinion will be merely frowned on or lead to being outed.

pronounced	Once the Aspers of Winnipeg have pronounced on stem cells, abortion, same-sex marriage, provincial governments, and, in the war against terrorism, the invariable rightness of the USA and Israel what will local editorial boards do?

potholes	With the Aspers handling minor stuff like defence, finance, ethics and foreign policy, local papers can run with church socials, potholes, municipal fund-raising and council elections. This is undoubtedly what the Aspers had in mind when they wrote on June 4th:
	`"Providing all facts surrounding an issue, not just the selective facts, is the cornerstone of journalistic integrity--a vital component of a free and democratic society."`
	Right!

	John Sheltus

-----------------References:
	Is this a PMO dagger we see before us? By LAWRENCE MARTIN Thursday, June 20, 2002 — Toronto Globe and Mail

	What the Mills affair reveals about the PM, Aspers By JEFFREY SIMPSON, Tuesday, June 18, 2002 — Print Edition, Page A17, Toronto Globe and Mail