My comment at the Globe and Mail on the article in which Amanda Lang denies she did anything wrong but promises not to do it again, at least while people are watching: It is time for journalists, as a group, to stop turning blind eyes to colleagues who choose to be in real or fairly perceived conflicts. Amanda Lang, Murphy, Mansbridge, Roberts and a few others in the current spotlight are not the only offenders. In British Columbia, conflicts are common. It includes a prominent pundit who earns more from appearance fees paid by groups affected by news coverage than from his column. It includes members of the Legislative Press Gallery who have spouses employed at highly paid Order-in-Council appointed information management positions, without disclosure to readers. The conflict of Press Gallery members contributed to the failure to report that an independent lawyer who investigated and reported on a government scandal has a spouse who has earned more than half a million dollars as another information officer appointed by the government whose actions she reviewed. When reporters or media commentators are in conflict, we can be certain that information conveyed to the pubic is affected. As Ma Murray, an old BC newspaper legend would say, And thats fer damshur!.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 11:15:35 +0000
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