Congratulations To Toronto Star On Award-Winning Rob Ford Coverage

A Brief Comment from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper

Despite all of the cutting and gutting corporate boards have done to the resources newsrooms need to properly get to the bottom of the news without fear or favour, fearless investigate reporting is not completely dead in Canada.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford with Ontario Tory leader Tim Hudak at ‘Ford Fest’ barbecue a few years ago. Hudak has more recently distanced himself. What fairweather friends.

On that score, two thumbs up to The Toronto Star for winning one of Canada’s most prestigious news awards – the 2013 Mitchener Award – this June 11^th for its reporting over 2013 on the Toronto mayor Rob Ford train wreck. 

It took a great deal of courage for any newspaper in Canada’s largest city to follow up tips it received on the nefarious activities of the mayor, knowing that there would be retributions, including cutting the paper off from the usual p.r. info. Coming out of the mayor’s office, and all of the accusations of biased reporting, etc. the paper knew it would endure.

In an age when newspapers are unfortunately on their hands and knees for readers and advertising, pursuing any story that could cost a loss of readers and advertisers is heroic.

In awarding The Toronto Star its top prize, the Michener Awards Foundation judges noted that the newspaper revealed the “crack cocaine video… despite intimation and an organized campaign trying to undermine the credibility of the reporting.

The judges said the paper went on to uncover behaviours that “led the council of Canada’s largest city to remove all powers from the mayor, leaving him as a figurehead.”

So once again, congratulations to The Toronto Star and a thumb’s up, while I am at it, to The Globe and Mail for being generous enough to print a story on The Star’s win in the front section of its paper this June 12^th. It has hardly ever been the case that newspapers in Ontario or Canada acknowledge awards other papers win.

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