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Her public editor, Sylvia Stead, quickly absolves her of any indiscretion.
I react with a typically hyperbolic blog post.
For a lark I ask Andrew Coyne on Twitter for his opinion on the issue.
In response, Mr. Coyne evades my inquiry, instead moving the cursor to my inadequacies as a writer, imitating my hyperbole. I agree with Andrew. I suck! If I were any good, I’d be making six figures plus, writing the occasional column, appearing on TV and dazzling amateur bloggers with my prodigious journalistic skillz. But that`s beside the point.
All I want from the kings and queens of non paritisanship is to please answer my question – what is your reaction both to Margaret Wente`s alleged plagiarism and to the Globe & Mail`s response?
Andrew Coyne and all the other so-called non partisan journalists, thank you for speaking out. It`s been rich knowing you. Hell, even Dan Gardner refused to answer, choosing instead to whistle in the wind.
Good point, Andrew! Perhaps you could share that bit of wisdom with Margaret Wente.
Will Canada`s press ever grow a pair and answer a simple question?
By the way, that`s me on banjo.
UPDATE: My goodness. Colby Cosh surprises with his take. Favourite bit: “Ms. Stead’s remarkable papal bull“. Nice.
UPDATE II: An earlier but equally satisfying post on the silence of the media on the Wente situation.
UPDATE III: Chris Selley dips his toes into the Wente quicksand.
UDPATE IV: Vice joins the head scratchers, pondering the silence of the media. What say you, NationalNewsWatch?
I think you gave too much deference to A Coyne and he responded like a prick
Jymn Reply:
September 24th, 2012 at 10:44 AM
MLJ -Absolutely. But look at this way. A Coyne showed exactly who he really is and proved my point about modern journalists. Whether it be Stead, Wente, Coyne, Kay, Levant or Levy etc., they are all riding on their gold-plated high horses, unpoliced, smug and cowardly. Their responsibility to the truth comes second to their self-preservation and self-reward. It`s and old girls/old boys club that needs exposition.
SD – I do think, in this occasion, other writers will step forward. Giving a pass to Wente says to the public that lying or cheating in journalism, like what is occurring in the UK with Murdoch. Journalism in Canada could take a serious hit if more journos like Cosh come forward. If we in the blogosphere keep hitting this, and keep reminding readers of the Murdoch UK scandal, this could have legs. I personally see it as a game changer. I think this is the biggest media story in a long, long time. You`ve got serial plagiarism. You have a public editor who did virtually nothing to follow up on serious charges. Was Stead told to look the other way by the higher ups? How much of this has been going on and not reported?
Generally in any profession, there is an unwritten rule not to criticize others in your profession publicly. Sometimes there are written rules. You will not likely get any journalist commenting about Margaret Wente specifically. You could get them to talk about their own journalistic ethics. For example, “How does plagiarism affect your ability to be judged by the public as being an effective journalist?” That question might get you a better response.