The Globe and Mail’s western bureau has usually ranked ahead of Postmedia newspapers in its coverage of British Columbia politics although that is like winning a $500 claiming race in which the other nags are lame. Online writers, particularly Alex Tsakumis, have written concisely about the Globe’s faulty analysis of the Basi Virk case (Llinks at BC Rail-Alities above) so I’ll add only one small shot.
This is not journalism, this is advocacy. Despite faults being demonstrated to them, they made no substantial improvements. They consciously misinformed their readers. The Globe and Mail editors knew their report was outrageously wrong so they chose not to allow online comments to save embarrassment. Cowards.
Mark Hume, from a family with a tradition of excellent journalism, disgraced himself and tossed his credibility to the wind. Shame.
Categories: Journalism
in-sights.ca 
Newspapers, are just propaganda rags for Campbell and the Liberals. I even feel embarrassed for the media. The corruption in BC starts with Campbell, and, has absolutely contaminated BC into a, stinking pile of odure, right down to the bottom of the food chain. BC has become, the most corrupt and disgraceful province in Canada.
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Thanks anonymous 9:58. I added music to read by as well. See the Green Day post.
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Click to access Microsoft%20Word%20-%20Attendees%20by%20Company.pdf
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Take a look at today's (Sat, Feb 19, 2011) Times-Colonist's newspaper in Victoria.
“New Policies make Courts more Open to Scrutiny
Changes come in the wake of Times Colonist investigation”
By Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist February 19, 2011 6:03 AM
http://www.timescolonist.com/news/policies+make+courts+more+open+scrutiny/4315113/story.html
This is total balderdash. Nothing has changed, particularly at Victoria Court Registry. Files go “missing” for weeks on end, filed documents are not made available to judges, on and on. And the attitude of staff largely remains one of secrecy and privilege, particularly with respect to the public.
This is not the first article that the Times-Colonist has printed since their series on the failing of the court registries in BC a year ago.
I recall that they published a full-page interview with Mike de Jong, AG, a month or two after the T-C series ran. It was glowing, full of promise. But no action resulted, only hot air.
Then a couple months ago, the T-C ran a full-page interview with the Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court. Again, full of principled thoughts for improvement of the system. Action to date? Nothing, nada.
Now this big article saying the courts are more open to scrutiny. Really? Just this past week, files for court cases UNDERWAY were missing.
These periodic articles by the Times-Colonist appear to be nothing more than puff pieces designed to make the public think that improvements are being made. That is not the reality, speaking as one who has been watching several cases wend their way through the BC Supreme Court in Victoria and in Vancouver.
Another problem with the Time-Colonist series in early 2010 on court house operations is that the articles focused on the problems that reporters have with the court system, but they pay virtually no interest in the problems experienced by the public, the actual customers of the court system. And, by virtue of our democratic system, the people are also supposed to be the bosses of these civil servant, and by virtue of the taxes we pay for its institutions. But somehow we the people, barely exist anymore, except as sources of revenue for the closed and privileged legal system we now have in BC.
It almost seems as if the Times-Colonist's self-lauded series on the failings of court house staff was meant to be a straw man, set up so that it could be said that the media was after the courts to clean up their act, followed by glowing (but empty) stories by key justice figures (AG, Chief Justice), so that they could claim they were taking corrective action. It's smoke and mirrors, nothing more.
We don't have a legal system here in BC, we have a LAWYER system.
I believe it's time that Canada shed it's outmoded and discredited system of self-regulation of lawyers, as other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the UK and others did a few years ago. Self-regulation is an oxymoron, especially when the self-regulators are the ones who make the rules.
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I just fired off a letter to the Editor and another cancelling my subscription.
I am all in favour of balanced reportage with many points of view. But I will not put up with shoddy pitiful newspapers and reporters.
I have “fired” the Vancouver Sun (6 -7 yrs ago) and today the Globe & Mail. A pox on both your houses.
PS While The G&M cowardly closed off comments, many of us got back at them by posting Replies on other areas of the BC POLITICS sections. Shame on the G&M for forcing this.
And Twitter allowed for follow up Tweets to the G&M lambasting them! Readers will not be silenced!
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The G & M just preaches to the converted. However, I do know that a lot of them did leave on account that the new format sucks.
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