PUBLIC EDITOR
That provoked a letter to the editor from Bert Raphael, chairman of Canadian Lawyers and Jurists for World Jewry, questioning whether the Star's reporting of Levy's religion and sexual orientation was "a subtle form of racism or homophobia."
"Is Ms. Levy's Jewishness and being gay factors that should have constituents vote for or against her?" Raphael asked.
A similar question was raised on the Letters page by Shah Nawaz Husain in response to the Star's report that ex-MP Rahim Jaffer was charged with drunk driving and possession of cocaine. The Star had told readers in a Page 1 photo caption that Jaffer was Canada's first Muslim MP.
"I was surprised that the Star highlighted the Muslim aspect of ex-MP Rahim Jaffer. ... Why does the Star make such a fuss about a religion he was born in?" Husain asked.
Last week, readers questioned the relevance of a prominent Page 1 headline that asked: "Is this officer in line to be TORONTO'S FIRST BLACK POLICE CHIEF?" The article reported that Peter Sloly, Toronto's newest deputy police chief, may be destined to become "the city's first police chief of colour." The story focused on the 43-year-old's "meteoric" rise through the ranks of the Toronto force.
Reader K.A. Smyth raised this in a Sept. 24 letter to the editor: "Why does race have to immediately be mentioned? How can we as a society ever move forward and just all live together if our major newspaper still lives in the dark ages?"
Let me try to shed some light here.
As public editor, I know that just about any reference to race or religion in the Star is likely to evoke some concern from readers. In each of the above situations, I heard from a number of readers.
Some believe the Star should never refer to the religion or race of those in the news and suggest that such labels lead to stereotyping and prejudice. We live in Canada's most diverse community. Any edict to never refer to race or religion in the Star would, to my mind, be unrealistic and regressive. Race and religion often are germane to helping readers fully understand the news.
The Star's long-standing policy says: "No reference, direct or indirect, should be made to a person's race, colour or religion unless it is pertinent to the story." This test of relevancy needs to be applied by the Star's writers and editors any time race or religion – as well as sexual orientation – are included in a story.
Did the Star pass the relevancy test in the above examples? For the most part, yes, though I think there were some missteps in the manner in which the information about Jaffer and Sloly was presented to readers.
Labelling Levy as Jewish and openly gay was relevant to understanding the dynamics of the St. Paul's by-election. As Queen's Park Bureau Chief Robert Benzie reported, the riding has "a significant Jewish population" and "a healthy contingent of socially liberal, fiscally conservative voters."
Levy told me she took no issue with the coverage: "As a journalist, I would have done much the same thing. It was a newsworthy thing for the party to attract someone like me."
I also think it was relevant to tell readers that Jaffer was Canada's first Muslim MP because this is a fact of which he himself seems to be proud. The biography section of his personal website states: "Mr. Jaffer made history in June of 1997 when he was elected as the first Muslim to the House of Commons at the tender age of 25."
The Star's story about Jaffer's arrest referred to him as Canada's first Muslim MP in a section near the end of the article that outlined his political background. I think the misstep here was in also referring to Jaffer's religion in a prominent Page 1 photo caption – justification for the concern that the Star "highlighted" Jaffer's religion.
If Peter Sloly does become Toronto's first police chief of colour, that will be important news in a community in which controversy about police and racial profiling has long been an issue. But, the Star's story about Sloly included virtually no context to make it clear to readers why it would be an important development if this Jamaican immigrant eventually leads Toronto police. Nor did it include his views on that possibility. That, understandably, opened the door to those readers who asked: "What does his skin colour have to do with anything?"
Clearly, when race or religion is truly relevant, readers need to fully understand why that is so.
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