Letters: The merits of ruthless reportage
Re: Huzzah for ruthless reporters, Chris Selley, April 2.
This piece brought back a great deal of nostalgia of my many years reading newspapers. I was brought up in London, England in a family were newspapers were an important part.
My father bought many in the home for the family to read. All the papers had different points of view, and there was no TV in those days. Columnists such as Hannan Swaffer wrote for the Sunday People with incisive explanations of events taking place in the U.K. I did not realize at the time what a wonderful learning experience it was, to read a newspaper. Newspapers at that time were fearless and tough on politicians and those in authority. More digging is needed today by by our reporters and less cozying up to Politicians
The TV media in Canada are so deferential to politicians, particularly Liberals, who haven’t accepted the fact that they are no longer the opposition in Parliament. Canadian media outlets should look to their sister BBC TV news in the U.K. to see how they interact with Politicians of all stripes.
They do not give them an easy time. The BBC World News presenters do not rush through their stories with short snippets, but give detailed information to their viewers. with knowledge and depth.
Alan Tapper, Vancouver.
Chris Selley’s column ranks among the most ridiculous I have read in a long time. First, to use London tabloid journalism as a standard that journalists should aspire to must rankle every self-respecting reporter. But what is really grating is the implicit support Mr. Shelly gives to the Toronto Star’s tactics of selectively bullying and attacking a person that it does not like. Surely, that is not good journalism. Such action and misuse of power has to be abhorrent to any decent man.
Peter Needra, Toronto.
This piece brought back a great deal of nostalgia of my many years reading newspapers. I was brought up in London, England in a family were newspapers were an important part.
My father bought many in the home for the family to read. All the papers had different points of view, and there was no TV in those days. Columnists such as Hannan Swaffer wrote for the Sunday People with incisive explanations of events taking place in the U.K. I did not realize at the time what a wonderful learning experience it was, to read a newspaper. Newspapers at that time were fearless and tough on politicians and those in authority. More digging is needed today by by our reporters and less cozying up to Politicians
The TV media in Canada are so deferential to politicians, particularly Liberals, who haven’t accepted the fact that they are no longer the opposition in Parliament. Canadian media outlets should look to their sister BBC TV news in the U.K. to see how they interact with Politicians of all stripes.
They do not give them an easy time. The BBC World News presenters do not rush through their stories with short snippets, but give detailed information to their viewers. with knowledge and depth.
Alan Tapper, Vancouver.
Chris Selley’s column ranks among the most ridiculous I have read in a long time. First, to use London tabloid journalism as a standard that journalists should aspire to must rankle every self-respecting reporter. But what is really grating is the implicit support Mr. Shelly gives to the Toronto Star’s tactics of selectively bullying and attacking a person that it does not like. Surely, that is not good journalism. Such action and misuse of power has to be abhorrent to any decent man.
Peter Needra, Toronto.
No comments:
Post a Comment