![]() I've worked at papers, magazines - and there's been a stunning change towards going with stories before they can be fact-checked. When asked where integrity should come in when dealing with a political scandal, Sandor replied, “It's scary that you have to ask 'where' journalistic integrity should come in. Were the CBC, for example, to pay drug dealers $200,000 for a video (or attempt to), I think the Canadian public would lose trust and faith in the CBC as a reputable, ethical news source. We don't normally go to Gawker when looking for solid, thorough, journalism. Most mainstream American media is tabloidy. Ever.” Murphy agrees that it is not good practice to pay sources but adds, “It isn't as though Gawker is propped up as some kind of model for good or ethical journalism in the eyes of Canadians. ![]() You don't do it through aiding and abetting criminals. But, and this is a big but, you do it through hard research, fact-checking, late nights, and exhausting your sources. In response to whether it was ethical for Cook to seek donations for the Ford video, Sandor said, “It's important to reveal any misuse of the mayor's office, or if he has any addictions that could influence his job. But he would still be mayor.” To discuss the Ford fiasco and the journalistic integrity of those involved, I spoke with Steven Sandor, writer and editor for Avenue Edmonton and Meghan Murphy, editor for Feminist Current. Councillors could theoretically vote as a bloc against the mayor, leaving him powerless to enact his agenda. Also, there is no recall measure in Toronto’s municipal politics. Joseph Brean of The National Post writes: “A vote of non-confidence is meaningless for a mayor. Even if the video exists, the politics in municipalities do not operate the same way as they do in federal politics. There has been much ado about holding politicians accountable, but in reality not much will provoke great change in the mayoral office. While much has been said about the mayor of Toronto and his alleged drug use, very little has been explored in regards to the ethics of Gawker seeking public funding via crowd-sourced dollars to give money to drug dealers for a blackmail video. John Cook of Gawker first wrote of the existence of the crack smoking video describing the events and said that getting the video from drug dealers was going to cost more than he was able to pay. In the age of click-bait-focused journalism there’s always international interest in politicians behaving badly (or dumbly). He's even gained mention on Jon Stewart, which is rare for Canadian politicians. This month, Rob Ford’s alleged crack video has sparked interest far beyond the attention municipal politics usually garner in the city of Toronto.
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