UPDATED – see below
Several days ago I posted Rory Leishman’s good column here (read about why, here; and read the column here), because the local paper it was scheduled to appear in, the London Free Press, refused to publish it based on what I see as nothing but a liberal editor’ s fear of conservative thoughts getting a public airing. Because that’s what they do.
It speaks to their agenda-driven bias and goes a long way toward explaining the downward spiral in liberal media readership and viewership generally.
Today the editor of the London Free Press used his “blog” (it’s not a blog) to explain it all away. He doesn’t mention ProudToBeCanadian.ca, but let’s face it, that’s what he’s talking about.
He wrote:
PAUL BERTON: The many fans of Free Press columnist Rory Leishman appear to have mounted a campaign against the Free Press for spiking one of his columns.
That was my decision. Within 24 hours of making it, however, we received letters from places such as Chemainus, British Columbia, Hamilton, Parry Sound, St. Catharines. . .
The writers are accusing The London Free Press of censorship, of being anti-democratic, of false advertising etc. etc. etc. I’m sure all these people have read the column we refused to waste perfectly good newsprint on, but I’ll print it here for the benefit of the rest of you.
First though, it should be noted that we pick and choose daily the kinds of articles and columns that get into the paper. Further, most of our columnists here at The London Free Press, including Ian Gillespie, Morris Dalla Costa, Jim Kernaghan and James Reaney have had their columns spiked from time to time and edited regularly, and somehow those decisions have not resulted in a campaign of 15 or more letters from across the country within hours.
Here’s Rory Leishman’s column: …
[…] didn’t think about it very long, but it struck me as misinformed and misinformation and potentially damaging to a valuable local institution. It’s fine to object ot public nudity, but this was over-the-top. Would we compare a Rembrandt nude to a Hustler centrefold?
A London Free Press reader/commenter replied to his “blog” entry:
I’ve always felt that Mr. Leishman’s columns belong on Saturday’s religious page, along with half of Herman Goodden’s columns. Personally, the column doesn’t bother me, but now that the Free Press has dropped the op-ed page (a major mistake, in my view) and its three-plus editorials, having Mr. Leishman on the editorial page is like sitting down to a meal of gruel. The Free Press has lost even the potential for diversity of opinion, forcing me (as a longtime Free Press reader) to look elsewhere to find it. I’ll wrap up by saying that it was a tragedy in more ways than one when Ms. Blackburn died suddenly 15 years ago and her two children decided to sell The London Free Press in 1997. The community is losing and has lost its forum and its voice.
(Hat tip to Marc for this info)
UPDATE:
Our PTBC reader and contributor Marc (apparently also a member of the “campaign” that was “mounted”) added his two cents to the “blog” comments there:
Posted by: Marc Mielhausen
What kind of totalitarian editor says things like “it struck me as misinformed and misinformation” and “this was over-the-top”? Just because the facts don’t cooperate with your real reason for not printing the article (“potentially damaging to a valuable local institution”), you have chosen the route of dishonest debate on this blog and accused Mr. Leishman of misinforming readers. Why not print it and let the readers decide just as the Grand Theatre lets people decide whether to watch The Graduate or not? Are you telling us that Section 167 of the Criminal Code of Canada doesn’t exist or that it should be overlooked when it has potential to create consequences for select institutions? Actually, I believe what you are really telling us that you believe in the selective application of Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights. “Would we compare a Rembrandt nude to a Hustler centrefold?” This is a mentally constipating question. Would you [compare] a Rembrandt nude to The Graduate?
PTBC was founded by Mr. Johannesen in 2000.
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