Newspaper editors, not politicians, determine which op-eds are published

[DaLveN @CSBD]

Jody Wilson-Raybould testified at the House of Commons Justice Committee in Ottawa on Wednesday that she was told the prime minister’s office could arrange for op-eds to be published to support her position.Public EditorNewspaper editors, not politicians, determine which op-eds are publishedKathy EnglishBy Kathy EnglishPublic EditorThu., Feb. 28, 2019timer4 min. readThe notion that the office of the prime minister of Canada — or any other politician or public official — could simply “lineup all kinds of people to write op-eds” and expect them to be automatically published in newspapers like the Toronto Star, is both disturbing and laughable.It cynically suggests that our journalism is a passive process of publishing to appease powerful special interests.It is not.

Jody Wilson-Raybould testified at the House of Commons Justice Committee in Ottawa on Wednesday that she was told the prime minister’s office could arrange for op-eds to be published to support her position.Public EditorNewspaper editors, not politicians, determine which op-eds are publishedKathy EnglishBy Kathy EnglishPublic EditorThu., Feb. 28, 2019timer4 min. readThe notion that the office of the prime minister of Canada — or any other politician or public official — could simply “lineup all kinds of people to write op-eds” and expect them to be automatically published in newspapers like the Toronto Star, is both disturbing and laughable.It cynically suggests that our journalism is a passive process of publishing to appease powerful special interests.It is not.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOWJournalistic standards demand that journalists weigh any information offered for publication in any section of the Star with a strong measure of skepticism, the imperative for verification of facts and consideration of the public interest.In reality, it is harder for politicians to get their perspectives published on the Star’s op-ed pages than just about anyone else. Political staff are routinely made aware of this fact when they come to the Star looking to make their partisan case to Canadians through the Star’s many publishing platforms.Undoubtedly many Canadian journalists and quite likely, members of the public, were rattled by the allegations this week of former justice minister and attorney-general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, in which she stated that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s chief of staff, Katie Telford had told Wilson-Raybould’s chief of staff that the PMO would lineup op-eds in support of the then attorney-general coming to a decision to provide a deferred prosecution agreement to SNC-Lavalin. Wilson-Raybould made these statements Wednesday before the House of Commons justice committee examining allegations that she was pressured to politically interfere in criminal charges against the Quebec company.“It would appear they tried to mani[CENSORED]te Jody Wilson-Raybould by promising to mani[CENSORED]te the media,” said Andrew Phillips, the Star’s editorial page editor, who oversees our opinion pages. “She did not allow it, and neither would we.

“All journalists are in the business of many people — politicians and others — trying to mani[CENSORED]te us through various means to publish what they want known, and we are also in the business of resisting and coming to our own judgments,” he said. “The fact that they are seemingly so cynical they would tell people they can do that, does not mean they can.”