The Telegraph-Journal sincerely apologizes to the Prime Minister…
The story stated that a senior Roman Catholic priest in New Brunswick had demanded that the Prime Minister’s Office explain what happened to the communion wafer which was handed to Prime Minister Harper during the celebration of communion at the funeral mass. The story also said that during the communion celebration, the Prime Minister “slipped the thin wafer that Catholics call ‘the host’ into his jacket pocket”.
There was no credible support for these statements of fact at the time this article was published, nor is the Telegraph-Journal aware of any credible support for these statements now. Our reporters Rob Linke and Adam Huras, who wrote the story reporting on the funeral, did not include these statements in the version of the story that they wrote. In the editing process, these statements were added without the knowledge of the reporters and without any credible support for them.
…20 days after publication. Do reporters even follow the news anymore?
h/t John G.
Update: Stephen Taylor has lots, lots more – “That’s quite an edit!”
Update 2: This is finally trickling into the mainstream this morning. The Calgary Herald notes “Both the names of the newspaper’s editor, Shawna Richer, and the publisher, Jamie Irving, do not appear on the masthead of Tuesday’s edition.”
That said, there are some priests (they being all too human) who will make statements on matters that they have no expertise in or, knowledge thereof. I know, I’ve met some.
Another thing about the Internet, the comments are often more interesting and contain more facts about the reality of the situation than the so-called ‘story.’
Another case of “fake but accurate!” ?
Why no naming of the idiot editor who inserted the offending passage, no mention of disciplinary action being taken, no mention of the procedures being implemented to ensure no future reoccurrence?
The editors should be fired. I hate to think of the prejudices which would cause said editor to create such a fabrication.
I agree with Doug, the comments section of online news are the only thing which provide balance and informed viewpoints to counterbalance the ingrained narrative the writer (or seemingly, their editor) is trying to convey, facts to be sidestepped or slipped surreptitiously into pockets.
I’m no lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but I’m pretty sure that libel is at play here. Sure you could take the high road and forget about it and avoid all the negative media spin that a legal case would ensure, but that would simply embolden unethical editors to insert more blatant lies into news stories. You are damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. So what is the high road now?
shows you how out of touch newspaper editors are.
whoever did this, is this some sort of deliberate career suicide? like they’re not going to get caught? stuff like this spreads like wildfire. look; if not for SDA I wouldn’t have known, but here it is.
in the golden age of reporting, editing meant fact checking, spell checking, clarifying and trimming to enough to get the main point across. but this is just, soooooo weird.
The high and mighty MSM DO NOT apologize unless there is something else going on…..maybe the rest of the biased media will think a bit before deciding that smearing the Conservatives makes it OK to “stretch the truth” or even make up back stories.
simple English translation:
“We lied, we created a false story, but it is OK because we hate Conservatives”
News Manufacturer Recalls Faulty Product. Quality control staff competence called into question by leading media expert.
Well, at least if it were a car, baby crib or listeriosis laced salami it would be pitched this way.
Will the Blubb and Wail publish the retraction? They
certainly ran with the original story.
So tell me again how the quote from the priest got in? He isnt saying he was misquoted. The editors were in contact with the priest.
This was manufactured, completely…100% Canada Grade A Bulls**t.
This was an “intelligent design” story.
Without the naming and firing of the individual(s), all this says is ” be more carefull next time”.
Until such a time as there is a naming and firing, nothing that appears in the Telegraph-Journal or its sister papers has zero credibility.
should have said “anything”
Again, this doesn’t make sense. If it is the case that the two reporters did not insert that ‘event’ into their story, then, why didn’t they immediately, on the day of publication, tell their editor – and the CBC, CTV, etc etc..that this insert was untrue?
Why, 20 days after the event, are we only now being told that the reporters saw, and reported ‘no such thing’?
Indeed name the Editor, 20 days late is not good enough, and they wonder why people don’t want to buy their newspapers, to quote “Kate” you don’t speak for me!
To continue my speculation, I suspect that the reporters and the editor knew very well what they were doing and that the insert about the wafer was deliberate.
Again, if, as the apology states, the reporters did not write this and knew nothing about it, then why didn’t they go public when their article was printed? Why didn’t they complain, loudly, that they had never written such a thing?
Why didn’t the editor apologize immediately and acknowledge that these reporters hadn’t observed or written such an event?
Or was it because Mr. Harper brought a lawsuit against the reporters, editor and newspaper for libel and defamation of character? Is that the reason for the reporters and editor suddenly, after almost a month, remembering that they had not only not seen, but had not written such a thing? Is that what’s going on? A lawsuit which they would lose under oath?
So what was the motivation of inserting ficton as fact? To embarrass the Prime Minister or the Catholic Church – or perhaps both? Lovely picture of the news masquerading as ficton. There have been Pulitzer prizes for this type of fiction. If the editor is not writing a book, I’m sure there will a job for him/her in Ottawa in the national media circus.
i agree with doug as a matter of fact dougie i have also learned alot from commentors such as yourself and other and yes i understand it is just opinion but sometimes somepeople post some fact based opinion and i will research it and some very littel i might add is kinda iffy but most is true and factual …so yes i agree i liek the coment’s page .
Save the planet from gross western consumerism – go the ultimate green – advertising tax now! Start with newspapers, that use trees. The planet cannot sustain their products anymore. Not only do they spew greenhouse gases when they drive their lies around on trucks, but they murder millions of CO2-sequestering trees every year.
Cap and trade does not go far enough. Put a tax on newspaper advertising that reflects the damage they do to the planet every day.
They are getting hammered in the comments as well. Folks demanding names, especially after a reporter apparently got fired a while back for a spelling error.
Will Kinsella apologize?
So what was the motivation of inserting ficton as fact?
Simple,
At that moment, Harper was being lauded by other world leaders and the IMF as being one of the few leaders to have handled the current economic “crisis” properly.
This would have made Harper look good to Canadians. This could not be permitted by the media, so they ran with the most convienent distraction.
Wow, I had no idea that editing included fabricating and inserting inflamatory and bogus material. We absolutely need to know who this person is. He/She is the reason why media, at a time when it is more powerful than ever, is trusted less and less. We peons have no idea how much of this goes on and whom we should believe.
BTW to “Shaken” you are on the wrong page buddy.
Absolutely correct Dowleeb. The MSM has utilized this tactic since the CP took their first minority government. They have attached the word ‘gate’ to everything and anything in order to distract Canadians away from anything positive coming out. The MSM cannot allow this to occur so the Tabers and the Fife’s will keep doing these hatchet jobs. Quite disgraceful actually
Hey, will all of those other media wankers also run retractions? Especially the tv networks.
THAT’S why our family no longer subscribes to newspapers.
I’ve had to start blocking phone numbers, they are getting so desperate to re-subscribe me.
No way.
Well, I say kudos to the paper in correcting an obvious wrong. And for making it front page.
Lets not discourage this.
Are we seeing a glimmer of ethics appearing in the news industry?
I still need some help in understanding this.
IF it is the case that the reporters who wrote the article did NOT insert the outline of ‘what Harper did’ and its analysis, THEN…why didn’t they, on the very day of its publication, yell out publicly – We Did Not See Or Write This.
Why didn’t they inform CBC, CTV, and etc, that they had not seen this situation nor had they written about it? WHY? Why did they allow the media, which is heavily Liberal and anti-Harper, to go into a frothing joyous fury at Harper’s presumed waywardness? WHY?
Is it because they DID write it? Or if they didn’t write it, did they approve someone else’s insertion of it? After all, they must have seen their article and heard what people were saying, based on their article. WHY were they silent?
Why did it take almost a month for the newspaper to state that it was a fraudulent and defamatory article?
Imagine this:
1. The day that the story runs (July 8), reporters Rob Linke and Adam Huras approach the Editor-In-Chief asking where the bit about pocketing the wafer came from.
2. The Editor-In-Chief makes a few phone calls and finds out who edited the article. He/she calls in the editor, and the four of them have a candid talk.
3. The next day (July 9), the editor is fired and the Telegraph-Journal runs a retraction.
But no. They waited till July 28. What the hell happened here? What’s the real story?
The Telegraph Journal has always been very biased and anti-conservative. Disgustingly so, quite frequently. They’ve bashed all things conservative like the Left bashes Sarah Palin today.
BTW, it’s owned by the Irving family, who also owns the largest oil refinery in the country. Yep, Big Oil and Big Media together attacking the PM on religious grounds. Scary.
Lee…you are too gracious, since the MSM dragged the story on for days and the people who knew the truth sat on it for almost a month.During the whole G-8 conference CTV couldn’t say ‘Prime Minister’ Harper, but they always mentioned the wafer.
I’ll borrow this for now:
Fire.Them.All
And a little ‘I told you so’…Kate got a few reactions to her ‘wafer/cracker’ reference when the REAL story was the misleading crap from the media.
Seems our Shawna has a history of having an agenda . . . just google her name . . . .
“When I heard this morning that Saint John Mayor Ivan Court had cancelled his Telegraph Journal subscription and was now refusing to do interviews with anyone from the T.J. short of debating publisher Jamie Irving, my first thought was here’s another politician upset about media coverage and choosing to shoot the messenger.
http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/blog/fromtheright,531662
Or maybe not.
Telegraph Journal Editor Shawna Richer responded by telling CBC Radio that Court’s criticism is misguided and the T.J. is simply doing its job as an advocate.
There’s where Richer lost me.
She has admitted a journalistic publication has a bias and an agenda. The paper isn’t supposed to be an advocate of anything. Granted we know bias exists but at least most media outlets try at least a thinly veiled attempt at trying to hide when they’re pushing an agenda. Richer had admitted the T.J. in fact is out to “get” the City.
Is it any wonder Court doesn’t want to talk to them.
This isn’t about hiding the facts. The T.J. and any media outlet should and in fact must report the facts. They also must do their very best to present the various sides of a story in a fair and equitable manner. Then it’s up to the public to decide. The T.J. has crossed that line into advocate journalism and taking a stand instead of simply reporting the news.
Given that who can blame Court for not being suspicious of their motives. Frankly anyone being interviewed by the Telegraph Journal would be perhaps wise to first ask, “What’s your agenda on this story?” since admittedly they have one, at least when it comes to the City of Saint John.”
I sense that we are quietly being laughed at for our outrage. A near two week news cycle of wafer-ate instead of gee-8 and the anti-Harper media have accomplished the message domination. A 15 second apology hardly can compete.
I´m sensing many Canadians are on to this tactic. Take the ultra-Liberal scribe Mr. Cleroux recently writing in the Westmount Examiner how Harper “Does it again to gays”. The comment section should be considered quite instructional as Cleroux is sliced diced and is rendered no better than spent latex. Pure and simple blatant partisanship lies. Readers clearly are offended at the audacity. However, Liberal elites know the comments seldom see a page printed in the hard copy newspaper. Harper is really the underdog. And we are starting to really like the steadiness and surety of this underdog.
Words, bullets and ICBM’s cannot be recalled or their impact lessened/reduced after the fact.
Timeliness of recall is an important aspect—–the 20 day delay makes the retraction meaningless….
The sad truth is that only those well informed will ever know or realize this story was BS….
What I find ironic/interesting is that such media scum are styled as elitists…..
The term elite reflects some form superiority….anymore these scum (such as Obama/Layton) that are styled elitists are not superior but vastly inferior specimens……about 4 layers lower than whale….sh!t…..
And before the internet, and blogs like this one, how much of this fabricated rubbish went out unchallenged? I thought editors were supposed to remove things, not add in their own feverish hallucinations.
Lee,
I think you are giving them a little too much credit there. This apology has the whiff of “we had to” and not “we want to because we made a mistake and it’s the right thing to do.”
Joanie – nicely put. I immensely respect PMSH’s inflappability in the face of unending smear jobs.
This 20 day late ‘apology’ is no apology at all. The T.J. earns no respect for this – just scorn.
It’s called “The Power of the Press”. It means being able to slime people at will.
A quick bio on the publisher: http://propelict.com/node/1138
Also note two quotes from the Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K.C._Irving
“The Irvings have an almost complete monopoly in print media in New Brunswick”
“The Irving family has long been identified politically with the Liberal Party of Canada and the New Brunswick Liberal Party”
Didn’t we just hear a few days ago some politician asking the press to “not make things up” ?? And wasn’t this politician roundly ridiculed by the press for saying this and mouthing their claim that “We never make anything up”
Who was that ?
Could it have been Sarah Palin ?
I’d like to know the name of the little scumbag with the cellphone at the ready to photograph any so-called embarrassing error as the PM participated in the RC funeral. They used that as proof that SH had put the wafer in his pocket.
It was a setup and maybe, just maybe, the reporters weren’t in on it. The editor certainly was. I expect they all had a giggle at how easily they had snookered the big guy.
Thank God they’ve all been caught with their grubby little fingers all over it.
I’d almost watch the pinched lips at the big networks tonight to see how they handle this part of the story.
One question:
When is the last time you saw a retraction like this on the front page of any paper?
In my view , its a step forward. Small step maybe, but at least it is in the right direction.
Gee. I hope Jamie Irving can find another job.
Didn’t we just hear a few days ago some politician asking the press to “not make things up” ?? … Could it have been Sarah Palin ?
Well, Fred, if anyone knows about making things up, it’s the chronically mendacious Palin.
Many here are advocating cutting subscriptions, but I have an even better idea. Why dont we simply find our way over to the Telegraph-Journal, virtually (online) or over the phone, and order a few dozen or even hundreds of subscriptions? The trick is do it with fake credentials. Use an obviously fake name, tell them you want to pay for your subscription with a made up credit card – not a made up number, an *actual* fake credit card – called “Zowie” or “Bling Bling” or “Where’s the beef” any silly name will do. If they ask, tell them your credit card number is “5”.
Would this protest be too subtle?
Oh! Oh! a liebral has voiced his support for the Telegraph-Journal.
philboy – please provide examples to substantiate your opinion about Mrs. Palin.
Oh – and what’s your opinion about the Telegraph Journal’s behaviour?
Jack asked when will Knsella apologize…..ulm never….for a couple of reasons
1) He doesnt do that unless caught absolutely red handed
2) This is his work, he is proud of it. Unlike his jokes (catsmeat, women baking cookies, numerous gay jokes) he intended this. This is right out of his book, turning your opponents strength against him/her.
So the priest who was quoted still hasnt retracted as far as I can tell. What was his roll in all of this.
This was a bought and paid for operation, said it at the time. Too well coordinated.
So which is worse, buying ad time to post Michael Ignatieff’s own words, or creating a story out of thin air attacking religous beliefs and sullying a sacred ritual.
What did the younger LeBlanc know about this story and why would he let his fathers ceremony be used for it. And if he didnt know he should be angry.
Keep investigating, all roads will lead to a certain place.
Joanie makes a good point that the retraction does not undo all the bad press the PM got and that this encourages the MSN to keep at it. Would a law suit by PM Harper discourage this kind of reporting? I bet it would.
Disgusted.
BTW – I am new to the blog and I too have cancelled my subscription to the Star.
Google is your friend, ET. Start with the bridge to nowhere.
My opinion is that whoever is responsible
should be looking for another job….and profession.