Add your comment or send a letter to the editor

Posted: 2003-06-20 10:49:03
#1 - Even from the depths of the centre of Canada, Tyler still is still singing

"O Canada Vote Paul for the PM,
He'll be the one,
The one in which we stand,
He is glorious O Paul Martin,
We stand on guard with him..."


This is a bed rendition of O Canada, but it is surely the one that T-Dog sings! But hey Tyler, nice to hear from you again!


–Sheila Copps, Campaign Manager PM for PM


Posted: 2003-06-20 11:21:56
#2 - [We have not verified that the above post was by anyone with the name "Sheila Coppss".]

–Ed.


Posted: 2003-07-05 18:52:10
#3 - Is the Gauntlet now a forum for Liberal propaganda? Am I wrong in thinking Tyler Johnson's status as a paid and active member of the Liberal party should have been disclosed to readers along with this tripe? Will the Gauntlet now be making campaign contributions to the Liberal party?

You erred in judgement in allowing this to run as an unqualified opinion....at the very least it should have been one half of a point-counterpoint. At best, it's a letter. I expect to see space given in the next few weeks to supporters of the other major parties so they have the equal opportunity to present the advantages of those entities.

Otherwise, what's the point of calling yourselves a newspaper? You might as well be the Liberal recruiting pamphlet.

–Nopolitix


Posted: 2003-07-05 20:23:55
#4 - Nopolitix: Rest assured that the editorial pages will soon fill with right-wing tripe from myself and the other non-Liberals around the office, to counterbalance the left-wing tripe you and others dislike.

–Ben, Production Editor


Posted: 2003-07-07 10:29:15
#5 - Nopolitix, you are wrong in thinking. Although I am an active member of the Liberal party I have never been paid by them.

–Tyler Johnson


Posted: 2003-07-08 11:45:09
#6 - Nopolitix,

The way the Gauntlet works is that students who are interested in contributing can and we welcome all of them to do so. We also welcome pieces from Gauntlet alumni, which Mr. Johnson happens to be.

Tyler wrote for us consistently last year and, as an individual interested and involved in Canadian politics, I welcome his contributions at any time. The same goes for yourself. Let your voice be heard, by writing a letter or volunteering at the paper.

Mr. Johnson is one of many voices at the Gauntlet and, like Mr. Li said, many of us do not share his centrist Liberal Party views. Don't worry too much about balance, the Opinions section is my "jurisdiction" if you will and a simple look back at the 2001/02 editorial year (when I was Opinions Editor) should reassure you that there will be balance between left and right, serious and light, political and non-political commentary.

Cheers,

Lawrence Bailey
Editor-in-Chief, the Gauntlet

–Lawrence Bailey, Editor-in-Chief


Posted: 2003-07-09 19:58:43
#7 - As reassured as I am to hear that I'll see balance by the end of the year in the Gauntlet's editorial section...

I maintain that any writer with strong political ties should disclose those before running opinion pieces in the paper, if for no other reason than to make readers aware of what sources of information the writer might be predisposed to use, which "recent polls" they might be paying attention to, etc. I know it's an opinion section and if Tyler wants to preach Paul Martin as the second coming of Christ, fine....but he should qualify whether some of his statements that read as facts are coming from Ipsos-Reid or The World According To the Grits Handbook. And if he won't do that of his own volition, then readers should be told about the possible reasons why, IE active devotees of the Liberal party aren't likely to admit that "The World According to the Grits Handbook" as their only source for "Paul Martin IS the best, most qualified man to rule the world." Kind of goes to the credibility of the whole piece.

And when I said "paid and active," I was trying to convey that he'd paid for a membership....not that he was paid by the party. Sorry.

–Nopolitix


Posted: 2003-07-09 21:21:39
#8 - Nopolitix: How much should be bluntly stated and how much should be left to the reader to figure out?

In this case, it should be clear from reading that Mr. Johnson supports the Liberal Party and Paul Martin. Similarly, when a certain late-20s lawyer who supports a certain right-wing party write about Kyoto or Canadian politics in the Calgary Sun, it is obvious what poltical affiliation that writing carries.

I was not party to the particular instance of editorial process which saw the publication of Mr. Johnson's piece, but we have run tags in the past with editorial content stating affiliations of the author(s) involved, and in doing so we've received the comment that such information takes away from the piece by artifically spinning it with a particular bias in the mind of the reader. Some readers skip pieces altogether and pass immediate judgement when they see that the author is affiliated with interest X, without having read the content, which is quite unfortunate especially if the content has nothing to do with the interest (not this case).

In short, like everything else, we are discussing a balance which attempts to serve the greatest number of people. I understand your point of view in desiring more disclosure, but as important a question would be "Does it make a difference that he is a Liberal if he wrote it on his own behalf without the knowledge or support of the Liberal Party?" The correct response to both clearly includes some combination of 'Yes' and 'No'.

-Ben

–Ben, various


Posted: 2003-07-10 09:11:08
#9 - I agree with Mr. Li on this one.

While Mr. Johnson does have obvious political ties, by stating that he is a member of the Liberal Party would be overkill for anyone who read the piece. In my opinion, Mr. Johnson's affiliations are obvious once you read his opinion.

All Tyler is at this point is a member of the party, an active member yes, but a member nonetheless. Were we to preface every political piece with who belonged to what party and what organization every story would have a disclaimer. Tyler wrote this as an independent citizen, not as a Liberal Party member. He is stating his personal views which happen to also be those of the party he supports.

The times when we do run a title or a statement of affiliation are when the individual is writing on behalf of said group. For example, Gavin Preston could very well write us a letter as a student or as Students' Union VP Op-Fi. Depending on the issue and the tone he wishes to take it is his discretion which hat he chooses to wear.

As a paper, I think we should respect that. The decision of affiliation is one the author makes the majority of the time.

Lawrence Bailey

–Lawrence Bailey, Editor-in-Chief


Posted: 2003-07-11 19:34:50
#10 - I'll be interested to see how all this rhetoric translates to action over the next 12 months. Thanks for your responses.

–Nopolitix


Posted: 2003-07-17 08:52:17
#11 - I agree with the statement that the sources of recent polls that I used in my article should be disclosed. The problem is I was limited in the amount of words I could use in the article and got edited as it was. As this is just an opinions article and not an academic paper I didnít reference everything. However the original article encouraged people to visit a website that would provide all the information asked for. www.paulmartintimes.ca has all the news and information about Mr. Martins campaign, this website should answer any questions.

–Tyler Johnson

 Views expressed are those of the posters and do not necessarily reflect that of the Gauntlet.