Rob Ford: Toronto Finally Knows the Truth is a very biased article written by John Cruickshank, published by the Toronto Star on Friday November 1st of 2013, about then mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, who has since passed away. The article writes of the dispute between Ford and the Star's journalists, and of the allegations against Ford stating that he has been spotted smoking cocaine and expressing homophobic and racist statements. The article is quick to remind the readers in every opportunity, of the evil, Ford, and the good, The journalists. It writes of Ford and his brother asking their supporters to cancel their subscription of the Star, because of their belief that the Star's form of journalism is "unethical". It mentions Mr. Ford's "drug …show more content…
use" about a dozen more times, relating it to Ford being a liar and a deceiver. Finally, the article ends with a list of names of all the journalists and lawyers "passionately" involved in writing "the best story possible". Bias, according to Cambridge dictionary, is having a predetermined idea, usually not based on fair facts, in favour or against a certain thing or person when compared to another.
Bias is always unfair, and almost always bad, but it is very common regardless.
Rob Ford: Toronto Finally Knows the Truth does not fail to antagonize Ford at every turn, from calling his actions, as reasonable as they are, a "brilliantly cynical and manipulative campaign", to calling Doug Ford "Mr. Ford's thuggish brother", and to naming Ford a deceiver and a liar over a video, which might not even be proof of the drug allegations. The emotionally charged words work against Ford and very much in favour of the journalists. Cruickshank, the author of the article, writes of the Star and it's workers, calling it "powerless [under Ford] to defend their own integrity", "wise and enormously experienced", "extraordinary reporting", and calling its sources, usually unnamed in articles, "deep and knowledgeable". Another form of bias obvious through the article is the use of we. Cruickshank uses we many times throughout the article, sometimes meaning it as we the journalists, but other times as we the people, which manipulates the reader into believing whatever is written without them realizing. An example
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of this would be "As painful as it is, we must acknowledge as a community that the mayor has been startlingly successful in his deceit." Even from the start of the sentence, the writer is stating his opinion as a fact. He then proceeds to add himself to the community of people reading the article, and states his opinion about Ford using soft and mostly positive words, making it hard to disagree with. It is very hard to pick an example of imbalance presented facts because this article does a very good job at representing both sides of the argument... Just kidding. The entirety of this article is an imbalance of presented facts, and one example of it would be writing of the Star as a completely faultless news outlet, with absolute reliable sources, and unbiased articles, then writing of Ford as a liar and a deceiver, because he has decided to step up to the Star and speak of their biased articles, and unethical and unnamed sources, but since that is not enough reason to turn make people turn on a mayor, pointing it to a video that may or may not be proof of Ford smoking. Other examples of bias include over generalization, used a few times, an example of which is "...the Star and any other media who dared to question him." Since no other media is written of in the article, I am to assume that it did not happen with any other media, because if it did the Star would not hesitate to use it to further antagonize Ford. Democracy, generally known as "government by the people, for the people" is a form of government in which the power is under the control of the people['s representatives]. It counts on elections (Hehehe get it?) and votes to solve issues and pick representatives, and the power is with the majority. It is not always fair, but as Winston Churchill has said it is the best we have got. Democracy, which literally translates to the people rule, allows free speech, meaning anyone can express their thoughts and opinions about everything as long as it is not violating the law.
This gives the power to media to speak of people the way they want, which is not what the media is supposed to do, but it is what is done nevertheless. As students learn at school, a report is not supposed to be biased, but it is virtually impossible to find an unbiased article today. Because of free speech, the Star can state what they think are the problems with the mayor, the prime minister, and probably even the queen. Others can read this article and decide either to agree or disagree with it, but they can form an opinion without having to worry about their safety. As stated in the story, this article might just stop Ford from receiving a seat in the coming election. That is how powerful it is. The problem with democracy in this case is the same thing as what was stated above. This article is clearly very biased, but it might nonetheless take away Ford's political career if it convinces enough people. If the majority agree with this article and not vote for Ford, he is going to lose his job, regardless of the allegations' state of
accuracy. Since this is not a report, the use of I is okay and I can draw attention to myself to state my opinion (something that the reporter seemed not to understand.) and I am going to use it right now. I believe that this article is very biased, but also very ineffective. It is so biased and over the top that it loses the effect. I do not know if Rob Ford was a good mayor or not and I am not going to research about it, partly because of time, but this article just convinced me that he was okay, if not good.
The article was written a couple years before Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister. The Author focuses on Justin’s liberal attitudes, especially regarding a hot topic such as the legalization of marijuana. He comes across as a “hero for the people” type of politician. The author of the article skims over a variety of topics concerning what Justin spoke of in Calgary. It is a very short story, but I think that the writer got his point across on the subject of Trudeau’s progressive views, mainly when it comes to marijuana.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is not the best method of transportation in the city of Toronto, because it’s unreliable, inconvenient, and unsanitary. First of all, the TTC is unreliable because of many delays. The TTC buses often come late and there are many subway breakdowns and signal problems. These problems can cause longer wait times and result in the rider being late. Additionally, the TTC is inconvenient because it is difficult for the rider to get to his or her destination without a few transfers. In addition, there are very few direct routes and limited area coverage. For example, there are some areas where passengers have to walk long distances just to get to the bus stop. These problems can result in many transfers and cause
In “Reporting the News” by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry, the main idea is how the media determines what to air, where to get said stories that will air, how the media presents the news, and the medias effect on the general public. “Reporting The News” is a very strong and detailed article. The authors’ purpose is to inform the readers of what goes on in the news media. This can be inferred by the authors’ tone. The authors’ overall tone is critical of the topics that are covered. The tone can be determined by the authors’ strong use of transitions, specific examples, and phrases or words that indicate analysis. To summarize, first, the authors’ indicate that the media chooses its stories that will air
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Soghoian, Christopher. “When Secrets Aren’t Safe With Journalists”. The Opinion Pages. The New York Times, 26 October 2011. Web. 17 November 2013.
the Canadian government tries to shy away from such an allegation, the impact of the
Newman, Garfield et al. Canada A Nation Unfolding. Toronto: Mc Graw – Hill Ryerson Limited, 2000.
Taras, D. (2001). Power and betrayal in the Canadian media (2nd ed.) Peterborough, ON:Broadview Press.
The invalid and biased news complication that has advanced through America in recent Months has been analyzed by authors across the country, displaying their take on the condition of the political world today through a multitude of informational and assertive works of expression. While Glenn McCoy and Stephen Marche appealed accordingly to their respective audiences emotions, Marche is more likely than McCoy to succeed in accomplishing the goal of convincing the democratic party to change their minds concerning the issue of the notorious fake news phenomenon in America. Marches essay touches on the heated interviews between political contras and the way the line between irony and reality has blurred, backing up his argument with statistics
...plications, the public is able to share and obtain information before the morning newspaper is delivered. In addition, the media today continues to dramatize public events. Cases such as the Zimmerman Trial or foreign incidents in Ukraine remain headlines on news articles for months. Each source presents bias and influences its audience differently.
The recent political climate in Canada has been one characterized by its need for change. With the ever-increasing frustration revolving around the Conservative regime, many Canadians were ready to see an upheaval of the previous administration. To acknowledge, and hopefully reverse this change in climate, the Conservatives developed several attack ads aimed at demeaning public opinion of their opponents. One ad in particular, The Interview, was an effective means for undercutting the validity of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. The ad utilizes framing as a technique to create negative associations about Trudeau through constant repetition of his inadequacies and loaded language. More specifically, the politically biased technique attempts to
Toronto city is one of the world’s most cosmopolitan, diverse and tolerant cities and is consistently ranked as one of the best cities to live in terms of life quality. Toronto located on the northwestern shores of Lake Ontario in the Southern Ontario district is home to more than 2.5 million residents. This Canadian city is unique melting pot of diverse cultural and ethnical immigrants from all over the world. The city is renowned for its high quality of life, economic and financial position and as an important socio-cultural center of North America.
The cover of this issue highlighted six articles including: “Why Charlie Brown Was So Sad”, explaining that every bitter memory of author Charles Schulz’s long life made its way into “Peanuts”, “Coffee $130/LB.” introducing a new café, Manic Coffee, in Toronto that sells $15 cups of coffee, “Will Your Child’s Concussions Make Him Dangerous?”, the health article earlier discussed, “Stephen Colbert’s Secret Agenda”, reviewing the Comedy Central network’s show, The Colbert Report, “Harper to Dion: Make my Day”, about Stephen Harper issuing a “fish or cut bait” ultimatum and most prominently, “Are We Becoming a Nation of Bigots”, discussing Canada’s current level of toleration towards the multi-cultural country.
Newspapers and nightly news shows have become a business. They no longer go by the public services values they once stood by (Sensationalism, 2005). Instead of being the fourth branch of government, they are just like any other money making business. It is no longer a race to put out the truth; it is more a race for dollars and control. Sensationalism is purely fueled by money and popularity. If a news outlet garners a large amount of popularity, they can swing votes, and influence voters. Sensationalism has already affected many political situations. Sensationalism has proven to spread like a virus. If sensationalism is not controlled, there is no way the news outlets can be the advocate for the people.
Americans look to the press to provide the information they need to make informed political choices. How well the press lives up to its responsibility to provide this information has a direct impact upon Americans: how they think about and act upon the issues that confront them.