Pubdate: Fri, 12 Aug 2016
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Page: A10
Copyright: 2016 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168

THE MAYOR LIED. THE CAMERA DIDN'T

The release of the long-awaited videos showing the late mayor of 
Toronto Rob Ford smoking crack may seem, in a way, like ancient 
history. The videos showing Mr. Ford are pathetic, and carry less 
shock value than they would have, had the evidence been released when 
the first headlines appeared in the spring of 2013. Yet no matter how 
inured we became to the spectacle that was the Ford mayoralty, it is 
worth reflecting on one lesson learned from the tale of these tapes.

Amid the late-night comedy show appearances by Mr. Ford, and his wild 
mood swings in front of microphones, it is worth remembering the role 
that journalism played in this story. It took tenacity to discover 
the truth about Rob Ford.

When news first broke in Gawker and the Toronto Star that a video 
existed, many Ford supporters simply refused to believe it, claiming 
instead it was an invention of the media. The reporting and the 
credentials of the journalists involved were questioned. Reporters 
were threatened. The release Thursday of those videos puts the lie to 
all those who made the false claim that simply because the media did 
not possess the videos, the videos therefore did not exist.

Despite the questions about the media's motives, the body of 
investigative work into the Ford family grew over time. The Globe and 
Mail spent months investigating and ultimately exposing how some 
members of the Ford family had a history of dealing in drugs. The 
Ford band kept on playing their divisive tune, pedalling what they 
saw as a put-up or shut-up simplicity that belied the difficulty of 
acquiring a video that was in the hands of criminals.

The truth for all to see only came in the spring of 2014, when The 
Globe paid for photographic evidence that proved the mayor was a 
drug-taker. He went into rehab minutes after the story was published.

While trust is something that journalists and media organizations can 
earn only through good behaviour, the rabid denouncing of reporters, 
especially on social media, has become something of a vicious game 
for the anonymous. Proof that the Ford tapes exist hopefully 
represents the final bookend on what was an embarrassing and shameful 
mayoralty, and provides ample evidence that investigative journalism matters.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom