Is Detainedslut Id Tietoturva 2008 09 15 Yk Kehittaa Salaa Keinoja Verkkosurffaajien Jaljittamiseen 200823943 66 Detained Slut Kenney's critics defend refugee rights Keinoja | Halifax Media Salaa Co-op

I am really disappointed to see an article on this issue that would be practically indistinguishable from an article in the corporate press--in fact, I think I have seen much more grassroots and fair coverage of this issue in the mainstream news. I'm actually really surprised, and upset, that this was considered to have met the media coop's editorial policy: 

'"Grassroots" means that for each topic we cover, we talk to the people directly affected by policies or activities first. Once a journalist thoroughly understands the story of those directly affected and has time and resources left over, she brings their questions to those making the decisions: politicians, corporate executives, and so on'.

It appears that this journalist did exactly the opposite--and to make matters worse, did so by relying almost exclusively on one of Canada's most hated politicians.

Quoting Jason Kenney--someone who has consistently made anti-immigrant, racist comments, and whom grassroots groups consider the worst immigration minister in recent history--at such length without any kind of thorough consideration of the arguments against him (or, from the sounds of it, even interviewing a critic) is not only bad journalism, but is also extremely detrimental to the struggles of refugees and migrants who are denied any kind of justice in the country.

At any rate, I just wanted to say that I was considering becoming a member of the Coop, but I found this article disgusting and will have to reconsider.

(This comment is from the author.)

I have a strong bias against Jason Kenney. I'm currently researching and writing a story about how his immigration policy affects refugees and asylum seekers with mental illness. I'm not impressed by his policies. My attempt to balance the article may therefore have been overshot because I was worried about showing my bias. I will certainly try to do better next time.

However, quoting him directly means he is accountable to what he has said. I was there to cover his speech. I'm writing a larger story about the issue that will use his quotes in context. I did not have time that day to find an asylum applicant to tell her or his story.

I posted this story after reading a press release from No One Is Illegal that was published as an article on the Halifax Media Co-op. I thought the two articles would run side by side, thus balancing the issue for readers.

I would also point out that I was not paid for this article. This was voluntary, as are all but two of my Media Co-op stories. For a reader to say they reconsidered membership because of an article that was not financially solicited is ludicrous. Volunteer writers are hard to come by, and under-appreciated. When I read comments that criticize unpaid work in a way that is not constructive, it makes me reconsider writing for the Media Co-op. Please research the model you were considering funding before attacking volunteer authors.

 Thanks to all for your comments. Although no article is perfect, the HMC strives to be a relevant source of grassroots and underreported news for the Halifax region. In this case the author reported on a speech and action that were not at all mentioned in the mainstream media, and brought attention to local angles on the national issue of 'refugee reform'. 

The HMC prioritizes in-depth examinations of grassroots issues, such as the ones seen here and here by the same author, for example. At present we have the budget to pay for one such article per month; the rest of the content is produced by volunteers. As our sustainer base grows we hope to finance more investigative content.

The commenters above - especially the first, who presents what appears to be well-researched criticism of Kenney's record - are encouraged to submit their own content to the HMC website. (That's a serious invitation, not a sarcastic one!) Check out the contributor guidelines section and/or e-mail hillary@mediacoop.ca or ben@mediacoop.ca for more information.

Ben Sichel

I read Hilary's article. It's fine for a news article. She obviously put a decent chunk of work into it, and I know she didn't intend in any way to prop up Canada's fucked and racist immigration system, and I don't see how she did that. I would have gone about it differently, but if I actually was trying to write a news article, I wouldn't be able to veer too far from the model -- I've tried in the past, but with frustration . As soon as you make an argument or take an obvious political position, it's not considered a news article anymore, but "opinion" whether or not it's full of facts.