The Ontario Press Council has upheld a complaint brought by Campaign Life against the Toronto Globe and Mail. The Globe responded by devoting more attention to how Campaign Life reported the decision than to the decision itself. Indeed, the Globe and Mail found Campaign Life’s hotline message on the topic so disturbing that they printed an editorial condemning the pro-life group.
Campaign Life’s complaint goes back to a picket held at the home of abortionist Nikki Colodny on April 13, of this year. Some two weeks after the event, the Globe ran its story of the protest on page one, under the headline “Homes Besieged.” In that story, the Globe portrayed the recruiting of the children as a new Campaign Life strategy. It reported that a woman demonstrator had asked one of the neighbourhood children “So, tomorrow will you go know on her door and tell her to stop killing babies?” The reporter went on to write that “this is the new ‘last resort’ tactic chosen by anti-abortion protestors.
Annette McLoughlin, the woman referred to in the article, and Stephen Jalsevac of Campaign Life lodged a formal complaint with the Ontario Press Council stating that the enlistment of children was not a pro-life tactic and that the reported conversation had not taken place. There had been a conversation between Mrs. McLoughlin and some neighbourhood youngsters, but the boys were only asked “If you ever see Dr. Colodny are you going to ask her to stop?” and “not to be mean but to say nicely, “would you stop killing babies. That would be great if you could do that.”
At the press council hearing, Jalsevac and McLoughlin played a videotape of the entire conversation in question – authenticating their version of the story. The Globe and Mail for its part took the position that the conversation it reported took place prior to the start of the videotape. “I certainly never told any children to knock on Colodny’s door or to approach her house” Mrs. McLoughlin told the Interim. “Nor did any of the picketers hear anyone say such a thing.”
The Press Council did not make a finding as to whose version of the conversation was correct. The council pointed out, however, that “the basic” theme of the Globe and Mail article, April 28th, constitutes the central issue in the complaint.” The council went on to uphold Campaign Life’s complaint, stating that “the newspaper erroneously accused Campaign Life of adopting a ‘last resort’ tactic of recruiting children to carry its message.” As is customary, the Globe and Mail was required to publish the Council’s decision.
Campaign Life, on hearing of the Press Council’s decision, put the news on its telephone hotline – a recorded telephone message that Toronto area people can listen to by calling an advertised number. The hotline message began “Campaign Life has won a protest against the Globe and Mail for printing lies about the first Nikki Colodny home picket.” After giving details of the upheld complaint the message concluded, “The Press Council decided that this was a distortion of the truth and the Globe is now required to print a statement admitting its error.”
The Globe responded to the Council’s decision by running a report of the decision on page eleven and by attacking Campaign Life on the following day in an editorial entitled “Truth is Another Victim.” In its editorial the Globe expressed no regret over its erroneous accusation but labeled the hotline message as “scurrilous.” The editorial stated that the hotline had told listeners that the Globe would have to apology. In fact, no mention of any apology was made on the hotline.
“The Globe and Mail was obviously stinging over this affair,” said Campaign Life Chairman Jim Hughes. “They gave a grossly distorted picture of the Colodny picket. Our main complaint against them was upheld and as a result their credibility has been tarnished as it concerns the newspaper’s abortion coverage. Their editorial has to be seen in that light.”
