Armageddon and journalistic ethics

Tim Bousquet

Halifax Examiner, Sept 8, 2014

Dan Leger joins the Chronicle Herald chorus in support of fracking—the editorial board and columnists Roger Taylor, Gail Lethbridge, Marilla Stephenson, and Bill Black have all crooned in support of fracking, with only columnist Ralph Surrette singing off-key. Predictably, like the others, Leger doesn’t mention climate change and focuses only on the (supposed) immediate financial returns of fracking, the next generation be damned.

It’s interesting to me that the paper most read by Nova Scotians can hold editorial views that are so discordant to those of the population at large. Sure, it’s the media’s job to sometimes stick its neck out and be a thought leader, but in this instance the Herald is simply reflecting its own Chamber of Commerce biases.

Can we ask for a little of your time, and some money?

We can’t do this without you. Support independent media and donate a little or a lot – every bit makes a difference. And when you give those precious extra dollars, we treat them as the honour it is and use them carefully to pay for more stories, more distribution of information, and bonus copies to colleges and libraries. Donate $50 or more, and we will publicly thank you in our magazine. And we always thank you from the bottom of our hearts.