FEFCHAK: Is Wheat City newspaper applying a double standard?

FEFCHAK: Is Wheat City newspaper applying a double standard?

Postby Oscar » Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:46 am

Is Wheat City newspaper applying a double standard?

[ http://enterprisenews.ca/Enterprise_Vol ... e03_LR.pdf ]

by John Fefchak Interlake Enterprise January 17, 2018 - Page 5

Dear Editor

On Nov. 14, 2017, the Brandon Sun published yet another story about yet another hog producer complaining of being “hard done by” — this after the Pallister government had already passed legislation recklessly slashing health and environmental protections, in order to pave the way for even more mega-barns.

Still, the producer wasn’t happy.

He thought that legislation, which surely guarantees more pollution and more disease among humans and animals alike, didn’t go far enough. That’s because a local council had the nerve to exercise some autonomy and turn down his own bid for a new barn.

But when I wrote a letter-to-the editor to express these concerns, the editor informed me it would not be published.

“It’s not that we’re not interested,” he wrote. “But we are receiving far too many letters on one single issue to run. At some point, it becomes too much. I would really appreciate letters on other topics.”

And that made me wonder, ‘Isn’t that what newspapers do ... share the voice of the people?’

Personally, I have been writing letters to the Sun for nearly two decades. And editors I’ve dealt with up until now have always encouraged me to ‘keep writing’.

I believe my letters cover important issues like animal stewardship, health, water, environment, future generations, our veterans and military concerns.

Limiting letters from people like myself, while faithfully covering every burp and squeal from the pork industry, smacks of a double standard to me. Surely if their argument is they’re getting too many letters on one topic, what about too much coverage from the industry side?

After all, the Sun does advertise that it welcomes letters. Now, it seems to be saying something quite different — that freedom of expression just may be curtailed.

And that’s too bad.

John Fefchak,
Virden
Oscar
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