The News should not be spun by editors

I think I get the whole print journalism trade. On one hand, the main goal is to inform the people. On the other hand, you need to sell papers. As a result, you try to write your news stories in an interesting manner that will both inform and entertain at the same time. I have no complaints with that, because it makes for better writing.

However, I find articles like this to be completely misleading when printed on the front page. First, we see reference to the "controversial carbon tax plan". Ok, so does that mean that we also have the "unreported income tax cut plan" ? I think you’ve got to at least mention it to have any semblance of fairness.

The second problem is the sourcing. "Mr. Dion dug in his heels, according to a Liberal insider". A few paragraphs later, ""A cash rebate doesn’t give you the incentive to reduce,” the insider said". So the same "insider" who apparently knows Mr. Dion’s mind is also a policy expert ? Can we get some idea of what makes this person an "insider". Does the person work in the OLO ? LRB ? LPC ? An aid to a former minister ? Why do we care what "the insider" says if that is all we know about him or her ?

Then there is caucus. I have to admit that I hold caucus members themselves responsible for this problem, since they know exactly what is going to happen when they shoot off their mouths. However, I have to laugh at the line "some caucus members fear their main policy piece - the Green Shift plan - is not catching on among Canadians". Maybe that’s because the words "Green Shift" have rarely been defined by newspapers as anything other than a "carbon tax". If I thought the plan was for a carbon tax and nothing else, I wouldn’t be too excited either.

Finally, we have the subtext. Mr. Dion creates a plan, sells it for a few months and listens to criticism from rural Canadians. A group of people, might I add, who are not exactly expected to vote Liberal en masse during the next election. Do the papers applaud him for being open to criticism and reason ? Do they say "Stéphane Dion amends plan to help people who don’t vote Liberal". No. They claim he "caved to pressure". From who ? "From caucus". Oh. Well surely that tells us everything we need to know.

I do like Jane Taber. I believe she is writing what she knows to be true on the basis of her sources. I also believe that she would not quote her sources unless she believed they were reliable. As a person who is somewhat of a political insider, I enjoy reading what she writes because I know that she is telling people like me what the rumours and whispers are in Ottawa.

My complaint is when those inside articles are sold by newspapers as if they are "The News" for all to understand. The News is who said what, when they said it and what it meant. Inside baseball is just that. It does not belong on the front page with a misleading headline. I hope the Globe’s editors rethink their strategy before E-day.