Why do you get the feeling that the Barrie Examiner newspaper is like an over-age Junior-A hockey player due for his last trade? The newspaper currently sports identification of being part of both Sun Media (the previous Quebecor owner) and PostMedia (the new Toronto-based owner). Despite the various owners, the newspaper still appears to be impoverished, badly written and edited and an embarrassment to the City of Barrie.
In a discussion with another Barrie resident about the merits—or lack thereof—of the Examiner last week, the suggestion was made that we were setting the bar too high for this local publication. Maybe Barrie only gets what it deserves.
The discussion revolved around the two letters-to-the-editor published last Thursday (Oct. 29). It seems as though the publication is desperate for letters from readers that it can publish. One side of the argument was that these letters reflected the attitudes of people in Barrie and the other side was that the writers appeared ignorant and under no circumstances were most Barrie residents likely to share the opinions.
The first writer (Campaign leaves reader ‘disgusted’) was expressing her opinion that the campaign in Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte was unfair to her candidate. She obviously disapproved of some anti-Conservative signs. We will stay out of that because we might not have seen the same signs.
But we were at Georgian College for the debate sponsored by the Board of Trade. This had been moved from City hall because the council chambers were undergoing renovations. She thought it was a location favouring the Liberal candidate.
She took umbrage to what she saw as disrespect for her Conservative candidate. Her calling the audience ignoramuses for reacting to the Conservative candidate’s feeble attempts at slandering his opponent is asking citizens for a somewhat lop-sided standard of conduct.
The second letter (Canadians know what Islam is) was more basic. This writer was complaining that, in his opinion, “Islam is a criminal enterprise seeking to enslave the world.” From there, the discussion went downhill. The debate we had with our fellow Barrie resident was something along the lines of “Resolved that the editor who allows that opinion to be printed unchallenged should share a padded room with the sender.”
In the end, the other guy promised to send a letter to the Examiner that reflected a better knowledge of world religions, erudition, grammar and syntax. This writer made some remark about casting pearls but we always get our metaphors confused. Maybe Paul Godfrey, godfather of PostMedia, reads Babel-on-the-Bay and will send the Examiner some help.
-30-
Copyright 2015 © Peter Lowry
Complaints, comments, criticisms and compliments can be sent to [email protected]