Star readers have their say in You Be the Editor survey
Star readers would have nixed a Nazi reference in a column, were divided on an article about what an “urban explorer” found in the home of murder victims Honey and Barry Sherman and were uneasy about the term “emasculated.”
Those are a few highlights from the annual You Be the Editor survey that invited readers to make their own judgment calls on some editorial decisions by Star reporters and editors.
Thank you to the more than 3,000 readers who took part. I’ll have the full results next week, but I wanted first to focus on a few questions:
Last May, Kevin Donovan, the Star’s chief investigative reporter, wrote about an urban explorer who entered the Shermans’ home just before it was destroyed. The article detailed the man’s findings, including a description of medications and documents still in the home
Readers were divided on whether the story should have run — 48.3 per cent saying yes and 51.7 per cent saying no. In my view, editors were right to run it for the reasons Donovan lays out.
“I had heard much criticism of both the police and private investigation into the murders of Barry and Honey Sherman, including suggestions that too many stones were left unturned before the house was demolished,” he told me.
“The urban explorer’s visit, and the images and video that were shared with me, proved that information which appeared to be evidence was not seized by either side,” Donovan said.
Readers narrowly opposed the term “emasculated” in a column — 52.8 per cent to 47.2 per cent.
At the time it appeared, a reader complained that “such a gendered term seems out of touch with current understandings of gender and inclusivity.”
Care must be taken to avoid equating strength with masculinity. But columnists also have broad leeway in the words they choose to make their arguments.
Star readers narrowly voted against using the past name and photos of Canadian actor Elliot Page, the star of “Juno,” who came out as transgender and changed his first name. Close to 52 per cent voted no and 48 per cent said past names and photos were OK.
I believe Star editors made the correct call by deciding not to use Page’s past name or photos, in keeping with recommended guidelines.
But the close vote suggests we missed a chance to highlight that advocates recommend using the name chosen by a transgender person and avoid using the “deadname” or photos from a person’s past.
“Any reference to their previous life, when they were not able to express their true identify, who they really are, is a painful reference,” said Anne Creighton, president of Toronto Pflag, an organization that supports the LGBTQ community.
Readers would have axed a reference to Magda Goebbels, wife of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels, with 60.4 per cent opposing it and 39.6 per cent saying it was fine, given the latitude provided columnists. That reference did run.
By a wide margin — 87.8 per cent to 12.2 per cent — Star readers would have made an article and accompanying map about COVID-19 clusters in the city available to all readers and not just subscribers.
I’m encouraged that Star readers recognized the importance of such public service journalism. But here’s the stark reality — without revenue to support it, journalism like this will disappear.
There less debate on the questions around editorial cartoons or photos, with most of you opting to publish.
That includes the photo of Daniel Prude, a Black man who died after being restrained by police officers in Rochester, N.Y. At the time it ran, we did get a complaint from a reader. Yet, the 74 per cent of readers who said the photo should be published got it right. Photos and videos like this one have helped expose long-standing injustices and brutality which in turn have provoked change.
There was also little debate about the photo of tennis player Coco Gauff, even though a reader complained at the time about its “crude sexual aspect.”
Almost 90 per cent of you said publish. I side with readers and sports editor Dave Washburn on this one. “It's an impressive lunge for the ball, arms stretched out, legs too — an athletic play,” he said. “I purposefully will avoid pictures where the athletes, and women specifically, are displayed in a potentially overly sexual way.”
Almost three-quarters of you said that the suspect arrested at Rideau Hall should not be labelled a terrorist. Good call. Given the trial has not taken place, we know little about his motives.
Two-thirds of you didn’t see a problem with the headline: “Sen. David Smith, unsung hero of disabled Canadians.” I disagree. People first, not the disability. “Canadians with disabilities” is better.
Several readers thought the survey was too easy and the answers obvious. Yet that underscores how subjective such editorial decisions are. A photo or headline that seems OK to you can be considered offensive or in poor taste by others. Hopefully this survey, like the ones before it, provided a glimpse at the decisions that reporters and editors deal with daily.