Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Bar association slams CBC over judge sex scandal coverage
Alex Chapman: made allegations (WAYNE.GLOWACKI@FREEPRESS.MB.CA)
The body that represents Manitoba lawyers has slammed CBC for its "unwarranted attack" on a respected member of the judiciary and wants the public broadcaster to publicly apologize for its "savage" reporting.
The Manitoba Bar Association sent a letter to CBC’s president and its Ombudsman on Thursday, saying its coverage of a sex scandal involving Queen’s Bench Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas was unnecessary, unfair, and "tabloid journalism at its worst." The letter said CBC’s emphasis on the graphic and salacious details went too far, and that the only restraint the CBC demonstrated was "not showing the pornographic photographs in question."
"The headline ‘Naked photographs of a senior Manitoba judge engaged in bondage’ suggests the interest in the story is more about the potentially prurient aspects of this story than anything else," the letter states. "The emphasis of the story and the inappropriately graphic details of the allegations simply go too far, especially given the potentially damaging effect these allegations will undoubtedly have on the people involved."
Earlier this week, CBC broke the news that the Canadian Judicial Council is reviewing Douglas’ status after Winnipeg computer programmer Alexander Chapman came forward and alleged his former lawyer and Douglas’ husband, Jack King, pressured him to have a sexual relationship with Douglas back in 2003.
The offer was never accepted, but Chapman said King showed him about 30 nude photos of Douglas to entice him to have sex with her. King had apparently posted the explicit pictures on an Internet website devoted to sex between white women and black men.
The Free Press contacted CBC on Friday for comment about the demand that it apologize, and was referred to its website where CBC Manitoba’s managing editor Cecil Rosner explained why they ran the story. The statement said CBC consulted with more than a dozen law professors, retired judges and ethics experts across the country before it decided to go ahead with the story, saying "this story raises important issues about how our justice system functions and how judges are selected."
Manitoba Bar Association president Ken Mandzuik called the defense embarrassing, and said the public broadcaster owes Douglas and her family a "grovelling" apology.
Mandzuik said he will wait for a response from the CBC before the association decides whether further action is necessary.
History
Updated on Friday, September 3, 2010 at 8:03 PM CDT:
updates with more details
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