Has CP Newswire lost the plot?

The OPP asked the public for help finding someone who was "considered armed and dangerous." Canadian Press refused to share either his name or photo.

Just when you’d thought that you’d seen it all….

Having just written a column about “wokesplosions,” perhaps I’m subconsciously on the lookout for further proof points of how our society has been rewired to meet a particular political agenda.

If you read this blog with any regularity, you surely share my appreciation for the universally-accepted principle that an individual is “innocent until proven guilty.” That’s easy to embrace. If you’ve been paying attention to trends within our media corps, you may have noticed that certain Canadian news outlets refuse to provide the name of a certain type of individual when they’ve been accused of even the most serious crimes.

I’m not talking about young offenders, or situations where the Court has applied a publication ban. Just simple, straight-up cases involving things like $40 million of cocaine, fentanyl, guns, ammunition and body armour.

Last week, the Ontario Provincial Police identified a suspect after shots had been fired at more than 10 vehicles on Highway 401. After some good police work, the OPP shared the name and photo of the person they were looking for, with a warning that “the suspect is considered armed and dangerous, and they're warning the public to not approach if they see him.”

That’s exactly what the team at CIHR-FM in Woodstock did, for example. They posted an article with the name and photo of the accused in an effort to inform their listeners of what was clearly a 5-star threat to public safety. The Kitchener CitvTV news station ran a story that included dashcash footage. They, too, named the suspect:

OPP have issued an arrest warrant for Troy Ledrew. He’s described as a Black male, 25-35 years old, approximately five feet 10 inches tall, with long braided hair (to the middle of his back). He was last seen wearing jeans, a blue/grey T-shirt, white and black running shoes, and a satchel on his shoulder.

Not Canadian Press, however. And as a former CP Stringer, it’s unpleasant to have to tackle this all. For reasons that could be driven by the CP Style Book section on “Reporting on Crime,” pages 218-220, CP ran an unsigned story that outlined the following (in its entirety):

Provincial police are warning the public to be on the lookout for an armed man who allegedly fired shots at multiple vehicles along Highway 401 on Tuesday morning.

Police say they've obtained an arrest warrant for a 29-year-old Toronto man who allegedly shot at more than 10 cars travelling on the highway in Mississauga just after 5 a.m.

They say no serious injuries were reported.

Police allege the suspect stole a vehicle from a passing motorist before fleeing the area and was last seen in Etobicoke.

Police have released the suspect's name and photo, and they are asking anyone with information to contact investigators.

They say the suspect is considered armed and dangerous, and they're warning the public to not approach if they see him.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2024.

You would be right to ask what the point was. The CP article provided neither the name nor the photo. That some Editor thought this was a worthy use of staff time begs many questions. Unless, of course, CP has key syndicate members who are only to happy to pay for this very type of not-so-newsy news reporting.

What we got here was the illusion of breaking news, without hurting the feelings or future job prospects of the potentially marginalized accused perpetrator. CP’s Style Book was likely to blame for this stupidity, but I’d argue that an ongoing search for someone who is “Armed and Dangerous” is worthy of making the “exception” that is provided for under its policy. The relevant excerpt from the CP Style Book is as follows:

“The Canadian Press does not normally name individuals until they face formal charges. There may be exceptions depending on particular legal circumstances and news value, but the exceptions are rare.”

Sure enough, about 36 hours later, one Troy Ledrew was captured by Toronto Police doing it all over again (allegedly, anyway). The new crimes include “car jacking,” and one person was shot; the victim is in hospital with life-threatening injuries according to Toronto Police Duty Insp. Steve Campoli.

You have to wonder if CP did all it could do to alert Toronto residents about what was clearly an active threat.

The OPP warned the public “to not approach” this suspect, being “Armed and Dangerous” and whatnot. Unfortunately for the car-jacking victim, CP refused to publish the OPP’s photo of Mr. Ledrew, which likely meant that area newspapers that are part of the CP syndicate, such as the Toronto Star, didn’t run it either. It’s hard to stay away from someone that the police say you should stay away from if CP (and others) won’t share the photo of the person you’re to stay away from because the person you’re to stay away from hasn’t been formally charged yet.

We’ll never know if publishing the photo would have made a difference, but it couldn’t have hurt. Despite the raft of criminal charges that are now pending, CP hasn’t yet done a follow-up story.

In other news, CP did publish the name of an individual who was allegedly part of some “far-right” gang.

An Ottawa man pleaded not guilty “to [RCMP] charges of terrorism and hate speech related to the promotion of a far-right group.” Canadian Press reported that “Patrick Gordon Macdonald” was the first person ever charged by the government for “both terrorism and hate propaganda against someone for promoting a violent, far-right ideology.” If you don’t have time to read the entire article, the headline summed it all up well: “Man police linked to neo-Nazi group pleads not guilty to terrorism charges!” (The exclamation is mine.)

CP was also quick to share Frank Stronach’s name and former corporate affiliation when he was charged by Peel Regional Police last June. The CP story included a photo of Mr. Stronach, who was now 91 years of age, along with the list of charges: “one count of rape, one count of indecent assault on a female, one count of forcible confinement and two counts of sexual assault.” Personally, I think that was appropriate, whether or not the nonagenarian was an ongoing threat to the public.

CP’s Style Book likely drove both of these decisions, as well:

Even after charges are laid, editors should seriously consider whether there is news value in publishing the name of a suspect in cases where the alleged offense is relatively minor. Modern news reporting can linger online in perpetuity, and the consequences of being named in a published report can be dire and long-lasting. Weigh that against whether there is a compelling public interest in reporting a suspect's identity — safety concerns, the public profile of the accused, the likelihood of continuing coverage — and consult a supervisor when in doubt.

Something odd happened this morning, though, which makes me think there’s more going on here than a simple misapplication of the CP Style Book.

Various news outlets were reporting that the Illinois State police had charged Ontario residents Vanshpreet Singh and Manpreet Signh with a variety of drug trafficking offenses. If you relied on the certain media outlets, all you would know was that two “Ontario men” had been charged with cocaine trafficking by the Illinois State Police.

The Star’s initial coverage drew from an earlier CP report:

Two Ontario men have been arrested in the U.S. after Illinois State Police seized 1,146 pounds of cocaine — estimated to be worth more than $40 million (U.S.) — during a truck inspection.

Police searched a Volvo semi-trailer truck travelling eastbound on an interstate in Henry County, near the state line of Iowa and about 240 kilometres west of Chicago, around 2:10 p.m. on Friday.

Officers “observed numerous indicators of criminal activity” before a search of the truck uncovered a large amount of drugs, according to a police press release.

Two Ontario men, age 27 and 36, have been charged with possession of cocaine, intent to deliver cocaine, and cocaine trafficking, all of which are “Class X” felonies in the state of Illinois.

They have been taken to a Henry County jail and are waiting for a pre-trial release hearing. Homeland Security Investigations is involved in the case, police said.

Global Affairs Canada told the Star it is aware that the two men have been detained.

“Consular officials are in touch with local authorities. Due to privacy considerations, no further information can be disclosed.”

What’s weird about this treatment is that the two “Ontario men” had already been charged prior to the story being filed. They weren’t merely “accused” fellows who hadn’t yet been captured — the rationale that was likely applied in Mr. Ledrew’s case.

Strangely, their names weren’t mentioned, despite the information having been made public by the Illinois State Police. Linking to a press release isn’t the same as mentioning their names in the body of the article, as was done with Mr. Stronach, for example, by both The Star and CP.

CBS Chicago shared every detail of the Singh duo with its readers, as did the Chicago Tribune. I was glad to see The Star eventually got there, too.

As someone who has successfully sued a newspaper over libelous reporting, I agree with CP’s position that “modern news reporting can linger online in perpetuity, and the consequences of being named in a published report can be dire and long-lasting. Weigh that against whether there is a compelling public interest in reporting a suspect's identity — safety concerns, the public profile of the accused, the likelihood of continuing coverage — and consult a supervisor when in doubt.”

CP needs to ask itself why the team is making the choices that they’re making, and who they’re serving when they keep the public in the dark about who is behind what’s irrefutably outrageous criminal behaviour.

If a Toronto-based male bank executive gets suspended or fired tomorrow on suspicion of Insider Trading, every Canadian media outlet will name this alleged criminal the moment that some source provides them with a name. They’ll appear in an above-the-fold story, despite the fact that they’ve not been charged with anything as of yet. It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again.

But not Troy Ledrew. CP needs to explain why that is.

MRM

(note: this post, like all blogs, is an Opinion Piece)