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Rob Ford's Toronto

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From the livechat:

Q: Why did you sit on the story for so long, were you investigating or were you motivated by the Gawker piece?

A: Once we realized that they would not hand over the video, we continued reporting out the story, using more conventional means to ascertain everything about Mayor Ford, and people who could shed light on this story. We were investigating, and are, but the Gawker piece put us in the following position: Robyn and I had seen the video three times. We had information about something that was going to become a very important issue. We decided to write what we had seen.

Q: Hi Kevin: Do police not have an obligation to investigate given the mayor's high profile and the fact that he may be supporting Toronto crack dealers?

A: I have not heard from the police but are asking questions. I would hope that the police would look into the matter, but it is certainly up to them. Really, though, and I have some experience in this as the reporter at the Star who broke stories on municipal corruption 20 years ago. Back then a special squad was created because it is not proper for a City police force to investigate the Mayor. Back in that day, a decision was made to have a special squad removed from Toronto probe allegations. These are of course different allegations but I would expect people at the provincial level to provide guidance to the Toronto police force.
 
jje1000 said:
Then again, it puts them at the risk of having the evidence destroyed, leaving them looking like fools. I would have just paid the $100,000 to completely seal the deal rather than have this very large risk.
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Do you think the police would destroy evidence like that though? I somehow doubt that.
 
PinkLucy said:
Just a thought ... do you suppose that Ford may have already been offered the chance to buy the video? If I had something like that to sell, I'd approach Ford first because he might be willing to cough up the money to ensure that the video never sees the light of day. I'd only go public about having a video and looking for a buyer if he turned me down.
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Exactly. Sell it to Ford, then turn around and sell a copy to the media. Unlikely this dealer has any scruples anyway.
 
The police wouldn't, but if it ends up in the hands of Ford, his sympathizers or even the PCs , it could. Here's hoping that the dealer has more than one copy.

Hence the reasons why I think that having firm control of the evidence is crucial, and that the Star is a fool for so rigidly abiding by their morals when others will not.
 
PinkLucy said:
Just a thought ... do you suppose that Ford may have already been offered the chance to buy the video? If I had something like that to sell, I'd approach Ford first because he might be willing to cough up the money to ensure that the video never sees the light of day. I'd only go public about having a video and looking for a buyer if he turned me down.
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Didn't the Gawker piece hint that the maker of the video wanted it to get out? He may be motivated by more than just money.
 
If the Star had bought the video and released the video first, its journalism would have been justifiably attacked. Only celebrity tabs pay for stories. Reputable organizations do not practise chequebook journalism. And The Star, which is already target practice for shooting the messenger when it comes to Ford, has to tread very carefully. It did what it was supposed to do. Watch the video as closely and as many times as it could with two reporters viewing it, keeping separate notes on it to minimize the risk of errors, and then working to get the video for free or, failing that, verification, confirmation or comment.

Journalism 101.
 
While I would tend to believe that the claims are true, I think that this will end up as just another unproven smear against the Mayor by the Star, and he may play the victim card and come out stronger because of it.
 
Torontovibe said:
Anyway, let's keep this thread focused where it should be, on mayor Ford and his freak show. That Asian video was hilarious. (hilariously stupid, but funny)
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That "Asian video" was made by NMA, one of the most reliable news sources on the web. Even more so than The Onion.

Speaking of that, when will The Onion pick up this story?
 
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