CanWest Not Laughing

When a group of Vancouver activists published a spoof newspaper lampooning CanWest’s editorial stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the media giant’s lawyers got busy. ‘Media suit looks strange’, published in Langara College’s Voice, provides some of background to the case. At the same time, CanWest is suing The Tyee, despite the independent online journal’s triple abject apologies for a Rafe Mair column that stated two Vancouver Province editorial cartoonists had been “let go” (CanWest says they were offered other positions). Whatever the judge decides about damage to CanWest’s reputation, the media conglomerate has been getting a very rough ride in the court of public opinion, judging by these reactions: Canwest slammed for its lawsuit; Criticize Canwest, get sued; Canadian Dimension press release. It seems this tale of satirists and cartoonists is no longer funny.