By Sylvia Stead, public editor of The Globe and Mail

 By Sylvia Stead, public editor of The Globe and Mail

In a normal election campaign of a few weeks duration, The Globe and Mail and other media do their best to level the playing field in terms of news coverage. Editors monitor the number and relative prominence of stories and photos on the major party leaders and the prime minister or premiers. News media have a responsibility to inform the public about their voting choices but also to present a balanced picture.

There is nothing normal, though, about the endless Toronto municipal election campaign, and readers have strong views about what they have seen and still want to see in The Globe’s coverage.

One reader complained recently that there have been too many stories about Mayor Rob Ford. “I have been increasingly astonished by the lack of balance in your coverage of the election, as the photographs of Rob Ford dominate every issue. [One day at the end of July], I began counting the number of photographs of Rob Ford and stopped when I got to 10. The issue contains not a single photograph of either Olivia Chow or John Tory. How in heaven’s name do you justify this? Surely even basic principles of fairness ought to kick in at some point. Count this as another chapter in the Ford fiasco that is quite simply unbelievable: that, at this crucial turning point in the election, The Globe and Mail appears determined to make sure that Rob Ford will win.”

Related content on J-Source:

It is true that there was one day in late July when The Globe ran a number of selfies people had taken with Mr. Ford and posted online. That was why the count was so high that day.

Earlier this year, in the midst of the second Ford crack video story, another reader called to castigate The Globe for not writing enough about the mayor’s personal issues prior to the last election. “Why didn’t I know?” he asked. I pointed him to a number of stories that had detailed allegations of those personal issues in the weeks before the 2010 vote. Those stories ran along with many others that compared the policies and platforms of the candidates.

It is true, though, that over the summer, many more stories and photos have been published about Mr. Ford than the other candidates, in part because of his return from rehab and ongoing investigations. In July and August (up to Aug. 27), there were 26 stories and six columns focused on Mr. Ford, as well as 18 photos in the paper, plus more online. The other candidates were the focus in a total of six stories, three columns and three photos.

But while the reader is right that coverage has been weighted to Mr. Ford, I believe it’s wrong to assume that a higher volume is helpful to him.

To continue reading this column, please go theglobeandmail.com where this was originally published.

Related content on J-Source: