The Black Rod

This is what passes for professional journalism in Winnipeg? Of eveything written about the political persecution of former East St. Paul police chief Harry Bakema, the Saturday, Nov. 2, column by Winnipeg Free Press scribe Dan Lett stands as the most contemptible. Lett professes to be a "professional" journalist. He even gives lectures to budding journalists on how he does it. God help the profession. He hurls insults at bloggers who dare tell him how to do his job and where he fails miserably, because, of course, HE is the professional. Lett, you'll remember, was at the head of the media lynch mob in 2008 that howled for the head of every police officer and lawyer connected with the prosecution of Const. Derek Harvey-Zenk, who caused the death of Crystal Taman when he rear-ended her car which was stopped at a red light.  The occasion was a government-sponsored show trial, disguised as a public inquiry, into the fatal accident. The rabid ...

For a brief, shining moment two years ago a cheap two-bit car thief was a hero in Winnipeg media circles. His achievement? He was, declared the news media in the city, the victim of a police beating which had been CAUGHT ON TAPE. The media mob was unanimous. There was no doubt. Hadn't the Crown attorney dropped a raft of charges against poor Cody Bousquet because of the savage beating? Hadn't the judge convicted the police in the court of public opinion by declaring in open court that he had seen the beating with his own eyes? There, there, you could see the video for yourself posted as a public service on the news websites. Uh, oh. Along came Easter, 2012. Instead of hefty servings of turkey and stuffing, the reporters, columnists, pundits and sundry found themselves eating crow, bitter crow, sour crow and more crow with Matzah. A formal RCMP investigation that was universally expected to lead to criminal charges against the Winnipeg City poli...

The pictures don't lie, wrote Winnipeg Sun editorialist Paul Rutherford. No, for that we depend on "professional" reporters, Winnipeg Sun columnists and editorial writers. The mainstream media has been all a-twitter over a surveillance video which shows the arrest of a drunk car thief. The description of what's on the video has grown wilder by the day, culminating in Tom Brodbeck's grotesque declaration that he sees an unrestrained flurry of kicks and punchs on a handcuffed prisoner. "I've watched the video over and over again…" says Brodbeck. Try it with your eyes open next time. Watch the video for yourself. The entire surveillance video is available on the Winnipeg Free Press website. The Sun has an abridged version. Then find someone with dial-up Internet connection. That way the video plays in frame-by-frame slow motion. Watch it again. Here's what you will see: The complete video runs 3 minutes 26 seconds. The arrest takes les...