"I was disappointed to realize that you covered this story by choosing to publish an article from a wire news service instead of asking your staff members to write an article about it."
February 27, 2024
To:
Michael Balsamo, Reporter, Associated Press
David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief, Globe and Mail
Dear Michael Balsamo and David Walmsley,
I am writing to express my concern about the article: “U.S Air Force member has died after setting himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington,” published on February 26 in Globe and Mail.
I was disappointed to realize that you covered this story by choosing to publish an article from a wire news service instead of asking your staff members to write an article about it.
While a lot can be said about the article's content, the matter of this letter is that apart from this wire article that you published online, you have not covered the story in your in-print version.
Not publishing an in-print version is a form of self-censorship, defined as “The decision not to cover certain developments, or to play down the significance of such developments, in order to avoid professional reprimands/penalties, or to avoid facing vocal or powerful critics.”
I, therefore, ask you to publish an in-print version, as well as an online version, in future reporting on events related to Palestine.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East