Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has received an extensive amount of negative media attention over the course of 2013. On Thursday, October 31, an announcement from Police Chief Bill Blair re-ignited the media’s vendetta. He claims that the alleged video showing the mayor smoking what appears to be crack-cocaine is now in police custody. This announcement, alongside the court decision to charge Alessandro Lisi, Rob Ford’s friend and driver, with extortion have been the top two news storybroadcasted around the world.
Today, The Globe and Mail reported that Dennis Morris, the mayor’s lawyer, aggressively challenged Chief Bill Blair to release the video to the public, stating that it is impossible to determine that the substance that is being smoked from Ford’s pipe is in fact crack-cocaine. By making the video accessible to the public, Rob Ford hopes that Torontonians will be able to draw their own conclusions as opposed to adopting those of the media. In an interview with AM640 this morning, Councillor Doug Ford echoed Morris’ challenge stating, “Rob hasn’t been charged with anything. He hasn’t broken the law and he’s been convicted. He’s been convicted by the media.”
Crime is central to the production of news in Canada; however, technological advancements have transformed crime into a central component for the media’s production of entertainment. “Constructing Crime: Media, Crime, and Popular Culture”, an article from The Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice insightfully points out that in today’s society, there are increasing arrays of options that can be consulted to form an opinion surrounding criminal justice. Perceptions of crime are formed through exposure to various forms of media, including television, film, video and internet services. While news media can be informative, it is important to keep in mind that these are not the lives of fictional characters being reflected; these are fellow human beings and perhaps we should be less eager to condemn, because technology is limited.
Rob Ford may be guilty of the allegations the media has charged him with, or he may be the victim of news sources that are simply producing entertaining stories. The truth will eventually surface, but until that occurs, the limitations of media and the entertainment factor of news stories should be carefully considered when developing an opinion of criminal justice.
