The Canadaland Union said Canadaland publisher and founder Jesse Brown has published a number of misleading, targeted statements related to the Israel-Hamas War. What sparked the Canadaland Union’s response was a story Brown did on Wednesday about Star Union Racial Justice and Equity Advocate Shree Paradkar. “Although his stated intentions have been to bring attention to the recent rise in antisemitism, we believe the manner in which he’s done this has been irresponsible and has made it more challenging to do the kind of journalism that we believe is called for at this moment,” said the Canadaland Union in a Thursday statement. “We fear this has eroded trust in an institution that dozens of staff, past and present, have helped to build over the course of a decade.” .Since Canadaland prides itself on rigorous media criticism, the union said there is no excuse for it to be applied selectively. It expressed concerns and vowed to rebuild trust among a portion of its audience and peers. Because of Brown’s comments, it said staff are frustrated and are experiencing effects on their work. It wanted to make three points clear. The first point was Canadaland’s staff is committed to pursuing serious, rigorous journalism. This includes producing stories on the Israel-Hamas War; how it is covered by Canadian news outlets; the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of discrimination in Canada; and holding powerful institutions to account. The second point was his opinions do not limit or determine the extent of its coverage. While his voice and comments have overshadowed much of its work, it will feature a diversity of opinions, experiences and perspectives on important issues on its programs. Since some listeners have written to Canadaland to express concerns, the Canadaland Union is committed to reestablishing trust with them. Additionally, it is committed to reestablishing trust with Brown. “We believe in the mission of this company and the values of journalism,” it said. Toronto Star editor-in-chief Anne Marie Owens said on Tuesday Paradkar’s role as internal ombud role was untenable as a part-time management position and would be eliminated. This move followed weeks of social media posts by Paradkar about the Israel-Hamas War that appalled some of her colleagues. Sources within the Toronto Star began alerting Canadaland to tweets by her which they felt were biased a few weeks ago. However, they were uncomfortable with raising their concerns with the internal ombud, as she held this role.Brown could not be reached for comment in time for publication.
