Thank God for the Globe and Mail

When I was in the media many years ago, there was rarely any discussion about certain media outlets being biased. We just did our jobs and reported on what was happening. Now when you read a newspaper or see a news report on TV you need to "consider the source."

In fact, the reporting done by the Globe and Mail, led by Calgary reporter Carrie Tait on the CorruptCare Scandal, has become a breath of fresh air.

Remember The Troubleshooter?

There was a time, not that long ago, that media outlets all across the country were doing investigative journalism.

I remember the glory days of CTV’s W5. On the people’s network there was CBC’s Marketplace that always went after rip-off artists and con men. Locally on Global TV Edmonton there was The Troubleshooter who did the same. Local television stations often had “investigative journalists” who went after shady businesspeople, putting microphones in their faces at the worst times, as a camera caught them trying to run away. Newspapers in major markets in Canada tried to outdo each other by getting exclusive stories, and even well-staffed radio newsrooms would come up with scoops that would force the big papers and TV stations into playing catch-up.

Now that I think about it, maybe that was a couple of decades ago or so, but investigative journalism was a thing in Canada. However, just like many other parts of the news media, it crumbled brick by brick.

Investigative journalism isn’t cheap, at least when done right. It not only takes very special reporters, but researchers, producers, technical people and the list goes on. The reality is, investigative journalism, at least in Canada, doesn’t really pay for itself. It’s a nice to have, but can TV stations sell enough advertising time to pay for the cost of a 60, or even 30-program every week? History has shown it can’t. Newspapers these days have a tough enough time just covering the basic news stories in front of them. There’s no way they have the resources to dig into stories that take hours of work to produce results and sometimes end up with nothing more than a dead end.

Carrieing the Story

That’s why the job reporter Carrie Tait and other journalists at the Globe and Mail have done on the CorruptCare Scandal in Alberta is refreshing.

It started several weeks ago when the Globe first reported the former CEO of Alberta Health Services was suing the government and others for $1.7-million for wrongful dismissal. Right away the lawsuit painted a picture of key people in the provincial government trying to interfere with Alberta Health Services’ procurement and contracting processes on behalf of private firms. It smelled.

There have been all kinds of weak denials from government, including from Premier Danielle Smith and even a counter suit, but week by week, the Globe has dropped more bombshells. Every story paints a darker picture of the government for the way it’s handling health care and playing favourites.

Maybe since there’s so little investigative reporting these days, the work of the Globe stands out even more?

Maybe when we have all the facts, Premier Smith will be proven right and there was nothing to see here. Maybe, as she said, all the government was asking was “When will you get to the finish line.”

I have no idea where this story is headed, but with around four separate investigations, things don’t look very good for Alberta’s government and some of the key players.

Media Leaders and Followers

The key point here is, none of this would ever have been uncovered if it wasn’t for the reporting by the Globe and Mail. We would be none the wiser. The Globe has broken the story and added to it, while every other mainstream media outlet has sat back and followed along. They’ve all been reporting what the Globe has been reporting, just doing it hours after the Globe did.

No mainstream media outlet is breaking its own stories about the scandal. Left standing on the side of the road are the Postmedia newspapers in Alberta. Years ago, the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, Calgary Herald and Calgary Sun would have got knocked down by a competitor’s story, then dusted themselves off and did everything they could to catch up and get ahead in the game. Not anymore.

Maybe it’s because they don’t have the staff, or perhaps it’s because it’s a conservative government that’s taking its lumps and the Postmedia newspapers have decided to take a pass on breaking any of their own stories.

These days, if a newspaper doesn't jump at a big story there will be suggestions it's because of the millions of dollars in government subsidies they have received. I don't think that's the reason here, but when newspapers start taking money from government, you can expect those claims to be made.

I also need to mention the work of The Breakdown. The little media outlet that could also deserves a lot of credit for this story and others related to it. It now faces lawsuits for its work and I would encourage those inclined to help its defence by contributing.

Another great example is The Tyee, which has been all over the CorruptCare scandal. Kudos to this independent, online news source from BC, which is has been tearing into this story like a dog on a bone.

Is journalism still important? Absolutely. Work like we’ve seen from the Globe and Mail is Exhibit A to show why good journalism is more important than ever.

Remember, it’s easy for the media to cover stories the government and big business want the media to cover. It’s much more difficult to cover the stories they don’t want covered. That’s the foundation of investigative journalism.