Ontario Press Council faults Ottawa Citizen

In a somewhat bizarre decision, the Ontario Press Council upheld part of a complaint lodged by Carol Wainio (right) an artist and art professor at the University of Ottawa, against the Ottawa Citizen and its columnist David Warren (left) a one time editor of Idler Magazine who has been writing for The Citizen three times a week since 1996.
Wainio complained about eight columns by Wareen published over a three-year period. She claimed four contained factual errors and four contained statements lacking proper attribution. The subjects of the columns ranged from U.S. President Obama to the economic crisis in Iceland.
On the factual complaints, the columnist and Wainio relied on different and conflicting sources. Council decided that while the sources relied upon by Wainio appeared substantially more reliable and persuasive than those relied upon by the columnist, it was not in a position (except in one instance) to make conclusive findings of factual error, principally because it did not have the power to summon witnesses, or demand properly authenticated documentary evidence.
The Council concluded that the newspaper had an obligation to confer with the columnist and provide an adequate response to Wainio. For those reasons, the Press Council upheld one of the factual complaints and the complaints dealing with faulty or misleading attribution.

To read the whole adjudication, click on the title.