CountyFirst’s “Media Audit” an Alarming Hallucination

Thank you for your methodical takedown of CountyFirst’s “audit” of our local newspapers, and its sloppy reliance on AI hallucinations.

I’m so tired of the narrative that government funding of news media equates to bias — as though 

politicians (or advertisers) set editorial policy, while platforms owned by the Murdochs and Bezos of the world are beacons of impartiality. 

I read the “PECRA Media Audit,” and frankly was not impressed. The methodology does not differentiate between news and opinion. If they are looking at reporting bias, editorial content obviously should be excluded, or, at least, the results should be disambiguated. Complaining that editorial commentary is “biased” is like sending your dinner back because the chef added flavour to the food.

The conditional sentence structure is dizzy with assumptions, e.g. “The lack of transparency regarding  editorial conditions tied to funding may enable the proliferation of unchecked bias.” Though they haven’t made direct accusations, they are trading wholly in theoreticals. With all the business challenges facing news delivery, it’s discouraging to see a local start-up looking to gain a foothold at the expense of genuinely independent community-based journalism. We need more trusted voices, not more mistrust. 

As for AI. I am alarmed by the near-universal eagerness to adopt this shiny new toy, which “scrapes” news and information indiscriminately — and without acknowledgment or payment of any kind — and then reassembles it, often as nonsense. It has been irresponsibly rushed to market, and consumes staggering amounts of energy. AI represents a serious threat to public trust in journalism, which already has taken a battering from the Fabricator-in-Chief. I am hoping for industry-wide adoption of ethical standards for declaring any use of AI tools in news stories, graphics, research etc. as a minimum expectation. 

In the meantime, I feel very lucky to live in a place with not one but two independent community papers and a diversity of media voices (human ones).

Robin Baranyai, Prince Edward County

In Defense of a Free and Independent Press

I found your editorial, County Fake (July 16), extremely disturbing. The attacks on your paper by anonymous fringe groups using fabricated figures and claims is cause for much alarm. You state, “The consequences of attacks on the media by fringe groups are unfolding before us in real time as the United States descends into fascism.” 

I investigated Postmedia, the American media conglomerate which owns the County Weekly News. According to Wikipedia, it also owns some 90 percent of all weeklies in Canada. It  is known for its close ties to the Republican Party. I have read its editorials, which are very right wing, sometimes a reprint from the National Post. 

On the other hand, the Gazette, one of the few independent papers remaining, has clearly proven itself to be a paper that represents the highest standards of journalistic integrity, consistently providing the reader with well written and researched editorials, which show no bias toward any particular group (such as developers or Council), while providing its readership with thorough coverage of important local issues such as the Picton Terminals. This type of responsible and informed journalism is an example of freedom of the press as it is supposed to be.

In a broader context, the Gazette is the kind of paper essential to an informed public for the health and continuation of our democracy. An endangered species, long may it continue.

Doug Parker, Picton

Sandbanks Parking Tickets Even More Unfair than Usual

During our recent annual nine-day stay at Sandbanks Provincial Park, we purchased additional vehicle parking for the length of our stay. 

Returning from errands one day, I left our additional vehicle in the assigned lot, but forgot to display the permit, tucked away in the visor to not get lost. Returning an hour or so later, I found I had received a $30 ticket for failing to display the permit. Fair enough, I had failed to display the permit. A quick check by the officer, however, would have shown that the vehicle was properly registered, and they could have left a note instead. They could also have rescinded the ticket when I called and spoke with them about it, asking unsuccessfully for a reconsideration.

Not showing that basic courtesy was, I feel, a failure on their part; while freely admitting that not remembering to display the permit was a failure on mine.

I hope that this note might reach someone in authority who could take the time to discuss the situation with the enforcement officers and possibly make changes to how they fine people, showing grace for an honest mistake. Officers in positions of authority ought to know the difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.

Andrew McLuhan, Bloomfield