Vox pop: Students weigh in on Rob Ford saga

Nov 8, 2013 | News

By Lily Tran and Kiah Welsh

The media coverage of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in the last week has been extensive and some say there was too much exposure. It was a story that attracted audiences worldwide.

Humber students weigh in on the media coverage on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and this is what they had to say:

Joy Crysdale, journalism professor at Humber College tells Humber News about her opinion on the media coverage of the Rob Ford saga.

Question: How do you feel about the media coverage of Rob Ford?

I think the media overall has done their job to serve the public because Rob Ford is the mayor of the city, the fourth largest city in North America. It’s important for the public to know about some of the issues that have been revealed, especially given that as he himself said he lied about it. On the other hand I think that the media runs the risk of having the public get angry at them, and not just Rob Ford supporters. Because at a certain point it feels like a gang up now. And at a certain point you are looking at a human being, not just the mayor who has obvious problems. I heard a city councilor say this morning that all these people, not just the media, basically poking at him with a sharp stick are not going to help him with his problems. Just today, I feel that the tide has turned in public opinion and possibly my own. I think there’s other news out there that’s being ignored because so many people are covering Rob Ford. If I were running a newsroom I’d probably do the same thing because it is such a big story.

On the other hand, I’m disappointed not to see other news being covered properly. For example, yesterday there was a big announcement in the arrest of a young man that was murdered in the entertainment district, Christopher Skinner. Where is the information about the person who has been charged? Why aren’t people covering that story?

Question: Where do we draw the line in terms of how much exposure is given to one story?

I think drawing the line comes down to the individual situation and the individual story. I personally feel that media outlets should not be running the video of Ford who says he is inebriated and others say there is some other problem going on there. People have seen it, people can choose to see it if they want to. We are in a world now where people can find anything they want to see. I think its overkill and exploitive to be running that in today’s newscast, for example. That’s a story that I would draw the line on using that video.