Ford seems to be on the front page of every paper all week. Even now, as I browse through theglobeandmail.com, there’s an entire section that links to Ford-related articles dominating the front page. And this is a national paper.
We get it. The man running the fourth-largest city in North america is not fit to be doing his job. But I don’t think we need any proof outside his lewd and offensive comments, his crack use, and obvious alcohol problem. The media’s coverage is getting destructive and supremely annoying.
There have been three major events in local, national, and international news in the last week, all overshadowed by Ford acting like a giant man-baby.
Project Spade was one story that flew under the radar this week. Exactly 348 people were arrested internationally, concluding a massive child pornography investigation that started with a Canadian man. More importantly, 386 children were freed from sexual slavery. The project involved police from all over the world who worked together on this three-year investigation.
Another story that hasn’t been getting much coverage is the new oil pipeline that will be built through the Alberta tar sands.
The pipeline is 1,200 km long and will carry 550,000 gallons of oil from the tar sands to Kitimat, in British Columbia. A spill from this pipeline could spell disaster for the west coast. Perhaps the most devastating oversight on the part of the media is their insufficient coverage of Typhoon Haiyan.
Hundreds of thousands of Filipinos are displaced and the death toll is unknown. The vast majority of the dead are unidentifiable and are being placed in mass graves on the outskirts of towns. Food and water are scarce in the Philippines. Disease is spreading too — authorities suggest an outbreak of polio is possible.
The media needs to realize that the sooner we let all of this childishness go, we can focus on more important stories like how council and the premier actually plans to deal with his ineptitude so we can all move on with our lives. I am sick and tired of the media allowing stupid white men to take precedence over real stories of human triumph and tragedy. But we all know scandal sells over pretty much everything.
So please, Mayor Ford, step down already because frankly, you’re getting boring, and I want to see some real news.
Marileina Pearson
Photo Editor
