I was quite taken aback by a recent Letter to the Editor by Ian Thomson in the Winnipeg Free Press on Dec. 16. The letter stated the Free Press should not be used as an organ for a specific evangelical message regarding the front-page photo and coverage of the Knights of Columbus thanking frontline workers.
I have spent many years working as a journalist and editor in the media industry. I have a strong understanding of how newspapers and media outlets go about selecting their news coverage and how various newspapers select what they choose to cover. I would like to defend the decision by the editorial team at the Free Press to run this front-page photo of a local Winnipeg organization thanking frontline workers.
In today’s society it is important to respect freedom of speech and to also have healthy debates on current topics. Mr. Thomson expressed his views when he stated how we live in a multicultural society, which is absolutely true. However, his argument about not wanting Manitoba’s independent newspaper to run any news coverage of an evangelical organization misses the mark and does not contribute to a greater multicultural society. If fact, his argument does the opposite.
The news aspect of this particular standalone photo taken by talented photographer John Woods was of the Knights of Columbus, who happen to be a Christian based organization. Yes, their Festively decorated Christmas theme float featured a Nativity scene along with the message of “Keep Christ in Christmas”. This is an important message for this particular group in our multicultural society. But the newsworthiness of the photo was the thank you message to front line workers. I don’t think the Free Press had a hidden agenda to promote one’s religious views or particular message over another’s. There have been many movements in society during the past century that have garnered media attention and will continue to do so.
I was happy to see the Knights of Columbus Christmas theme float continuing to thank frontline workers as it was being driven down Pembina Highway on the evening of Dec. 22. It was a nice to see and I gave a wave as the float went by.
I believe the Free Press does a remarkable job of providing diverse media coverage of people and organizations from all walks of life, various religious beliefs, faiths and views. Is Mr. Thomson suggesting the Free Press no longer cover anything related to evangelical messages as well as Christmas in the future, such as the Santa Claus Parade and many other Christian based events, such as Halloween and St. Patrick’s Day? If you stop and think about it for a moment, Christ is at the root of many celebrations, which are open for people to celebrate whether you are Christian or not. I am sure the Free Press has covered Hanukkah, Ukrainian Christmas, Chinese New Year and many others. The Free Press continues to provide annual coverage of the Aboriginal Day celebrations at The Forks and celebrations related to the Metis nation. The Free Press also covers Festival du Voyageur, Folklorama each year as well as many other multicultural celebrations and diverse cultures.
In fact, when Mr. Thomson noted the Free Press should not have published such a photo, this could be viewed as a discriminatory view towards a particular group and their religious beliefs, which in this case, is the Knights of Columbus. He stated the Free Press should not provide media coverage because of their evangelical / religious view. It sounds like Mr. Thomson is in fact wanting the Free Press to promote our multicultural society, but is going about it in the wrong way. If his multicultural view is true, then he would actually want the Free Press to cover news related to Christians as well as many other religious and cultures groups throughout the year.
All cultural groups and various religions organizations in today’s modern society are worthy of media coverage, including those of Christian beliefs. The answer to promote multicultural is not to take away media coverage from one particular’s culture and silence their messages.
I have been reading the Free Press since I was in Grade 5. Fast forward 32 years and I have truly enjoyed seeing the Free Press evolve as a newspaper since then. I feel that under the leadership of Paul Samyn and Bob Cox, they have put together a staff which provides diverse coverage each and every day.
Brook Jones is the editor of The Selkirk Settler Times
