A national press ombudsman made a ruling that allows reporters to hide any conflicts of interest they have with analysts which they quote in their stories. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, this decision was made after a case involving Anja Karadeglija, a National Post reporter and journalism instructor, who quoted a source from Twitter..“Generally speaking, journalists are free to choose the sources they deem credible,” said Cara Sabatini, spokesperson for the National News Media Council. .Sabatini said there were insufficient grounds “to support a complaint about a breach of journalistic standards.”.The ruling was made in response to a complaint from Blacklock's about a story written by Karadeglija on June 14. The story was titled Sued For Sharing Your Password? and it was supposed to be about a three-day Federal Court hearing. .The hearing was about Blacklock's lawsuit against Parks Canada for sharing passwords without paying or getting permission, which goes against the Copyright Act..Blacklock's submitted that Karadeglija wrote about the legal proceeding without actually going to court, reading the necessary documents, or interviewing any of the lawyers involved. .They said that her only source of information was someone she connected with on Twitter, Howard Knopf..Knopf was only mentioned as a “retired copyright lawyer” in the story. He told the National Post that the case “may put a big chill on the internet.”.The newspaper did not tell readers that Knopf had a solicitor-client relationship with lawyers from Parks Canada. .In 2017, the department of Justice censored 172 pages of correspondence with Knopf, claiming it was “solicitor-client privilege.”.Knopf is not only a blogger but also someone who often criticized Blacklock's as a “copyright troll.” He even posted a picture of what looked like a pile of poop. In just a year and a half, Knopf's blog mentioned Blacklock's copyright protection a total of 91 times..Blacklock’s submitted the National Post article deceived readers by presenting Knopf as a dispassionate expert when he had a solicitor-client relationship with one side in a court proceeding. The National Post refused to disclose Knopf’s conflict..“We are comfortable that he is in no material conflict of interest,” said Kevin Libin, executive editor with Postmedia Network Inc. Knopf had “no conflict of interest that warranted disclosure,” he said..Reporter Karadeglija did not make any comments. She teaches part-time at Carleton University School of Journalism, where she teaches the “fundamentals of reporting.” .Karadeglija is the director of the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Association of Journalists..The Association’s Principles for Ethical Journalism guide states “We disclose conflicts of interest.” .A companion document Ethics Guidelines states reporters must “make every effort to verify the identities and backgrounds of our sources” and “seek documentation to support the reliability of those sources.”
A national press ombudsman made a ruling that allows reporters to hide any conflicts of interest they have with analysts which they quote in their stories. .According to Blacklock’s Reporter, this decision was made after a case involving Anja Karadeglija, a National Post reporter and journalism instructor, who quoted a source from Twitter..“Generally speaking, journalists are free to choose the sources they deem credible,” said Cara Sabatini, spokesperson for the National News Media Council. .Sabatini said there were insufficient grounds “to support a complaint about a breach of journalistic standards.”.The ruling was made in response to a complaint from Blacklock's about a story written by Karadeglija on June 14. The story was titled Sued For Sharing Your Password? and it was supposed to be about a three-day Federal Court hearing. .The hearing was about Blacklock's lawsuit against Parks Canada for sharing passwords without paying or getting permission, which goes against the Copyright Act..Blacklock's submitted that Karadeglija wrote about the legal proceeding without actually going to court, reading the necessary documents, or interviewing any of the lawyers involved. .They said that her only source of information was someone she connected with on Twitter, Howard Knopf..Knopf was only mentioned as a “retired copyright lawyer” in the story. He told the National Post that the case “may put a big chill on the internet.”.The newspaper did not tell readers that Knopf had a solicitor-client relationship with lawyers from Parks Canada. .In 2017, the department of Justice censored 172 pages of correspondence with Knopf, claiming it was “solicitor-client privilege.”.Knopf is not only a blogger but also someone who often criticized Blacklock's as a “copyright troll.” He even posted a picture of what looked like a pile of poop. In just a year and a half, Knopf's blog mentioned Blacklock's copyright protection a total of 91 times..Blacklock’s submitted the National Post article deceived readers by presenting Knopf as a dispassionate expert when he had a solicitor-client relationship with one side in a court proceeding. The National Post refused to disclose Knopf’s conflict..“We are comfortable that he is in no material conflict of interest,” said Kevin Libin, executive editor with Postmedia Network Inc. Knopf had “no conflict of interest that warranted disclosure,” he said..Reporter Karadeglija did not make any comments. She teaches part-time at Carleton University School of Journalism, where she teaches the “fundamentals of reporting.” .Karadeglija is the director of the Ottawa branch of the Canadian Association of Journalists..The Association’s Principles for Ethical Journalism guide states “We disclose conflicts of interest.” .A companion document Ethics Guidelines states reporters must “make every effort to verify the identities and backgrounds of our sources” and “seek documentation to support the reliability of those sources.”
