In the last few weeks (although I've paid little attention to it here; stupid, lazy me), a real-life drama over the critical issue of editorial independence has been playing itself out at the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Amir Attaran, writing on globeandmail.com, fires a broadside at the CMA board.

The AP story on globeandmail.com:

Writer Bill Cardoso, who coined the term "gonzo" to describe the frenetic participatory journalism practised by Hunter S. Thompson, died on Feb. 26 of cardiac arrest. He was 68.

Mr. Cardoso began his journalism career as a sports writer, went on to write for the Boston Globe, and came to know Mr. Thompson. When Mr. Thompson wrote his colourful, drug-riddled story The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved, Mr. Cardoso wrote that the piece was "pure gonzo."

The term stuck. Mr. Thompson, who died last year, embraced gonzo and so did Webster's 1979 Dictionary: "bizarre, unrestrained, extravagant, specifically designating a style of personal journalism so characterized."

Ezra Levant, publisher of the Western Standard, defended his decision to print the controversial Prophet Muhammad cartoons and blasted other media outlets for timidity.