An interesting yarn by Sean Holman's Public Eye. A B.C. reporter and editor are out of a job at Victoria News. The editor, Keith Norbury, got turfed Friday, while reporter Brennan Clarke had resigned a few days earlier.
An advertiser's complaint over a story that talked about someone who saved big bucks buying a luxury car in Portland, Ore. helped trigger the chain of events.
The article, authored by Mr. Clarke, discussed the case of a Broadmead resident who saved $13,000 by purchasing a Mercedes ML350 in Portland rather than from a local dealer. The woman, Rebecca Schevenius, and her friend are "planning to publish an 18-page how-to pamphlet entitled 'How to Import a Car into Canada' for others interested in testing the cross-border used car market."
In a interview with Public Eye earlier this afternoon, Dave Wheaton Pontiac Buick GMC Ltd. dealer principal Dave Wheaton said, "I was upset with the paper for doing it because it was one person's opinion" - referring to Ms. Schevenius. "And they are by no stretch of the imagination an expert at it. And why that was news I don't know."
"From a customer's perspective, the risk of buying a U.S. car over buying a local Canadian car is just not worth it. The declaration of history and accidents and ownership and state registration is just not the same as it is in Canada," he explained, adding most cross-border car shoppers don't get "as much of an edge" in price as Ms. Schevenius.
As a result of the article, Mr. Wheaton said, "I barked at them. But that's normal. They have a responsibility to their readers. But they also have a responsibility to the business community as well. And that was a poor article. And it's just not true."
And did he get a favourable response to that barking? "Oh absolutely. Oh sure. They understand. I just don't know how that gets past an editor's desk. I think they know perfectly well, if you read it, it's one person's experience. It's just not right." Mr. Wheaton confirmed the news group offered to publish a follow-up piece. "But I just feel it adds more fuel to the fire. So I'd just as sooner (the story) fades away."
Holman posted the entire text of the original story.
Long-time readers of this blog may remember the Vivian Smith case. She got turfed from her freelance columnist and writing coach gig at the Victoria Times-Colonist after she showed poor judgment by penning a column about stuff you could do for free in Victoria rather than spend money on tourist traps (here's the original Public Eye post). There was a small outcry, and the T-C backtracked and reinstated Smith.
In its usual highly competent fashion, the CAJ rode to the rescue of Smith. :)
The CAJ has also reacted to the Victoria News situation
One doesn't mess with powerful local businesses that advertises -- or, more properly, one does so at one's own peril. Way back, I believe in the late 1980s, the Kingston Whig-Standard ran a story on how to sell one's own home and keep the money that would go to an agent in one's own pocket. The real estate types went beserk. They launched an advertising boycott and (I believe) tried to start a competing newspaper. The debacle cost the Whig hundreds of thousands of dollars.
One problem was that the paper ran the story in the real estate section, which particularly gored the real estate ox.
I suspect no other similar paper since has tried to duplicate the Whig story -- although the Victoria News story is the automotive equivalent.