Irresponsible reporting

A recent investigative news piece conducted by David Menzies, a journalist employed by Sun News media, was a poor and dangerous example of journalism that ignored the complexities of the issues it raised.

In the stunt, a 14-year old in a niqab was sent to three different LCBO locations with the goal of purchasing alcohol. He succeeded at doing so at every location without being asked for identification.

While at first glance it appears that the stunt was designed to display how easy it is for minors to purchase alcohol in Ontario, the inclusion of the niqab, which Menzies incorrectly identifies as a burka, adds another complicated element.

It’s unclear what Menzies is trying to say with this stunt.

Is he trying to show that the burka creates problems with identification? Is he implying that, if it were not for the burka, the minor would not have been able to get away with the issue?

By creating so much room for speculation instead of directly stating his purpose, the stunt inevitably could be interpreted to be of an islamophobic nature.

If Menzies’ piece was simply about the underage buying alcohol at LCBOs, he could have used facial coverings without religious implications or minors who looked much older than their age.

The question of identification and religious head coverings in a multicultural society such as Canada is inarguably an important one to address.

Currently, everyone must have their head and face completely uncovered in all pieces of identification issued in Ontario. In order to be identified with their respective piece of ID, women wearing head coverings must uncover themselves, usually in private and in front of a female employee.

The LCBO too has this policy in place, which shifts the blame away from the company and over to the individual cashiers for not knowing the appropriate action to take. Their errors point to a larger societal problem in which people fail to appropriately and thoroughly address issues of multiculturalism in Canada.

Done properly, investigative journalism does play an important role in our society. It can uncover truths that help to create change or answer valuable questions.

Menzies’ story, however, wasn’t responsible investigative journalism because it didn’t succeed in educating the public or in answering valuable, important questions.

The only thing it succeeds at doing is creating room for simplistic and potentially racist interpretations of this staged event.

—Journal Editorial Board

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religion

All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.

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