by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
May 4, 2004
Last week Citytv caught Toronto mayor, David Miller, saying something that he shouldn't have said. appearing in a media scrum with the Lord Mayor of London, Miller was peppered with questions concerning the ongoing Toronto police corruption scandal. Realizing that the questioners were interested in the local scandal and not what the Lord Mayor was doing in Toronto, he moved slowly off to the side.
after Miller had finished answering questions and not realizing that a camera was still running, Miller walked over to his London counterpart and said, "My police force is in jail. Is yours?"
Milller’s statement became big news in Toronto. Toronto Police Chief Julian Fantino’s over dramatic reaction to it, saying that it was like a stake was driven through his heart, added to the newsworthiness of the event. as well this was Miller’s first major gaffe and seemed eerily reminiscent of his predecessor, Mel Lastman, whose misstatements became a hallmark of his administration.
a couple of days later, talk-show host, Jim Richards, asked his CFRB listeners if the event had been overblown. Richards obviously thought that it was. What made Miller’s comments newsworthy was the fact that it had to do with the ongoing police scandal that involves the police officer-sons of a former police chief, organized crime, shakedowns and transsexual prostitutes and itself is big news. added to this the fact that Miller is at least perceived to be anti-cop, made his statement a legitimate source of news.
The host of the station that is thought to be right wing by liberals and even conservatives who have never heard real talk radio that comes from south of the border obviously felt that poor Mayor Miller was being unmercifully picked on. It was not overblown, but even if it was, the "overblowing" was being done by those in the media such as Richards. This was a perfect example of the media making a big deal about something and then making it bigger by asking why it is such a big deal.