A professor who was at the head of the journalism program at UQAM took unpaid leave for 2024 after revelations from the student newspaper “Montreal Campus”, which indicated that he would hide online gaming on his blog.
Patrick White would have published hyperlinks in his articles which would lead to pages of online casinos, homework cheating sites or even a Ukrainian escort site, reported the “Montreal Campus” on Thursday.
Nearly 113 publications would have had sponsored content, according to research conducted by another journalism professor at the Montreal university, Jean-Hugues Roy. Of this total, around sixty would have led to virtual casino sites.
Patrick White
Courtesy photo
After four years at the head of the baccalaureate, Mr. White requested unpaid leave for 2024 for “personal, family and professional reasons,” the student newspaper learned.
“I recognize that I made a mistake in accepting sponsored links on the site and I should never have associated my name and image with them,” responded Mr. White in a statement.
- Listen to the interview with Kathleen Lévesque, professor at the UQAM Media School on Benoit Dutrizac’s show via QUB radio :
According to him, the “meager income” from sponsored content made it possible to pay for the maintenance of his website which had existed for almost 20 years.
“I regret it today, I take full responsibility for it and the site is now permanently closed,” he explained.
In addition, Mr. White’s membership card in the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ) was suspended on Monday, an unusual practice, according to the president of the organization.
“Despite this error on my part, I have always had at heart the ethical principles that guide journalism, and this has in no way influenced my work as a professor and communicator, in any way whatsoever,” maintained the teacher.