The Press Council maintains its decision to uphold 3 of the 11 grievances filed against The Press and the radio station 98.5 FM for a joint investigation which revisited the Julien Lacroix affair in the wake of the #metoo movement.
The Press had appealed the decision last January. “After review, the members of the appeals board unanimously conclude to uphold the decision rendered at first instance concerning the complaints of incomplete information, lack of balance and appearance of conflict of interest,” reads the first instance decision published in May.
The report of The Press entitled “The Julien Lacroix Affair, Two Years Later – Scars and Regrets” and the four-part podcast series from 98.5 FM entitled Julien Lacroix case: 2 years later were published on November 16, 2022.
The article and podcast series presented the testimonies of some of the women who had denounced the actions of comedian Julien Lacroix in an article published in the daily newspaper The duty in 2020. One of the two complainants is the journalist Améli Pineda, who had led this investigation.
Eight grievances dismissed
In the first instance decision, made public in November 2023, the Press Council rejected eight complaints.
However, he upheld a complaint of “incomplete information” for having failed to set out all the reasons why The duty had refused to grant an interview to journalists Isabelle Hachey and Marie-Ève Tremblay.
The Press Council also upheld a complaint of “lack of balance” for not having “presented a fair weighting of the perspective of the Duty in that case “.
The Press Council blamed journalists Isabelle Hachey and Marie-Ève Tremblay, as well as The Press and 98.5 FM, in this sense.
The Press Council also upheld a complaint of “appearance of conflict of interest” against The Press98.5 FM and Marie-Ève Tremblay. For several years, the journalist gave “likes” to statuses on the social networks of Julien Lacroix’s partner, Maude Sabbagh, which related to her private life.
“We remain convinced of the rigor of our journalist’s journalistic approach and of The Presscommented the Vice President of Information and Deputy Editor of The PressFrançois Cardinal. We maintain that this was consistent with well-established journalistic standards and practices and that the Press Council is creating dangerous precedents that will undermine the ability of all Quebec journalists to conduct and publish investigations into subjects of public interest.”