How far — and how — should journalists dig before publishing an investigation? This is one of the questions the court will have to answer, now that the defamation lawsuit brought by Quebec choreographer Steve Bolton against The Press.
This civil liability case took place in December. The lawyers concluded the legal process on Monday by arguing their respective clients’ arguments before Superior Court Judge Karen Kear-Jodoin.
This trial has put journalistic work in the spotlight, as well as the balance between the right to reputation and freedom of expression.
Known for his TV work on shows like The dancing gods and The voiceas well as in hit musicals like Mary Poppins and FootlooseSteve Bolton sues in damages for $ 265,000 the daily The Press and two of its investigative journalists, Katia Gagnon and Stéphanie Vallet — the latter now being at the To have to.
His lawsuit relates to an article entitled “Rain of denunciations against a star choreographer”, published on the front page of The Press on December 12, 2017.
The text in question reported that around twenty dancers had filed a complaint with the Union of Artists (UDA) against Mr. Bolton, with allegations ranging from physical and psychological violence during rehearsals to untenable working conditions. The facts declared to the UDA – which had carried out an investigation – reported tantrums and intimidation on the part of the choreographer, “who adopts an attitude of abuse of power”, can we read in the article. .
“Tunnel Vision”
The journalists of The Press had a “bias” in favor of the dancers who complained to the UDA, and did not deviate from this vision despite testimonies favorable to the choreographer, pleaded his lawyers, resulting in a “botched and biased” investigation.
The two journalists adopted “tunnel vision”, launched Me Marie-Pier Cloutier, using the expression of her expert at the trial.
Journalists are thus criticized for a good number of omissions: not having contacted people who would have presented a positive version of Mr. Bolton – he had nevertheless given them a list of 60 names – a lack of rigor in their verification of the facts , and that to establish them, they did not “exit the circle of complainants”, pleaded the lawyer. According to her, the article misrepresents him as a violent man, a bully, who makes children cry and whose working methods cause injuries to dancers, and that all of this has created an unfavorable opinion of him.
The “overall impression” of each section of the article is based on the complainants’ version and brings out the worst testimony in each, supported by the biased captions: “The children were crying” – while he there was only one, Mr. Bolton argues—“worse than the army”—this expression being taken out of context, moreover. The caption “I never wanted a cult” implied that Mr Bolton admitted there had been one, his other lawyer, Mre Marc-Antoine Cote.
The Press perpetuated the damage by leaving that article online, still accessible five years later, he added.
44 people interviewed
For his part, the lawyer of The Press and Mmy Gagnon and Vallet, M.e Geneviève Gagnon, recalled that the work of journalists must be evaluated according to this standard of conduct: diligent and prudent journalism, as is the case for all other professionals. The judge must decide whether the journalists made mistakes, not what she would have chosen as a title or who else she would have interviewed.
Here, the two journalists contacted 44 people – including people referred by Mr. Bolton – which is well beyond the “circle of complainants”, argued Ms.e Gagnon.
“A botched investigation? How many people should I have talked to? »
The lawyer explained to the magistrate that the elements reported in the article were all corroborated, sometimes by several people, including with regard to the section “the children were crying”: more than one contact confirmed this, she advanced. The journalistic work was complete, searched, revised many times by bosses and lawyers, she continued, noting that information not sufficiently corroborated in the eyes of journalists was discarded. In short, there was no fault on their part, she told the judge, asking her to dismiss the action.
And then, why did around twenty people file a complaint with the UDA?, asked Me Gagnon. According to Mr. Bolton, it is a “conspiracy” of former lovers and competitors who want to harm him, she pleaded before deciding: it is not supported by the evidence.
Such investigations rarely make the person being investigated look good, argues Ms.e Gagnon, but it was in the public interest to publish here.
She also argued that without the investigation of The Press, there would still have been damage to the reputation of the choreographer: the UDA had taken action, including contacting certain producers, even before the start of the journalistic investigation. The damages he claims for his reputation and the loss of contracts, in particular as a judge on the dance show Revolutionare therefore unrelated to the published article, she said.
The judge is expected to render her decision within a few months.