The use of the terms “touristatas” and “covidiots” in factual articles shows a bias contrary to the duty of impartiality of the media, ruled the Press Council in a recent series of decisions reprimanding three times The Journal of Montreal.
In the wake of the publication in the Montreal daily of the articles “Au pays des touristatas” and “Québec wants to tighten the screw on touristatas in the South”, on December 28 and 29, 2020, 18 readers turned to the Press Council (CDP ) to deplore “partial titles” and the use of “degrading and contemptuous language” towards a part of the population defying health measures.
The articles in question are signed by Clara Loiseau, who went to Playa del Carmen, Mexico, during the holiday season, to testify to the attitude of Quebec tourists abroad. She reports that most have ditched masks, hand washing and social distancing while meanwhile in Quebec the government banned gatherings in the red zone and strongly advised against non-essential travel.
In her texts, the journalist opts for neutral words such as “vacationers”, “clients”, “travellers” or “Quebec tourists”. However, it is in the titles of his articles that we find the term “touristatas”.
Since this expression is a fusion of the words “tourist” and “tata” – which means a person “silly, imbecile, stupid, insignificant”, according to the dictionary Usito — , the CDP concluded that the term is indeed not neutral. “It expresses a value judgment according to which Quebec tourists who go to Mexico during the Holidays are fools. »
Its use by The Journal of Montreal therefore testifies to “a bias”, judges the media honor court in its decision, blaming the daily – which bears full responsibility for the headlines – but not the journalist.
The word “touristatas” is not to be banned from the media, however, specifies the CDP. It could be reported in quotation marks if used by a speaker in the article, or it could be used in an opinion column, “since opinion journalists have a great deal of latitude in the choice of tone and style they adopt to express their point of view.
In this same case, the CDP, on the other hand, rejected two other grievances from the plaintiffs who judged that the photograph accompanying the articles did not reflect the information to which it relates and that the journalist had unjustifiably used clandestine methods to carry out her item. Clara Loiseau’s “incognito” presence was, on the contrary, justified by the public interest and the existence of a probability “that an open approach would not [lui] would not have allowed to observe the same behaviors nor to obtain all these testimonies if she had presented herself as a journalist”, argues the complaints committee.
“Covid”
Two other similar complaints were filed with the CDP, this time concerning the use of the word “covidiots” in two other publications of the Montreal Journal. This is the article from March 13, 2021 “ [EN IMAGES] 5000 opponents to sanitary measures”, signed by Roxane Trudel and Camille Lalancette, and the article “Covidiots in a shopping center”, published on November 30, 2020.
In the first case, the complainant accuses the journalists of having shown bias by using the term “covidiots” to, according to him, “insult, denigrate and intimidate” those who disagree with health measures.
“Covidiots” is formed from the words “COVID” and “idiot”, or a person “devoid of intelligence, of common sense”, according to The Larousse. It is therefore “connoted” and demonstrates a “bias” against the participants in the demonstration, according to the majority of the members of the CDP’s complaints committee. “Calling people stupid is indeed a matter of perspective. […] Although many may think so, it is not up to the media to present its point of view in a factual report, ”the decision reads. In this case though, the blame falls both on the Montreal Journal than on journalists, since the term is used at the heart of the article.
Again, it is explained that if “covidiots” had been reported in quotation marks to signify that it was the opinion of a speaker, its use would not have been problematic. Ditto if it had been used in an opinion column.
In the second complaint under study, the daily is the only one to bear the blame, since “covidiots” is found only in the title of the article, which is the responsibility of the media and not of the journalist. “While the title of a factual article can be catchy and colorful, it should remain unbiased and should not convey value judgments,” writes the Council.
When a complaint is upheld against a CDP member media company, the company must usually publish or broadcast the decision within 30 days. However, Quebecor’s media withdrew in 2010, escaping this “moral obligation”. The Council also deplores “the refusal to collaborate Montreal Journal in these three different complaints.
Invited to comment on the situation, the daily had not yet responded to the Homework at the time these lines were written.