Of bylines and headlines

Imagine for a moment that you're Brian Hutchinson, a reporter and writer for national media conglomerate CanWest, ostensibly sent to Afghanistan to glean the truth and inform Canadians of it. You try your best, in difficult and unfamiliar circumstances. Some days you get it right, other days you don't.

Now watch what nameless, faceless, unaccountable editors do to a piece with your name on it, just to satisfy their own prejudices and appeal to what they believe are the leanings of their readers.

One article, five headlines:

National Post: First foray into Taliban area - Canadians welcomed, even without aid packages

Calgary Herald: Canadians told Afghan operation is to win hearts - Soldiers move in to Taliban zone

Edmonton Journal: Troops launch 'soft knock' campaign - Winning over Afghan villagers with kindness part of NATO mission to conquer Taliban

Montreal Gazette: Canadian troops enter Taliban territory - Two insurgents captured at roadblocks. Efforts to deliver aid and material assistance hampered by transportation delays, confusion

Ottawa Citizen: Logistical snags hamper mission to woo Afghans - Elders not ready for planned meeting; farm implement gifts go astray

This sort of behind-the-scenes editorializing drives me batty. How can defenders of the Canadian media establishment talk about impartial and objective news coverage when the same article is sold as "Canadians welcomed, even without aid packages" in one paper and "Logistical snags hamper mission to woo Afghans" in another?

Besides the fact that I'm probably not a talented enough writer, this is reason #643 that I couldn't be a paid journalist: I'd go off on anyone who dicked around with my work. And make no mistake, selling my reporting under a misleading headline is screwing with my stuff. That's my name, my reputation, my sweat and effort. I don't know how Hutchinson - or any other writer for that matter - can invest himself fully in his craft when he knows his words can be twisted around by some anonymous REMF in a newsroom with an axe to grind.

At least with a blogger, you know exactly who to credit and who to blame.

I recently attended a Canadian Journalism Federation forum entitled "The Media, the Military and the Pollsters: Who's got the story on Afghanistan?" With what passes for journalistic objectivity in this country, it sure as hell isn't the Canadian public.

Caveat lector, people.