Integrity and your local "news" paper

Every couple of weeks, the Newmarket Era publishes a column by MPP Frank Klees on various local issues.  This week MPP Klees is writing about provincial versus federal boundaries.  At the end of the column, the following appears:

"This column is paid for by Frank Klees."

All is well and good.  If Mr. Klees purchases the ad space then like any advertiser, he can responsibly disseminate his political message to the masses. 

This week, Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen has a column in the Era as well under the sub-heading "Newmarket Notes".  Unlike Mr. Klees' column, there is no message trailer that his item was a paid advertorial (i.e. paid for by Tony Van Bynen). 

In fact, by all appearances it seems as though the Era has added Mayor Van Bynen on its list of columnists joining Dr. David Suzuki and others. 

Based on the poor quality of his writing, I am not sure if any aspiring opponent should be terribly concerned that Tony Van Bynen has been given space in the paper.  His writing style is best described as "pedestrian".  After reading it, I can't say I had any other impression other than YAWN.  After a few more columns like this, Tony Van Bynen will surely convince the community that he is the least imaginative, uninteresting candidate possible for the Mayor's chair. 

That said, I am concerned with the concept of fair play. 

Does the Era intend to make it public that the editorial position of the paper is to back a Tony Van Bynen mayoralty campaign?  If so, when will the Era make its position clear? 

Also part of the same media group as the Era, the Toronto Star makes its Atkinson Principle well known.  Toronto Star readers know that the Atkinson Principle skews the paper's bias towards the left of the political spectrum.  As long as the editors are open about it, I have no issue with a paper's position.  It is the responsibility of the paper's readers to read the paper with a critical eye.

Similarly, the Era is equally free to be biased about Mayor Tony Van Bynen.  I think Mayor Van Bynen's record speaks for itself and as I have written previously, there is little that would recommend him for re-election.  From the Magna Centre, to Glenway, to VivaNext and so on - he has displayed a clear record of bungling and bumbling.  But if Van Bynen is the one who the Era backs, its a free society. 

Yet as the only paper in town, the Era should have the basic integrity to admit to being biased and allow readers to decide what is news versus what is propaganda.  If Tony Van Bynen is the Era's preferred candidate and it plans on giving him free space to write about himself in hopes of getting re-elected, then the very least the publisher should do is to admit it.

Bottom Line:  Everyone has biases and admitting to holding a bias is what it means to have integrity.