Providence Journal Ridiculed for Trudeau Story by National Press - and Former Reporter
Sunday, July 16, 2017
A Friday front page story in the Providence Journal about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is drawing ridicule by national and local press for the article’s focus.
The story by Jacqueline Tempera of the Providence Journal on Trudeau - in town for the National Governors Association summer meeting - starts off, "Feeling blue? Google three words: Justin Trudeau butt."
Besides the front page story, there was an online video by Tempera focusing on Trudeau's looks.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Tempera story is remniscent of former WJAR reporter Julie Tremmel, who also inserted herself into stories with somewhat clownish behavior. Tremmel acted like a bear in one segment and did a handstand in another. She was later fired.
In the Providence Journal video Tempera painfully tried to elicit comments from those she interviewed about Trudeau's attractiveness.
Where to Begin
The HuffPost wrote, “Where to even begin with this one. While U.S. President Donald Trump is in France making the first lady of that country feel weird, a Rhode Island paper has run a front-page story covering Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's visit by talking about his posterior.”
HuffPost went on to write, “It's the sort of comment that would easily split sexists from non-sexists — basically people who aren't the worst — if it were made about a female world leader. But this being about Trudeau, reaction to the Providence Journal story reinforced the difference in how Canadians and Americans view the prime minister."
Local Criticism
Meanwhile, former Providence Journal reporter Scott MacKay wrote on Facebook on Friday, “I rarely get exercised at what my alma mater, the Providence Journal does. But today was just too much. The National Governor's Conference is in town. The ProJo splashed accoss Page One a story about the appearance today of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The lede of the piece focused not on trade, climate change, fighting terror or his remarks. No, the lede --I kid you not -- was about his ass, or derriere in his native French.”
MacKay, who is a news analyst for RIPR, went on to write, “Then there was a front-page piece about Crimetown - as if we haven't heard enough about this. A quote about Raymond Patriarca.``It was the culture. Everyone loved Raymond. He was good to the community." MacKay went on to write:
Really? What planet is this person on? Patriarca was the czar of a murderous crime syndicate. He created widows, ruined families and corrupted unions and politicians.We are lionizing he and his like?
All this a day after a columnist conflated voting statistics into some nonsense about the state being ``independent.'' Never mentioning that big reason folks are unaffiliated --this happens all over New England--is because some states allow those voters to participate in either party primary.
All this infotainment. And they wonder why they are slouching toward irrelevance. Somewhere Michael Metcalf is spinning in his grave. Jim Wyman and Steve Hamblett too."
More National Media Comments
From NewsBusters, who assert themselves as "exposing and combating liberal media bias," Curtis Houck blasted the ProJo.
"I wonder if Tempera was singing I Like Big Butts to herself while she was writing this. In all seriousness, what an embarrassment for journalism. And they wonder why people don’t take the establishment, liberal media seriously anymore," wrote Houck.
Related Slideshow: Where the Former Projo Stars Are Today
Take a look at where the top Providence Journal writers and reporters from the 1990s and 2000s are now reporting. UPDATED April, 2017
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