Daily BrewWhy are Conrad Black’s musings still published in the National Post? The op-ed editor answers a question
Disgraced media baron. Fraudster. Egotist. Criminal. Historian. Lord.
All these terms have been used to describe Conrad Black, former head of Hollinger Inc., who is about to return to a U.S. prison after losing another appeal for his conviction of fraud and obstruction of justice.
Yet, his musings continue to be published in what was once his flagship newspaper and his dream of a national broadsheet, National Post.
Post op-ed editor Jonathan Kay was recently enjoying the sun at his athletic club when a seemingly frustrated and befuddled person asked him a question, "Why are you publishing Conrad Black?"
He's a criminal, the person continued, and by publishing his work you are essentially condoning criminal behaviour.
Kay pondered the question, admitting he's not up to speed on the exact details of Black's case, but offered this insight.
"Journalism, unlike law or dentistry, is a non-credentialed profession. I have, on occasion, had op-ed contributors who are sex-trade workers, drug addicts and conspiracy theorists. At least one of my regular columnists never graduated from high school. None of this concerns me much.
"What matters is that my contributors have something interesting to say, and are good at saying it. I run an op-page, not a church newsletter; and I let my readers decide whether, and by how much, to devalue the message based on the identity of the messenger."
While the National Post has always remained somewhat loyal to its patriarch, Kay clearly sees value in Black's opinion.
Has Black, as Kay states, offered a voice to the disenfranchised in U.S. prisons - blacks and Hispanics, the uneducated and dispossessed?
Some would argue Black has either employed these prisoners or helped them by providing advice and even literacy training.
But more to the point, Kay is correct to note Black is interesting. He is Canadian - by birth, anyway - and he has a fascinating story to tell, therefore worthy of publication.
"There is no such thing as an unflawed great writer. To pick the first few examples that spring to mind: George Orwell was a cranky misanthrope. Ezra Pound was an anti-Semite. P.J. Wodehouse did slapstick for Nazi radio. Arthur Koestler drove drunk.
"What Black has done — even if one believes his accusers — is relatively minor on the scale of wrongdoing, perversion and callousness that characterize many great writers. And I'm proud to have him on my pages."
His musings will continue to enjoy space on the Post's opinion pages. The choice of whether to validate those writings remains, as always, with the reader.
(AFP Photo)
