Straight Talk

#MargaretWente trends on Twitter after Globe and Mail cans two other columnists

by Charlie Smith on August 31st, 2017 at 4:41 PM
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      There was a surprising turn of events over Twitter today.

      It came after the Canadaland website reported that two Globe and Mail columnists were given their walking papers: Tabatha Southey and Leah McLaren.

      But Southey and McLaren weren't at the centre of attention. Rather, it was a third columnist, veteran Margaret Wente, whose name was trending on the social media site in Vancouver.

      That's because there were so many Twitter users complaining that Wente wasn't among those who were canned.

      Wente, a former editor of the Report on Business section, regularly writes opinion pieces that appeal to right wingers. At times, she's been at the centre of controversies for not attributing the source of information included in some of her columns.

      Funny, we didn't see anywhere near this level of outrage over Doug Saunders being allowed to keep his column. Or Gary Mason.

      If people wonder why Wente is allowed to continue writing columns in the face of such opposition, it's really quite simple: she likely delivers far more page views than the others on a per article basis.

      And why is this? It's because her columns anger so many progressives that they pass them around among one another, which boosts the hit counter.

      The same formula works for Christie Blatchford, Rex Murphy, Terence Corcoran, and many other contrarian columnists working in the Canadian media.

      It's really quite simple. Piss off enough of those lefties and you get to keep your job.

       

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