Terry Milewski
Encyclopedia
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, who is currently the senior political correspondent for CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
. Prior to his current post, he was based in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
. Milewski has come under fire from major political actors at times during his career for his reporting.
Milewski has reported in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, and print media, from many places around the world. Assignments have included Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Jerusalem, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He immigrated
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
to Canada from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
1998 Asian Pacific Economic Conference protest coverage
In 1998, the officeOffice of the Prime Minister (Canada)
In Canada, the Office of the Prime Minister , located in the Langevin Block, on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, is one of the most powerful parts of the government. It is made up of the prime minister and his or her top political staff, who are charged with advising the prime minister on decisions,...
of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
complained that Milewski had been "biased
Media bias
Media bias refers to the bias of journalists and news producers within the mass media in the selection of events and stories that are reported and how they are covered. The term "media bias" implies a pervasive or widespread bias contravening the standards of journalism, rather than the...
" in his coverage of protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...
s at the 1997 Asian Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit
Summit (meeting)
A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...
in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, and Milewski was suspended
Suspension (punishment)
Suspension is a form of punishment that people receive for violating rules and regulations.- Workplace :Suspension is a common practice in the workplace for being in violation of an organization's policy...
for three days from the CBC. Milewski's investigations of Chretien's possible connections to the RCMP attack on peaceful protestors at the summit were persistent, and the controversy eventually compelled Solicitor General Andy Scott to resign his cabinet post. The alleged bias was found in some remarks in e-mails between Milewski and arrested protestor Craig Jones, as well as in providing coverage of protestors' points of view.
The CBC reported that its Ombudsman, Marcel Pepin, over a 5 month period, reviewed all of Milewski's TV reporting and communications with sources concerning APEC. The report stated that Pepin found that "...concerns that Milewski was one-sided were not justified." At the time of the finding, the CBC also reported that Milewski was serving an 18-day suspension, but that "...Milewski was not suspended because of his journalism but for other undisclosed reasons." Pepin further credited Milewski with "aggressive and critical journalism" which was valuable both to the journalism community and the public at large.
2006 Sikh documentary
In 2006, Milewski reported in a documentary for the CBC that a minority within Canada's Sikh community was gaining political influence even while publicly supporting terrorist acts in support of the struggle for an independent Sikh state.The World Sikh Organization (WSO) sued the CBC for "defamation, slander and libel", alleging that Milewski linked it to terrorism and damaged the reputation of the WSO within the Sikh community.
2011 Canadian federal election
After the motion of non-confidence had passed by the House of Commons, at the press conference Milewski accused Michael IgnatieffMichael Ignatieff
Michael Grant Ignatieff is a Canadian author, academic and former politician. He was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011...
on not being forthcoming about forming coalition with the other opposition parties should the ruling Conservatives not win a majority, saying “Surely this coalition monkey is going to stay on your back every day of the campaign. Because people will assume that if you don’t rule it out, that’s because you’ve got something to hide.” Ignatieff maintained "if you want to replace the Harper government, you’ve got to vote Liberal. It can’t be clearer than that".