LYNCHED: The Media War Against Rob Ford

Several books on Rob Ford have already been published. Though we should not judge their authors’ intentions, even a brief look at them tells us that they have been written from the point of the media and political elites that have little interest in assessing Ford’s work objectively and going beyond the overblown problems in his personal life. The intention of this book is to fill the vacuum and tell Rob Ford’s story as it is. So far the real role of the media in spreading and even generating most “controversies” in his political career had received little attention. 

Very few politicians in the history of Canada have been the target of such vicious and continuous campaign of destruction, organized by the media and special interest groups. The attacks started long before any of his personal problems emerged. The lack of any sympathetic coverage about a man, who has dedicated his life to serving the taxpayers, is disturbing. Canada is described routinely as being one of the most polite and tolerant countries in the world, yet the “progressive” media here can easily destroy a person with the “wrong” political views.

This is not just about Rob Ford – this is about exposing the ability of the media to belittle and ruin a person, any person. And we are not talking about criticism of his political views. It is normal to criticize politicians’ views. The issue is about the horrific way in which a human being is treated – hounded methodically until his personal life and his family are in shambles. That media approach becomes more and more common in Canada and we can saw it in action in the coverage of other conservative politicians during the last year’s election campaign.

It takes extreme strength to withstand such pressure and on the surface it looks that Ford has managed to handle the situation. However, his political career has brought him no visible benefits after the long battles with those who hate his politics, if we don’t count the satisfaction of his constituents.

It is important to tell the story of that media war, because it is a precedent and a blueprint for dealing with any person disliked by the media and the elites, often just because she or he has views that don’t conform to what they think is better for us.

Telling the truth in a sea of hostility is not an easy task. You can’t rely on the mainstream media, because they routinely belittle Ford’s achievements and mock his supporters as mindless simpletons. The book Lynched: The Media War against Rob Ford seeks to put things in the proper perspective. Based on extensive research of the media coverage, it identifies the forces and interests that clashed around the personality of Rob Ford. Each of those issues is covered in a separate chapter, though the unifying idea is to present how the media influenced the problems.