The other day, on CityNews here in Toronto, anchor Gord Martineau gazed at the camera and said, "Is the Ford family manipulating the media again?
Well, yeah. Is the Pope Catholic? Are the Toronto Maple Leafs hopeless?
At least Martineau, who has been anchoring CityNews since a time extending beyond the reach of memory, actually asked the rhetorical question. Mostly, here in Toronto, the TV news racket just gets swallowed up in the Ford theatre of craziness and enables the Fords to control the message.
Thing is, nobody seems to care much. And what's happening is a disgrace.
The Ford story, as it plays out on TV, has evolved from coverage of a buffoon to coverage of a bully. But the distinction is not being made. It was hard to point an accusing finger at local TV when Rob Ford was the world's No. 1 political buffoon. The drama never stopped. There was a chaotic narrative centred on a train wreck of a man.
Rob Ford cheerfully engaged with TV cameras all the time. He said outrageous things. He was petulant, self-pitying, narcissistic and rude. Utterly compelling, but a buffoon.
Doug Ford is a bully. That is, he is beyond abrasive. Menace emanates from him. "Today Ford took the insults to a whole new level," was part of the report Martineau introduced on City. An understatement. And by allowing Doug Ford a free ride, the local TV news has opened up an area for hatred to thrive.
Giving Doug Ford the oxygen of unquestioning TV attention has allowed others to breathe freely too. It's no coincidence that, since Ford entered the mayoral race, in place of his brother, racism and homophobia have suddenly become part of the slanging match that is the mayoral campaign now. At a debate made unruly by raucous Ford supporters a man shouted at Olivia Chow, "go home, Olivia! Back to China!"
Both Doug Ford and John Tory were milquetoasts in their comments about the outrageous incident. "I don't condone that," Ford said. "I've received that in our family. I don't condone that whatsoever." Hello? If you have the vigour to snarl at opponents, why isn't the same vigour applied to condemning racism? Tory was quoted as saying, "I just think any slur issued by anybody in this city of that kind is unacceptable; it is not the way we live here." Right. "I just think" is a qualifier, suggesting that, you know, in my very humble opinion, it's not really good.
Meanwhile, the sole openly gay councillor at Toronto City Hall received a letter that declared: "I hope you get AIDS and die in public office." It was signed, "I support Ford Nation."
In the fevered atmosphere established by Doug Ford's bullying tone and attitude, hatred is allowed to flourish. And that atmosphere is invigorated by TV coverage that allows Ford to dictate the message and which never openly challenges the bullying tone. Instead, when the mayoral race is being covered now, TV reporters turn to PR strategists and ask, "Do you think John Tory looked weak last night against Doug Ford?" As if this was a contest between two guys and the outcome would be determined by how much menace each could muster.
And then, emboldened by a sheepish media, Doug Ford dropped out of some debates and, instead, held a news conference with the sole purpose of heaping scorn on John Tory without Tory there to answer. It was covered extensively, of course.
The current ugly dynamic began when Rob Ford was hospitalized. TV coverage became reverential, hushed and obsequious. The reporters on vigil outside the hospital. Doug Ford calling a news conference to tell the media to leave his family alone. Doug Ford then calling a news conference featuring his family. All in their best clothes and hair, oozing smugness. The theatre of it was, and remains, cheesy TV, the kind that has impact when the press is reverential.
The iconography of that news conference was remarkable. The cockiness of the Ford clan. It's become a cliché to suggest that the Fords believe they are a Kennedy-like family destined to govern. The only thing that reminds me of a Kennedy-type circumstance is the response of the media and, in particular TV – the Fords are covered in the way John F. Kennedy was covered. With awe and deference.
Doug Ford doesn't remind me of a Kennedy. More like Benito Mussolini, to my mind. The same hunger for whipping up a crowd with hate and aggression. Not that anybody's going to say that on TV.
Airing tonight
The Honourable Woman (CBC, 9 p.m.) is a must-see, superb political drama and taut spy thriller – Homeland without the hysteria, with Maggie Gyllenhaal as a powerful business woman caught up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.