Ethnorama Responds, and Local Politicians Stay On-Side
The magazine's editors have responded to the federal NDP's choice to withdraw funding; Marcelino still advertising in Ethnorama News; Marcelino and Schreyer fail to respond to controversy
When I first published my previous piece, "Seek Local Action, Find International Scandal," I suspected the fallout would elicit some reaction from the folks at Ethnorama News. Sure, my piece hadn't been picked up by any major news outlet - and I suspect only a couple dozen people really even read the thing - but I did receive a swift response from the federal NDP, who informed me they had "expressed [their] concern" with Ethnorama News and that they would be withdrawing all support for it in the future. Given the clearly cozy relationship Ethnorama News had with the party before the sudden break-up, it's likely that the editorial team was caught off-guard. At the very least, the drop in ad revenue for an independent newsmagazine would arouse some response. I had no preconceptions as to what that response would look like, besides that it would likely appear in print in November, but I didn't expect contrition, or a retraction - indeed, the tenor of the content of the publication indicated an entrenched and zealous commitment to an ideologically-driven editorial policy. However, I was surprised by the effort Ethnorama News went to justify their actions, the invective they were willing to direct at the federal NDP - a party they had been actively promoting up to this point - and the degree to which they chose to escalate their dangerous rhetoric.
Instead of publishing a tepid piece reiterating the typical arguments about free speech and giving space for alternative positions, Ethnorama News came out of the gates swinging. In total three articles - covering about 6 pages of the 16-paged November issue - were dedicated to litigating the NDP's decision. All three were, to put it mildly, incendiary.
The first, "Free Speech for Peace," appears to have been written by the editorial board. In this piece, Ethnorama News refuses to take responsibility for the content they publish while affirming their support for the positions outlined in the article in question. They accuse the federal NDP of capitulating to "censorship," and, frankly, display a degree of entitlement with respect to receiving the NDP's financial support - going so far as to discuss Daniel Blaikie's current outstanding balance with the organization.
The next piece is titled "The CBC and the Lies of Our Times," and is written by Professor Henry Heller, who, from what I can tell, is an active faculty member of the University of Manitoba (verify). This article, likewise, reiterates Ethnorama News' and Professor Ryan's narrative on the war in Ukraine, and launches into a critique of the NDP's foreign policy positions. It then paints a grand, conspiratorial narrative about the capture of Canadian media by a clique controlled by the "rich," which, articulated through the state through its putative propaganda organ - the CBC - suppresses all dissent in the popular discourse.
The third piece was written by Professor Ryan, the author of the article at the centre of the controversy. Unlike the two-part piece he wrote that appeared in the August and September issues, however, this article was written expressly for Ethnorama News, rather than being a republished work from online. The article in question is titled "The Deplorable State of Affairs in Canada's Federal New Democratic party." Perhaps unsurprisingly Ryan begins by chastising the NDP - first for the "reactionary" decision to withdraw support for Ethnorama, and second for its foreign policy platform writ large. He provides a number of theories as to the impetus for the NDP's decision, and weakly defends his own journalistic credibility - bizarrely citing his work's appearance in a disreputable publication most known for its hosting of neo-Nazi and Holocaust denial material.
Besides the three articles directly addressing the NDP's decision, much of the rest of the issue is dedicated to articles either promoting 'alternative' views on the Ukraine war, or admonishing Western 'censorship,' including a brief insert written by former NDP MLA Marianne Cerilli deriding the mainstream media's focus on "heroes and victims" (emphasis added). I find it strange that Ms. Cerilli was concerned about the media focusing on the victims of violent conflict, given her apparent support for the "peace" camp. Besides this, a few other articles on other subjects appear in the issue - including one by Glenn Michalchuk, chair of "Peace Alliance Winnipeg," which pins blame for the Ukraine war on NATO - alongside some frankly cringeworthy visual inserts containing trite aphorisms and combative quotes.
Beyond the content, what concerns me most is the continued support Ethnorama News is still receiving from some members of the political class. Although I have reached out multiple times to the office of Malaya Marcelino - including speaking to a staffer who insisted they were drafting a response that never came - she seems to have bought a new ad for November, which appears on page 15. And, while not dispositive evidence of continued support, the presence of a congratulatory note on Jason Schreyer's reelection implies that Schreyer's office has yet to address the issue - despite my extensive correspondence with his team. Neither Marcelino nor Schreyer have commented on the matter yet.
When I first decided to challenge the lies being propagated in Ethnorama News, it was primarily driven by my dismay at the support the publication was receiving from mainstream politicians. When the federal NDP contacted me within two days of my email to them, I thought that I would see similar movement from the provincial NDP and Councillor Schreyer’s office, and that I would not have to continue to pursue this issue. I even considered not publishing my first article on the matter, but the relative unresponsiveness of Schreyer and Marcelino, and the then-impending election, convinced me something needed to be done.
Now, with the publication doubling-down on disinformation, and providing even more space to inflammatory genocide-apologism and conspiracy theorism - and with sitting politicians still providing their moral and financial support - I feel the need to persist. As such, I have written a series of essays outlining and refuting the claims made in the three articles mentioned above. I will release these articles, one at a time, as I finish them. I will also continue to exert pressure on Schreyer and Marcelino to withdraw their support from the Ethnorama News, and to provide the public with their real positions on the Ukraine war and disinformation.
Just before publishing this piece, I was informed by someone I know that they had been in contact with NDP MLA Mark Wasyliw, who, in light of this issue, is pushing the caucus to terminate their relationship with Ethnorama News. I commend this action, and will report on any developments as they occur.
let's hope they actually cut ties with Ethnorama News. that would be solid. i hope to hear that you get a response sometime in the future when you release the 3 other essays. keep it up though. your writing is very informative and entertaining.