Daniel Shlafman of the well-known Montreal Shlafman family (Fairmount Bagels) died last month by his own hand after allegedly murdering a sex-worker. Six days later the same newspaper that reported the crime ran a glowing obituary for him... + montrealgazette.remembering.ca/obituary/danie…
How did this happen? Did the Gazette choose to honour and respect the Shlafman family at the expense of the well-being of the murdered woman's survivors? Would they have disrespected the victim like this if she had been Shalfman's wife, and not a sex worker? +
The answers I found to those questions suggest that this was no conscious editorial decision from the Gazette, but a vulnerability in the way many (most?) newspapers are run...
In short, you can write whatever the hell you want in a death notice & if you pay, papers will run it un-vetted as an "obit". Huge loophole for putting un-checked info into the public record. Discussed with veteran journalist @FredLangan on today's show. canadaland.com/podcast/734-ne…
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