From: Donna Laframboise <donna@razberry.com>
To: AT POST ME <dlaframboise@nationalpost.com>
Subject: Fw: I apologize
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 08:41:56 -0400
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael A. LaBerge"<labermc@telusplanet.net>
To: "'Donna Laframboise'"<donna@razberry.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 28, 20012:26 AM
Subject:I apologize
[Only after a flurry of phone messages andemails between Monday and Wednesday, culminating in this exchange in
which he apologizes for questioning thereporter, did the president of ECMAS-Calgary follow through with his threat
to separate from ECMAS-Edmonton. The crux of itis 1½ pages down.]
> Pleasedo not get me wrong, Donna. --------->
> I understand your position, and respect yourresearch thoroughness in any
&
> all articles of yours that I have read. I also knowyou have/will do the
> same here.
> The good ,the bad and the ugly must be told,regardless of which side
> creates it. You are the messenger, not the creator.
>
> Donna, in no way was I asking or suggesting thearticle not to be written.
I
> would not insult you or the National Post in thatmanner. I apologize to
you
> for not making that point clear. Secondly, I do notconsider you as a PR
> service. My respect for you is deeper than that, norhave I unsolicitedly
> asked for air time from you. I have always viewedyour journalism as
highly
> professional, ethical and clear - characteristics ofwhich I wish would
rub
> off onto some other journalists!!
>
> I guess adelay in writing was suggested because neither the people
factor
> and the process factor were efficient in Edmontonover the weekend subject
> to the imputed timeline. Their decision process lastSunday and their
> methodology did not fit the timeline I presented, soI extended to seek
> answers to the key questions. I also am aware youdid the same. I
appreciate
> that and pointed this out to Bob. The directquestions were not even asked
> at their meeting! We re-directed these specificquestions to them this
> afternoon.
>
>
> I left a telephone message with you at 8 pm Calgarytime after I talked to
> Bob Bouvier. I even talked to [Source A] to see ifhe could relay some
> semblance of sanity this evening. It appearsstupidity is long lasting -
the
> Edmonton group seem to be tightening the nooserather than untying the
knot.
> They are not prepared to disassociate themselvesfrom these two
individuals.
> That being the case, the opportunity to correcttheir actions has been
> given. Their lack of action is more damaging becauseit could cause harm
to
> someone in the future. That is the real misfortune,and we realize it.
> Somehow, I have not found the right method to getthat message across, or
> they simply do not want to hear it.
>
>
> ECMAS Calgary will cease to exist within the nextcouple of days when the
> board can assemble. Maybe we will call ourselves"The Family Group
formerly
> known as ECMAS".
>
> Again, Donna, I apologize for my lack of clarity,and do appreciate your
> actions over the past week.
>
> Regards,
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:Donna Laframboise [mailto:donna@razberry.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 7:42 PM
> To: labermc@telusplanet.net
> Subject: re: your comments
>
>
> Thanks, once again, for the update.
----->
> Re:the following
>> Donna,
>> If individuals are expendable to further the cause of Family Law Reform,
>are
>> destructive articles expendable as well?
>
>No offense, but I'm starting to get a little pissed. I can't tell you how
>many times, in the past week, I've been told "you have no idea how much
>damage you are about to do," "you used to be a decent person, what
>happened?" "you're going to destroy everything we've worked so hardto
>build" etc. etc. etc.
>
> I don't make the news - I write about it. It's myjob to report on what's
> going on in the community. Sometimes that meanstelling the public bad
> things about people whose goals I believe in. Itdoesn't make me feel
great
> to write these kinds of stories, but that's life. Itdoesn't make me feel
> wonderful to write exposes on women's shelters orrape crisis centres,
> either, by the way. Those are services I believe in,too. But when they're
> being delivered by foolish people who think thatjust because they've got
> good intentions all the harm they're doing doesn'tcount - those stories
> need to be written. I wouldn't let a women's groupget away with the kind
of
> things ECMAS Edmonton has been doing, and I'mcertainly not going to let
the
> family rights community get away with it, either. Inboth cases, I have a
> moral obligation to expose these problems.
>
> Moreover, the National Post is not a charity. It hasnot paid my salary to
> work on this story for the past week (and I did notgive up a full day on
> Sunday to go into the office and work on thisarticle) just so, at the end
> of all this effort, we can take everything I've doneand flush it down the
> toilet. It's simply out of the question that the story would be killed
>
>to make that decision, and I'm insulted that you would suggest that I would
>make such a decision if it were in my power to do so.
>
> You know as well as I do that if 99% of the otherjournalists in this
> country wrote this story, there'd be no sympatheticcontext whatsoever.
I've
> striven very hard to put that into the story andwill work as hard as I
can
> to make sure it stays in during the editing process.But there really are
> limits to what you can expect, and it might be wiserto start counting
your
> blessings rather than nitpicking.
>
> When people in your movement are saying and doingsensible things, I'm
happy
> to report that. When you're being idiots, I have anobligation to report
> that, too.
>
> In other words, I'm not your PR service. I'm notsure why so many of you
> guys seem to think that I am, but please, let's nothave any more
confusion
> on that score.
>
> best wishes,
>
> D.