Free Republic

Canadian comedian Mike Ward has lost his appeal and has been ordered by a Quebec judge to pay $35,000 because of a joke he told about a disabled boy. Ward was ordered to pay $35,000 to Jeremy Gabriel, who suffers from a genetic disorder that causes facial deformity and affects his hearing, due to a joke the comedian told at shows between 2010 and 2013. Two of three judges ruled Mike Ward’s comments regarding Gabriel were not justifiable in a society where freedom of expression is valued. Ward was originally ordered to pay an additional $7,000 to Gabriel’s mother—a fine...

On July 31, the Houston Chronicle published a front-page story with a provocative headline. "'We've moved on': Political anger after Harvey has eased," it declared, adding: "Experts believe disaster response is unlikely to be a factor in November." It was a significant story by veteran reporter and Austin bureau chief Mike Ward. It asserted that Houston residents initially fed up with the uneven government response to Hurricane Harvey actually weren't going to blame politicians after all. The story began with West Houston resident Betsy Scheer, whose anger had faded. She was going to vote Republican. "My friends are mostly the...

The Houston Chronicle on Monday announced an investigation into the work of one of its former reporters after editors said they became aware in discrepancies over the accuracy of his work. The newspaper's executive editor, Nancy Barnes, wrote that another Houston Chronicle journalist raised questions about whether Austin, Texas, reporter Mike Ward made up quotes from non-existent people in one of his stories. "We ask that you trust us that we've done everything we can to ensure what we've told you is fair and accurate," Barnes said in her post. "For that reason, I want to be completely transparent with...