It was the same question at the end of every class.

"Yes, but is there really a free press in Canada?" asked a young Russian student slouched in the front row of my journalism and public policy course at St. Petersburg State University.

"Can Canadian reporters really write what they see?" a young woman asked at the end of a lecture about political reporting.

Each time I said yes, there was a tiny groan and students rolled their eyes. Some things don't need translation. The concept of a free press seemed as far-fetched to these Russian journalism students as the tooth fairy, or Santa Claus.

When I was invited to teach at the journalism school of St. Petersburg State University as part of a program run by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, I knew that things were bad for journalists in Russia, but I did not appreciate quite how bad.

No comment on the Steyn or Levant cases. Perhaps that will be in a forthcoming article? Or perhaps they will ignore it. After all, the Toronto Star is on the same wavelength as the PC thought police, so it is unlikely they will ever have to feel the wrath of those who wish to silence our "free" press.

First they came for the conservatives...

Labels: Ezra Levant, Human Rights, Mark Steyn, Toronto Star