There was a major turning point in Martin’s life when he appeared on a show called Power and Politics which aired on the CBC channel. He had a dispute with a man named Duffy who called him a “faker” for not publicly supporting the military. The two got into an on air altercation when Don flexed over Duffy’s table. Don sticks to his personal political values and did not like Duffy trying to exploit his views for attention.
Martin also made big news when he wrote a piece about political candidate Arthur Kent which was published in the National Post and Calgary Herald. The article came out during the 2008 Alberta provincial election. In a trial judgement that was ruled eight years later, the article by Martin was ruled as defamatory. Kent claimed that the article was a “hit piece” that was intended to hurt his campaign when he ran for office. Kent sued because he felt the article tried to sway voters and force the public to have a negative opinion about him by using false reporting. He wanted justice against Martin for trying to damage his career. He also went after the newspapers that published Martin’s article and allowed it to stay online for many years without retracting it.
In Martin’s defense, his team claimed that article was not defamatory. They said that Kent was running a negative campaign that deserved and warranted criticism from the media. They also tried to protect themselves by saying that the article was an opinion piece which gave it lawful protections. Martin’s team denied any malice and claimed that he was justified in his opinion because of the research that he conducted before writing the article.
The court ruled in favor of Kent and awarded him a large sum of money. Kent won $200,000 in damages from Martin and his publishers. It was a big and negative hit on Martin’s reputation. It was speculated that the court was tired of the media trying to influence elections. Even if it wasn’t Martin’s intention, his article seemed like it was a tool to manipulate instead of a tool to inform. If the case took place at a different time, the ruling may have different. Martin was unlucky because the case came at time where people were being extra careful about propaganda and political journalism.
Awards
As a successful and award-winning journalist, Don has gained world class recognition. He has been the recipient of many awards. In 2012, Don was recognized by the Public Policy Forum of Canada and he was nominated for the Peter Lougheed Award for his journalism work.
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 18 May, 1931 |
| Age: | 88 yrs |
| Occupations: | Cartoonist Comics artist |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Paterson |
| Education: | Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |
| Gender: | Male |
| Description: | Cartoonist |
| Net Worth 2021: | 13 million |
