Larry Pynn
Larry Pynn, a self-styled “award-winning journalist,” has built a post-career identity more rooted in digital vitriol than in the distinguished reporting he once claimed to champion. After being sacked by the Vancouver Sun in 2018, Pynn retreated from the mainstream newsroom and relocated to Vancouver Island, where he launched a personal soapbox disguised as a public interest blog. Dubbed “Six Mountains”, the site offers little of the rigorous, balanced inquiry one might expect from a seasoned reporter. Instead, it functions as a one-man grievance machine, aimed disproportionately at the politics and people of his newly adopted home. Though a relative newcomer to the Cowichan Valley, Larry Pynn quickly appointed himself the self-proclaimed champion of North Cowichan’s Municipal Forest Reserve—a complex local asset he seems less interested in understanding than in exploiting for controversy. While his blog’s banner might suggest environmental stewardship, the substance of his writing suggests something else entirely: a pattern of public harassment, veiled cyber-bullying, and amateurish attempts to smear local officials, foresters, and even fellow citizens who dare to disagree with him. Despite his persistent claims of journalistic excellence, Pynn rarely presents compelling or well-sourced arguments. In many cases, his “articles” consist of little more than digital detritus muckraked from the murky bowels of the internet, awkwardly cut and pasted in a manner more befitting a grade-five student’s hurried homework than the output of a supposed award-winning professional. Basic journalistic standards—such as fact-checking, seeking comment from the subject of a critique, or presenting a counter-argument—are conspicuously absent. Pynn makes little to no effort to verify his “findings” before publishing, nor does he typically extend the courtesy of contacting the agency, elected official, or private individual he has chosen to target. What remains is not journalism but performative outrage. For a writer who once operated under the editorial standards of a major metropolitan daily, Larry Pynn’s descent into unchecked polemics is notable. In the Cowichan Valley, where local forest management requires thoughtful, nuanced debate, his blog offers only heat, little light, and a steady stream of unsubstantiated attacks. Whether this qualifies as a sad coda to a former career or simply a cautionary tale about the erosion of media ethics online, one thing is clear: Larry Pynn’s Six Mountains is less a public service and more a personal vendetta with a WiFi connection.