There will be plenty to say about Horgan breaking the CASA agreement with the Greens just to try and get re-elected before the proverbial economic/site c/ unemployment shitshow next year, but I’ve got a little backstory for you I’ve been working on since last week.
When Covid 19 restrictions began last March, it made sense to limit interactions between all of us during the initial pandemonium. We didn’t know what we were dealing with and frankly, it was the smart thing to do. Essential service designations were given to industries and jobs the public depends on, and those people continued working while the rest of us either didn’t, or worked remotely.
Here in BC, the government began issuing pressers with this requirement, that reporters were only allowed to call in:
This may have made sense initially, but access to officials that is not inherently limited, is something that must be assured…particularly in a pandemic, because the press is the only thing standing between the public and government accountability.
Or one would think. But this arrangement continued on throughout the spring, and summer. I began seeing comments online about the lack of in person access, along with various reporters tweeting about “tech issues”, questions getting dropped, and even of not being able to get a question asked at all. There is a huge difference between in person press scrums and highly controlled call ins. Everything was being screened through the communications director or press secretaries, one question and one follow up allowed. That comms person controls everything including access whether they admit it or not. That IS how it works and why some reporters never get a question in.
I couldn’t understand why, when government says it is safe for the rest of us to be conducting business and carrying on masked and distanced in our lives, why they still maintained it was oddly not safe to have reporters in person. And I couldn’t understand why the press didn’t start pushing back, particularly when the ill conceived back to school plan emerged, cases were beginning to rise and Bonnie Henry changed distancing protocols from 2 metres to 1 metre in school and workplaces to make it all work. It didn’t make sense that this wasn’t being pushed back on.
I kept waiting, thinking that surely now the press would be allowed back so reporters could be in person to question officials…but no, that didn’t happen. Government continued allowing call in pressers only and often short ones.
When it was clear that Horgan was thinking of an election and he started doing campaign like appearances, I started looking at the BC government Flickr account to see how these were being managed.
And what a surprise I found.
Press conferences outside with ample space for press, personal appearances with and without masks and clearly if all of these things can occur, there is no reason for press not to be in person at announcements and Covid updates:
So, I started asking questions. Of government and of reporters.
Sept 17th: I contacted Jen Holmwood, Deputy Communications Director and Press Secretary for Premier John Horgan:
Sept 18th: She replies:
Oh, that’s interesting. They worked in cooperation with the press gallery? So reporters who are getting dropped, not getting calls in and subject to tech issues…agreed to this? I needed more info.
I immediately replied asking for clarification, but as of this post Jen has not responded. And clearly from the Govt Flickr account showing outside pressers with extensive room for press, it has been possible but they chose not to:
But now, I needed to find out who agreed to this and why, because governments around the world have used Covid to limit access not only to journalists in person, but also have interfered or limited Freedom of Information requests which are essential to holding all governments to account. In fact, this is being tracked and documented :
Source: https://ipi.media/covid19-media-freedom-monitoring/
I started with Richard Zussman, president of the Legislative Press Gallery, and emailed him this question below on Sept 18th after receiving the reply from Horgans Communications director:
I did receive an off the record response and we agreed it was not for attribution but background only, and we went back and forth before I asked for a statement on the record from the Legislative Press Gallery Executive, which I finally received late on Sept. 19th:
I have to say, I was more than a bit surprised that at a time when journalists and press organizations around the world are writing and protesting the limitations put on them by governments far more nefarious than ours during Covid, most of our legislative press gallery gave up in person access so easily. I get ‘feeling concerned. We are all concerned. But we all have to learn to live with this and reporters should be first in line. And this government used to rightfully scream at ” Premier Photo-op” but seems to now be following in her footsteps.
As someone who has always worked hard to investigate in depth stories that I often broke and scooped other journo’s on, it left me feeling deeply disappointed , saddened and probably even more cynical.
But the story doesn’t end there. Because after a weekend spent pursuing the statements above – all parties involved knowing this post was coming – guess what magically happened today? This:
Sigh. I would like to think I had something to do with this sudden change of heart on Horgans part.
But really, it’s likely just pure opportunism on his part.
Of course it was always safe for reporters to be in person, distanced and masked. The fact that reporters didn’t ask why its safe for the premier to do photo ops with many people but Bonnie Henry and Dix cant have reporters question them in person, is something they have to reflect on,and deserves a bigger lens than this blog can give. It directly impacts their credibility.
But… it gets even crazier. Because now other people are noticing this sudden difference and questions are being asked.
And I’m just going to leave this right here for y’all to think about:
Wow. Let me tell you all why this has me so worried. One, they have set a precedent for relinquishing/limiting access. Imagine how a more right leaning government might manipulate that more than Horgan already has.
And two: this puts the press gallery executive on the hotplate now as to why they would withhold all access if Bob Mackin didn’t agree to the rule? Were they worried he might scoop on a bigger story?
I can’t wrap my head around this.
Jack Webster would be rolling in his grave right now and rightfully so. This is a mockery of everything journalists have fought for.
At a time when public trust is at a low because of abrupt changes in public policy and covid guidelines that are at odds with other health standards and organizations… and when announcements are being made by the dozens in the 2 days prior to the election call…we need a fully operational press and one willing to go beyond a controlled presser. The public depends on it.
I’m going to finish with a quote from an article from J-source, that was written 7 years ago. At the time I was still a media commentator and a top political columnist at the now defunct 24Hours Vancouver, and the former BC Liberal government avoided reporters like the plague. I think its time for a reminder of why press access, and a free press, is so important, particularly during Covid 19, when questionable changes to law have been made that will still be here long after this government is gone.
“…The big fear is that media doesn’t perform its job of holding government accountable, and instead parrots an official narrative,” said Candis Callison, a journalism professor at the University of British Columbia. “A reporter’s job is to make every effort to hold public officials accountable, to act as a surrogate for the public.
“It behooves public officials to make themselves available. Unfortunately, sometimes there is a fear of being held accountable to the press. Gaps are emerging between the well-crafted statement and the off-the-cuff remark. Yet our democracy rests on the press being able to perform this function.”
~snip~
“Journalists, in an ideal world, are a stand-in for the public. We’re supposed to be asking questions the public wants answered from those in power. That’s why people should be concerned
Westcoast Views with Laila Yuile 
Right on Laila. Lots of sheep these days from Global from what I can tell. It’s so unbelievable seeing this kind of cowardly press and journalism.. What a let down. Shame on them. What a blight and stain. They bend and give in and follow like pathetic little robots.
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There are some very good reporters in the press gallery, so I won’t paint them all with the same brush. The membership goes beyond Palmer, Baldrey and Shaw but does inckude those whose careers have been based on friendships with government insiders and whom just cozy up to whoever is in power. They did it with the Liberals for years and the NDP is very naive to think of the gallery as friends.
Reporters shouldn’t be friends with those they are supposed to be holding accountable.
But it is beyond me that the press would continue to put themselves in a position of having agreed to limit their own access.
And then threaten Bob with not getting a pass if he didn’t agree??
They don’t like independent media, especially if they practice old school digging into a story or actually getting out and sniffing one out.
Question everything instead of regurgitating canned statements.
And indies in other jurisdictions should be questioning of their press galleries have agreed to such nonsense.
RossK has a post up on this, featuring a young, gutsy reporter who runs her own site who’s kept track of who gets questions. She knows what the insiders club is up to.
https://pacificgazette.blogspot.com/2020/09/there-is-still-club.html?m=1
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Sure there’s good journalists out there, but the few seem to be getting fewer. Too many or most, aren’t or don’t ask the hard questions. Press gallery are for the most part horrible. For Zussman to do what he did in giving in is mind blowing as the big press exec. That’s a real telling thing about where were at.
As you stated you couldn’t understand why the Press Gallery didn’t push back, Most of the the journalists in the legislative Press Gallery gave up so easily on in person access so easily. The press didn’t push back on the messy back to school plan or Bonnie Henry’s messed up distancing policies. Oh, 2 meters to 1 and so on to make it work.. It didn’t make sense why they weren’t pushing back on this stuff. As you stated.
It’s as though many are coming in lacking the where with all and tools and assets for the battle front. And the cozying up to politicians is just disgraceful. A sure fire way to enable and take part in destroying democracy and allowing the rot of corruption to flourish.
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democracy dies in darkness
pandemic =restricted access to government accountability?
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The media, well it is not what it used to be.
The “Eye” has been told that Global/CORUS does have a taboo list, subjects not to talk to or people not to be interviewed.
It is the same for CBC and most other media outlets.
I have media types within the family, or should i say had, as they have been long gone off this mortal coil. But, I have met the Great Webster, Wasserman, Fotheringham, Holt and more and it is safe to say what was said by these giants of journalism, I have retained in my small inadequate way.
Pursue the truth, pursue honesty, stay focused, abstain from partizan politics, and always follow the money.
Historical fact: Most reporters got their stories from telephone operators and many were paid handsomely for information. I understand some received small pensions from Vancouver’s dailies.
(For those of a certain age, in the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and into the 50’s, one had to place a call through an operator)
We are now in an age of disinformation, fake news, alternative facts, otherwise LIES.
My hobby horse is transit, yet almost all reporters, newscasts, journalists, haven’t a clue about the subject; never consulted independent experts and in the end write nonsense. Large advertising budget afforded by TransLink ensures no investigative reporting happens.
The NDP know this well and make damn sure that information remains hard to access and in an election, restricting reporters abilities for facts is more than dishonest, it is close to be “Trumpian”.
The NDP are every bit as dirty as the Liberals, make no mistake and will do anything to retain power, including cheating, with the mainstream media, hamstrung by years of “puff” reporting do not have the tools or are inclined to use the tools to keep all politicians honest.
This is now the age of the journalist bloggist, with a brave few pursue the truth, pursue honesty, stay focused, abstain from partizan politics, and always follow the money.
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Interesting that the Press Gallery Executive identify that 3 members were interested in increasing access. Therefore the remaining 17 members weren’t interested? I wonder who the 3 members of the Press Gallery were.
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I suppose that is classified information and if you searched for it under FOI it would come back redacted.
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I can tell you Bob Mackin was one, as mentioned above somewhere. He was threatened with the loss of his legislature press credentials if he didn’t comply. Its utter bullshit that press would be asked to do this, and the gallery executive so easily complied.
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Speaking of Bob Mackin,
He has done some excellent pieces on the legislature press gallery and the coverage of some of their members.
Two things for your attention should you have time or inclination over the holidays
Plecas and Mullen weigh in on this here in this exclusive interview with Bob.
https://thebreaker.news/news/plecas-mullen-exclusive/
And this one:
https://thebreaker.news/opinion/podcast-165/
It has to be said that ndp supporters online, one new account in particular, are routinely slagging Bob as having a Liberal bias now that the NDP are governing, because he hold every single government and party to the same standard. That is literally the job of media, not to play favorites. That is what these podcasts are calling out, that kind of behavior among the press.
Somehow, those same ndpers accusing Bob of being a liberal operative ( that same accusation was made online about me, among other libelous statements) yet the two of us, along with Norman Farrell, Commonsense Canadian Narwhal and Tyee, have some of the most extensive coverage of stories about the Liberals, many which were never covered anywhere by the press gallery.
Its not his job to now suddenly stop covering the government currently in power, just because you dont like the coverage your leader is getting, which is the same treatment Christy Clark and Campbell got.
Half the current stories wouldn’t even exist without people like Bob and Dermod when he was still with us.
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I correspond with Bob, with a small group that includes UBC Prof. Patrick Condon and he is extremely informative and too the mark and to be treated as so, by above mentioned, is an indictment on our so called media.
I know a thing or two about the media as I was related by marriage, to Don Cromie, former owner/publisher of the Vancouver Sun. I have met the likes of Sima Holt, Jack Wasserman, Jack Webster and a lot more in my preteen and teen days and up to 1995, when Geraldine Cromie (born and raised in Chemainus) , wife of the late Don Cromie passed.
I was the proverbial fly on the wall, with political gossip and more and I do understand the nuances for being a journalist. Sadly, I am no journalist and I so dearly wished to have the skills to use the pen with damning effect.
Today, news is based on “News Releases” and goody two-shoes stories about lost puppy’s or alike. Nothing but filler passes for news.
The great casino scandal, though broken by the MSM. has devolved into a he said, she said, with damning information, swept under the carpet.
The Surrey Police fiasco. Talk to RCMP types is and the issue focuses on an ethnic takeover of local policing and local police do not have the resources or the inclinations to investigate political corruption. I live in Delta and the antics that goes on here, ignored by the Delta police is breathtaking!
Where was the media when TransLink fired its two top planners because they stated that there wasn’t the ridership to sustain a subway under Broadway and much cheaper alternatives would have been a wiser investment.
The Massey Tunnel replacement is another with regional bureaucrats trying to pull a fast one on taxpayers, yet the media prints myths as if they were news.
Harvey Hoberfeld’s blog is another worthwhile blog to read and tackles issues, ignored by the canape and cocktail set that passes for reporters.
Site C, with both you and Norm taking on a FastFerry fiasco on steroids!
And apologies for the many people who write blogs on worthwhile subjects, not mentioned.
Memo to the NDP supporters who slag those who do not goosestep in line with the party; “Clean up your act and hold your MLA’s feet to the fire, because the next FastFerry fiasco will be in the billions of dollars and your party may not survive, period!
Hats off to all, who put their credibility on line to find the truth in this province as those who get paid the big bucks, don’t!
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So true. Too many people do goosestep too the party line. I suppose many want to just ride through life on a sparkly unicorn with full blinders, but thats how there free world of democracy and liberty falls apart. So many in the press and media though are the worse lot when they become so compliant to governments every whim and wish. They completely perpetuate and enable bad government and lack of accountability. Yes, thank God for blogs like this and other sites where the real journalism takes place.
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Those still wondering why reporters continue to be banned from in person pressers, and limited question periods, might want to review this and recall it was the press gallery who agreed to it in the first place.
What kind of government intentionally limits the press, only allowing free access during a snap election, then once again banning them from in person scrums?
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This behaviour from government is usually the first stages of the rise of authoritarianism in some form. But a free press that is compliant and falls in line, especially in these early stages, that could be nipped in the bud, is the most disgraceful situation the press could put itself in. Absolute compliant cowards.
I have never seen and listened to so many in the press soil themselves with such disgrace. We know the usual suspects and they should be ashamed of themselves as have been mentioned in past, but I suppose maybe they have just allowed themselves to be adjusted like machines, to a new kind of normal. Talk about betraying themselves, let alone the public.
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Hopefully Trudeau is next to be held even more too account for him and his Health Ministrys disgraceful screw up and why were so far behind on vaccines, and why we had to go to a prolonged time interval on single dosing and see more deaths and tragedy because of this longer period. CanSino anyone. Can Sino is right in as part of China’s military. Way to go Trudeau. He sure loves his Dictatorship in China. He has stated that he admires them. That doesn’t get any press anymore. Disgraceful. He shouldn’t get away with this. But the brain dead press and standard compliant media allows it.
Selfish all about me Trudeau will probably try to pull an election just like selfish power lover Horgan did in a crisis. Bad politicians at play, Trudeau is now running around like a desperate fool trying too drum up some kind of vaccine supply to make up for his negligence. He’s begging at the feet of the United States now.
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Its really good to repost this story about the disgraceful compliant robot press reporters like Zussman the President of the Press Gallery and company for taking that ban on reporters at NDP news conferences like puppets and rag dolls. I can’t believe they complied so easily. Or most anyways. My God ! Bad governments. Bad press and media across the nation is getting just plain bad. It’s insane. How many people out there, outside of this blog and maybe a few others actually see or know or care to know about this stuff or speak out. Or even say on a Federal scale like Trudeaus reprehensible screw up on getting vaccines that put us much more in danger for a longer period. A much longer period. Just saying. It’s just like F….D !! And the so much of the media, reporters and broadcasters in radio etc. are normalizing the negilence on the vaccinations supply by the Feds like a bunch bloody woosy’s. They make me sick. Nothing but butt cleansers for government idiocy.
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