Officials with the federal Conservative party banned the CBC from attending a government media briefing to discuss the recent charge by Elections Canada that the Conservative party overspent their campaign spending limit by more than $1 million.
Both CBC News and the Canadian Press obtained a copy of the documents before they were released Monday by an Ontario court.
Other media, including the Toronto Star and CTVglobemedia, received the documents in a private briefing from the Conservatives last week in Ottawa, the CBC’s Keith Boag reported.
When other media organizations, including the CBC, learned of the meeting, party officials scrambled to avoid them, switching hotels, slamming doors and scampering down fire exits to escape pointed questions from journalists who weren’t invited.
Boag said CBC News asked to attend the briefings, but was rejected and told by party spokesman Ryan Sparrow that it was a “private meeting.”
Reporters from the Canadian Press, Maclean’s magazine and Canwest Global Communications Corp., along with others, were also excluded.
Giving some reporters a briefing before Monday’s court release of the warrant gives the party a chance to shape the story, but it also creates the impression that the Conservatives need to spin it, Boag said.
– story and photo from CBCnews.ca
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Absolutely moronic and bush league for the Cons to hold a ’secret’ press conference. But, for the CBC to be surprised at their non-invite is the height of hypocrisy. The CBC is a taxpayer funded organization whose representatives have shown open disdain for Conservatives and their supporter for years. Shame!
Considering the impression given by MacLean’s and Canwest Global;’s National Post re: their own opinion of late of the current government, it seems odd that they would number among the excluded. That’s got to leave everyone, no matter their political leanings, scratching their heads and wondering what’s up.
This is so blatantly dishonest of the Cons. Not that I love Dr. Phil or anything but “people who have nothing to hide, hide nothing.” Selecting what press get access and barring others stinks to high heaven.
There’s not question that the current Conservative government has been manipulative and restricted media access, and that’s a shameful practice.
However, my question is whether this briefing was run by the government of Canada, or the Conservative Party of Canada? And was the briefing held on government property?
Obviously, under no circumstances should the federal government decide which major media organizations should get briefed. However, it seems to me that the Conservative party has the right to choose who they brief.
They didn’t make a very admirable choice, and it reflects poorly on them, but I quite generate much righteous indignation about it if that’s what occurred.
“This press briefing has been organized by the Government of Canada, a partially-owned subsidiary of the New Conservative Party of Canada.”
Unimaginative, I know. Either the 22 Minutes, Air Farce or Mercer Report writing teams have likely already aired that one.
I am getting tired of seeing people complaining about this so-called ‘left-wing’ bias that CBC has. Has it occurred to any of you that could it possibly be that the Conservatives do a lot of horrible things that wind up reported? It’s not like the CBC just made up that they were barred from the briefing. It’s not like they were bored one day and figured “what the hell, let’s just make up the Mulroney-Schreiber affair”. They didn’t make up the Conservatives firing the head of the nuclear safety committee, either. The Conservatives do a lot of stupid things that people care about, so they’re reported.
And by the way, there are several people on CBC who give me the ‘conservative’ vibe. For example, CBC Today anchor David Gray strikes me as a conservative. Have you even watched Politics with Don Newman, or the At Issue panels on The National? They continuously report the disarray in the Liberal Party and underline the leadership problems its facing.
So stop saying that there is some bias when it’s not a bias at all, it’s the CBC reporting what’s going on. Just because your guys are screwing it up and the CBC points it out doesn’t mean that they’re making people not like them.
The CBC may seem to have a bias against the Conservative party/government and that may lead some to conclude the CBC leans to the left. The fact is that the CBC and most news organizations have a healthy bias against the ruling party no matter who they are. Individual journalists tend to be all over the map politically. Civics 101 teaches us that their can be no democracy without an independent press that stands in opposition to the government of the day.
In short Julie Van Dusen will ask you “Did you get hit in the head by a rock?” no matter what party you are from if you develop a sudden case of amnesia. Like the hapless Liberal Andy Scott.
Michael Smith - we’ve (InsideTheCBC) reviewed all the 3rd party studies of the CBC’s bias. It has been proven and now is a fact. To deny this is like denying that the earth is round, or that George Bush caused global warming (ask Suzuki, Strombo, and Gore). The Conservatives may pull some sleazy moves, like the ’secret’ press conference - but the CBC has been called over and over about their own position on everything left and right politically. If only they didn’t cost Canadians $1Billion a year to push their agenda.