Alberta government bans CBC reporters
Is this even legal?
CBC reporters have been denied access to any embargoed media events held by the Alberta Legislature until after next year’s budget is handed down. So says government p.r. director Roxanna Benoit
Benoit says a CBC reporter “breached the trust” of the legislature’s budget lock-up system by talking about embargoed budget info before Finance Minister Iris Evans began her legislature speech.
In a letter to CBC regional director Don Orchard, Benoit wrote that “All CBC personnel are immediately denied access to embargoed media relations events by the Alberta government.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:05 pm CDT
Why was the name of the reporter censored?
May 8th, 2008 at 1:41 pm CDT
Fight back! Ban Alberta from the airwaves!
May 8th, 2008 at 6:52 pm CDT
Did the CBC actually publish or televise embargoed information? Or did the reporter just “talk” about it?
May 8th, 2008 at 10:55 pm CDT
Now we can really see the ‘family ‘ traits. Harper/Stelmach–separated at birth! How pathetic, and I’m from Alberta!
May 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am CDT
Here’s what the Edmonton Journal said that provides a few more details.
“CBC violated such an agreement for the April 22 budget when a television reporter made phone calls to the city of Calgary before the finance minister began her speech. No sensitive information made it on air.”
I think the government reaction is a bit overboard. If CBC went on air with the info then that’s a major breach and warrants a serious response. But because a reporter called someone to get started on reaction, what, maybe an hour or two before the information became public? Yah complain to that reporter’s boss and maybe ban that reporter to make the point, but I’m not sure a ban for a whole year for the whole corp is really needed here. I wonder if the response would be the same if it had been a more government friendly CTV or Global reporter?
May 9th, 2008 at 9:13 pm CDT
Agreed…ban the reporter but not the whole network for a year!
May 9th, 2008 at 11:40 pm CDT
So, like, what’s Alberta? Is it somewhere in the regions?
May 10th, 2008 at 7:32 pm CDT
Breach of confidentiality is breach of confidentiality. It doesn’t matter if any of the leaked material ‘went on air’, what matters is that the CBC broke budget confidentiality. Perhaps the CBC guy called a buddy to get him to call his broker and make a few last minute changes to his portfolio, is that OK because it didn’t go ‘on air’?
Trust is like virginity, easy to lose, hard to get back.
May 11th, 2008 at 3:30 am CDT
Quite arrogant for a “majority” government elected by only 22% of the total electorate.
Maybe the whole Stelmach government should be banned for at least a year.
May 11th, 2008 at 1:31 pm CDT
Ah, Alberta. The Iran of Canada.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:26 pm CDT
Quoting Jon Neufeld: Perhaps the CBC guy called a buddy to get him to call his broker and make a few last minute changes to his portfolio …
—
Apparently one of the half-dozen CBC reporters called a colleague in Calgary who then made a phone call to Calgary city hall for reaction to Calgary police being able to hire 41 more officers.
Stelmach’s government also announced it is considering changing campaign finance laws, targeting third-party advertising. The premier used as an example “the $2.2 million that the unions spent against me personally.”
May 15th, 2008 at 11:52 am CDT
Better get Shurb ,sorry Bush here to create an Alberta Democarcy..wonder where Eddy has his weapons of mass destuction. Oh yes the tar sands!?