Media in the bag for incumbents? *** UPDATED ***
It is my contention that the local media plays an important role is how much information voters get about the challengers to incumbents during municipal elections. Very few reporters reach out to get candidates’ points of view on breaking local stories yet incumbents words are splashed all over. You know how many times per week I see the name Maria McRae, councillor for River Ward (Ward 16) commenting on even the remotest issues that have nothing even to do with River Ward? Yet not once have I seen a comment on a issue, not even on a River Ward issue, from either Nadia Willard or Micahel Kostiuk, the two challengers for McRae’s council seat.
Yesterday, on CFRA Challenger’s Panel, the host Rob Snow asked a very poignant and important question to his panel. His question was, has any media called you, the candidate, since your candidacy to get your opinion on a city story?
Listen here to a short clip where Snow asks the question and Lilly Obina, candidate in Gloucester-Southgate (Ward 10) gives the answer similar to what most other candidates would say. Play Clip
Can you believe that people criticized Snow for interviewing Clinton Cowan on Peter Hume’s pro ECO Fee stance? If Snow hadn’t had that interview with Cowan, would residents of Alta Vista Ward (Ward 18) know that they have a choice for a candidate who doesn’t support the ECO Tax.
The fact is that the local media does not take the time to get to know the candidates in the ward races and even during an election cycle only rely on comments from incumbents for local stories.
Let’s look at an example. Recently, St. Hyacinth’s Roman Catholic Polish Church has been in the news over a parking by-law issue. This noted local church is where fallen Ottawa police officer Eric Czapnik was remembered. I did a quick scan of the news reports on the parking issue and could not find one piece that sought the opinion of any mayoral or ward candidate other than elected officials. One Ottawa Citizen article said they tried to contact Councillor Diane Holmes since the church is in Somerset Ward (Ward 14) but she was unavailable for comment. Did the reporter try to contact Don Fex, Rob Dekker or Barkley Pollock for their thoughts on the subject? Wouldn’t that have been the prudent thing to do given that any of these candidates could be the next councillor who would have to deal with such issues?
Rob Snow is right on the button to question where is the media when it comes to vetting candidates and getting the views of the people running to represent us. Fancy flyers, staged debates and editorial board recommendations should not be the only ways electors get to know who these candidates are. Finding out how they would deal with real live city situations would give voters a nice contrast between what we have now and what we could elect.
*** UPDATE *** Rob Snow of CFRA did a op-ed on Friday on this very topic. Listen to it here: The Fix Is In
Good on you Blake for telling it like it is Rob Snow ROCKS It is so true my opinion if your not a Liberal its hard to get the medias attention at least in this city.Last weekend CBC /CTV did not cover THE EGO RALLY at Dalton’s office they choose to cover the 20 g-20 protest as for candidates forget it they only cover the councillors already there so good of Rob Snow . the only candidate for Mayor they cover is Jim Watson a little very little Alex Cullen the other 11 forget that is shameful Sick of Jim Watson interviews
Thanks for your comment Nancy.
I’m not sure I think it’s a Liberal thing though. I don’t see Mark Taylor’s name in the press either.
I think it more that the local media know the incumbents well after having covered them for so long that it’s easier to call them for a quick quote or comment.
It’s for this reason that I encourage candidates to reach out to media personalities and try to meet with them for a one-on-one over a coffee or something quick. In a quick get to know you session, you can tell them why you are running. That way, if a story comes up, media may more easily remember to call you for your opinion.
It seems that the msm outlets in this city must really like the waste, inefficeincy and downright dumb decisions that thrive at city hall. I wonder if the fact that stupid councillors that they know well, make for better headlines and sell more papers than contenders they don’t know and can’t count on to say stupids things do? This couldn’t possibly be a simple a self serving economics could it? Nah, I didn’t think so either.
I disagree with you on this one Blake it is definately a LIBERAL thing last election worked on a few campaign could not even get the media to cover candidate meetings Sometimes even the incumbents refuse to show up this happened in the last 2 elections 03/06 you should know that Blake
There’s definitely a bias towards the incumbents, but in most cases it’s not due to political affiliation or ideology on the journalist’s part — it’s about accessibility. Journalists have deadlines, and for the most part, the incumbents (or their staff…) and the professional politicians are available to return their calls or emails almost immediately. On the other hand, challengers usually have a real job that prevents them from spending time politicking and answering media queries during the day when most reporters are working. Of course, there are notable exceptions — in recent years, PC and Conservative incumbents tend to be very reluctant to answer media questions, preferring instead to provide canned press releases or staged events where they can control the agenda completely. The provincial Liberals also do a bit of this as well.
Anyway, back to municipal politics, I’m expecting that we’ll see a bit more from challengers in the media closer to the actual election date, as many of the serious ones will be taking vacation time or a leave of absence to work full-time on their campaign in the last few weeks. Unfortunately for many of them, this will be too late.
How is it Terry Kilrea can get wall to wall media coverage & he is not even registered SMELLS SMELLS here we go again watch out Bayward
It is partly because incumbents are current office holders. Not too many people want to hear from Nadia tho – extreme views should have no place in our society.
Leave your response!
Tags
Stephen Harper Mathieu Fleury Tim Hudak Maria McRae CFRA Ottawa Sun Peter Hume Dalton McGuinty Larry O'Brien Michael Ignatieff Ottawa Tim Tierney Alex Cullen City Hall OC Transpo HST Ottawa Citizen Jim Watson Randall Denley Rob SnowGuest Bloggers
Recent Comments
Most Commented
Ottawa Web Design and Development By Mediavanta