The heat continues to build around the PM's treatment of the national media. Even the National Post is carrying critical comment suggesting the ultimate out come will be negative for the PM. This week saw a showdown between the PMs staff, who want to be able to choose who gets to ask questions, and the press gallery who presented a line-up of reporters alternating English and French speaking questioners. Seeing he would not be able to pick and choose his questioners, the PM bolted from the media conference called, ironically, to answer questions about his new accountability legislation.
The Globe and Mail reported today that the PMO is arranging and covering the costs of satellite time to enable local news anchors/reporters to interview the PM - while denying requests for interviews with the national press gallery and bureau chiefs. No doubt the local reporters leap at the chance for a one-on-one with the PM and prepare themselves to lob soft questions while they grovel. Just what the PMO wants. Not like those pesky national bureau staff who know their beats and the the tough questions. While it gets the PM on the local supper-hour shows cast in a favourable light, the PMO must be prepared to deal with an unco-operative national media when it has a message it wants to get out.
The National Post also wrote to-day about how the PMO muzzled the Environment minister and ordered her not to talk to the press about the Kyoto Accord because it would detract from the "message of the week" which was accountability. Asking the environment minister to be accountable for the environment, apparently, is not one of the government's priorities.
