I think this picture perfectly sums up the kind of reporting of City Hall affairs that the local media is engaging in these days.
Returning to town in the midst of pack journalism enamoured by anonymous sources, innuendo and little to no facts has made me take a moment to think about the state of civic political media coverage in Vancouver.
For many years, Vancouver became used to what was once thought of as the city’s natural governing party, an entity that to this day remains fiercely proud of their “non-partisan” label and the fact that there are no policies or ideas that define those that choose to run under the party banner.
Contrast this with Vision Vancouver, which no matter how one interprets them, came to office set to implement a very specific set of ideas and objectives.
They wanted to create a branding/marketing strategy for the City of Vancouver. They wanted to make Vancouver the greenest jurisdiction in the world. They wanted to create a biking infrastructure to allow for more cycling. They wanted to attract international investment into the city. They wanted to eliminated street homelessness. They wanted to create more affordable housing options.
Now, whether you support these policies, or you vehemently disagree with them, they were made very clear by the Mayor and the Council from the day that they took office; there were no surprises.
So why in an era where a Council is aggressively implementing these various initiatives, and where there are real debates and differences of opinion on the merit of these policy directions, has the media now become consumed with this little blog and those that see things a little differently than me?
Talking to a reporter the other day, I could hear the disgust that he/she had in their voice over the task of covering this latest shit storm. The fact that assignment editors are now not even batting an eyelid when directing their reporters to drive stories about contracts between private companies is amazing to me. Furthermore, the fact that blogs are now driving the mainstream media coverage in this city like no other time in our political history is fascinating. I also think it’s quite pathetic, to be honest.
Quite possibly the thing that defines me from others when it comes to my opinions on blogs and blogging is the fact that I don’t take my role, or the place of this website in the grand scheme of things, too seriously.
In a past online incarnation, I had a nationally read federally focused daily political commentary that at its height garnered a healthy national audience. My opinions were often quoted in news stories, and in the midst of political battles that I was immersed in, I suppose that I added some fodder for the broader coverage as a whole.
But that is where my view on my place in the world of news/media/blogging/commentary diverged from some others. I despised the term “blog” or “blogging.” Regardless of traffic, which was quite healthy at the time, I never became over infatuated with my own self-importance.
I was a political activist that might have had some perspectives unique or of interest to others because of my involvement, and I put them out there. I never considered myself an opinion leader, or someone who could make large waves of influence. I liked to write, I was opinionated, I had access to information, individuals and happenings that few did, and I wasn’t shy to say what I wanted to say. Really, the equation isn’t that complicated.
The same thing applies to this blog. I read a comment this morning by Charlie Smith over at the Georgia Straight that said I wasn’t effective because I didn’t break news.
Well, Charlie, that isn’t my job, nor quite frankly is that kind of an endeavour of any interest to me. I have never claimed to be a reporter, nor am I tracking down stories to put up on this site in order to scoop you professional journalists.
I have no desire to encroach on your territory.
I write opinions. I am a commentator. From time to time maybe I will put something up that could be newsworthy. But at the end of the day, I firmly believe that those of us with blogs need to keep things in perspective.
And so too do the media. I am not going to get into the stories that have been in the news about this website over the past few days – not yet anyway – but I will say that a lack of due diligence has allowed false accusations and outright lies to filter into these filings.
I continue to take on the media that is covering local politics in this city because quite frankly, I think that recent coverage has become disgraceful.
Attack political bloggers with an axe to grind are directing news rooms, are feeding stories, are doing the work that journalists used to do, and as a result, the end product that is ending up on local televisions screens or newspapers is comprised of little more than “he said, she said” innuendo.
Why, for example, are we not talking a little bit more about the Mayor’s trip to China? Why are we not hearing about the next step in the STIR program and how it compares to other cities and their strategies to increase affordable rental stock? Why are we not talking about the fall agenda for Vision and whether there are any big issues that are just over the horizon?
I have never worked in a newsroom, and thus I am in no place to fully judge where assignment editors are sending their reporters these days.
But I will ask this: are reporters, and newsrooms, really proud about the local political coverage that they are currently serving up to the public?
Because much like the journalist that spoke to me holding their nose while filing their story last week, I certainly wouldn’t be.
