On the move!
Agh! You’re still here? My new site and weblog, ianking.ca is now up and running; new posts are building up over there, never to be mirrored here. Go! What are you waiting for? All the stuff worth keeping has been migrated over to the new server, and I don’t anticipate making any more posts here.
Bloggers and webmasters: Update your links! Simply replace vancouverscrum.blogspot.com with www.ianking.ca in your blogrolls or bookmarks to point to the new site. Old posts will remain on this server for as long as the people at Blogger/Google allow them to remain; unfortunately, I’m not going to bother to come up with any way of converting permalinks on this blog to their corresponding posts on the new site. Yes, I plead laziness. I also realize the irony of switching away from Blogger just it starts to add features that the demanding blog nerds insist upon.
Thanks for reading and linking, and see you over at ianking.ca!
—Ian King, December 13, 2004
Wednesday, November 27, 2002
Claude "the Fraud" Richmond, B.C's esteemed Speaker of the Legislature, is continuing to insist that Terminal City weekly journalists tow the party line when it comes to covering the provincial Legislature. Richmond has refused to accredit the two to cover the Legislature for fear that to do so might enable them to write articles that bring the Legislature into disrepute.
From today's Vancouver Sun story linked above:
Richmond said Tuesday he will allow a reporter from an alternative Vancouver newspaper into the press gallery only if he agrees not to denigrate parliament.
And it goes on...
"All I'm getting at is that even reporters should have some respect for this institution, and decency," Richmond said, acknowledging he may not have the legal power to ban specific reporters based on their writings. "I might seek legal advice."
Here's some advice, Claude, or is that Mr. Speaker: Let 'em in. The Legislature has been in operation since British Columbia was established as a British colony in 1858, and has survived the of the likes of Amor De Cosmos, Bill Vander Zalm, and Glen Clark running/ruining the place. It can surely survive the probing journalism of Brian "Godzilla" Salmi. Keeping him out just makes you, and your boss Gordon Campbell, look like petty, insecure little bastards.
Of course, many observers aqre unimpressed with Richmond's antics...
Donna Logan, of the University of B.C. School of Journalism, said it is inappropriate for the Speaker to insist the writings of journalists are respectful of parliament.
"It's ridiculous. The speaker has gone overboard," she said.
"For the speaker to set himself as judge and jury of which journalists can come in [to the legislature] is contrary to the democratic principles we believe in."
While the freedom of the press is a basic principle in a free society, there are limits established by the courts, she said.
John Waterfield, manager of the National Press Gallery in Ottawa, was shocked that any parliament would attempt to direct what a journalist writes.
"What happened to freedom of the press?," Waterfield asked. "I can't believe any Speaker would say that.
"That's never happened in the 25 years I have been here."
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