Good to hear.

[dmcbride]

"We’ve heard a lot of feedback from Albertans and media over the course of the last two days and it’s clear we made a mistake. The government has appointed former Western Canadian Bureau Chief for Canadian Press, Heather Boyd to consult and give us recommendations on what the government’s media policies should be. In the meantime, no one will be excluded from government media events."

http://news.nationalpost.com/news/ca...overnment-says

[3blade]

Might be a step in the right direction, but I doubt it.

The dangers of dealing with someone who has nothing to lose...

[fish_e_o]

they just gave the rebel a lot more readers.

[Trochu]

"By Tuesday afternoon, the NDP enlisted a retired journalist to conduct a review of the government’s policy “in light of the controversy,” the premier’s spokesperson Cheryl Oates said."

So thousands of dollars, and likely weeks if not months, to figure out that journalists and media personnel should be allowed to attend press releases. I really miss the days of common sense and personal accountability.

[thetruth]

Their sheer ineptitude would actually be comical to watch if the stakes weren't so high for the people of the province.

It's like giving the proverbial monkey a machine gun.

What we're witnessing should come as no surprise, though. A fringe protest movement that no one took seriously, merely found themselves in the right place at the right time and through a series of unbelievable, once in a lifetime events was handed the reigns of power as a result of a protest vote.

Let's hope they suddenly buy into the "O'Leary Theory" and "don't even answer the phone" for the next 3 years and 2 months.

I'm not holding my breath however.....

[45/70/500]

Originally Posted by Trochu

. I really miss the days of common sense and personal accountability.

You must be REALLY REALLY REALLY old to remember a politician that used common sense

[agentsmith]

It's a discussion that had to happen sooner or later. The "new media" has been around for years now, and getting bigger all the time. The question of what makes a legit journalist is now hard to define. The idea that you have to work for a traditional "old media" source to be legit is outdated, but at the same time, you can't let in every random yahoo with a blog.

The Rebel is obviously highly partisan, but so what? While I think they're full of BS, they're definitely one of the more polished "new media" sources in Canada, and if they don't qualify as "real" journalism then who does? Would VICE reporters get in? How about Info Wars (presuming they have reporters)? Or is it only the old newspapers and TV stations? By what metric do we judge media legitimacy?

I don't know if other "new media" sources were banned too, but otherwise it does seem like The Rebel was singled out largely because of their rightwing bias, and now the NDP is trying to save face by engaging this grander debate. Like I said, it was coming sooner or later anyway, but the way they handled it made it blow up in their face (see also: royalty review, farm WCB bill). Not to mention they made a martyr out of Levant, who now gets to act all vindicated.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by agentsmith

It's a discussion that had to happen sooner or later. The "new media" has been around for years now, and getting bigger all the time. The question of what makes a legit journalist is now hard to define. The idea that you have to work for a traditional "old media" source to be legit is outdated, but at the same time, you can't let in every random yahoo with a blog.

The Rebel is obviously highly partisan, but so what? While I think they're full of BS, they're definitely one of the more polished "new media" sources in Canada, and if they don't qualify as "real" journalism then who does? Would VICE reporters get in? How about Info Wars (presuming they have reporters)? Or is it only the old newspapers and TV stations? By what metric do we judge media legitimacy?

I don't know if other "new media" sources were banned too, but otherwise it does seem like The Rebel was singled out largely because of their rightwing bias, and now the NDP is trying to save face by engaging this grander debate. Like I said, it was coming sooner or later anyway, but the way they handled it made it blow up in their face (see also: royalty review, farm WCB bill). Not to mention they made a martyr out of Levant, who now gets to act all vindicated.

X2

I think its a good thing to establish some guidelines. Turf the Rebel they are not a news outfit, but neither is rabble or any other opinion blogs they should all go.

To quote another reporter " It’s always a bad sign when Ezra Levant gets something legitimate to campaign against "

Levant will play all vindicated, that is what he does best. He claims to be a journalist, yet in his libel case he claimed the opposite to defend himself.
He claimed to never of thought of himself as a reporter and was only a commentator/pundit.

And to drive home the type of Commentator/Pundit he is, his lawyer claimed as a defense at his libel trial
"readers of his blog would not take his comments “at face value” because they would be “well aware of Mr. Levant’s penchant to stir controversy and make outlandish comments" That is a heck of a news source to base your opinion on.
The Rebel was picked on and quite unfairly, he did give them the ammo they needed by claiming to not be a reporter.

MAC

[Lefty-Canuck]

Take Ezra out of the equation....there were other reporters that were sent packing, not just him.

LC

[Sooner]

They had to hire a consultant to figure it out? Can i get in on the guidance for $$$$ train

[tchammer]

Ezra Levant annoys the hell out of me. I believe the guy is highly intelligent, and has the ability to truly communicate what many on the conservative side of things are trying to say. But he instead seems to be going ever further into the realm of nutbar, damaging the conservative movement along the way.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Take Ezra out of the equation....there were other reporters that were sent packing, not just him.

LC

You are completely right, other Rebel commentators and the current government lumped them all in together with Ezra as the leader.
As much as I dislike the Rebel and all their contributors, they were picked on in a vindictive swipe. The current government would have had a much better stance and support had they included a couple of other commentator blogs like Rabble and others.
On a personal note I dislike Ezra for his style of over the top simplistic, incite rage by omitting facts, commenting articles.I also think Ezra does it the best at the Rebel, the other contributors cant pull it off. Unfortunately that makes Ezra some money and he enjoys what he does. People lap it up. What more could he ask of life.

MAC

[I-Love-Eyes]

quoted from the Edmonton Journal:

The NDP government has acknowledged that it “made a mistake” banning a right-wing news website from attending government press conferences and events because it didn’t consider it a “journalistic source.”

“We’ve heard a lot of feedback from Albertans and media over the course of the last two days and it’s clear we made a mistake,” Cheryl Oates, the premier’s director of communications, said in a written statement Wednesday. “The government has appointed former western Canadian bureau chief for (The) Canadian Press Heather Boyd to consult and give us recommendations on what the government’s media policies should be. In the meantime, no one will be excluded from government media events.”

Quoted from the Calgary Herald:

Heather Boyd, who retired as the western Canada bureau chief for Canadian Press last year, will head the review — which is expected to produce recommendations on how the government deals with media in two to three weeks. Notley’s office said the “unofficial” cost of the review will be $9,500 — based on a month’s salary for a level-two manager.


So It's going to cost taxpayers $9500. for her "mistake". Unbelievable that this is even an issue when we supposedly have freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

[schmedlap]

Originally Posted by I-Love-Eyes

quoted from the Edmonton Journal:

The NDP government has acknowledged that it “made a mistake” banning a right-wing news website from attending government press conferences and events because it didn’t consider it a “journalistic source.”

“We’ve heard a lot of feedback from Albertans and media over the course of the last two days and it’s clear we made a mistake,” Cheryl Oates, the premier’s director of communications, said in a written statement Wednesday. “The government has appointed former western Canadian bureau chief for (The) Canadian Press Heather Boyd to consult and give us recommendations on what the government’s media policies should be. In the meantime, no one will be excluded from government media events.”

Quoted from the Calgary Herald:

Heather Boyd, who retired as the western Canada bureau chief for Canadian Press last year, will head the review — which is expected to produce recommendations on how the government deals with media in two to three weeks. Notley’s office said the “unofficial” cost of the review will be $9,500 — based on a month’s salary for a level-two manager.


So It's going to cost taxpayers $9500. for her "mistake". Unbelievable that this is even an issue when we supposedly have freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

For the ND and their ilk types, freedom of speech, the press, expression, generally means their own freedom to loudly shout down, ban, and suppress anyone who does not agree with them. I have seen it directly, many times, over the course of my life.

I have known Ezra in several capacities - friend, business, politics - for many years (about 20). We still correspond directly on occasion. I do not always agree with him, and I let him know when I do not. Unlike the leftards who do not really believe in the above democratic concepts, he respects real honest opposing views and debate. He is one of those very rare individuals who has the economic and political guts (and great intellect) to pursue his causes regardless of the consequences to his personal well-being or reputation - anyone who thinks he is in this "for money" is seriously deluded. His current manifestation as "Rebel Media" is entirely a very inventive huge risk involving an incredible amount of personal energy and sheer work and commitment that few of us can even contemplate undertaking. It is built from pure scratch and is so necessary in an environment where much of our "journalism" is so feeble, and so obviously biased.

So ... you can disagree, dislike, oppose .... but not disrespect, Ezra and his crew, if you truly believe in such fundamental concepts of democracy (?).

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by schmedlap

For the ND and their ilk types, freedom of speech, the press, expression, generally means their own freedom to loudly shout down, ban, and suppress anyone who does not agree with them. I have seen it directly, many times, over the course of my life.

I have known Ezra in several capacities - friend, business, politics - for many years (about 20). We still correspond directly on occasion. I do not always agree with him, and I let him know when I do not. Unlike the leftards who do not really believe in the above democratic concepts, he respects real honest opposing views and debate. He is one of those very rare individuals who has the economic and political guts (and great intellect) to pursue his causes regardless of the consequences to his personal well-being or reputation - anyone who thinks he is in this "for money" is seriously deluded. His current manifestation as "Rebel Media" is entirely a very inventive huge risk involving an incredible amount of personal energy and sheer work and commitment that few of us can even contemplate undertaking. It is built from pure scratch and is so necessary in an environment where much of our "journalism" is so feeble, and so obviously biased.

So ... you can disagree, dislike, oppose .... but not disrespect, Ezra and his crew, if you truly believe in such fundamental concepts of democracy (?).

Ezra may be a bit loonie, but he makes you think. Some people can't handle that.

Grizz

[Foot Stomper]

The second any elected government gets involved in censoring what/who is written/reported they've crossed the line.

It simply does not matter if you agree with what or who is being censored, the fact that censorship was taking place is the real issue.

End of argument. (in my opinion)

[rugatika]

First of all, let's do away with the spin that this was a "mistake". A mistake is when you do something wrong without realizing it was wrong. They knew exactly what it was they were doing and it was pointed out to them by TheRebel's lawyer. They told TheRebel to pound sand and they weren't changing their mind. They were perfectly OK with censoring the media that wasn't going along with their program.

If they could have gotten away with it, they never would have changed their policy.

When Evan Solomon (who just gained some respect from me over this), supports Ezra Levant and freedom of the press over the Alberta Government you know just how far you've crossed the line.

https://soundcloud.com/newstalk-580-...ta-legislature "Can you imagine that? A government just determining, "oh you're not a journalist..bye"...."that is an extraordinary moment...mark this one on your calendar."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opini...ticle28775443/
The NDP government of Alberta violated the basic principles of a free press and open government this month when it announced it was banning a right-wing media outlet from attending its news conferences and events.
This is beyond deplorable. It is not the place of a government to decide what constitutes a journalist or a media outlet. This is not Russia, not Egypt, not Iran – countries where government controls the media through bogus licensing regimes or outright censorship.