Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Press?

The answer is Pierre Poilievre, better known as PP on this blog.

Althea Raj reports new restrictions on reporters seeking to cover the lad in the upcoming campaign.

On Tuesday, Conservative national campaign director Jenni Byrne informed journalists that, in a break with tradition, the party will not allow journalists to accompany its leader on his bus or plane during the next election campaign.

This move will prevent journalists from peppering PP with pesky questions, but not entirely, according to Byrne, as she averred

steps are being taken to ensure media will be able to “share any public events, participate in events on the ground, and ask questions remotely and in-person.”

This comes with a rather significant qualifier, as

the campaign will provide an “equitable balance” at all news conferences between local and national media — in effect limiting the number of questions political reporters get to ask.

Why are the Conservatives bucking tradition and kicking the media off the plane? It’s no secret the Conservatives have never liked having reporters accompany them. Some believe the press gallery is full of left-leaning journalists who don’t give them a fair shake. 

According to Raj, controlling the message is paramount in the Conservatives' strategy.

The Conservatives already choose not to hold news conferences in the National Press Theatre, where they don’t control who asks the questions. Away from Parliament Hill, Poilievre’s team often decides which reporters ask questions — and there are no followups. Poilievre has also picked fights with the journalists who ask him probing questions. Rather than answer, he attacks: the CBC, the Canadian Press, freelance reporters he doesn’t like.

People like PP know that social media play an increasingly important role in conveying propaganda information, especially to young people.  That may be good for his political fortunes, but ultimately bad for democracy. The mainstream media are still our best bets for accurate information, given the fact-checking that goes into their reports. No such constraints exist for social media. 

And I am sure that suits PP just fine.