Journalists or Promotional Agents?
Topic Explainer:
Ian Harvey. has written for The Toronto Sun, National Post, Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Macleans, Readers Digest and many other publications and he lays out what a good journalist would or would not do in regards to the rules set by a protest camp. He wrote the following in regards to claims by journalists at Gitdimt’en Checkpoint. This is no longer a free press, this is a terms of insider colaberation, an obligation to write what Jennifer Wickham wants them to write.
Next we went to the RCMP website in regards to this issue and found the following.
“The RCMP understands the important constitutional role the media play in Canada. They inform the public, challenge the status quo and traditional narratives, and they ignite and foster dialogue on important subjects. The RCMP’s relationship with the media is based on mutual respect and professionalism. Our expectation is the media identify themselves as soon as possible and it is our obligation to ensure they have fair and safe access to observe and report.
The RCMP’s protocols and procedures reflect the Court’s direction and guidance with respect to media access during a protest. The courts have indicated, specifically in Re Brake, 2019 NLCA 17 that considerations for journalist presence in a protest be:
i. The person is engaged in apparent good faith in a news-gathering activity of a journalistic nature;
ii. He or she is not actively assisting, participating with or advocating for the protesters about whom the reports are being made;
iii. He or she does no act that could reasonably be considered as aiding or abetting the protestors in their protest actions or in breaching any order that has been already made;
iv. He or she is not otherwise obstructing or interfering with those seeking to enforce the law or any order that has already been made or is not otherwise interfering with the administration of justice;
v. The matters being reported on are matters that can broadly be said to be matters of public interest. Particular consideration should be given to protests involving aboriginal issues.
These conditions have been included in the Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) operational planning and enforcement.”
So all in all it become pretty clear that many people claim to be journalists, but are actually participating “Promotional Agents.”
“Claims they are journalists are suspect. I have been a journalist for 45 years and I would not sign on under these conditions.
These are the restrictions the “journalists” were working under. In which case they were no longer journalists but in fact PR agents IMHO.”
“All media requests must be sent to Jennifer Wickham (Molly the ringleader’s sister) through email or phone. All reporting must center,, prioritize and uplift Wet’suwet’en voices and sovereignty (which in this case means the Hereditary Chiefs’ version not the band councils and majority who voted for CGL). Reporting focusing on or using non- Wet’suwet’en voices (supports, etc) must be FIRST approved by Jennifer Wickham. Failure to respect Media Protocol could result in being banned from reporting on Wet’suwet’en stories.”
We did a screenshot taken from https://www.yintahaccess.com the website for Molly Wickhams 44K blockade. “Failure to respect Media Protocol could result in being banned from reporting on Wet’suwet’en stories. “