March 8, 2016
SHARE
CANADALAND
124
#124 Second Class Journalists
Should journalists have control over what other journalists have access to? Allison Smith is the publisher of Queen's Park Today, a daily news website that reports on Ontario politics. For the last four years, the Queen's Park Press Gallery - a group of journalists - has denied her membership on dubious grounds.

Allison Smith’s Twitter: @QueensParkToday

Full statement from Queen’s Park Press Gallery President Randy Rath, of CHCH:

Membership in the Queen’s Park Press Gallery is decided in a manner similar to other press galleries in Canada: by a vote of members, according to guidelines outlined in the Gallery constitution.

Some of the key provisions in the Queen’s Park Press Gallery constitution regarding membership include:

Media organizations eligible for Gallery membership “shall adhere to generally accepted journalistic principles and practices as are understood and determined by the Executive of the Ontario Legislative Press Gallery.”

“internet media” shall mean any internet service or site that is available freely or by general subscription. This does not include services that simply re-broadcast events that occur at Queens Park

The following professionals are ineligible for membership in the Press Gallery: Persons who receive money for lobbying; Persons who receive money for providing communications advice to a third party; (i.e. flacks or consultants)

A member may not represent the interests of, or provide communications advice to political parties, governments, extra-legislative groups or clients other than those defined in the membership bylaws.

Allison Smith’s website describes “Queen’s Park Today” as providing a daily report consisting of:  “a summary of the previous day’s debates and proceedings, an agenda of the upcoming day’s business, summaries of important news releases, listings for political events and more.”

By voting to reject Allison Smith’s membership, a majority of Gallery members determined that her website “Queen’s Park Today” did not meet the criteria laid out in the constitution.

The Press Gallery has rejected several other applications for membership by sole proprietors of websites that failed to meet the stated criteria for membership.

Membership in the Press Gallery implicitly endorses a member’s journalistic legitimacy and credibility. As such, the Gallery must ensure that those who are granted membership adhere to journalistic principles.

A copy of the Queen’s Park Press Gallery constitution is attached for your reference.

Randy Rath

CHCH | A Channel Zero Company

Queen’s Park Press Gallery Constitution

More from this series
A radical form of reconciliation is emerging in Saskatchewan.
October 2, 2023
What connects Fidel Castro and a stocky Belgian named Georges to the worst campaign of political violence in modern Canadian history?
September 25, 2023
Have the business practices of one of the world's biggest liquor monopolies damaged wine writing? And, is the environment created by this vacuum in the world of journalism being abused by some high profile writers?
September 18, 2023
When some Canadians look south of the border, sometimes all they can think is: thank god I’m Canadian. But can a Coffee Crisp, or the pronunciation of the letter Z, really save us from the rise of fascism?
September 11, 2023
It’s possible that Chantal Hébert’s journalism once held Canada together. She joins Jesse for a discussion about what’s appropriate in political news coverage, and what (if anything) needs to change.
September 4, 2023
Canada’s biggest grocery chains spent nearly 2 billion last year buying up their own stocks.
August 28, 2023
Foreign Interference by the Chinese government into Canadian politics is probably the biggest news story of the year, and yet we know so little about it. What was the interference? Why did it occur? Did it work? Who was involved?
August 21, 2023
What’s it like to podcast in a country where freedom of expression can land you in jail?
August 14, 2023
all podcasts arrow All Podcasts
CANADALAND