Photograph by: Chris Wattie/Reuters
CPAC has a video feed which allows Canadians all over the country who don’t live in Ottawa, to view the proceedings of the House of Commons. This live feed, previously available on television, has migrated to the internet, and can be viewed by political observers of all stripes. This fits in well with the modern citizen journalism of bloggers, who will often report on events that occurred in the House before even the major media do.
But unfortunately, unless you hold a digital recorder to your computer speakers, you have to wait 24 hours to get the Parliamentary transcript. And that would be just fine, except that the elite members of the Press Gallery who go to Parliament Hill and sit in the House of Commons, are emailed a transcript by the House of Commons media manager by the late afternoon [or early, if you live here on the west coast]. This elite little club, with notable members being Aaron Wherry from Macleans, and Kady O’Malley from the CBC, then write up their reports based on transcripts they receive a day earlier than the rabble.
This is great. If you happen to be a member of the press, and you happen to live in Ottawa, that is. Such rules seem embedded in 1910, not the year 2010. A nice little club they have there.
And by the time the transcripts are available, which is usually the next day, the next session for the House of Commons is sitting, making the transcript mainly irrelevant except for historical purposes. In the immediate demand of up-to-the-minute political blogging, these elite members of the “Press Gallery” have a huge advantage. But it’s not just some kind of exclusive journalist club. My contacts in the National Post say they can’t get the transcripts either:
Good afternoon,
The blues are only available to Press Gallery members.
Thanks.
Collin Lafrance
Acting Manager,
Multi-Media Events and Broadcasting Services
Gestionnaire Intérimaire,
Activités multimédia et télédiffusion
Tel./Tél.: 613-992-6517
Cell.: 613-290-8891
Fax / Téléc.: 613-996-2076
lafraco@parl.gc.ca
Feel free to give me a call if you need more information.
To which I asked the obvious question: “So what happens if a journalist lives in Vancouver?”
I email the blues to Gallery members. This is following an agreement that the Press Gallery
has with the House of Commons.Thanks.
Collin
Well, isn’t that special? This little rule makes all the technology in the world completely irrelevant, since you have to be physically present in the city of Ottawa, and in the House of Commons, and a recognized and certified member of the Press Gallery, to get their little “blues” transcript.
O’Malley and the CBC were more than a little upset about Harper’s You Tube feed yesterday. They don’t like the idea of losing their elite access to us rabble.
Raph
I have some sympathy for your plight after all it’s just another e-mail address on the distribution list, so what’s the biggy?
I also thought I’d let you know about a little add on for your internet browser called Freecorder. This allows you to record whatever is playing on your browser. Recently the video recorder has had issues with some on line video, but I was able to record a sample of CPAC TV using record audio function. It’s free to download at the Applian home page.
Harebell,
Wow, thanks for the tip. I always wondered if there was such an application.
Adrian I use a screen capture program ($40) and then edit the video with moviemaker and post it to Youtube, it’s much better than a transcript.
Thanks Hunter, it’s a good idea. This Freecorder seems to do a good job.
An e-mail list?
Is there any conceivable reason it shouldn’t just be simply posted online and an RSS feed made available as soon as possible? (And if it’s been e-mailed out, it’s definitely possible to post it.)
I mean if we’re going to use technology, e-mail isn’t the best fit for general distribution.
Well, exactly…
Actually, no, I don’t write up my reports using the blues. In fact, I very rarely report on Question Period, although I do occasionally liveblog the post QP scrums. I do, however, agree that the blues should be made available to all; it is, of course, the House, not the gallery, that controls the distribution, so I’m not sure why you seem to be blaming the media for this anachronism.
They don’t like the idea of losing their elite access to us rabble.
Yeah – having the PM vetting questions ahead of time so that he can get a script writer to shape the answers is so much better…
And I’m sure you enjoy all the commercial and think that advertisers are much more truthful than anyone else…
So I guess by rabble you mean the Conservative fluffers that are in a love-feist with the PM…right?
As for the YouTube stunt, well, O’Malley seems to understand the issue, and I’m sure she would have written the same thing if Iggy had pulled something similar…
Oh and Adrian (that’s the official name now, right?), since when to you consider yourself a “journalist’? I mean you are basically just another Conservative fanboy spewing Harper talking points…
They’re breeding them really dumb and paranoid these days, aren’t they?
That’s a good point Kady. You can’t blame the media this.
There really is no excuse for the government here. It’s simple inertia that they haven’t done anything about the archaic system here. The media has no real incentive to insist on a change and indeed it wasn’t even that realistic until recently.
But now it is. And things should change.
Who’s blaming the media? I was clearly blaming Parliament.
CWTF,
I never said I consider myself a journalist. But it’s a worthy occupation to pursue.
With respect, if you didn’t intend your words to be read as a whiny kvetch against the “elite little club” of which you specifically mention me as a member, you might want to edit your post to make it clear that you do, in fact, understand that it is the House — not the gallery, not me, not Aaron Wherry — that forbids the distribution of the blues outside parliamentary offices. Oh, and for the record, it isn’t just the gallery that receives the blues; they’re available on the parliamentary intranet, and sent to MPs’ offices as well. I agree that, given the fact that House proceedings are broadcast (and webcast) live, it’s a redundant and unnecessary restriction, but neither I nor the gallery can do anything about it. Take it up with the board of internal economy.
Kady
As to sounding a little whiny…now that you have finished sorting through the 3,000 pages of the detainee testimony will you now find some time to look at Climategate?
I heard you say on Power and Politics that you wanted a Canadian connection and would “welcome” any information but were too busy with the Afghan file. Love to fill you in on both…