Publish Or Be Damned At City Hall

Published 09/03/2024 · Updated 09/03/2024

Whoa. Someone actually read my post on how to not be stopped from recording at meetings.

I’ve found a good first step is pushing the record button on your recorder or phone.

This from the community group Dahlia which is doing great work on the local scene. And oh yeah, your welcome.

Your agent’s words are in boldface and are deservedly free:

Hi there,

Just writing in to say ‘phew’ — and thank you — so I haven’t lost my mind on the ‘do not record’ issue (I would call it the “record” issue because “do not record” gives the city much more credibility on the issue. They don’t deserve any for such an undemocratic move).

I have been trying to get more insights into what drove that decision, and was going to work on it more this week – with some City Hall calls being made (nothing wrong with calling them but I would just go ahead and record. The city doesn’t deserve the credibility by asking them questions on such a petty, stupid move) I did check in with the province on some rules, but haven’t heard back.

And I was waiting to see if there would be any written notice of the ‘you cannot record’ when I signed up for next week’s zoning bylaw info session for Ward 18. But so far nothing I have received makes mention of it (don’t worry about it. Doesn’t matter what they’re saying, just record. They can’t tell you what to do).

My one thought is that they might argue that the breakout sessions are with regular folks (you can parse minutia until you are paralyzed by details. Keep it simple for a simple guy like me. Just do it.) (some just residents, although several work with community associations in a more ‘official’ way on issues) (there’s no such thing as “just residents’. Residents are very important. That’s who you are writing for) who have not signed off to have their comments shared etc. (they don’t have to sign off on recording. Recording is your decision. Publishing is your decision … not theirs. For example doubtful you would have heard this: “Pardon us Mr. President but we were just wondering if we could publish your words on Watergate. Thank you, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Washington Post) (and maybe this is just ego, but I wondered if it might have anything to do with the very detailed overview shared with the Dahlia group Aug. 5th about the July 31st meeting with city staff comments transcribed — so on the record now (Great work). And in that piece, regular folks who asked questions or made comments were identified only by numbers — and it was explained that we did this because we had not asked their permission to use their names etc.) (you don’t need permission to publish their names. Not using their real names diminishes the authenticity of your reporting. They are at a public meeting. Reasonable people should expect to be recorded at public meetings. There’s no privacy at public meetings. There are lots of places for privacy … public meetings is not one of them).

Now, let’s see what the City says at Wed’s meetings. (Doesn’t matter what they say. Record it. Record it even if it is boring. Make your point. If they try to throw you out, just sit there. I don’t have a lot of talents but I’m as good as anyone at sitting on a democratic chair with my democratic butt.)

And do let me know if there are any issues you think I should be working on — you know — because the list isn’t long enough already! (It is crazy how much City Hall isn’t getting mainstream coverage!).

(Working on? What you should be doing? That’s your decision, not mine nor anyone else’s. And I trust that you will make the right decision, not that my opinion matters. Take pictures. Record. Practise free speech. Exercise your rights. Cover stories thoroughly and fairly. State opinions. Have fun. And yes City Hall should be getting more coverage but then so should most everything else. Thank goodness there are people like you out there reporting in the face of a journalism shortage. Be independent, dynamic, do what you think is right, be right, don’t get it wrong, tell people in a democracy what they should know to live good lives, keep their governments in line and people well informed. Good on you.)

(As the late, great publisher, reporter and editor Clark Davey (publisher at the Citizen, Montreal Gazette and Pacific Press (Sun, Province) and former managing editor at the Globe told me when I was waffling on what to do and acting like a scared little kid (and the only time he gave me a scolding and it was well deserved): “Make a decision, Ken. We pay you good money to make decisions, so make one … and make sure you’re right.” Somewhere Clark is smiling.)

(Don’t worry about offending people at Ottawa City Hall. It doesn’t matter. Journalism is painting a portrait with a roller. When I covering city hall, some people really liked me because I dug and told it as it is. Some people hated me for the same reasons. More people didn’t care a lick. All that doesn’t matter. The goal is to get it right, That’s what matters. Some people could find fault with St. Peter. Some people are just nasty. Others are wonderful. But sometimes you offend all of them trying to get it right. Most important is that your loved ones love you. The rest is just atmospherics. What doesn’t matter is if they like or hate you. What matters is that they respect you. And you get that respect doing your job well.)