In response to “challenges” arising as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, interview requests to St. Albert city councillors should be funneled through the city’s communications department, a memo to the Gazette said Thursday.
The move is cause for concern, according to Gazette management, especially in light of recent trends of increased frustration with the city’s communications department.
St. Albert corporate communications manager Cory Sinclair said in an email Thursday that members of council will “always be available for comment” and it is not the city’s intent to “restrict or block access to elected officials.”
“As we deal with the challenges posed by COVID-19, we are required to maximize our efficiency and adapt our processes to address increased demands,” he wrote.
It is uncomfortable for media to report on media, Gazette editor April Hudson said in an interview, and it is “unfortunate” the publication has been put in this position.
“I don’t think we can comply with a policy that impedes our ability to do our job, and that applies to all media across the board,” Hudson said. “We do have a job to do and we take our responsibility to the public really seriously, and frankly councillors have a responsibility to answer directly to the public as well.”
According to Sinclair, the new process would be an extension of existing processes where members of the media must go through communications to request information from city staffers.
The process would be kicked off by reporters submitting a list of questions to communications, a practice that is widely denounced by many professional journalism associations and training programs, including New York University and J-Source.
Sinclair said communications would gather the appropriate information, forward it to elected officials and then that member of council will “decide how they would like to respond.”
Currently reporters will dial up councillors on their cellphone to ask questions on council direction. Councillors have all provided their cell numbers for that purpose, although Mayor Cathy Heron prefers interview requests be set up through communications.
Heron said in an interview the procedure described by Sinclair is "not new."
“There is no attempt to control any message, I'll say that, and you do have access to all ... seven of us,” she said.
The mayor said she suggested mainstreaming council's communication procedure because media requests to multiple councillors seeking their comments on off-site levies had prompted councillors to request similar background information from administration, which was "causing a lot of work when we're in a chaotic situation right now."
“I said, 'Let's just send a reminder to the Gazette because I thought this was already – you were well aware of it,'” Heron said.Hudson said extending existing communications procedures to apply to elected officials is concerning, because communications has not proven to be “timely or been responsive” on recent media requests.
“In recent months especially, very few of our requests for actual interviews have been filled,” Hudson said. “We’ve seen a significant trend toward emailed, incomplete and point-form responses. And in some cases, our media requests haven’t even been properly passed along to the staffers we’re wanting to talk to.”
In October, communications was still granting reporters interviews with city staff. But starting in November, St. Albert’s communications department has followed through on almost none of the Gazette’s requests for interviews with department heads and other staffers.
This reporter made 21 interview requests since Nov. 1, and only two requests were granted, only one of which did not require haggling with communications (that interview was with a member of St. Albert Fire Services on their muscular dystrophy campaign).
Typically, the communications department will insist on a list of questions being emailed in advance, and then will send back a list of bullet point responses, with a note saying no spokesperson was available.
Councillors will pick up phone
Most councillors the Gazette reached out to for comment said they will pick up the phone when a reporter calls them directly.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said she thinks members of the public and media should be able to reach elected officials directly.
Responding to Sinclair’s statement on improving efficiency, she said every time additional screening is introduced, that eats up staff time.
When interview topics include subjects of a complex nature, Coun. Jacquie Hansen said it is fair for those requests to go through communications, especially in a time of public crisis.
“They can't be running around trying to disrupt the department trying to get information for immediate requests, when really, that's not the most important thing,” she said.
Hansen said she “wouldn’t care less” if media contacted her directly for items such as councillor motions, which are based on individual ideas and initiatives.
Coun. Ken MacKay said he will always be open to responding to questions and comments.
“The media have a very important role in our community and I will always support the questions – I may not always like it,” he said. It is a courtesy to keep communications up to date on interview requests, however, and they can provide background information as needed, he said.
Coun. Wes Brodhead said the city is just trying to “facilitate things” and no one has ever told him what he can say to media.
“We all try to work together. If that's how the city wants to manage it, you know, I'll work it. You know, if it becomes a problem, then we can talk about it,” he said.
Coun. Natalie Joly said in a text message councillors are welcome to speak to anyone, but if it is in a topic she needs information on beforehand, it is helpful for those requests to go through communications.
Coun. Ray Watkins did not respond to a request for interview.
