The Carney Liberals gave me a media pass! Here’s what this means for The Provincial Times

Friends,

A reader named Richard asked a fair question in the comments of an earlier piece about the Liberal convention, one that I feel deserves a straight answer.

Richard noted that I seemed to have access to members-only information and asked: Are you there as a journalist, or as a delegate? Because those roles, he rightly observed, are mutually exclusive.

Here's the honest answer.

Unfortunately, I was not able to be in Montréal at all. As a small outlet, The Provincial Times does not have institutional backing or an endless expense account, so sometimes finances are an issue.

But here's what happened: my media card was approved. The Carney Liberals recognized The Provincial Times as an official media outlet! That matters. That's a first for us. And because of that recognition, I received information under embargo that I cannot specify. What I can say is that being recognized as "media" by a mainstream party opens up options for us.

Now, to Richard's core question: I am a registered Liberal privately. I don't hide that. But I have a hard rule: so long as I am the editor of The Provincial Times and representing this outlet, I will never attend a political event I am covering as a delegate. Never. That would be a disgusting conflict of interest. Others may feel comfortable blurring that line. I do not.

In Calgary, I attended as a member observer, briefly forfeiting my federal Liberal membership, then repurchasing it after cancelling a CPC membership while waiting for a layover flight in Edmonton. If there were ever a situation so urgent that I needed to represent an EDA and bring a motion forward myself, I would not be The Provincial Times representative at that event.

So who do I represent? The readers. The outlet. And a belief that activist journalism, with declared biases and transparent conflicts, is still journalism. But delegate? No.

If you want me in the room for the next one, help me get there!

Warm regards,

— Will Adams
Editor, The Provincial Times