Too good to be true
Political junkies enjoy a good rumour, but many of them end up being too good to be true.
Take the example of news stories from Calgary this week of a stunning reversal of political allegiances in Alberta. Some Calgary news outlets reported that an influential insider in former Premier Ralph Klein’s Conservative regime had thrown his support behind a Liberal candidate in that province’s upcoming March 3 election.
The story was that Rod Love, Klein’s long time advisor and Chief of Staff, had picked Liberal incumbent Dave Taylor over Conservative Arthur Kent as the candidate of choice in Love’s home riding of Calgary Currie. The news was made all the more appealing because Kent is the party’s star candidate best known as the “Scud Stud” in his days as an NBC reporter covering the Persian Gulf War.
The story got its legs from CBC Calgary’s radio morning show on Tuesday. Love was participating in a panel discussion. He mentioned that Taylor was a very good MLA. Some Calgary media outlets took that as an endorsement.
Soon it spread over the internet to media outside of Calgary.
Love has since corrected the record; telling another Calgary radio station that he'd no sooner support the Liberals than cheer for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Political junkies enjoyed the rumour while it lasted.
About the Authors
- Rosemary Barton started her television career reporting from Quebec City where she covered the ins and outs of Quebec politics. She moved to the CBC Parliamentary Bureau in 2007. She also stood on the side of road awaiting U.S. President Barack Obama's motorcade for hours in the cold. When she finally spotted him, all of Canada heard her shriek, "I saw him!"
- Alison Crawford worked in Fredericton, Calgary and Winnipeg before returning to her hometown to work in the CBC parliamentary bureau. Her beats include the RCMP, justice, public safety and the Liberals. Alison credits her investigative skills as well as a national etiquette column and coverage of a ferret Christmas party, with having prepared her for covering national politics.
- Andrew Davidson is a producer for the CBC politics page in Toronto. He joined CBCNews.ca's national desk in 2006 and was the lead news writer for the website's 2008 federal election coverage.
- Chris Hall is the National Affairs Editor for CBC News. He's been a member of the CBC Parliamentary Bureau since 1998. That adds up to 11 budgets, four elections, three prime ministers and too many confidence votes to count. Chris started his career in print before moving to the CBC in 1992. Since then, he's worked in Toronto, Halifax and St. John's, as well as Ottawa.
- Leslie MacKinnon Leslie's been working in news and current affairs since newsrooms used teletype, televison was shot on film and radio tape was edited with a razor blade. She saw through The Journal's long run on CBC-TV, and since then has worked in Halifax, Toronto and Ottawa in the CBC's various permutations. Right now, she's a TV news reporter in the political bureau, and likes certain parts of Ottawa - the canal, the Hill - a lot.
- Janyce McGregor has been a television producer in the CBC's Parliamentary Bureau since 2001. She started her career working for Studio 2 on TVOntario. In 2005 her then-doctoral student husband persuaded her to follow him to the U.K., where she worked for BBC World Service Radio in London. Janyce is originally a farm girl from southwestern Ontario. Her most important job title is "Norah's Mom."
- Chris Rands has been a member of the Parliamentary bureau since 2001. He started at Toronto's AM Radio giant CFRB before moving to CBC's National Radio News in 1996. Chris has worked in Toronto, Moncton, Sudbury, Regina, Washington and St John's. Every time Chris walks up to the Peace Tower, he wants to throw his hat in the air like Mary Tyler Moore.
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