Local blogger kicked out of press gallery
Last Updated: Monday, October 19, 2009 | 10:46 PM AT
CBC News
Members of the two-week-old press gallery of the P.E.I. legislature voted a local blogger out of the organization at a public meeting on Monday evening.
In an 11-2 vote, Stephen Pate lost his accreditation to cover the legislature as a member of the media. Pate runs a blog called the NJN Network.
The press gallery will recommend to Legislative Speaker Kathleen Casey that Pate be removed from the list of accredited media.
Gallery president Wayne Thibodeau, who is also the senior political reporter for the Charlottetown Guardian, argued Pate is not a journalist and that other press galleries in the country do not allow bloggers, lobbyists or special interest groups.
Pate described himself as a journalist, satirist and blogger, and said he occasionally advocates for people with disabilities. He argued the effort to vote him out was an attempt to stifle freedom of speech.
The press gallery of the P.E.I. governs media accreditation for the legislature. Non-media members can attend but cannot use the media room or second floor of the building.
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