Candidates are not beholden to media

But simply grinning your way to victory can be risky

There is no rule that says political candidates must talk to journalists.

Aspiring politicians have no obligation to hold news conferences, submit themselves to an old-fashioned “scrum,” or have what some today call a “media availability.”

There is no requirement that candidates attend debates, visit newspaper editorial boards, show up on radio phone-in shows, do television interviews ...

They have no duty to return phone calls or emails or respond on social media.

In fact, candidates are not really accountable to taxpayers or the media, at least not in the same way as elected officials.

Indeed, in an era when news spreads at the speed of the internet, any contact with the media can be downright dangerous, especially if your message is muddled, your platform vague, your numbers fuzzy, and your knowledge limited.

Meanwhile, even if your message is clear, your platform rock solid, your numbers add up and your knowledge voluminous, some media may distort it, take it out of context, or ignore everything you say and report only the fact that your jacket was wrinkled or you looked pale.

If you are worried about any of that, you might be better off at pep rallies, community picnics and country fairs.

Kissing babies is usually safe; panel discussions can be risky.

That’s why any outcry, however minor, regarding a decision by Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford not to supply a “media bus” during the upcoming provincial election campaign, was misplaced.

These buses (and airplanes), upon which journalists pay the political parties for a seat, are a tradition in Ontario and elsewhere.

The arrangement works both ways:

Journalists get more access to candidates; candidates get a captive audience with a megaphone to help them get their messages out.

But Ford has no obligation, especially given that many media organizations, including this one, haven’t been able to afford to put a reporter on them for decades. Neither is it fair to criticize Ford for not attending a leaders’ debate this week. He had previously arranged to be in northern Ontario, and we should take him at his word.

He may decide to skip the next debate, too, or simply refuse to talk to reporters he doesn’t like. And it must be tempting, too, given his lead in the polls, and the fact that after a decade and a half of Ontario Liberal governments, voters may be looking for a change at Queen’s Park.

He may be able to simply grin his way to election day, appearing everywhere but saying nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve elected someone without a plan. But that, too, is a risk. Newspaper readers, especially, are a thoughtful bunch. They expect real answers to serious questions, and they know journalists are among the best people to ask them.

When voters don’t get the answers they want or need, they start to ask uncomfortable questions of their own, and those are harder to avoid.