Seizure of computer an attack on the press
Ultimately, it’s the people of the community that suffer when journalists are barred from doing their job.
When journalists like St. Catharines Standard reporter Bill Sawchuk are kicked out of a council meeting and his notes and computer seized its the interests of the community that are thwarted, said Lisa Taylor, an assistant professor at Ryerson School of Journalism.
“Bill’s not there for his own edification. He’s there because he’s the public’s surrogate, because people don’t have the time to drop everything and go sit at the back of a council meeting. That’s why we have journalists,” said Taylor a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists ethics committee. “That’s whose interests were thwarted with this move, the people who rely on your publication to tell them what’s going on with their council.”
Canadian Association of Journalists national director Nick Taylor-Vaisey called the actions of regional representatives at the meeting “shameful.”
“If reporters are kicked out of councils, threatened with some sort of police action, and left wondering what’s next, and their only recourse is to talk to their editors and call their lawyers, the people who lose most are not the reporters, but the readers of newspapers,” Taylor-Vaisey said. “Press freedom is important, and the reporter is the conduit of that but the readers lose out more than anyone else.”
“It’s clearly out of bounds for a municipal government to seize a journalist’s reporting materials. The regional municipality must admit wrongdoing and recognize that its staff grossly overstepped their authority in confiscating a journalist’s laptop. An apology simply isn’t enough.”
Duncan Pike, co-director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, called it “an absolutely atrocious violation of press freedom” and that his organization is looking into the incident.
“We need a better look at how this went down so we can make sure it doesn’t happen again and if there are some kind of ramifications for the people who authorized it, so this can’t be done with complete impunity,” he said.
Taylor was particularly concerned that Niagara Regional Police were called in, as though they were “private security.” “It’s confounding,” she said. NRP deputy Chief Brett Flynn said police were called to Regional Headquarters responding to a report of “an unwanted individual” on the premises, adding that Sawchuk was not the unwanted person in question.
“There was more than one incident,” he said.
Flynn was referring to reports that a member of the community, Preston Haskell, had left a recording device running on the media table during the meeting.
While there, Flynn said police were also asked to escort Sawchuk from the premises, although that was not necessary because he left of his own accord.
In a media release, police say the man (Haskell) left the premises prior to their arrival.
Police also say they had no interaction with Sawchuk, and did not seize his laptop, notes or any other property.
Taylor said there are a lot of nonprofessional “bloggers” who understand how to play by the rules, and “I don’t want to tar all with the same brush on this.”
“But it does show you the problem with this kind of elastic definition we have for who a journalist is these days. Mostly, it shows the problem with treating a group full of very different individuals with different levels of professionalism like they’re all in the same boat,” she said.
“If a kid gets in a fight at school today, not everyone is getting sent to the principal’s office. It’s the same thing that happened here – someone at the media table f-d up, so let’s shut ‘er all down. It’s crazy.”
Taylor said she spent 15 years as a reporter, before going to law school and practicing as a lawyer, prior to joining the faculty at Ryerson.
Incidents of this type, she said, are occurring with increasing frequency.
“I think we’re seeing politicians push people around,” Taylor said.
“It’s just bullying and it’s just getting in the way.”
She said reporting on municipal councils is often thought of as “run-of-the-mill journalism, but those people get my tax dollars.”
“That’s where it’s at. It’s super important journalism, and I think people who cover it and cover it well make things really uncomfortable for politicians who forget they have a public role,” she said. “A good politician should welcome with open arms a journalist who walks into council chambers, because that’s how you get your message out.”