unimaginative2
Senior Member
...to replicate facility already available a block away.
PM plans own media centre
FRED CHARTRAND/CP FILE PHOTO
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, pictured on Oct. 3 during his one and only visit to the National Press Gallery, which has been shunned by “Canada’s New Government.â€
Secret $2M project to build new briefing centre would supplant nearby National Press Theatre
Oct 15, 2007 04:30 AM
tonda maccharles
ottawa bureau
OTTAWA–The Prime Minister's Office, which has long had a rocky relationship with the national media, has been working on a secret project to build a new, government-controlled briefing room at the cost of $2 million, documents obtained by the Star show.
Long kept under wraps, the plan – codenamed the Shoe Store Project – is in the works by the Privy Council Office and the PMO to establish a new government-controlled media briefing centre near Langevin Block.
The yellow-brown building that now houses Stephen Harper and his senior staff would supplant the current National Press Theatre, just a block away.
The National Press Theatre, used by prime ministers and cabinet ministers since Lester B. Pearson opened it in 1965, is a venue with simultaneous translation where on-the-record news conferences are moderated by press gallery executive members – not Harper's political staff.
Save for one surprise visit by Harper Oct. 3 (a visit that shocked even his senior staff) the National Press Theatre has been shunned by "Canada's New Government."
Now, documents obtained by the Toronto Star under the Access to Information Act reveal that government planning for a "special project for the PM, otherwise reffered (sic) as the Shoe Store Project" has been underway since at least last year.
Civil servants were asked to investigate the possibility of renovating an old shoe store location on the Sparks Street pedestrian mall "for the possible use of the PM."
"The rental sign will stay in place for now," says one memo, written in advance of a meeting with PCO Clerk Kevin Lynch, effectively Harper's deputy minister.
One document says the "dedicated press availability facility" is part of efforts to "put in place robust physical and information security measures to protect the Prime Minister and Cabinet."
Its estimated cost: $2 million.
Since the Conservative government's relationship with national media is already fraught with tension over curtailed access to ministers and Harper, the project was clearly deemed highly sensitive.
So sensitive, in fact, Public Works and PCO staff who scheduled a "walk-through" last fall of the National Press Theatre to scout out the "functional requirements (ceiling heights, technical equipment, etc.)" were ordered at the last minute to cancel "due to concerns expressed by Communications Branch."
Small wonder. A gaggle of public works officials checking out the press theatre on the first floor of the National Press Building would likely catch the eye of reporters whose offices are in the same building across from West Block. One document obtained shows staff came up with a working list of what to put in the Shoe Store Project, including "a stage or riser; comfortable seating for 40-80 people, security at the back and front door, electronic feeds for sound, sound boards, simultaneous translation space, phone-in capacity, proper lighting for cameras (may require drapes for windows), tables for handouts, products, etc., glasses, water, flags, backdrop, photocopier, full work station/internet hook-up, printer (large-capacity) in the back for officials to use, washroom facilities."
The result would be a little fancier than the National Press Theatre and, most important, give the PMO a lot more control over who gets in and, quite possibly, what gets filmed and broadcast.
A hand-drawn sketch of the PM's renovated shoe store/press theatre indicates a space for "maybe permanently installed cameras with feeds to media."
That could put the news cameras in the hands of government-employed camera operators, not independent photojournalists employed by the television networks. It suggests the Prime Minister's communications people would send broadcast feeds to the TV networks for their use in reports, or as most politicians prefer, live-to-air broadcast.
The Harper government has had several run-ins with the national press gallery. When Harper came to power, he changed the rules governing press conferences, insisting his staff decide which journalists pose questions. It is an American practice, which Paul Martin attempted to use on the 2006 election campaign trail.
But when the Conservative government made clear it would be the new norm, the national media objected. Harper told interviewers it gave him more control, which is precisely why the press gallery for years has run press conferences, to depoliticize exchanges between the media and government. The moderator is held accountable by his or her peers for playing favourites.
The media's concern has been that the PM's staff might sideline reporters deemed unsympathetic.
The Star, Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press and CBC's English-language services still follow the practice of participating in independently moderated news conferences.
Meanwhile, many details in the Shoe Store Project documents are blacked-out or withheld for reasons related to "international affairs and defence," "security," and cabinet confidentiality.
But concept drawings and preliminary cost estimates were to be completed by last December.
PM plans own media centre
FRED CHARTRAND/CP FILE PHOTO
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, pictured on Oct. 3 during his one and only visit to the National Press Gallery, which has been shunned by “Canada’s New Government.â€
Secret $2M project to build new briefing centre would supplant nearby National Press Theatre
Oct 15, 2007 04:30 AM
tonda maccharles
ottawa bureau
OTTAWA–The Prime Minister's Office, which has long had a rocky relationship with the national media, has been working on a secret project to build a new, government-controlled briefing room at the cost of $2 million, documents obtained by the Star show.
Long kept under wraps, the plan – codenamed the Shoe Store Project – is in the works by the Privy Council Office and the PMO to establish a new government-controlled media briefing centre near Langevin Block.
The yellow-brown building that now houses Stephen Harper and his senior staff would supplant the current National Press Theatre, just a block away.
The National Press Theatre, used by prime ministers and cabinet ministers since Lester B. Pearson opened it in 1965, is a venue with simultaneous translation where on-the-record news conferences are moderated by press gallery executive members – not Harper's political staff.
Save for one surprise visit by Harper Oct. 3 (a visit that shocked even his senior staff) the National Press Theatre has been shunned by "Canada's New Government."
Now, documents obtained by the Toronto Star under the Access to Information Act reveal that government planning for a "special project for the PM, otherwise reffered (sic) as the Shoe Store Project" has been underway since at least last year.
Civil servants were asked to investigate the possibility of renovating an old shoe store location on the Sparks Street pedestrian mall "for the possible use of the PM."
"The rental sign will stay in place for now," says one memo, written in advance of a meeting with PCO Clerk Kevin Lynch, effectively Harper's deputy minister.
One document says the "dedicated press availability facility" is part of efforts to "put in place robust physical and information security measures to protect the Prime Minister and Cabinet."
Its estimated cost: $2 million.
Since the Conservative government's relationship with national media is already fraught with tension over curtailed access to ministers and Harper, the project was clearly deemed highly sensitive.
So sensitive, in fact, Public Works and PCO staff who scheduled a "walk-through" last fall of the National Press Theatre to scout out the "functional requirements (ceiling heights, technical equipment, etc.)" were ordered at the last minute to cancel "due to concerns expressed by Communications Branch."
Small wonder. A gaggle of public works officials checking out the press theatre on the first floor of the National Press Building would likely catch the eye of reporters whose offices are in the same building across from West Block. One document obtained shows staff came up with a working list of what to put in the Shoe Store Project, including "a stage or riser; comfortable seating for 40-80 people, security at the back and front door, electronic feeds for sound, sound boards, simultaneous translation space, phone-in capacity, proper lighting for cameras (may require drapes for windows), tables for handouts, products, etc., glasses, water, flags, backdrop, photocopier, full work station/internet hook-up, printer (large-capacity) in the back for officials to use, washroom facilities."
The result would be a little fancier than the National Press Theatre and, most important, give the PMO a lot more control over who gets in and, quite possibly, what gets filmed and broadcast.
A hand-drawn sketch of the PM's renovated shoe store/press theatre indicates a space for "maybe permanently installed cameras with feeds to media."
That could put the news cameras in the hands of government-employed camera operators, not independent photojournalists employed by the television networks. It suggests the Prime Minister's communications people would send broadcast feeds to the TV networks for their use in reports, or as most politicians prefer, live-to-air broadcast.
The Harper government has had several run-ins with the national press gallery. When Harper came to power, he changed the rules governing press conferences, insisting his staff decide which journalists pose questions. It is an American practice, which Paul Martin attempted to use on the 2006 election campaign trail.
But when the Conservative government made clear it would be the new norm, the national media objected. Harper told interviewers it gave him more control, which is precisely why the press gallery for years has run press conferences, to depoliticize exchanges between the media and government. The moderator is held accountable by his or her peers for playing favourites.
The media's concern has been that the PM's staff might sideline reporters deemed unsympathetic.
The Star, Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press and CBC's English-language services still follow the practice of participating in independently moderated news conferences.
Meanwhile, many details in the Shoe Store Project documents are blacked-out or withheld for reasons related to "international affairs and defence," "security," and cabinet confidentiality.
But concept drawings and preliminary cost estimates were to be completed by last December.
