Another perspective on the media access issue (en francais)

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Daily Media Scout
The press corps’ anger is entirely justified; the prime minister’s attempts to dictate the daily message serve his interests to the detriment of the public good. That said, however, the old system was not necessarily much better. Contrary to what the rhetoric from the press corps would have you believe, scrums are hardly a hotbed of political accountability and transparency. Ostensibly an opportunity for reporters to ask candid questions and get off-the-cuff, humanizing responses, scrums have evolved into a sort of political theatre. Seasoned politicians pick and choose the questions that best serve their daily talking points and come out looking shiny and smooth, while their less-seasoned colleagues stammer and sweat under the pressure but still lamely offer up the spin du jour. The latter makes for a more compelling visual but is the public’s interest really served? It might be time to rethink some of the business of political reporting. Rather than lament for a flawed system, the press gallery might want to look at what can be done to give Canadians real access to the decision-makers

Mediascout FAQs
MediaScout follows national and international news as reported by Canada’s “Big Seven” national newsrooms.

Who exactly are the Big Seven?
The Globe and Mail (national edition), the National Post, La Presse, the Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Star and two televised sources—CBC’s The National with Peter Mansbridge and CTV News with Lloyd Robertson—make up the Big Seven. By comparing the day’s top stories and analyzing the different angles taken by each organization, MediaScout can feed you the best analysis, keep you aware of biases and generally give you a bird’s-eye view of the day’s news cycle.