How the Premier’s Fashion Choice Proved Cameras Should Be In the Riot Trials

For those who know and/or have had the pleasure of dating me, you know that I am never wrong. This post will once again support that irrefutable fact.

Some quick background: you heard British Columbia Premier Christy Clark wants to have television cameras in the trials of the June 2011 rioters, right?

And you are surely familiar with yesterday’s “Cleavagate” story out of Victoria, BC. You know, where former BC NDP MLA David Schreck Tweeted out “Is Premier Clark’s cleavage revealing attire appropriate for the legislature?”

So, while David was providing his fashion critique, I was engaged in my own Twitter battle of the ages with Rob Shaw, a legislative reporter with the Victoria Times Colonist (motto: We are too lazy to have a proper newspaper name.)

This started at 2:19pm when Sean Holman from Public Eye Online (motto: Will blog for food) retweeted this from Rob:
@tc_shaw
It’s funny to watch the BCLibs argue for cameras in courts when Lib Speaker Bill Barisoff won’t allow media cameras in leg chamber #bcpoli
2:17pm, Oct 05 from TweetDeck

I  reply:

@davedotca
@publiceyeonline @tc_shaw There is already a feed from the Leg for QP etc on TV, via web. Not sure what more you want. #bcpoli
2:23pm, Oct 05 from HootSuite

I know you are now saying, “Dave, awesome reply surely Rob will thank-you for you awesomeness.” Alas, that was not the case.

@tc_shaw
@davedotca You can’t take a still photo or video camera into the leg chamber. So newspapers can’t take pictures.
2:48pm, Oct 05 from TweetDeck

So now we start a back and forth:

@davedotca
@tc_shaw true on stills, but screen cap off feed would work or ur stock poli images. More important for a record of proceedings than stills.
3:55pm Oct 05 from Twitter for BlackBerry®

@tc_shaw
@davedotca The media taking screen grabs on gov’ts selected vid feed is akin to taking gov’t-provided photos and videos, which we don’t do.
3:56pm, Oct 05 from TweetDeck

I will now emphasize Rob’s last four words for future ironic and humourous effect  WHICH WE DON’T DO.

@davedotca
@tc_shaw I can think of many instances where media uses Govt images and feeds. Recordings of Leg > random stills.
4:09pm, Oct 05 from Twitter for BlackBerry®

Boom! Done! Rob must now bow to my sword of truth!

@tc_shaw
@davedotca Can’t speak for all media, but we don’t run gov’t photos/videos as news . Has been issue federally as well http://t.co/vUyo0Ta8
4:13pm, Oct 05 from TweetDeck

Additional ironic and humourous emphasis of Rob’s words above, WE DON’T RUN GOV’T PHOTOS/VIDEOS AS NEWS.

Fast forward to this morning’s edition of the Times Colonist…and a screen capture photo of Government provided video appears as news in Rob’s newspaper. In Rob’s defense, the photo does show cleavage so that could go against the aforementioned “we don’t run government photos / videos as news” decree.

I know Rob is a good sport and will enjoy buying me lunch when I return to Victoria in a week or so.

With ALL this in mind, my point is that television cameras should be allowed in the Vancouver riot trials and that our Government already has a venue where the day-to-day theatre of Government is available for broadcast and scrutiny.

I am sure there was a different way I could have made this point but, well, this was easier and more amusing. And proved me right. Again.