Due to the 51暗网's print deadlines, we were unable to address this issue in our Oct. 17 edition of the paper. In our effort to provide the community with the best possible coverage ahead of the Oct. 21 election, we are offering this story as an online exclusive.
Candidates and voters have raised concerns that the Oct. 15 issue of The Jasper Local could sway votes, ultimately affecting the outcome of Monday's election, in which the publisher of the publication is a candidate.
The issue included two editorials dealing with the election, both written by Bob Covey, the editor and publisher of The Local and a candidate for town council. In the first he writes about the library and cultural centre, calling out other candidates for not discussing it throughout the campaign period, and in the second he writes about strategic voting, encouraging voters to use their votes sparingly.
Printed on the subsequent page is coverage provided by freelance writer Stephen A. Nelson. Nelson attended the 鈥渟peed dating鈥� forum Oct. 8 and wrote an opinion piece highlighting his six 鈥渇avourite鈥� candidates: incumbents Rico Damota and Dwain Wacko, as well as Grandpa Dong Han, Sebastian Byrd, Paul Height and David Baker.
鈥淚 don't think that was very cool that The Jasper Local left out over half the people running in this election,鈥� candidate Jeff Smith wrote in an email. 鈥淚 think if they're going to interview one person, they should interview them all or don't interview anybody at all.鈥�
Bert Journault, a long-time Jasperite and the moderator of the Oct. 9 all candidates forum, questioned the reason for selective profiling and said he feels 鈥渢he lack of thoroughness and completion鈥� in the coverage of candidates is enough to sway votes on Oct. 21.
In a comment on Facebook, Joe Urie also raised his concerns, first sharing that he had already cast his vote, including one for Covey.
He then said he agreed with a previous commenter, who said that using the Local to discuss election issues during the campaign period is unfair to the other 19 candidates who have put their names on the ballot.
Candidate for town councillor, Rich Potter, shared a similar sentiment.
鈥淚 don't see how The Local can fairly report on the election with Bob Covey's candidacy. I am disappointed in its coverage.鈥�
Other concerns about the coverage in The Local stem from an editorial written in the Oct. 1 issue of the publication. In it, Covey explained why there was no election coverage to be found within the publication's pages, first listing his press deadlines as a reason and then stating, 鈥淭he more important reason for not reporting on the election, is that I have thrown my hat into the ring for a position on town council.
鈥淚n the interest of transparency, I do not want to mix the two vocations. The best way for me to do that is to be clear about which hat I am wearing.鈥�
Community members have questioned Covey's change of heart, but in an interview Oct. 17 he said there was no change.
鈥淚'm making a distinction between reporting and editorializing, first of all,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 didn't report on the election. I gave a freelance reporter a task to capture something that is important in Jasper and the way he did that was by highlighting his favourite nominees from the informal all candidates forum.
鈥淲hen I said that about wearing different hats, that's the whole reason why I got ahold of Stephen, so I could take a step back,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 feel comfortable with where I stand on this. I know it's a fine line, and I feel like I've written my editorial through the lens of an editorialist and I've allowed a freelance reporter to say his piece on an event that is top of mind for Jasperites.鈥�
As publisher of The Local, Covey is ultimately responsible for everything that appears within the publication.
He said he doesn't see a conflict in his editorializing on election issues or printing content provided by a freelancer, addressing the election.
The Canadian Association of Journalists' code of ethics, though, sets clear guidelines for proper conduct when reporting on situations where there is an inherent conflict of interest and suggests that writers 鈥� cannot do this without an apparent conflict of interest if [they] are active members of an organization [they] are covering.鈥�
Nicole Veerman
[email protected]
