Editor-in-chief of CBC News Jennifer McGuire says there is nothing wrong with CBC reporter Krista Erickson getting tax-payer paid flights as the traveling partner of MP Lee Richardson. (see earlier post)
McGuire took a swipe at the president of the Canadian Association of Journalists who suggests Erickson is in a conflict of interest.
“It is particularly unfortunate that the Canadian Association of Journalists and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation would see fit to weigh in with their ad hoc pronouncements. The CAJ and the CFT suggest that Krista Erickson, in her role as a CBC journalist, is acting improperly. This is categorically incorrect and frankly unfair.” (see letter here)
Geoff Turnbull, a journalism ethics instructor at the University of King’s College in Halifax 30 year veteran as a CBC journalist doesn’t understand McGuire’s hard-line of defense:
“That’s a strange response on her part. People were taken off beats, asked to go on extended leaves of absence, refused the right to do certain kinds of coverage and accept certain kinds of benefits. This situation is not in the spirit of the kind of journalistic management that I’m used to at CBC.” (see story here)
I’ve had experience in dealing with Jennifer McGuire receiving a very terse and dismissive letter from her when I complained about Warren Kinsella’s blog being on the CBC News’ blog roll (see here)
BC Blue: One BC Conservative's view on it all... 
March 31, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Maybe she gets extra time to help the MP with his questions on the flight….
March 31, 2010 at 2:29 PM
Okay,what the hell’s going on? Why are there so many stories about petty malfeasance, real or implied, by Tory MP’s the last couple of weeks?
Smacks of the start to a Liberal campaign for a Summer election! Somebody PLEASE follow a few Liberal MP’
s around and see if they can’t catch them in a few little nasty activities!
Oh,and if august CBC sees no problem with this one, far be it from me, a humble Canadian peasant, to disagree.
What a “perk” this is though, Canadian MP’s can have US foot the bill for their designated main squeeze.
What utter, but typical, bullshit.
March 31, 2010 at 3:03 PM
Why isn’t the president of the Canadian Association of Journalists worried about lack of balance in journalistic reporting in this country on political viewpoints? Is she owned by the liberal party and its friends? Who is she working for, a foreign invading power? I don’t like her one bit.
October 21, 2010 at 12:50 PM
[…] And now, Stephen Taylor confirms that Krista Erickson has been signed on (see here). Erickson was the reporter caught feeding questions to Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez and is now Con MP Lee Richard’s girlfriend. Both ethics complaints were swept under the carpet by the CBC (see here and here). […]