Source: National Post

The appointment yesterday of a veteran broadcaster to the Senate raises questions about his professional neutrality as a journalist, according to some ethics experts, who say the move also points to the slipping standards of Canadian political journalism, in general.

Mike Duffy, one of the country's most recognizable political reporters and host of a live daily show on CTV's NewsNet network, was one of 18 people appointed to the Senate yesterday. Pamela Wallin, another former television reporter who has worked outside of broadcasting for years, also was named. Both reportedly agreed to join the Conservative caucus and to oppose the coalition of parties threatening to topple the minority Conservatives in January.

Andrew Mitrovica, a journalism instructor at Sheridan College, in Oakville, says that agreement raises questions about Mr. Duffy's political leanings in the past. Mr. Mitrovica, a former investigative reporter for the Globe and Mail, said Mr. Duffy should have turned down the offer.

"Mike Duffy and I are friends. We've exchanged e-mails on a number of issues. But I feel Mr. Duffy has made a terrible choice here, a terrible choice," he said.

Stephen Ward, a former political reporter who later went on to head the Centre for Journalism Ethics at the University of British Columbia, said he believes journalists have a right to accept Senate appointments. However, he added yesterday's events will prompt valid questions about the relationships both journalists had prior to their appointment.

"Did one, or both of them, [act] nicely to the sitting prime minister or to the Conservatives in order to be favoured with this appointment?" he said. "It's a legitimate public issue. I don't think Mr. Duffy was hanging around Mr. Harper looking for a Senate appointment. But I do think people wonder."

Christopher Waddell, a journalism professor at Ottawa's Carleton University, says the timing of the offer is an important piece of the puzzle.

"It's always the same thing, which is when were you approached and how much time were you seriously considering it and what were you doing during that period when you were seriously considering another job offer," he said.

Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, said Mr. Duffy did not host his show after the Conservatives approached him with possibility of an appointment.

"Mike finished his last show before the Christmas break on Friday," Mr. Hurst said in an interview. "And it was well after that that he called me with this discussion."

By yesterday afternoon, Mr. Duffy's biography had been removed from the CTV Web site. His own personal website, mikeduffy.ca, remained online.

"With more than 25 years experience on Parliament Hill, Mike Duffy is widely recognized as an 'Ottawa insider'," the Web site trumpeted. "As the Toronto Star put it, he's the reporter to whom other journalists listen for insight," it added.

Mr. Waddell said Mr. Duffy's move to the Senate is no worse than journalists who cover a variety of other beats transitioning into those professions, often to take lucrative public relations jobs. He points to a number of former journalists who became senators -- including sitting members Jim Munson and former Montreal Gazette editor Joan Fraser, as well as Michael Grattan O'Leary, former editor of the Ottawa Journal and Richard Doyle, who was editor of the Globe and Mail.

But Mr. Mitrovica said Mr. Duffy's appointment "speaks to the cosy and rather incestuous nature of the relationship between the media and government."

Mr. Ward, now the James E. Burgess Professor of Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin's School of Journalism, agrees. He said journalists must be independent to properly perform their role as truth-seekers. But political reporters often become too close to the people they are told to scrutinize, mingling with them at legislative Christmas parties and other get-togethers until the "distinctions slowly blur."

"There is a Stockholm Syndrome," said Mr. Ward, who years ago worked as a legislative reporter in New Brunswick.

"I think people start without even realizing, [to] identify with the political views of the parties, the government or whatever. All I can say, the more people go from journalism into politics, it does raise questions about the credibility of journalists and journalism in general."

© National Post