Thread by @glen_mcgregor

Sure. I’ve done this before but will do again, because there is a lot of misinformation circulating about press conferences on Parliament Hill.

https://twitter.com/shazzmojo/status/1570095438014865408

Notice of a Hill press conference typically comes by email through the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Off-Hill events involving ministers follow a similar pattern. So journalists show up at the appointed time and place. 2/

Let’s start with PMJT pressers: Usually, a PMO staffer on site will tell journalists the format for questions. Sometimes it’s one Q and one follow up; increasingly, though, PMO caps questions at 20 minutes and leaves it to journalists to figure out who will get to ask a Q. 3/

We definitely don’t like this. We all strongly believe every reporter should get to ask a Q. There is push back. We usually lose. That said, this PMO has typically let the Q&As run longer than the time they first set. 4/

Sometimes, PMJT will speak without taking questions (e.g. last week in Vancouver, his comments immediately after Queen’s death). Some events are just photo-ops. PPG members almost always push for Q&As, but we can’t compel them. 5/

Once we know the format for Qs, journalists will “huddle” to figure out who will ask what in the allotted time. This is to ensure we don’t double up on the same question and cover all the topics at issue that day. 6/

Sometimes the topics are obvious based on that day’s news. Sometimes, one media org will have an interests in a more narrow topic their news desks are pursuing. Their colleagues typically give them latitude to pursue. 7/

So we figure out a rough idea of who will ask what and in what order. It’s all done organically. (But this is totally non-binding on the reporters.) 8/

Increasingly, because of time limits imposed by PMO, we have to agree in the huddle that each reporter will ask only one Q. We all hate this, because it means we can’t ask follow-ups. This is a marked change in accessibility under this government. It sucks. 9/

The PMO doesn’t know the topics of the Qs in advance and — apparently, this needs to be said — has zero role in drafting the questions. And any reporter who goes to the mic can call an audible and change the Q on the fly. Many do. 10/

One exception to this format is when there is a visiting foreign leader. Usually, two Qs will be allotted to Canadian media and two to visiting media. This requires more negotiation among reporters about topics and who will ask the Qs. (We usually go one French, one English). 11/

Sometimes we talk to foreign colleagues about their Qs in advance to avoid duplication. (It’s often fun to see what interests, say, our German, Mexican or Dutch colleagues.) 12/

So then the PM makes a statement and takes the Qs in order determined by the reporters. Viewers/listeners/readers can judge the quality of the responses. PPG members get just as frustrated by evasive talking points as everyone else. 13/

That said, we don’t have much recourse to compel more informative answers. We control only the questions; not the responses. Sometimes, we will press on a particularly important topic, but that means we lose a chance for a Q on another topic. 14/

(As an aside, there are lots of discussions among PPG members about ways to phrase a Q that is more likely to induce an informative response. In my experience, PMJT is less likely to include a talking point in a response if the Q mentions it.) 15/

So that’s the process for PMJT press events. As for *who* gets to ask the Qs: on the Hill, that is accredited Press Gallery members only, because only they can physically get onto the Hill. 15/

There is an ongoing debate about who should be PPG members. That is a decision made by the PPG executive, made up of journalists from already accredited media, a power delegated by the Sargeant-at-Arms. This a topic beyond the scope of this thread. 17/

Media avails by opposition leaders have been far less structured. We are told the time and place. Usually, opposition leaders are happy to take as many questions as posed (sometimes we run out). Therefore, these did not typically require reporters to huddle. 18/

Oppositions leaders from the recent past — Scheer, Singh, O’Toole, May, Blanchet — have not usually limited Qs during non-election pressers. (And, obviously, they don’t pre-screen the Qs, either.) 19/

(Q&As during pressers on election campaigns are a slightly different animal so I won’t address in this thread.) 20/

It’s an imperfect process, to be sure, and it changes with every government. But journalists — PPG members or otherwise — always want more opportunity to ask Qs of the people Canada elect. And better responses, too. Fin.
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