“Feed the media otherwise they are parasitic”

A sarcastic rendering

- BY JENNIFER ARGUE, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

February 7th, 2022

Acting CAO, Camille Box, presented the Administrator’s report detailing her communication strategy with this publication and her efforts “to have a more positive relationship with the paper going forward.” She told Council she spoke with this reporter.

“She called me too, and she was hounding for tiny-house stuff.” Said Reeve Schmidt. He noted a recent article included some information he provided by email. Box said she also communicated by email, providing “factual information.”

Councilor Bruce Bondar said to the room, “feed, feed, feed.” When a councilor asked what he meant, he responded, “you’ve got to feed the media, otherwise, they are parasitic.”

Later, during the ‘Open Forum,’ ratepayer Leandra Cameron addressed the comment, saying she found it offensive because she, too, had difficulty getting information from the RM. Councillor Bondar apologized, noting the previous relationship the RM has had with the community paper. “I should apologize for the word. I didn’t mean it in a negative context. I’ve dealt with media all my life but if they don’t get information, they constantly hound, constantly hound, constantly hound. So it’s better off we give them the information so they don’t have to, so it’s easier for them and it’s good for us.”

Recently, the RM’s new Acting CAO, Camille Box, has begun submitting highlights from the RM meetings to the newspaper for publication. The RM has changed its communications strategy over the past year with “service tracker” and utilizing social media.

Read Editors Response Here