Donnelly Councillor Now in Obvious Conflict of Interest for Keeping His Job as a Reporter

Those with political aspirations who realize their current position would conflict with their ambitions often resign their job in order to run in an election. For instance, the publisher of a newspaper may resign in preparation for a run at being Mayor.

Not so though for Mac Olsen, reporter for the local Falher paper the Smoky River Express. Olsen was elected one of the Village of Donnelly's new councillors, and apparently, he kept his day job. Not only for the campaign, but since he won, too. 

If ever you wanted proof that we still live in the wild west when it comes to journalistic ethics here in the Peace, this is it. The Village of Donnelly is part of the coverage area of the Express, and the Express regularly publishes the actions of the Donnelly council in its council notes. It's not as if Olsen is at least working for a paper that covers a different area than the one where he's on council.

Words almost fail me in trying to explain why this is such an obvious conflict of interest and a clear case of bias. It's just not something I ever thought I would have to actually explain. Most people already know that they can't be a reporter and a politician at the same time.

Olsen and his paper, however, seem to be oblivious to the problem. During the campaign, Olsen wrote the article in the Express listing the candidates for different local councils, including himself. Since no other candidates ran, he announced in that same September 20 article that all Donnelly council candidates had won by acclamation - including, again, himself.

Then, knowing he had already been elected to council by acclamation, Olsen still wrote an article published September 30 about a new waste collection by-law and other by-laws passed by the Donnelly council. At no point did he state his new position on the council in the interests of full disclosure.

On October 16, the Donnelly council notes article in the same paper included the news that Olsen was appointed to the Smoky River Community Education Committee, the Emergency Management Committee, Smoky River Regional Water Commission and Smoky River Regional Waste Commission. (By the way, note the names of those last commissions as compared with the subjects of the new by-laws Olsen had recently reported on for his paper.) With no byline on that article, it's also 50/50 odds that Olsen wrote it himself.

Almost a full month after his election, on October 19, Olsen announced and discussed his new position as a councillor in his own column in the Express, "The Situation Room."

"As a reporter, I’m always on the outside looking in,” Olsen wrote in that column. “But now, I will be on the inside as well, as I have become a member of the council for the Village of Donnelly (by acclamation).”

What did that column lack, aside from the self-awareness to see why being an outsider and an insider are opposing roles? Any notice of his resignation as a reporter to take on this new opportunity. Instead, he wrote he was now a councillor "as well."

While Olsen touched briefly on the challenges of balancing the job of councillor with other responsibilities, he apparently had zero insight into the fact his own day job means he is now between a rock and a particularly hard place ethically.

“It’s not an easy decision for some people to make, especially when employment, family and other commitments come into play. As with other aspects of life, trying to maintain a balance is hard, if not impossible for some,” he blithely wrote.

"But those who serve in public office are to be commended for making the commitment and sacrifice. We owe them our gratitude,” he stated. 

That's right. Not only did he report on his own new position, but in the same column wrote that councillors should be praised for running, with nary a care for the fact he was asking in print for people to thank himself.
 

On October 29, it was the Express that published the first photo of the new Donnelly council  , including Olsen. 

It's November now so there's been plenty of time to give notice, and as of today, I still have yet to see any advertisement for a vacant reporter position at the Express.

To be very clear, none of this is normal. How can a reporter do the work of the fifth estate, and keep an eye out for hypocrisy, corruption and the like, when he himself is on the very council he should be working to keep accountable to the general public? Olsen now has an extremely problematic and obvious bias in favour of his own council.

An old adage is that a reporter needs to avoid becoming the story, but what about this ridiculous situation where the reporter is writing the stories about himself? I understand that at 305 people, the Village of Donnelly is tiny, but I imagine people there and in Falher have still been exposed at some point to the idea of journalistic ethics. In no way does this match any standards of journalistic ethics.

The fact a real life newspaper editor and/or publisher approved Olsen writing articles about himself boggles the mind. The only way this would remotely be acceptable is if Olsen was never, ever assigned to write about the Donnelly council or really any council for the paper's council notes, and as we've seen that has not happened. Even then, his new bias could spill over into other areas as well. The work of a council touches on all aspects of municipal life, including interactions with other councils, regional projects and issues, and so much more. For instance, what if there is a dispute between the Falher town council and the Donnelly town council? Can Olsen remain objective in his reporting on such a dispute when he clearly represents one of the councils in questions? Hardly. For that matter, if Olsen even attends the meeting of any other council such as Falher, he is no longer just a reporter, but a councillor for another council. What is the protocol for that, exactly?

The newsroom at the Falher paper is tiny anyway. It's not a big newsroom packed with staff working different beats. There is only one other reporter, Tom Henihan. Any news reporting will be split between the two. Again, bias could easily spill over when the only other reporter in the newsroom has to write a story on council, and merely has to reach over and tap Olsen on the shoulder for an interview. Will that reporter be able to truly objective when writing about the actions of their own coworker? Again, hardly.

Finally, I can't imagine why any council would actually want a reporter privy to everything that happens, including in camera. Councillors are expected to keep the information discussed in council confidential until it's ready to be released to the public. Reporters do not get to go in camera with councillors in private council sessions about sensitive topics like money or human resources for this exact reason. Yet as both a councillor and reporter, Olsen will be in those meetings. He will hear everything that is said. He will see every document. If he takes notes, are they the notes of a councillor, or of a reporter? What if he refers to them later for a story? Is the council aware a reporter's notes can sometimes even hold legal weight, such as in cases of potential libel or defamation? And even if he doesn't immediately write about what is discussed on council, Olsen will know about everything; and that in itself could lead to future articles for the paper. He is his own source, which is an extraordinary situation.

I know that municipalities support small local newspapers with a lot of advertising dollars. However, a council having their own reporter is just a step too far. 

There is only one conclusion here, and it's that Olsen needs to do the right thing and resign at the paper to focus on his new job as a councillor for the Village of Donnelly. That is the only ethical thing to do, both as a councillor, and as a journalist. The potential for bias or a serious a conflict of interest is just too high as long as he draws a paycheque at both jobs, and I remain shocked the paper itself or the ratepayers of Donnelly would think this is in any way appropriate.

I have emailed the Express regarding this issue and if they respond, I will update with their response. Meanwhile you can find the Express on Twitter @SmokyRiverExprs if you'd like to ask them yourself.