Of World Press Freedom Day and the Senate

Why is it that television journalists get both the profile and the plums? Recognized in every restaurant in the land, and always finding a way into the Senate. It just can’t seem fair to the rest of the fourth estate. The list of TV grads in the Canadian Senate and Rideau Hall is quite profound, all things considered.

There is current Governor General Michaëlle Jean, as well as the former Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, of course. Both TV grads.

In the Senate, it takes just a second to rattle off Sen. Jim Munson, Sen. Mike Duffy, Sen. Pam Wallin, Sen. Betty Kennedy (reached national awareness via Front Page Challenge), Sen. Laurier LaPierre…. All TV grads.

Not that all didn’t make for excellent appointments. But the prediliction to name well known “faces” to the Red Chamber is overwhelming. On this, World Press Freedom Day, it seems appropriate to point out that there are more than just TV journalists to consider for Canada’s senior house.

In just a few weeks, Senator Norman Kempton Atkins will retire from the Senate on the occassion of his 75th birthday. This will open up a seat in Ontario, a place ripe for a writer to ply his/her trade. Despite the woeful ad market, I’d assume that $4,000 in owned real estate isn’t a high hurdle. In the interests of public service, here are a few non-TV media names for the Prime Minister to consider, should the need arise:

– Globe & Mail Editor Edward Greenspon; as a former Ottawa Bureau Chief, he already knows his way around Parliament Hill. Given the pain his muckraking City Hall Bureau is causing him, he might see an appointment as an elegant way to get back to Ottawa. Unless, of course, the pull of a 2010 CTVglobe IPO is just too strong to turn his back on.

– Globe & Mail ROB Editor John Stackhouse; as the son of a former Member of Parliament, Mr. Stackhouse has a lifelong interest in public policy matters. He’s young, likely Conservative, and certainly on top of his politics. The much loved Father Sean O’Sullivan, C.M. thought highly of him, too, which still carries weight with anyone who thinks they hold traditional Conservative values.

– Globe & Mail coulumnist Jeffrey Simpson; a wealth of institutional knoweldge and clearly trained to serve the public good, the only question is this: is he ready to give up his current real estate, solely to be one of a few hundred Members of the House and Senate hoping that their pet issues get promoted by the writer who inherits Jeff Simpson’s column.

– Toronto Star Board Chairman John Honderich, C.M.; I know that some people think he’s a Liberal, but the Star came out in favour of former Ontario Premier Bill Davis for years. That’s a starting point. The appointment would certainly prove the P.M.’s critics wrong, and Mr. Honderich’s interests and expertise in Urban and African affairs (to name but two) would be a welcome addition to any Senate commitee. Plus, anything the Tories can do to knock the heart and soul out of The Star might be seen as a plus by some.

– Maclean’s Magazine Editor Ken Whyte would certainly take the appointment if offered, and his rightish leanings might get him onto a short list. But his well known distain for all brains other than his own would likely mean the PM should look elsewhere.

If TV broadcasters are the only way to go, as tradition would suggest, there is the dynamic duo of Kim Parlee (BNN Business News Network) and Janis Mackey Frayer (CTV News) to choose from. Both are smart, young, insightful and personable. Each would bring magnatism to K1A 0A4’s postal code.

Which is exactly why the print news crowd has such a hard time breaking through the glass ceiling of the Senate appointment game. Who could compete with the Starpower of Janis and Kim?

MRM