Been out of the loop, but... is Postmedia also going to withdraw their eight accredited reporters from the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa? Because those big meanies won’t let Rebel in, either.

If they did, it would be kind of a bizarro world version of the short-lived press gallery boycott of PMSH events, wherein Postmedia eventually broke ranks and decided to cover the news again.)

This will surprise some, but as recently as last fall I argued that Rebel and Post Millenial *should* be allowed into the Parliamentary Press Gallery, mostly on the theory it’s better to have them inside micturating outwards. However...

...then I saw their staff in action on the campaign trail, culminating in the leaders debates, which they accessed via court-ordered injunction. They completely discredited themselves at the Q & A with lafter and wasted scarce time journalists had to question leaders.

As someone with alt-journalism roots, I fully support independent voices in the Press Gallery. We have all benefited from journalism by new entrants over the past years — HuffPo, iPolitics, Politico, National Observer and Blacklock’s, among a longer list. All do valuable work.

Will conclude: the PPG executive has a much more difficult job with accreditation than it did 20 years ago. Advocacy groups masquerading as news have to be kept out, obv. but determining who is doing real journalism is tough. Xinhua and Epoch Times are problematic.