The story repeats itself. Journalist Bernard Drainville (again) made the leap into politics, causing (once again) a stir in the politico-media universe — which is not likely to strengthen the public’s confidence in the media, experts say.
“The only losers in this are the media,” laments journalist ethics specialist Marc-François Bernier. “The Revolving Door Phenomenon [entre la politique et le journalisme]it never helps the media, which are struggling with a lack of trust and credibility,” said the professor from the University of Ottawa.
In the case of Bernard Drainville, the discomfort is all the greater since he has done the same thing twice in 15 years. On February 6, 2007, parliamentary writer Bernard Drainville announced to his employer, Radio-Canada, that he was joining the ranks of the Parti Québécois, three days after having interviewed its leader, André Boisclair. The members of his team are surprised. The Liberals and ADQs are desperate. On June 2, 2022, radio host Bernard Drainville announced to his boss, Cogeco Media, that he was joining the Coalition avenir Québec. The members of his team are not so surprised. The Liberals, Solidarity, PQ and Conservatives are complaining about it.
Since when ?
“Since when does he know that he will be a candidate for the CAQ? When did he begin to negotiate his candidacy for the CAQ? asked PQ MP Pascal Bérubé on Friday. In his eyes, his former PQ colleague (2007-2016) “always preserved the CAQ government” on 98.5 FM, where, in addition to hosting the afternoon show, he held the political column during the morning show, until December 2021. On the other hand, Bernard Drainville was “particularly harsh with regard to the opposition parties”, argued Mr. Bérubé.
For his part, the leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, Éric Duhaime, criticized his former co-host on Friday for Duhaime-Drainville at noon to have asked him at the beginning of the week to clarify his “positions on language, immigration and identity” without telling him that he was engaged in “negotiations” with members of the close guard of the chief caquiste in sight of a possible candidacy.
Bernard Drainville had not answered him when these lines were written. The former reporter last tweeted on Tuesday. He invited his 110,000 subscribers to “listen[r] the unusual testimony [livré à son émission par] Mireille Levasseur, who found herself with a wild turkey in her living room”. Since, the page of his show Drainville PM has been removed from the 98.5 FM website.
Nothing to be ashamed of, really?
Bernard Drainville has nothing to reproach himself for, even if “this is not an ideal situation in terms of public confidence in the media”, affirms the president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ), Michael Nguyen. “All citizens can run for politics. The collective agreements of all the major media often say so,” he says.
UQAM journalism professor Patrick White agrees. “He learned from the mistakes of his first experience [quand il avait fait le saut au PQ peu de temps après avoir interviewé André Boisclair. Cette fois-ci,] it was done in the rules of the art, ”he says. “It was orchestrated with his employer, he is no longer on the air, he no longer has a connection with his media, so it seems to me to have followed the most basic rules of ethics. »
“We cannot prevent someone from the media from going into politics,” also argues Professor Marc-François Bernier. “It’s when people leave politics and come back to the media that it’s more problematic. Moreover, the media should be more demanding in this respect, he asserts, suggesting “that there be a few years between the end of political life and the beginning of media life and that the person undertakes by contract not to make the leap into politics unexpectedly”.