I don’t like it.
When anyone who has worked as a reporter/journalist for years or even decades takes a job with a political party, a government or runs as their candidate, I believe it damages the public’s view surrounding impartiality of the media.
Especially if he or she had covered politics!
Richard Zussman, former CBC and Global TV reporter announced Friday he’s running for the NDP in Saanich South. (Apparently, there was no nomination contest either: he was just appointed candidate by the party).
Zussman left Global in Nov. 2025 to become Vice-President of Public Affairs for Burson Canada Public Relations firm.
In the news business, we used to refer to reporters/journalists who gave up our hallowed careers of pursuing truth to do “corporate affairs” or work/run for a political party as “going over to the dark side”.
Zussman did both!
But he’s not alone: my first recollection of seeing that happen was when, during the 8-month Pacific Press strike of 1978=79, Hall Leiren quit the Vancouver Sun to become Premier Bill Bennett’s Press Secretary. Leiren was the Sun’s Victoria Bureau Chief .. and for four years, I was the bureau! LOL!
When Leiren went to the” dark side”, many expected I would become Bureau Chief after the strike ended. However for some reason, Sun Management were reportedly not happy that I not only covered the Legislature for the union’s Express strike newspaper, but also picked up bundles of papers at the bus depot, placed them in newsstands, hotel lobbies etc., collected the sales revenues and sent the money back to the union. 🙂
So the word was that I would be pulled out of Victoria once the strike ended, back to Vancouver, where they could assign me to “lesser” stories.
Luckily, BCTV had an opening at their Legislative Bureau exactly at that time; so I took Jack Webster’s personal advice, bought a new suit and applied. BCTV’s Cameron Bell and Keith Bradbury apparently saw something they believed would work: they offered me more money, profit-sharing and a company car, even though I had NEVER before done television reporting.
And thus began my 26-year career at BCTV.
Interestingly, Leiren and I remained friends: he was a wonderful person (we had also worked together for The Sun at Vancouver City Hall before the Legislative gig) … and after he joined Bennett, we would still laugh privately about the government “line” or “messaging” etc.
But now, seems to me too many media types are joining the “dark side”.
The worst examples, in my view, were Jim Munson, longtime CTV Parliament Hill reporter appointed Liberal Senator and Pamela Wallin of CTV and Mike Duffy of the CBC, both appointed Conservative Senators.
Their appointments always reminded me of a kind of “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” reward.
Locally, Global TV’s Randene Neill became Eby’s Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship; Catherine Pope, Councillor in North Vancouver District; Jas Johal, former BCTV and CTV reporter became a Liberal MLA; Steve Darling, former BCTV reporter went on to become a Port Coquitlam City Councillor; Peter Meisner, former Global journalist; and, former Vancouver Courier columnist Mike Klassen, are now Vancouver City Councillors.
Of course, maybe those who have gone to the “dark side” really want to make their communities better … but skeptics could easily wonder if they pushed their ideological agendas while working in the media, and are now seeking actual power to bring those beliefs into effect, or just going after the money and/or benefits.
It bothers me.
Especially when I read Zussman’s statement announcing his NDP candidacy:
““Things are tough for people right now, and Donald Trump’s trade war is making things harder. He is threatening B.C. jobs and putting pressure on families and businesses,” said Zussman in a release,” according to the Daily Hive. (Read the full story here: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/former-reporter-richard-zussman-bc-ndp).
Yech!
The reporter Zussman, I hope, would have put the feet to the fire of ANY politician who regurgitated like a Pavlovian pooch Premier Eby’s excuse for calling the provincial lection now!
As I, union spokesman during the BCTV 1998 strike, was famously quoted by the media after a prominent on-air staff member crossed our picket line: “I was surprised, because all we really have to sell in this business is our integrity and credibility.”
I don’t see going to the “dark side” as upholding those principles.
By the way, full disclosure: Richard Zussman and I have a family link. His father, David, is the brother of my cousin’s wife back East. David was a prominent federal Liberal advisor, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet in the Privy Council Office of Jean Chretien and Commissioner of the Public Service Commission and his wife Sheridan was Canada’s Competition Commissioner … and I visited with them way back when they first lived in Victoria and then in Ottawa as well.
When I retired, at only 61, I too had offers from the “dark side” … in both P.R. and politics. But I decided after 38 years as a reporter/journalist, I could never do either … and look at myself in the mirror!
So I will remain a journalist: from the first article I had published at 11 years old (a children’s book review) to my last blog … whenever that time comes.
And try to keep the light shining in.
Harv Oberfeld
🇨🇦🇨🇦Check the labels. BUY CANADIAN!🇨🇦🇨🇦
(Follow @harveyoberfeld.ca on “X” for FREE First Alerts to new postings on the Blog.)
Excellent topic Harvey.
I ALWAYS wonder about a reporter/newscasters impartiality over the previous 12-24 months of their resignation and appointment with ANY political party.
NDP. Liberal, Socred, Conservative.
There should be at least a 2 year “cooling off” period before they can prostitute themselves on the altar of Politics..
Randene Neil was the last straw for me as the latest Global “personality” that used their notoriety and public speaking skills to go to “The Dark Side”.
I’m sure she’s a nice person but it smacks of a Kindergarten teacher quitting their job to sell ice cream to the very same kids she taught.
I’m somewhat impressed that the B.C. Conservatives…in their disarrayed state…have managed to turn this election into a horse race.
P.S. I’m amazed Keith Baldrey hasnt “taken the dive”.
(Response: Baldrey is getting pretty old … likely looking forward to retirement. (C’mon in, Keith. It’s wonderful!) I agree that many take advantage of “their notoriety” when they run for politics or take jobs in government or corporate relations. And I’m sure some really feel strongly about certain issues or want to serve their communities: but I think in many cases, they are just cashing in … showing their bias and hurting the reputation of journalism in general. Ho)
The problem I find with journalists who later go into politics, is that their previous reporting becomes instantly suspect.
It is not about going into the Dark Side, rather, have they always been in the Dark Side?
(Response: I agree. As soon as I hear of someone I know taking a job with a particular government, a party or running as a candidate, I immediately wonder about their impartiality while reporting …and, sadly, I’ve often concluded “No wonder, they seemed so easy on them!”… although maybe the reality was they just weren’t as tough with all of them as I was! LOL!
Name and face recognition. They are comfortable in front of the camera.
It has been the case for eons. Quebec NS BC AB and every constituency in between. For decades.
No better or worse than your average politician who are a necessary evil that cannot be relied on to utter painful truths or detour from the party line.
Lower than tow truck drivers in public opinion. Well earned.
I hope you are all reconciling today. I personally had nothing to do with residential schools and for the most part think we should ALL be included in the Canadian mosaic equally. Pretty sure its simply a day off for 99.9% of the population. More political guilt based BS that accomplishes nothing.
(Response: There is very little Truth being explored/revealed in the Truth and political correctness process. Like where have ALL the Billions of taxpayers’ funds gone that were paid out over the decades into First Nations coffers … with very little to show for it. Too bad so many bands refuse to open their books…even to their own band members. As for the missing children, where are the bodies? Where are the autopsies saying they were murdered? The truth is that at that time in the 1800s and early 1900s, many children (including white and Asian children) died from childhood diseases… not just First Nations! And tens of thousands of FirstNations kids got an education they could never have received in their very remote communities.Remember, other kids also went to boarding schools too … and I’m sure back then some died from measles, polio, TB also … but no one is handing millions to all their families. Yes, there was some abuse and that should be revealed, condemned and compensated. But I believe it is mostly a scam… And our politicians are too weak to stand up to it. Ho)
Reconcilition in all its forms has turned into one big gravy train engineered and driven by our guilt ridden by self inducement, spineless political leadership. First Nations leadership saw and knew how weak and cowardly our politicians were and took advantage of the politically correct atmosphere that these idiots created. This insanity won’t stop and will only worsen under this Eby activist cult of cowards in Victoria until a cabinet comes to power and puts an end to it. I think we could even use some stronger leadership in Ottawa. You mentioned where has all the billions of taxpayers funds gone, yes thats a good qeustion, and how much services that’s supposed to be for everyone has been degraded because of this obscene drain off of the public purse. This crap the politicians spew out about seeing everyone as eqauls is all crap. They’ve created division and inequality. Reckless Feckless A..holes they are.
Never found Zussman interesting at all. He didn’t remind me of having anything of that good old hard journalist nature. Like a few others from that Global place, what could I possibly expect. Not much. When these people jump to politics I feel that they have thrown all journalistic strength of mind and integrity into the trash can, not that Global produces much of that.
(Response: Yes, a lot of people may have a lesser view of journalists who go over to the dark side, announce their loyalty to a particular political party and run for office. But if they win, they get decent pay, terrific benefits, perks and pensions… and they get to influence government policies. And even if they lose, their prominence can help them get good jobs: look at Christy Clark and Jas Johal. So I can see why they do it, but I believe it can taint the public’s view of their previous work and credibility. Ho)
Martin ?
Solomon ?
(Response: Yes, Evan Solomon … and there was Peter Kent too… and I hear several in Quebec too over the years. Ho)
Great post, better explanation about why you chose to avoid politics!
I had one of your old co-workers as an MLA, useless to constituents, very condescending and really gave me second thoughts about why anyone would vote for him!
Our past Governor General from the CBC had a hankering for uber expensive orange juice, things which just piss off the unwashed….
I was and will forever be a strong dissenter against subsidizing media! Given the fact that today’s media is not fiscally viable, seems to be incapable of balancing their ledgers and face it, all mainstream media have lost focus in the pursuit of any new revenue streams. Trudeau 2.0’s media subsidies have preserved a few “Blockbuster Video” jobs, caused a further erosion of news accuracy and created a economic reality where many journalists have to go off to the “dark side” & run for office.
Financial viability is paramount for any business, creating an entire class of handout dependent businesses of any sort is long term stupidity. The true casualty of this policy is truth and accuracy. Lying by omission is the new news standard. What happened to presenting the facts as known and allowing the viewers to reach their own conclusions? Are folks so stupid nowadays that embellishment & glossing over pertinent facts is desirable? Fashion nonsense, social reporting (we must not have enough social media to satisfy the addicted so hire a fashion/social reporter) and general Smarmy nonsense has no place in news reporting!
Just as news media, today’s politicians have also happily trotted down many of the same eroding pathways. That fact makes media types parachuting into political careers not as surprising, they are really fleeing to a similar, questionable, chosen occupation!
Bail out all razor companies, too many have chosen to grow beards!!!
(Response: I know every Canadian citizen has a right to participate in the political process even if they have a background in the media. However, it has just been my personal belief that being a reporter/journalist is almost a sacred calling that should separate you from taking a partisan political stance/post of any kind. Many people are unaware, although I have mentioned it on the blog before, that while I was covering politics (provincial or federal) I never voted: I just felt that would amount to taking sides. (by the way, in many Canadian jurisdictions, judges don’t vote either!) And before and after I covered politics as my career, I have voted for every major party in Canada: Liberals , NDP, Conservative and even Greens at one point, based on the issues at the time and the candidate. But I just could not imagine myself working for a government or being a politician… parroting partisan crud that I knew deep inside was not true! Ho)