It appears that VANOC did learn a thing or two over in Beijing -namely, how to bully the media. On Monday (Sept. 22), Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee (VANOC) representatives presented a "Game Plan" meeting to inform 撸奶社区residents of what they could expect in 18 months' time. By all accounts, the evening provided information on such items as the Callaghan Valley, unrestricted access to Highway 99 and the non-stopping bus between Whistler and Vancouver. We say "by all accounts" because The Chief wasn't there. That's right, we screwed up. After running countless stories of community bitterness toward VANOC for being less than forthright in telling us what 撸奶社区will look like in 2010, The Chief failed to appear to the organization's information session due to a scheduling mishap.It was this horrified realization the following morning that led to panicked calls to VANOC media reps requesting a copy of the Power Point presentation and an interview with the main speaker, Maureen Douglas. And it was this request that led to the realization that VANOC is a very devious organization indeed.We were told in no uncertain terms that The Chief is no friend of VANOC's due to our history of reporting aforementioned bitterness (we were also told it didn't help that the bigwigs were already in a tizzy over Tuesday's scathing Province report provided entirely by the embittered mayor of Squamish), so if we couldn't promise to deliver a positive story, well, they couldn't promise to deliver the information and interviews we needed.The more cynical among you might believe that reporters and editors regularly collude with sources - especially high-powered sources - to deliver spun-out stories the rich and powerful want you to read. But the truth is much less glamorous -especially in small-town newspapers. We're just not that important, you see. So we were shocked to be subjected to such Machiavellian measures. A tax-funded organization presents long-awaited information to a community dying to get answers and they use it to strongarm local media? Don't they realize we're just reflecting the community's pulse? We finally did manage to track down the story thanks to an intrepid freelancer who attended and recorded the meeting just in case we might need it (see page A1). It all appeared to blow over when, after days of cajoling, we did get VANOC's presentation and an interview, although we were told no questions would be answered regarding Mayor Sutherland's public criticism. But the one question that remains unanswered: If you're so desperate for good press, how about giving the community something to celebrate?
