Since 2003, I've been honoured to be your eyes and ears in British Columbia's capital city, providing daily investigative coverage of provincial politics. That coverage now amounts to an archive of more than 6,000 stories - many of which have had a substantial impact on public policy and governance. But all good things must come to an end. So today I'm announcing the suspension of the site's daily reporting...
{snippety doo-dah}
...I have not made this difficult decision lightly. I founded Public Eye because I deeply believe journalism - the reporting of "something that somebody somewhere wants to suppress" - is an essential part of civic society. It informs and engages the public and, in doing so, safeguards democracy...
{snippety doodle-dandy}
...Unfortunately, Public Eye is unsustainable so long as it's principally me, a computer, a camera and a telephone line. So what's next? Well, Public Eye and its syndicated column may return in another form should a sustainable business model be found. In the meantime, I'll continue hosting Public Eye Radio on CFAX 1070, providing a weekly political commentary on News 1130, as well as teaching aspiring journalists at the University of Victoria. I'll also be filming a documentary and exploring, as is oft said, other opportunities.
So thank you for being part of Public Eye's success - whether it was as a reader, a donor, a source, a colleague or a mentor. These eight years couldn't have happened without you. These stories couldn't have happened if you hadn't cared.
Sincerely
Sean Michael Holman
Publisher and Editor, Public Eye
3 comments:
Many in places of power will no doubt be breathing a collective sigh of relief. Mr. Holman shared my curiosity on topics like why highly profitable natural gas producers are being subsidized and who is getting the money for what projects. Something that both the government, producers and big media seem to want to keep quiet about.
A sad day indeed for British Columbia. Good night and good luck, my friend.
cfvua-- agreed. What I will miss most about the loss of the daily reports is the fact that it laid out so much raw material that you could go back to at anytime. For example, if you are at all interested in the 'lobby' story linked to in the post, all you have to do is punch in the various names involved into the PublicEye site's searchbox and you can pan for all kinds of gold that is just lying around ready to be picked up again...I, for one, know I will be going back to look for more important tidbits when the Casino Industrial Complex issue heats up again after the upcoming civic election (please note how BOTH sides are avoiding that issue)
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Ms Gregory!
Sad, indeed, that it takes something as crummy as this to have you stop by to comment.
Personally, I'm hoping that the upcoming documentary has behind-the-scenes bonus DVD footage of the Rabble-Rousers fighting it out for early morning cruller scraps on the PublicEye radio floor...
Or some such thing.
(and, all joking aside, the significance of your good night/good luck bye-bye is not lost on us given Mr. Holman's many accomplishments as a true independent at such a [still!] young age.)
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