MISSING: Jesse Brown’s disclosure page

Yesterday, I wrote a blog about Jesse Brown, the Batman journalist flying all over Gotham demanding we listen to him about the state of Canadian media.  Fine.  I’ll listen to anyone for a few minutes and I think the points he’s making about needing better media critique in this country are good ones.  But the problem that led to my writing a blog about him (Click here for a refresher.) is that Jesse Brown, who is up to his neck in a story about Amanda Lang’s speaking fees, didn’t disclose that he’s represented by the same speakers bureau as she is.  He initially responded to my blog on Twitter saying he’s disclosed the fact that he does paid speaks on his site many times.  Then he issued another tweet saying his disclosure page was “on the way” and “any/all conflicts disclosed on the show/site within story they pertain to.”  See below.

The sad thing is that Brown’s disclosure page has been “on the way” for quite a while now and potential conflicts are clearly not disclosed with the story they pertain to.  In the same Huffington Post story where he spoke about Peter Mansbridge’s conflict of interest when Mansbridge was paid to speak to the Canadian Petroleum Producers Association in Calgary in February 2014, Brown is quoted as saying,

“It [Mansbridge’s speak] is an absolute betrayal of the viewer’s trust.

“I don’t know what slim percentage of that TV-viewing audience is checking out that [his] disclosure page. I think the disclosure page is a great idea and I’m getting mine up soon.”

He said that in February 2014 and I understand it’s hectic being Jesse Brown.  But if he wants to go anywhere near being a credible critic who makes a day job of going after people’s careers, he’s got to stop sputtering and get his own house in order.  Surely he must understand that his personal credibility is part of the equation.  And until he is prepared to address that, he’s looking more like a menace than a caped crusader. If your opposition can knock you down with a feather, you’re not waging much of a battle.

Gail Picco is a strategist who has worked in the nonprofit sector for 25 years. She is the author of What the Enemy Thinks, a recent novel set in the nonprofit sector, and is Chair of the Board of the Regent Park Film Festival. She also writes about baseball and F1 racing.