NDP drops price for media to join B.C. leader’s election tour
The NDP have dropped their price from the $5,000 to $1,500 for journalists accompanying party leader Adrian Dix during the B.C. election campaign.
By Andrew MacLeod, for The Tyee
The B.C. New Democratic Party is making it relatively cheap for reporters to travel on the leader's tour during the election period.
A seat on the bus or plane for the entire 28-day campaign with Adrian Dix will cost just $1,500 per person, not including accommodation for any overnight trips. That compares with $5,000 for a reporter to travel the province with BC Liberal Party leader Christy Clark, again not including accommodation.
Both the Liberals and NDP will charge another $1,500 for a second person, such as a television camera person or photographer. And both parties will also offer a daily rate, with priority given to organizations that pay for the whole tour.
[node:ad]The price the Liberals are charging is roughly the same as what they charged during the last election. The NDP, on the other hand, have dropped their price from the $5,000, plus $1,000 for a camera person, that media outlets paid to have reporters travel with Carole James in 2009.
A spokesperson for the NDP said the party won't be commenting on how it set the rate.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee's Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria.
Tamara Baluja is an award-winning journalist with CBC Vancouver and the 2018 Michener-Deacon fellow for journalism education. She was the associate editor for J-Source from 2013-2014.