Notes on The Report: What we are and what we aren't

An Alberta Report Primer

The Alberta Report hasn't been back for 24 hours and already the humour police are posting comments that they don't think a Barry Goldwater quote is a good choice for a left-wing blog.

So, in light of this, we apparently have to explain what we are and what we aren't.

1. We aren't Tiny Perfect Blog. Not even close. First of all, we're going to reveal our identities just as soon as we figure out how to add a page on this fancy new template. Second, we're not what one would call NDP insiders, though we've all worked in what one would call "The Left." However, more importantly, we share a healthy disrespect for authority. We also don't always agree with each other or the NDP: we've been known to yell at each other in bars and at least one of us once quit the party in disgust. This is a healthy part of democracy and we think it's good for the progressive movement, too. Especially the yelling in bars.

2. Disagreement is important for democracy, but humour is perhaps more crucial. So yes, we find Barry Goldwater quotes somewhat amusing, and we love Reginald Maudling. We think politics are funny, because the egos are so ridiculous, the perspectives so myopic, and the errors so egregious. We think it's too bad that nobody can make a joke anymore, and we don't like the way everyone has to parse their words lest they get eviscerated by the owners/editors of mainstream "out of context quotes make for easy stories so we don't have to pay journalists real money to do real investigative work" media. We don't allow sexism, racism, homophobia, or other idiocies to masquerade as humour. But we like to make jokes. And we will make jokes. If you can't tell the difference between our 'real' posts and the satirical ones, the problem is not ours.

3. From time to time, we will post 'real' news. It will be serious. It will be well-researched and fact-based. That's because politics in this province needs to be at once taken more lightly and at the same time more seriously. The stakes (economic, social, environmental) are high, and Albertans deserve a more interesting news climate. And if we make a mistake, we won't act like a 'real newspaper' and bury the correction in 2-pt font someplace you'll never see it.

4. From time to time, we will entertain gossip, idle banter, the mundane, rumour, hearsay, banal reflections on the meaning of Lego, and things that turn out to be just plain wrong. But if we're wrong, we'll say it. Oh, and we won't pretend to our readers that it's actual news.

5. The only flaming we'll tolerate is the kind that upsets traditional gender roles. So if you're an NDP or Liberal caucus staffer with an axe to grind, viciously attack your enemies elsewhere; we hear the comments section of Daveberta.ca is a popular place to anonymously air dirty laundry. If we don't like the tone of your comments, we'll delete them. It's just that simple.

6. Following point #5, we prefer people assign their names to things they say. Being anonymous allows you to be more of a bully or a jerk than you would be in real life. In politics, there are sometimes good reasons for anonymity: your point of view will make you unpopular, might cost you your job, your views clash with the party establishment and might get you blackballed, or you have information whose release will result in the above. We ask that you reflect upon your reasons for anonymity and use judgement that's at least the level of an average 13-year-old.