Zerby has a post about an interview Prime Minister Stephen Harper conducted with The Western Standard.

Here's some excerpts from the article: (reg. req'd)

"When we first started doing this and were doing this, the majority of journalists loved it," (Harper) says. "But of course, the problem was that we were getting our message out and a small number of ideologues didn't like that. So they've now basically forbidden all of their colleagues to ask questions, which I think is a fascinating use of press freedom when a small number of journalists can tell others they can't ask questions at a press conference. But that's the position of the left-wing ideologues who are apparently running the show." ...

Actually, what the gallery opposes is the Prime Minister's Office deciding who gets to ask questions, fearing those who might be seen as critical won't be called upon. And given the way the Bush White House operates (Helen Thomas, Bush's bete noir on Iraq, went for years without being called upon to ask a question) and its obvious influence on the Harper government's thinking, one has to see that fear as valid.

Harper laughs when he talks of how much easier the gallery has made his life. "I'm free to pick my interviews when and where I want to have them," he says. "The great irony is, the result is precisely the opposite of what these doing it claim to be seeking. They say if I don't do it their way, I'll somehow gain more control over my media relations. Well, I've got more control now." ...

Call me crazy, but politicians have always been able to "pick and choose" when they give interviews with specific journalists and news organizations. This is about asking questions in an open news conference.

... While he believes most journalists are "left of centre," Harper says they're also largely free thinkers. The gallery, he believes, has become too institutionalized, and too convinced that it can control the news. "I think if we can break that up in any way," he says. "That is helpful for democracy."