[Professional Blog] Calmer Heads

It looks like Premier Williams is feeling some contrition for the way he has treated news media - David Cochrane of CBC in particular - over the last few weeks.

Check this excerpt from Hansard, delivered as part of the premier's closing remarks before the House shut down last week for the summer. The closing line veers perilously close to actually being an apology...

"Finally, of course, I want to thank the media. They have a job to do and we have a job to do and that can be difficult at times. I think they have a true appreciation for the job that we have to do, they recognize our role as a government, they keep our feet to the fire and that is important. They also have a respect for the Opposition and understand what the Opposition has to do, that they provide a service to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador by questioning the decisions of government, asking the right questions, following through, and again keeping our feet to the fire. That can only be done with the cooperation and the respect and the acknowledgement by the media that these roles have to be played. I want to thank them. From time to time we might get a little bit edgy, present company very much included, but you know sometimes the pressures of the job cause us to react. We respect their role and we thank them very much for their patience, we thank them for their coverage and we certainly hope we do not let them down in the future."