Ron Bencze charges and Kash Heed search-warrant information add up to a bad day for Global TV in B.C.
This morning, the top story on the Global BC website is not something that the station is happy to reveal.
One of its news reporters, Ron Bencze, has been charged with five counts of sexual assault. Four of those alleged offences involved a person under the age of 16.
Adding insult is the front page of the Province newspaper, which features a huge photo of Bencze. Not so long ago, the daily tabloid and Global BC used to be owned by the same company, CanWest Global Communications Corp.
The Surrey RCMP has stated that the charges against Bencze are linked to incidents allegedly involving one victim over a 10-year period.
Global BC anchor Chris Gailus called the charges "shocking news to us at Global" in a tweet issued in advance of his newscast.
More bad news for Global BC
That wasn't the only black eye for Global BC. Vancouver Sun reporter Jonathon Fowlie got his mitts on the information to obtain a search warrant, which revealed a curious e-mail exchange between Vancouver-Fraserview MLA Kash Heed's campaign manager and a Global BC reporter.
The document indicated that the RCMP is investigating Heed, a former solicitor general, for alleged breach of trust and other charges.
The Mounties are no fans of Heed, who in the past has been a proponent of a regional police force.
The RCMP alleges that Heed used constituency funds to write cheques totalling $6,000 to his former campaign manager, Barinder Sall, and Sameer Ismail, who have both been linked to allegedly illegal anti-NDP pamphlets, according to Fowlie's article.
Heed is a former West Vancouver police chief and former senior Vancouver police officer. He lost a competition against Jim Chu to become Vancouver's top cop after Jamie Graham's contract wasn't renewed.
The most entertaining part of the article was an e-mail from Heed to Sall, which suggested that former attorney general Wally Oppal "needs to be put out to pasture soon".
But the most troubling aspect of this story from Global BC's perspective are e-mails between Sall and reporter Catherine Urquhart, which were included with the information to obtain the search warrant.
Fowlie's story noted that Sall wrote to Urquhart: “I can honestly say Kash would not be SG [solicitor-general] today if it hadn’t been for some key people behind the scenes....There were only truly 3 people that played a major role: Me, Peter Dhillon and yourself and Kash knows this....Peter was the money guy, I’m the brown tanned James Bond strategy girl chasing guy and you were like the communications director ”¦ your stories, coverage and timing gave Kash a lot of profile and built him a following from day 1 at West Van and then leading into the election.”
Urquhart responded: “Hey ”¦ that’s really sweet of you”¦.I’m truly glad it worked out!”
It all adds up to a day that Global BC news director Ian Haysom would rather forget.
Comments
28 Comments
spartikus
Jan 19, 2011 at 9:36am
Hey Charlie, here's more apparent coordination b/w <a href="http://www.nsnews.com/news/Heed+rejects+notion+tipped+media+discipline/4... and Urquhart</a>.
Bencze will be dealt with by the courts (and innocent until proven guilty and all that) but Global needs to address the Urquhart situation thoroughly and forthrightly. Many already view them as simply an extension of the Public Affairs Bureau.
don skelley
Jan 19, 2011 at 10:02am
No surprises here! It's all predictable behavior from, "all" players, as far as I'm concerned.
Perhaps someone could slip this comment "under-the-table" for me. LOL
ursa minor
Jan 19, 2011 at 10:29am
I think it's time that the NDP stopped pandering to the mainstream media and started talking seriously about media concentration and bias. It gets a little tiring to hear the same pack of well-to-do middle aged white guys (Vaughn Palmer, Michael Smyth, Keith Baldrey, and Gary Mason) repeat the same Liberal suckup/NDP fear-mongering talking points.
Winston1
Jan 19, 2011 at 10:50am
Good God! Kash Heed needs more than "Divan Intervention." He needs a a full scale investigation into this bizarre assassination of his character. Is there a conspiracy? Who is behind this campaign to malign Kash Heed? A dark horse of a force?
Consider that neither Sall , Peter Dhillon, nor Urquart were true supporters of Heed. What if they were working behind the scenes to turf him? My guess is that Urquart could be the weakest link in this scenerio. Is Dhillon in the pocket or an agent or a force determined to usurp and sully Heed?
Please see James Weldon article North Shore News Jan 14 2011. Could it be Urquart got caught setting Heed up for more bad press? Her actions here clearly were not in Heed's best interests.
Consider the allegations of corruption in the political elections that occurred in West Van even before Heed was lured into that trap?
The warrant also exposed a revealing email exchange between Sall and Global TV reporter Catherine Urquhart.
“I can honestly say Kash would not be SG [solicitor-general] today if it hadn’t been for some key people behind the scenes,” Sall wrote to Urquhart on June 10, 2009.
“There were only truly 3 people that played a major role: Me, Peter Dhillon and yourself and Kash knows this,” he added.
“Peter was the money guy, I’m the brown tanned James Bond strategy girl chasing guy and you were like the communications director ”¦ your stories, coverage and timing gave Kash a lot of profile and built him a following from day 1 at West Van and then leading into the election.”
Can this email reveal more than manipulation? Was this email meant for Heed's consumption?
I don't think any one individual, Heed included, can fight this battle without the help of the fifth estate. , a mounting revolution or coup d' etat.
Politics 101
Jan 19, 2011 at 10:50am
People are already throwing him under the bus and assuming he's done these acts. He is innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law. The news is always great at making stories like these such a "big deal", its allegedly over $6000, give a guy a break considering he's served people in British Columbia for the past 31 years as an RCMP officer.
pagan one
Jan 19, 2011 at 11:00am
What does the idiot Urqhart have to say about her involvment in this dirty business. are reporters like cops, do they get paid while the crap gets sorted out
Copwatcher
Jan 19, 2011 at 11:07am
"Innocent until proven guilty..."
That applies in criminal court and not the court of public opinion!
spartikus
Jan 19, 2011 at 11:16am
<a href="http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1346316">My candidate </a>for quote of the day:
<i>Global BC News Director Ian Haysom says the station is looking into the</i> [Urquhart] <i>matter, but adds the station's coverage on Kash Heed has remained <b>fair and balanced.</b></i>
I'll say. Somewhere, Rupert Murdoch is smiling.
Lizabet
Jan 19, 2011 at 11:21am
And anyone who thinks the mass media is all about providing fact-based news needs to re read this article. I don't know why this reporter feels entitled to editorialize instead of just reporting facts, but there is no way they would know anything about how one police force feels about another. They can speculate all they want but in the end assuming makes an a*s out of them.
S. Evil
Jan 19, 2011 at 4:28pm
The difference in how Global is reporting things has already exposed their hippocrasy. I wonder if they will send one of their reporters over to Mr. Benzces house to harrass him and his family? And as far as corruption goes with cops and politicians, I don't think anyone in this town is surprised anymore...they all look after their own at taxpayers expense.