Portage la Prairie, MB –
CIPP-TV reporter Kendra Pashe is getting the boot for running her mouth and asking too many questions.
Portage’s local imaginary television station is going through another shakeup over editorial direction. After the sudden severance of News Director Pat Hiscock for her left-leaning perspective, station owner Ryan Coke has attempted to take control of the newsroom and give it a more right-wing slant. It’s a view he sees more in line with the town’s prevailing political point of view.
It would appear Pashe did not fit Coke’s new editorial direction and attempts to be more accommodating to business and political leaders.
“Kendra was a nice girl, real pretty and a bit flirty but she just doesn’t fit CIPP-TV or Portage,” Ryan Coke said. “We hire a lot of journalists out of school or with little experience because they are cheap and they will do what we want.”
“This isn’t 60 Minutes. We just want our reporters to ask the basic three questions,” Coke explained.
Pashe developed a reputation for asking thoughtful, probing questions when talking to local leaders. She had a knack for understanding the issues and digging deeper than the press release she was handed.
“We intentionally assign reporters a minimum of three stories a day so they are too busy to do research or put much thought into what they are doing,” Coke shared. “If they are a bit beat down and tired they won’t cause problems in town by asking pesky questions and trying to hold anyone accountable.”
Coke points out the mandate is to be a positive voice for Portage and to cover local events and stories from an angle that promotes the town.
“We’re not here to tear things apart and ask hard questions,” Coke said. “We can’t afford to upset the establishment and our advertisers. We share a positive, conservative perspective with the rest of Portage la Prairie and the Central Plains. We don’t want our journalists reflecting values and ideas that aren’t shared by the majority.”
Pashe has already found work with a regional government sponsored media outlet and is grateful for her time in Portage.
“I learned a lot by working at CIPP-TV,” Pashe said. “I was here for a good time, not a long time, I guess. It was a lot of fun to make some locals feel uncomfortable by asking them some hard questions. I guess they can relax now that I’m gone.”
CIPP-TV is still searching for a News Director and Owner, Ryan Coke hopes to have someone in place soon.
“We have a lot of good applications,” Coke said. “We sort through them based on last name and we have a lot of applicants with surnames that will easily fit in to our community.”
Ratings for MBN News have been terrible with virtually no one watching. Local officials are comforted by this fact and look forward to continued poor ratings.
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