This election campaign, Quebec Solidaire made a bold investment by hiring a campaign bus for journalists covering the party in the lead-up to Oct. 1.
There’s just one problem: there are no journalists currently following the party.
It's not hard to get a one-on-one interview with @GNadeauDubois...because the @QuebecSolidaire media bus is basically empty. Here's a look at their campaign strategy and how they've adapted to the lack of traditional media coverage on the road: https://t.co/xhtfykcdTr #Quebec2018 pic.twitter.com/ODnbTaer3o
— Maya Johnson (@MJohnsonCTV) September 23, 2018
.@QuebecSolidaire has made the environment the central plank of its platform, so how does the party justify running a huge CO2-emitting media bus when there’s only one journalist in it? @GNadeauDubois answers this question and others, here: https://t.co/xhtfykcdTr #Quebec2018
— Maya Johnson (@MJohnsonCTV) September 23, 2018
“We had two journalists at the beginning of the campaign,” said co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “One from Radio-Canada and one from Le Devoir. Only two, and they left the bus after a week.”
For newsrooms, it can cost thousands of dollars to have a journalist ride a campaign bus and follow a party around the province.
For a party that emphasizes the environment, it raises the question of if having an empty bus is the most ecologically-friendly choice.
“I would prefer to run the bus full of journalists,” he said. “But it’s not up to me, it’s up to them.”
Despite that, the party is getting publicity.
The situation has also allowed Quebec Solidaire to revamp its communications strategy.
They recently put out a call to non-traditional journalists and social media personalities to travel on the campaign trail.
“I think people are tired of politicians that are all in the same format, all in the same model, all molded in the same way,” Nadeau-Dubois said.
He also noted the content of one of his most-popular posts.
“What was the most-shared on my Facebook page…is a video of seven minutes, talking about income taxes,” he said.
