‘I love working and living here’ [Howard Williams]

Howard Wiliams likes Ottawa's 'small town ambience,' so much so that he turned down a better paying job in Washington, D.C. with AFP to stay here.Born and raised in London, England, Howard Williams started his reporting career in 1960 at the tender age of 17. He's never looked back since. Forty-five years on, he's still plying the trade that's taken him to several world capitals and major cities, but none quite like Ottawa which he says remains his favourite. He even turned down a better paying job in Washington, D.C. with Agence France Press (AFP) to stay here. "Here it's a small town ambience. Here you get into an elevator, go to a restaurant, go to a bar and run into MPs, much more informal," said Mr. Williams, 62, in an interview. It all started in East London working for weekly community newspaper called the Stratford Express.Later, in 1979, he started his own wire service, called European News, serving several British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand news organizations. Four years later, he came to the U.S. to freelance for British and Irish newspapers. By 1987, Mr. Williams had joined Agence France-Presse as a desk editor working out of Washington D.C.Three years later, he arrived in Ottawa to work for AFP as deputy bureau chief, a job he held until 2001 at which point the veteran journalist began working on a contract basis. In May of this year, Mr. Williams decided to leave AFP altogether and work as a freelance reporter out of the Hot Room nestled on the third floor of Centre Block. He writes regularly for Defense Today,a U.S. newsletter and web-based daily publication focussing mainly on military issues and CNSNews, a web-based wire service. What kind of issues do you cover for Defense Today and CNSNews? "Defense Today obviously defence and military, CNS News is very U.S. oriented so basically political things that affect Canadian-U.S. relations on the whole. They are also very interested in Conservative issues such as same-sex marriage." What's been the biggest scoop so far? "It was for a local daily paper in England that their Euro-MP had been criticized for alleged irregularities when he was working for another European institution.The day I broke the story, the European Parliament appointed him as their point man for auditing the books of the very institution where he allegedly committed the irregularities. "Soon, after that , I broke the story that several Euro MPs were getting their friends to sign them in when they were not there so they could pick up their daily attendance allowances.That was a front page splash in the London Evening Standard, The Irish Independent and a few other papers." What's the best part of covering Parliament Hill? Howard Wiliams likes Ottawa's 'small town ambience,' so much so that he turned down a better paying job in Washington, D.C. with AFP to stay here.Born and raised in London, England, Howard Williams started his reporting career in 1960 at the tender age of 17. He's never looked back since. Forty-five years on, he's still plying the trade that's taken him to several world capitals and major cities, but none quite like Ottawa which he says remains his favourite. He even turned down a better paying job in Washington, D.C. with Agence France Press (AFP) to stay here. "Here it's a small town ambience. Here you get into an elevator, go to a restaurant, go to a bar and run into MPs, much more informal," said Mr. Williams, 62, in an interview. It all started in East London working for weekly community newspaper called the Stratford Express.Later, in 1979, he started his own wire service, called European News, serving several British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand news organizations. Four years later, he came to the U.S. to freelance for British and Irish newspapers. By 1987, Mr. Williams had joined Agence France-Presse as a desk editor working out of Washington D.C.Three years later, he arrived in Ottawa to work for AFP as deputy bureau chief, a job he held until 2001 at which point the veteran journalist began working on a contract basis. In May of this year, Mr. Williams decided to leave AFP altogether and work as a freelance reporter out of the Hot Room nestled on the third floor of Centre Block. He writes regularly for Defense Today,a U.S. newsletter and web-based daily publication focussing mainly on military issues and CNSNews, a web-based wire service. What kind of issues do you cover for Defense Today and CNSNews? "Defense Today obviously defence and military, CNS News is very U.S. oriented so basically political things that affect Canadian-U.S. relations on the whole. They are also very interested in Conservative issues such as same-sex marriage." What's been the biggest scoop so far? "It was for a local daily paper in England that their Euro-MP had been criticized for alleged irregularities when he was working for another European institution.The day I broke the story, the European Parliament appointed him as their point man for auditing the books of the very institution where he allegedly committed the irregularities. "Soon, after that , I broke the story that several Euro MPs were getting their friends to sign them in when they were not there so they could pick up their daily attendance allowances.That was a front page splash in the London Evening Standard, The Irish Independent and a few other papers." What's the best part of covering Parliament Hill? "It's the informality, I came here from Washington D.C., before that the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels. Here it's a small town ambience. Here you get into an elevator, go to a restaurant, go to a bar and run into MPs, much more informal. Frankly, it's a yucky thing to say but Canadians are nice people including the politicians and Cabinet ministers, it's a small town ambience." Is there anything that you don't like about covering federal politics? "Apart from this summer? (Laughs). No, actually not." In the past, you worked in England, Belgium, the U.S. and now you are working in Canada. Which place did you like working in the most? "I have to say Ottawa. If I didn't like it, I wouldn't still be here, I might have gone back to Washington or somewhere else. Having said that, I must say I loved working in Washington, I loved working in New York. I love working and living here. AFP wanted me to go back to Washington D.C. at a higher salary but I preferred to stay in Ottawa." How would you compare the Canadian reporting standards with other countries that you worked in the past? "This is really bizarre. Canadian reporters in scrums are infinitely more aggressive Cabinet ministers and the prime minister.This kind of aggressiveness frankly wouldn't be tolerated in most other places. It's certainly opposite to the Canadian image of Mr. Nice Guy, friendliness, laidbackness of the Canadians. Reporters screaming and shouting, sometimes it's very insulting to the ministers and the ministers take it. Well great, if you can get away with it." What's your opinion about scrums? "I love 'em and I hate 'em. Basically the person who can scream the loudest can get the question in, that I don't like but the constant availability of the ministers to the media is amazing, much more so than anywhere I've worked." Who's your favourite journalist "David Ljungren over at Reuters, I kind of loved working with him and hated working with him because he's such a good reporter. I have to really check what the hell I might have missed after he has written his story. He really kept me on my toes. I think the CP bureau is just fantastic." What's your favourite newspaper? "It has to be the Toronto Star. It doesn't claim to be a national paper but it certainly rivals the Globe and the Post. It's a very good read and knows what it's market is since that's something the Post does not know and I have to say that since the Post was launched, the Globe seems to be suffering from the same problem." What's the secret to success on the Hill? "It's persistence and having background knowledge. As a former editor, I know a reporter must be able to explain the background of complicated stories such as Quebec separation and keep it simple especially for a foreign audience. If you're too close to the trees, sometimes you don't see the woods.You have to explain the background." How do you like working in the Hot Room? "Oh good. Since everybody is very helpful and it is a small community within the journalistic community." What's the best thing about being a reporter? "It's variety, seeing history created and being able to interview the people who might be changing history." What are some of the tips that you'll give to a beginning reporter? "Listen before you speak especially in scrums where your colleagues know all the background." Do you like scrums, one-on-one interviews or press conferences? "Obviously, one-on-one interviews are the best. It really depends on the story or the deadline if you are trying to choose between a scrum and a press conference." arana@hilltimes.com The Hill Times

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