On Friday, October 26 2019, Edmonton Star reported that the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) had "dropped" the author of this blog (Vivian Krause) as its keynote speaker for a conference that begins today, Monday October 27, 2019, in Banff Alberta.
The IABC, like any organization, has a right to cancel or revoke an invitation. However, it is not right for the IABC to blame the invited keynote rather than tell the truth.
Edmonton Star reported:
"In an email statement to Star Edmonton, Jonathan Tremblay, IABC Canada West Chair, said the conference committee had been working with Krause for several months to learn more information about her proposed presentation, and how it would benefit the audience and connect to the theme of the conference — in this case, using data in communications strategy.
“Clarifying that connection was one of our largest concerns with Ms. Krause’s presentation,” Tremblay said. “We’ve found it challenging to connect with Ms. Krause despite repeated efforts. With the date quickly approaching, we decided to offer the spot on our agenda to another presenter.”
The truth is that far from making "repeated efforts to communicate and gather expanded information," the IABC did not make any such efforts whatsoever between September 20 and October 21, 2019.
Furthermore, there never was a "proposed presentation" on my part. Rather, it was the IABC who invited me to speak on the conference theme, "Driven by Data." It is incorrect for the IABC to says that it had been working with me for several months to learn more about my presentation when in fact, the topic was the requested by the IABC.
Here's what happened:
Tuesday, September 17 - I got a call from a representative of the IABC to discuss some concerns that had been raised about my presentation. I replied immediately, that same evening. It didn't take much for me to figure out that the IABC's call was a response to objections being raised by an IABC member. I was also led to understand that the IABC was hearing concerns stemming from criticism of my work by Markham Hislop, an on-line writer, and the fact that his criticisms had also been been referred to in a Globe and Mail editorial published days before, on Friday the 13th of September, 2019.
Friday, September 20 - I spoke several times with the same IABC representative. She replied by e-mail, "Thank you for your time on the phone this week, the naysayer situation has calmed down and our leadership stands firmly behind their decision to invite you to speak at the conference." She also thanked me for my "fast response" which I sent to her on Friday evening after 6 pm. I told her that I would bring my slides on a memory stick, as I usually do, was told that my hotel room was booked. I didn't expect to speak again with the IABC until the conference at the end of October.
Monday, October 21 - At 11 am on the day of the federal election, an IABC representative e-mailed me requesting a copy of my presentation that same day. Because of the volume of e-mails that I have been receiving lately in conjunction with the release of a short documentary film, I did not see the IABC's e-mail that same day. (The film, Over a Barrel, had more than 1 million views in a week and has generated more than a thousand e-mails).
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 - As I was finalizing my presentation to give a few days later, I received an e-mail from the IABC saying, "The deadlines for receiving your presentation for Monday's keynote session, as well as your confirmation of attendance, AV requirements and such, have come and gone and I haven't heard from you. Unfortunately, I am reaching out now to let you know what we will have to part ways with having you present at the conference on Monday." I was shocked and called the IABC representative immediately. It was obvious from her reaction that she was uncomfortable and that decisions were beyond her control. She told me that she would talk to the IABC board and get back to me that same day. She didn't.
Friday, October 24 - The IABC Chair for Western Canada, Mr. Jonathan Tremblay e-mailed to say that the IABC had "decided to proceed with a different opening keynote speaker for our conference." He also wrote, "the time commitment that’s been invested in understanding more about your proposed presentation, the benefit to our audience and connection to our conference theme has simply outweighed the resources we have available. We’ve made repeated efforts to communicate and gather expanded information." That statement is not true. As I said earlier, far from making "repeated efforts to communicate and gather expanded information," the IABC did not make any such efforts whatsoever between September 20 and October 21, 2019.
I tried to call Mr. Tremblay several times on Oct. 24. He did not return my call.
Friday, October 25, 2019 - Mr. Tremblay sent an e-mail to say that he had been unable to call because of a child care issue.
Since September 20, 2019, no one from IABC has phoned me at all.
Other Issues
On September 20, 2019, I was given to understand that the concerns that the IABC was responding to originated with an IABC member, Jody MacPherson.
Ms. MacPherson has been using Twitter to encourage people to contact the IABC Ethics Chair. The IABC tweeted about this on October 23. However, my Twitter handle was not included so I was not aware. Ms. MacPherson has also written blog posts about her concerns and her success at getting my presentation cancelled.
As grounds for her concerns, Ms. MacPherson refers to criticism of my work from Markham Hislop and Sandy Garossino:
- Sandy Garossino is a columnist with National Observer/Vancouver Observer. She has a history of false and defamatory comments about me on Twitter and in published articles. After years of it, I have commenced legal action. As a result, The NO/VO immediately removed three entire articles. On one, the lead author was Sandy Garossino.
- For court documents, click here.
- Background Information:
- Markham Hislop first contacted me on Twitter in 2012. We had little or no interaction until 2015 when Mr. Hislop sent me a DM with comments about Vancouver Observer/National Observer. He wrote, "I see you're fighting with the observer. Good for you. Keep up the good work. FYI - I could make a career correcting VanObserver mistakes on energy stories. They're eco-activists not journalists. Stay strong." At some point since then, Mr. Hislop's stance has changed. Recently, Mr. Hislop tweeted, "Sandy's (Sandy Garossino) work is first-rate. She's a lawyer and former Crown prosecutor, and she put in a lot of time and effort to properly understand how international foundations do their business, something Vivian never did." As a matter of context, Ms. Garossino worked as a crown prosecutor for 2 or 3 years during the 1980s whereas I worked with the United Nations for ten years during the 1990s. Mr. Hislop's stance on me has also changed since 2015. He has since called me a kook, loony, nutbar, scoundrel, a "very mendacious person," and so on. Mr. Hislop accuses me of "waterboarding my readers" and has compared me to a discredited scientist who claimed that vaccines cause autism. Since May of 2019, Mr. Hislop has referred to my work a "conspiracy narrative" at least 30 times. Mr. Hislop has also said via Twitter (DM) that he was being paid by Vancouver Observer. He has since denied that and refused to explain why he said he was being paid by Vancouver Observer if, in fact, he wasn't.
Friday, October 25, 2019 - Jody MacPherson tweeted "Its good news folks," referring to the IABC's cancellation. Moments later, Markham Hislop took to Twitter to ask the IABC for an interview. Hislop also tweeted,"Excellent blog post," referring Ms. MacPherson's blog, "Update: We ALMOST gave a conspiracy theorist a platform."
As I said on Twitter, I wish the IABC a successful conference and all the very best in its important work. I hope the IABC learns from this situation and that it does not happen to anyone else.
