Scandals, the mass media, and the politics of extreme visibility: conflict and controversy at the Niagara Parks Commission

This paper explores the political and media scrutiny of management-related activities at the Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) in Niagara Falls, Canada. This commission is the quasi-autonomous body responsible for the operation of tourism-oriented amenities around the Canadian Horseshoe Falls and along the Niagara River. Between 2009 and 2011, the management of the NPC became politically contentious and certain incidents were publicised by the media. There were accusations of impropriety with respect to the use of an expense account, disputes about untendered contracts, and complaints about conflicts of interest. These incidents could be described as scandals, breaches of accepted rules of conduct that are communicated to a wider audience via the mass media. Three dialectical tensions were identified when these scandals were analysed. The tensions, it is argued, are expressions of a wider trend: a politics of extreme visibility. Scandal-related visibility is different from the forms of visibility that have been previously addressed by tourism scholars. Publicity related to alleged misconduct is typically unwanted by tourism managers. Controversies about the management of the NPC demonstrate that practitioners must be alert to the damaging potential of extreme visibility. Fear of scandal, however, may simultaneously stifle enterprise. Managers must strike a careful balance.