Preceded by Marc Laviolette Role Journalist Best finish 101st (2009) Residence Ottawa, Canada | 2011 position 28th Succeeded by Richard Cannings Name Pierre Bourque | |
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Born October 7, 1958 (age 66) ( 1958-10-07 ) Profession Journalist, race car driver First race 2009 Power Stroke Diesel 200 (IRP) Last race 2009 Lucas Oil 200 (Iowa) Books Government Online in Canada, FreeNet: Canadian Online Access, the Free and Easy Way, Car Buying Online For Dummies Profiles | ||
Pierre Bourque (born October 7, 1958), a journalist and former politician in Ottawa, Ontario, operates the online news aggregator site Bourque Newswatch (Newswatch).
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Politician
In March 1991, Bourque was appointed to Ottawa City Council and the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton to fill a vacancy after Marc Laviolette became mayor, but lost to Richard Cannings in the election of that November. He ran then for Parliament in the 1993 Canadian election as a Liberal candidate in the Montreal riding of Rosemont, and lost to Bloc Québécois candidate Benoît Tremblay. He subsequently ran for Ottawa city council again in 1994, but was not elected.
In 2001, the Ryerson Review of Journalism (RRJ) criticized Bourque and Newswatch. RRJ said Bourque had not written some of his books but only acted as a researcher. In addition, many of Newswatch's breaking stories had often been inaccurate. RRJ also reported that, despite Bourque's web traffic claims, a random sample indicated that Canadian Internet users had not visited the Newswatch site and that no major Canadian journalist used Newswatch as a source.
Newswatch has also been criticized for allowing advertisers to purchase headlines and to "torque" them to highlight a positive news story about itself or a negative story about an opponent.
Racing driver
Bourque has been a race car driver in the NASCAR Busch East Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand Touring
(key) Bold – Pole Position. (Overall Finish/Class Finish).