Prime Minister Stephen Harper accused members of the national media on Wednesday of bias, vowing to avoid them from now on in favour of less hostile local reporters.

Harper told a London, Ont. TV station in an interview that the Ottawa press gallery has decided to become the Official Opposition to his Conservative government, and that he's experiencing difficulty that no Liberal prime minister would ever have to face.

"Unfortunately the press gallery has taken the view they are going to be the opposition to the government," Harper told London's A-Channel TV.

"They don't ask questions at my press conferences now.

"We'll just take the message out on the road. There's lots of media who do want to ask questions and hear what the government is doing for Canadians, or to Canadians. So we'll get our message out however we can."

Harper's comments come a day after about two dozen journalists in Ottawa walked out on him when he refused to take questions after a press conference.

The impromptu boycott left only a handful of reporters and photographers at the press conference where the prime minister had announced more aid for Darfur. After his statement, Harper quickly left the podium.

According to the Prime Minister's Office, Harper is trying to install some order to news scrums by choosing who gets to ask questions. The parliamentary press gallery is concerned Harper is trying to freeze out journalists and news organizations he dislikes.

Harper isn't alone in thinking the media is out to get him and his party. In the dying days of the last election campaign, former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin's staff complained often that reporters had their claws out for them and were working to elect Harper.

Liberal Party strategist Susan Smith blasted the prime minister's shunning of the national media, describing it as "Stephen Harper turning tail and running."

"The Parliamentary press gallery does its job, which is asking the government questions," Smith said on CTV's Mike Duffy Live from Ottawa.

"When (Harper) doesn't like it and he can't get his way, he walks out of news conferences . . ."

Former Conservative MP John Reynolds, however, said it's a "wonderful idea" for Harper to take his message on the road and communicate it via local media across the country.

"The prime minister's message, if you listen just to the national media, and listen to the NDP and the Liberals whining about things, you would think things were terrible," Reynolds said from Vancouver.

"But the prime minister is 48 per cent in the polls in B.C. . . . He is in majority territory. What he is doing is right. I'm happy he is getting out."

Harper earned mostly positive coverage for his party's maiden budget, for his new Accountability Act, for changes to the way Supreme Court justices are named, and for a cultural deal with Quebec.

But he also came under fire when he recruited David Emerson and appointed the unelected Michael Fortier to cabinet after giving him a Senate post.

The Conservative government also received negative coverage when it announced journalists could no longer cover the repatriation ceremonies at CFB Trenton, Ont. for soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

In spite of the negative bits, Harper's government is off to a good start with voters. Recent polls have placed the party above 40 per cent, which could put them on track toward a majority government.

With files from The Canadian Press