Aaron Leaf was the Associate Editor for the Spring 2006 issue of the Ryerson Review of Journalism. Mission Possible
The Globe and Mail parachuted a new local section into Vancouver to boost circulation, and residents responded with disdain. They should look closer- it's putting out some of the best reporting in town
At 5:15 P.M. on a dark October day, The Globe and Mail‘s newly hired reporter Petti Fong interrupts British Columbia bureau chief Rod Mickleburgh, who is in the middle of a meeting. “Sorry…Regina confirmed,” she says stonily. “Go with it?” “Oh, okay. Go with it. Did they confirm the HIV angle? “No.” “Okay, ’cause that’s […]
Shooting the Messenger
Worried about press freedoms in Canada? Try reporting the news in Zimbabwe
My excitement about giving a presentation on the state of Canadian media to a bunch of European journalism students cooled when I discovered I was to follow the reporter from Zimbabwe. All my criticisms of corporate concentration, CanWest Global Communications Inc., the public relations industry and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model of thought control in democratic societies […]
Some Straight Talk on Vancouver’s Weekly Newspaper War
WestEnder publisher James Craig puts Georgia Straight publisher Dan McLeod on notice. We're the new alternative, says Craig. Nonsense, says McLeod. Our reporter keeps score
James Craig, a balding middle-aged man in a blue sweater and thick, black-framed glasses, peers furtively through venetian blinds. He motions for me to come closer. “See that yellowish building?” He’s pointing down busy West Broadway in the trendy South Granville district just outside downtown Vancouver. “Right next to that is going to be their […]
