Three Tales From the Trenches
Andy Barrie says FCUK you, Paul Watson gives chase in Somalia and Moira Farr almost gets gored
Compilations. For Rolling Stone it means “The Most Annoying Songs of All Time,” forCosmopolitan it means “Funniest Sex Stories Ever Told,” for LIFE Magazine it means “Photos of the Year” and for New York Magazine it meant “Tales of New York.” For years, journalists have written, shown, spoken about or organized the stories of others […]
Thumbs Down
Some traditional critics would have you believe the Internet is an intellectual wasteland. They are so wrong
Globe and Mail culture reporter Kate Taylor has a flair for the dramatic, which she proved again one evening when she made a rather perplexing analogy: a respectable film critic should possess the same omniscient authority as celebrity handyman Mike Holmes. She was speaking at the University of Toronto’s Innis Town Hall, where a group […]
The Hampson Interview
Sarah Hampson has made a living writing about the lives of others. Now, for the first time, someone else is asking the questions
Sarah Hampson switches on her small, black digital recorder and is greeted with the sound of her own voice. It’s scratchy and accompanied by static as it travels through the small speaker. She’s playing back an interview with Roméo Dallaire. She’d sat down with the retired Canadian lieutenant-general a few weeks prior to discuss the […]
The Right to Speak Out
How journalists struggle to live up to professional standards while maintaining a strong stance on controversial issues
With a pistol pressed hard into his ribcage, Aaron Berhane remained silent while one of his attackers, whose face was masked by a long, draping hat, muttered an unsettling threat—if he published one more article criticizing his country’s government, he would not live to have another byline. With that, Berhane’s visitors, who introduced themselves as […]
Copy Rights and Wrongs
Untangling the legal knots among creators, owners and users: a Q & A with Giuseppina
From Playboy to the Financial Post, print publications are continuing to move onto the iPad. But as publishing platforms expand, the industry is finding “a new way to exploit work,” says Giuseppina D’Agostino, founding director of IP at Osgoode Hall Law School. She thinks we’ll be seeing more cases like freelancer Heather Robertson’s, who sued […]
How to Protect Your Job
And what to do if you lose it.
One Monday in January 2010, veteran Citytv anchor Anne Mroczkowski had just finished an evening newscast when she was called to the top floor of the station’s new building. “The hair on my arms lifted,” she recalls. “Nobody goes there.” Upstairs, the station manager and long-time news director told Mroczkowski she was being laid off—it […]
The Law of Responsible Journalism
The most significant advances in Canadian libel law and journalistic freedoms in decades: What you need to know.
Are you a responsible journalist? That’s the new test—technically referred to as responsible communication on matters of public interest—that the Supreme Court of Canada has devised to aid in deciding defamation cases. While being “responsible” won’t necessarily stop you from being sued, it could aid your defence if you’re hauled into court. Read on to […]
The Even Darker Side?
Could it be that "brand journalism" is just a new-look for PR?
Fewer reporters, more companies and less time is an equation that deeply troubled Bill Calder. As the corporate-communications manager for Intel, one of the world’s largest technology firms, Calder was finding it increasingly difficult to get his company’s message out to the public. “Reporters today are stretched too thin,” he says. “They just can’t cover […]
Summer 2011 teaser: A Walk with Spacing magazine
Publisher Matt Blackett gives a walking tour of a quintessential Toronto neighbourhood
Spacing is an award-winning magazine that explores and celebrates Toronto’s urban landscape. It’s evolved from a fearless advocate for a more livable city to an authoritative voice with influence at City Hall. The magazine’s success largely stems from the dedication and thoughtfulness of its editors, who are all urban geeks that know Toronto inside and […]
Transforming the Tube
Tech trends are making TV newscasts slicker and leaner. Trouble is, that may not be a good thing.
The TV industry is silently changing. As smartphones sell by the millions, it’s no coincidence that newscasts are evolving. The role of the broadcast journalist is expanding to include social media, and the newsroom is shrinking as automated production systems and robotic cameras slash jobs. Technology — right down to the application of high-definition (HD) […]
