Articles

 Stephanie Philp

Charm will get you only so far

Charm will get you only so far

The new government is more open with reporters, but there’s no guarantee it will keep its promise to fix the flawed ATI act

The video is tightly framed around Justin Trudeau in the middle of a Montreal crowd, days before last fall’s federal election. Off-screen, a reporter’s voice says, “As recently as yesterday evening, your party was defending Mr. Gagnier’s actions—” Trudeau nods “—saying essentially that he played by the rules.” Trudeau nods again, tight-lipped and wide-eyed. Dan […]

 Viviane Fairbank

Natural Fit

Natural Fit

How the National Observer became a niche publication that brings politics and the environment together

Update: Linda Solomon Wood, editor of the National Observer, disputes the characterization of the Observer as “anti-corporate” and “green.” It is the Review writer’s own analysis and does not necessarily reflect the mandate of the publication. The Observer would rather describe itself as “anti-corruption.” Also, while the Observer did indeed win a CJF award for Excellence in […]

 Anda Zeng

Extreme Makeover: Office Edition

Extreme Makeover: Office Edition

Long gone are the days when cigarette butts and cluttered desks shaped a newsroom. How modern design influences storytelling—and puts digital first

As winter turned to spring in 2014, journalists at The Hamilton Spectator worked to the sound of contractors drilling through concrete floors and reconfiguring the wiring. The “banana cream” yellow on the walls soon became grey and indigo blue, the Spec’s corporate colours. The paper moved the curved desks to create pods of four and […]

 Nicole Schmidt

Full Immersion

Full Immersion

From Syria to street protests, virtual reality technology lets us experience stories as if we were really there, but not without ethical concerns

The streets of downtown Montreal are cluttered with protestors chanting, “Fuck the police!” Traces of the sun filter out from behind department store buildings as anti-capitalists rally for International Workers’ Day. Spectators capture footage of police spraying a thick cloud of tear gas into the crowd, which sends people running. Marie-Espérance Cerda interviews protestors and […]

 Allison Baker

No Comment

No Comment

Digital publications are silencing their readers, but is that a move that benefits many or a tactic to control public image?

Russell Wangersky peeled away the cling wrap encasing the chicken, thinking of it sizzling on a barbecue. When he turned the bird over, he saw “a great honking fistful of still attached skin and fat” tucked in where the ribs should have been. Over six months, he investigated the meat-to-fat ratio of Newfoundland Farm Products […]

 Sydney Hamilton

Levelling the Playing Field

Levelling the Playing Field

Women are vastly under-represented in sports journalism, but some female leaders are tackling the skewed gender balance and ingrained sexism

At age 12, Julie Scott was the only girl in a boys’ hockey team. There were no girls’ teams when she was growing up in the 1980s in Guelph, Ontario, but she was determined to play hockey just like her big brother. Buried under padding and sometimes using her brother’s old equipment, she proved she […]

 Jonah Brunet

Lone Rangers

Lone Rangers

Solo journalism means editorial freedom and control, but also a struggle to stay alive

“Journalism is about relationships,” says Joey Coleman. And, walking with him on a sunny day through downtown Hamilton, I’m beginning to see what he means. At Dr. Disc record store, he stops to chat with owner Mark Furukawa—Coleman’s having issues with the sound equipment he uses to live stream council meetings at city hall. Furukawa […]

 Carine Abouseif

Not Just for Laughs

Not Just for Laughs

Many articles on Canadian satirical news sites are fictional, but there’s still plenty of truth in them

Five writers gather in a dimly lit room on a Sunday evening. Black shutters and posters line the deep purple walls of the second floor of The Central, a Toronto bar. Classic rock bounces up from the deserted first floor and a faint smell of urine wafts from the nearby bathroom. Three writers sit around […]

 Davide Mastracci

The Unbearable Whiteness of Canadian Columnists

The Unbearable Whiteness of Canadian Columnists

Old white men are dominating opinion pages in newspapers across the country, but a shift toward a more diverse roster may be easier said than done

As the editorial pages editor at the Ottawa Citizen, Kate Heartfield oversaw 11 columnists until she resigned on November 18. Only one of those columnists isn’t white. The absence of opinion writers of colour means the paper may become a publication just for white people, admits Heartfield, who worries about the relevance of the conversation […]

 Laura Hensley

Can Retail Shops Save Magazines?

Can Retail Shops Save Magazines?

Spacing’s store brings in much-needed revenue and helps the urban-issues quarterly live what it preaches. And it’s not the only publication adopting this strategy

Racks of t-shirts with “Toronto vs Everybody” emblazoned across the locally made threads hang near toques uniquely stitched with different urban neighbourhoods in the Toronto Spacing Store. Stocked with mostly city-themed paraphernalia, the shop is a curated collection of clothing, houseware items and novelty gifts. The perimeter is lined with books about architecture, vintage subway […]

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