Down to Zero
Metro Toronto, the biggest commuter paper in the country, has the smallest number of reporters. None, actually. How can no news gatherers be good news?
In early February 2009, staff reporter Rick McGinnis walked intoMetro Toronto, mentally preparing for the meeting he’d scheduled that day with editor-in-chief Dianne Rinehart. Several of his beats and columns had been eliminated since Rinehart had taken over the paper the previous May, and the seven-year veteran of Toronto’s most-read free daily was wondering what Metro even wanted […]
What’s yours is mine
Plagiarism in academia, or even news writing, may be easy to prove. But for columnists, the line is not as clear. Is it still plagiarism when they’re stealing ideas instead of words?
After The Globe and Mail’s Margaret Wente wrote a column about the risks of talking on a cell phone while driving, it didn’t take long forsomeone to notice it seemed very similar to one by Maureen Dowd that had run in The New York Times the day before. The NYTPicker, a website that follows the Times, cited Wente for “uncredited […]
Code of Secrecy
Knowing who to protect, and when, is a sticky business. Three deciders tell us how they deal with confidential sources
As reporters Andrew McIntosh and Daniel Leblanc await Supreme Court of Canada rulings that will determine whether they can continue to protect the identities of their confidential sources, the decision to grant someone anonymity remains a difficult one for Canadian news organizations. We asked three senior editors how they deal with the issue. RRJ:What’s the […]
The Canadian Angle
When photographer Tom Hanson died at 41, he left behind a body of work that reflects a unique vision of Canada—one captured by a man willing to indulge both his sensitive and aggressive sides
Tom Hanson is on the first green of the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Québec. The Canadian Press photographer and his long-time colleague, Jonathan Hayward, are there to shoot the LPGA’s du Maurier Classic and someone has spray-painted “Go Canada Go” on the green a week after Canadian Lorie Kane won her first career […]
Ottawa Unplugged
How the Harper government has political reporters singing the no-good-press-freedom blues
It’s long been a tradition in Ottawa for the prime minister to, every now and then, brave the eager scrums that form in the lobby of the House of Commons and answer a few questions. Brian Mulroney would climb a few stairs up what some on the Hill know as the “Stairway to Heaven” and, […]
The Young and the Faceless
Underage offenders aren't supposed to be identified by the media—or anyone else—but the Youth Criminal Justice Act's intent is lost in cyberspace. Is it time to rethink the YCJA?
When the round-faced girl with a downturned mouth and long, limp brown hair sat before a Toronto court last July and tearfully apologized for her role in Stefanie Rengel’s murder, journalists in the room knew they had to be very careful in their reporting. Bound by the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA), they were prohibited […]
Who’s the Boss?
Television news has been hit hard by layoffs and station closures. But earlier this year, employees at one Victoria broadcaster fought back—by buying the station and becoming their own bosses. Can this model save local news?
On a Friday afternoon late this past summer, Scott Fee, an anchor for Victoria’s CHEK News, sat waiting to tape what might have been the station’s final 5 p.m. newscast. Over a month earlier, Canwest Global—the station’s cash-strapped owner since 2000—had announced that it planned to shut down the money-losing station. Employees had been trying […]
House of Cards
When it comes to online content, do newspapers know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em?
The online game many news organizations are playing these days is a lot like poker. Everyone’s waiting to see what cards the other players have. But as Howard Elliott, managing editor of web/editorial page at The Hamilton Spectator, points out, to even get to the table you’ve got to have the goods—in other words, great journalistic […]
King of the Hill
Douglas Fisher, who died in September, wrote thousands of columns over four decades. His old-school reportage earned the one-time MP the moniker "Dean of the Parliamentary Press Gallery"
When a radio or television report suggested something was “unprecedented in Canada,” Douglas Fisher would probably guffaw and shake his head. He knew it probably wasn’t. And who could argue with him? Even if you drummed up the courage to confront his massive six-foot-five frame, you would be faced with a man who could recall […]
Extreme J-school
From a safe distance, Chelsea Murray reports on courses where the real-life lessons are don't get killed or kidnapped or captured
Aboard a vehicle called the Rhino Runner, four journalists pass through some of the most dangerous areas of Baghdad. It’s August 2, 2009, and they’re travelling to the American military’s Forward Operating Base Warhorse. They’re surrounded by highly trained soldiers. They don’t feel so unsafe. Recounting the moment early the next day, Tom Hewitt wrote […]
