Circ Stud
Circulation expert Scott Bullock on the mag industry’s self-esteem issues, dazzling circ strategies, and breaking the glass ceiling on magazine’s business side.
Scott Bullock puts his hand to his ear and mimics a telephone conversation: “Oh, I’ve got a great idea for a magazine!” “Great, when are you planning on going to print?” “Next week!” Bullock mimes hanging up the phone. “Click,” he says, deadpan. The impromptu dramatization was sparked by our discussion about the value of […]
Defending Offence
Faced with the gruesome challenge of covering the Robert Pickton trial, editors poured their uneasy hearts out. But what do audiences want, exactly, and should they always get it?
There was considerable discussion…Guidelines were circulated…We have tried to achieve…The rationale is…We’re on new ground here…We probably have already crossed some lines…Our goal is…We chose…We have tried, though not always successfully…We have to follow our own moral compass here…Those were things I would never have imagined saying on air before…We won’t report…We will report… Hear […]
iMania
Apple's iPhone captured front pages as journalists drooled over the 'holy grail of gadgets'; but there's more to the world's trendiest new toy than the coverage would have you believe.
When Stan Sutter came home on January 9, his 12-year-old daughter was waiting for him. Sutter had been working all day at Marketing magazine, where he was thenthe associate publisher and editorial director, and his daughter filled him in on the day’s big news. She had read online that Apple Inc., maker of her beloved iPod, was […]
Star Power
With celebrity news moving into the forefront, do you want to bring 'em down or build 'em up?
TheToronto Star, TheGlobe and Mail, National Post and TheNew York Times (at least on Sundays), seem to be required reading for the practising journalist. But at the newsstand last weekend, I bypassed all four and picked up an Us Weekly, offering the latest gossip on Britney Spears. Does she have a new guy? What’s the Golden Globe gossip? Yes, celebrity news […]
Pictures at an execution
When secretly shot footage of Saddam Hussein's hanging leaked online, news outlets found themselves with gruesome choices to make.
On a former military base in north Baghdad in the early hours of December 30, 2006, masked hangmen prepared to execute Saddam Hussein. The ex-Iraqi dictator was sharply dressed, his hair neatly parted to one side. He declined a hood so they wrapped the cloth around his neck instead. Two of the men led their […]
The Long Arms of the Law
How a British libel ruling could change things for journalists and plaintiffs – and not just over there.
Last October, across the ocean, a Lord of the British Realm declared that journalists could print untrue things as long as they practised “responsible journalism.” With time, these weighty words could yet make the voyage to Canada. “My Lords,” Lord Bingham began his opinion for the House of Lords, Britain’s highest court: “This appeal raises two questions […]
PMO vs. the Gallery: Final Round?
For nearly a year, the Prime Minister has been waging a public war on the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Now he may be ready to make peace. Or is he just signalling a new tack in his efforts to control the news?
Will the New Year see parliamentary press reporters doing more to hold the government accountable, or will they continue to simply ?catch spit? as Harper gives them the same headline-friendly sound bites? From the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery’s office at 150 Wellington Street, it’s a short walk across the road to the Houses of Parliament, […]
Heard the independent news?
Well okay, maybe you haven't. Independent World Television hasn't hit your screen yet, but it will. Founder Paul Jay promises...
Paul Jay and his IWT staff hope providing news with greater context, analysis and depth will attract an audience willing to financially support them. Paul Jay shakes and rocks a vending machine inside CFRB radio headquarters at Yonge and St. Clair in Toronto. His black and grey chin stubble and shaved head tell the story of a […]
