What we lose when papers give up on beat reporting
As general assignment becomes the norm in newsrooms, publishers save money while the journalism—and the readers—suffer
By Lisa Coxon When Rod Mickleburgh was a labour reporter for The Vancouver Sun in the 1970s, he worked the night shift. Because that meant no deadlines, he’d sit at his desk, call union leaders at home and have long chats. After more than a decade on the beat, Mickleburgh had the sources and the instincts to […]
‘The company does not love you’: the editorial cartoon after Roy Peterson
From his termination at The Vancouver Sun to his role in the community of illustrators, we remember the "Great Cartoonist"
By Shannon Clarke “They’re not going to like this,” thought copy editor Cheryl Parker as she walked Roy Peterson’s last cartoon through The Vancouver Sun newsroom in 2009. The caricature showed Peterson dressed as Father Time, holding a newspaper with the headline “Newspaper terminates editorial cartoonist” and a sign that read, “The End Is Nigh!” Parker took it […]
Do Rob Ford reporters have a transparency problem?
Recent Ontario Press Council hearings called out the use of anonymous sources in the coverage of Toronto's mayor, leaving readers questioning journalism’s trustworthiness
By Luc Rinaldi On a summer afternoon in August 2011, Globe and Mail investigative reporter Greg McArthur sent an email to his editor with the subject line, “Ideas.” Inside, he suggested: “A portrait of Rob Ford as a young man—who is Rob Ford, really?” Alongside freelancer Shannon Kari, McArthur called Ford’s high school classmates and hunted down yearbooks. […]
