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 […]

 Cormac McGee

Do editorial endorsements matter?

Do editorial endorsements matter?

On October 17, The Globe and Mail published an editorial announcing their endorsement for Toronto’s mayoral race: “John Tory is Toronto’s best bet.” Torontoist wants citizens to vote for Olivia Chow and the Toronto Star will release their endorsement this week. These endorsements may be a big deal for candidates. But beyond politician’s personal promotion, […]

 Marilee Devries

Going hungry: Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage

Going hungry: Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage

If food is the world’s most essential industry, why have newspapers forsaken the farm?

By Marilee Devries Laura Rance wants agriculture to be a beat at the Winnipeg Free Press—and she wants to be the reporter on it. She grew up on a farm, so she can see that coverage is lacking. It’s the mid-’80s, and Rance has been a general-assignment reporter for two-and-a-half years. She decides to lobby for […]