Defending investigative reporting
Toronto Star public editor Kathy English launched an impassioned defence of her newspaper’s series into how the Special Investigations Unit reviews police use of force. But is that her job?
Mon, November 8 2010 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Queen’s Quay Karen
My last post was about the emphemeral nature of online life and relationships. This one is about outright fakery.
Tue, November 2 2010 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page, Media, politics » 9 Comments
Toronto Star public editor on the Williams photo
The Toronto Star ran a photo of convicted murderer Russell Williams in a young girl’s underwear, juxtaposed with a photo of him in the dress military garb he once wore as commander of CFB Trenton. Kathy English, the Star’s public editor, thinks the paper made the right call, despite the outcry.
Sat, October 23 2010 » Main Page, Media » 1 Comment
‘Murder she wrote: In 140 characters or less’
The Toronto Star’s Antonia Zerbias has her own take on the challenges of covering gruesome court cases with new tools such as Twitter. Mine came on Oct. 20: Covering the unthinkable in a social media age Here’s a quote from Zerbisias’s piece. The source is Joanna Smith, the Ottawa-based Star reporter who covered the Russell [...]
Sat, October 23 2010 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Covering the unthinkable in a social media age
As I approached work Tuesday, I read the tweets of the Toronto Star’s Joanna Smith who is covering the Col. Russell Williams sentencing hearing. I sent her the following: @smithjoanna Great tweets, but you’re breaking my heart. :( What a tragic story. #ColRW Didn’t get a response, but she did tweet the following late Tuesday: Debate tonight [...]
Wed, October 20 2010 » * Big Picture Stuff, Main Page, Media » 3 Comments
Blunders in the news
Craig Silverman of Regret The Error has had a busy past few days. The Washington D.C. website TBD.com had one of its writers come up with a classic correction, as reported Friday by Silverman in the Toronto Star: “This blog post originally stated that one in three black men who have sex with me is [...]
Mon, October 18 2010 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
The semantic problems surrounding the words ‘journalist’ and ‘journalism’
Author and journalism academic Dan Gillmor asks whether the words “journalist” and “journalism” apply in a world when everyone is capable of creating content.
Mon, August 30 2010 » Main Page, Media » 5 Comments
Tweeting yourself into an early career grave
The Globe and Mail’s Lisan Jutras on the recent case of a CNN editor being fired for an injudicious tweet about a Hezbollah figure.
Mon, July 19 2010 » Main Page, Media » Comments Off
Ira Basen on when everyone’s a journalist
Many of the self-described journalists who feel most hard-done-by at the G20 Summit work in the alternative sphere, notes veteran journalist and author Ira Basen. It’s a different world when virtually anyone can call themselves a journalist or pronounce themselves to be doing journalism. And the blurring line between being a journalist and being an activist is also [...]
Wed, July 7 2010 » Main Page, Media » 1 Comment
Journalists, protests and Blatchford
Globe and Mail columnist Christie Blatchford offered her thoughts on why she has no sympathy for “self-anointed journalists” who had a tough go of it during the G20 Summit on June 26 and 27. I offer my thoughts as to why she misses the point and raise a few other issues for discussion.
Sun, July 4 2010 » Main Page, Media » 6 Comments