Category: Spring 2005

“Cover the riots,” instructed Lisa Gregoire’s editors. Her bosses at the Edmonton Journal had a clear idea of the stories they expected to see from the 2002 G8 Summit in Kananaskis, Alberta. But when there were no riots to cover, Gregoire started producing articles with headlines such as “Calgary March Proves Critics Wrong,” and “G8… Continue reading Distrust, Disdain, Deceit

A red-hot email alerted me: my CBS television news team had to mobilize fast. We left Baghdad in a convoy of SUVs, with the all-important satellite truck, SAT phones, and laptops heading for Tikrit, where Saddam Hussein had been captured. Only a few hours later, our genius satellite truck operator got us on the air… Continue reading Tech War

Just before last June’s federal election, Canadian blogger Andrew Coyne asked his readers to show their cards. “Your predictions, please, for the number of seats each party will win,” he posted. “I’ll take the average of everyone’s predictions and we’ll test the ‘wisdom of crowds’ hypothesis.” Coyne, a political columnist for the National Post, was… Continue reading Blogging the Spotlight

They had fire in their eyes and torches in their hands. They were young and furious. They wanted the world to know the depth of their anger toward Ariel Sharon, the Israeli Prime Minister who planned to withdraw troops from the Gaza Strip and close down the settlements he had once so actively encouraged. While… Continue reading Drawing the Line

Inside the Toronto offices of Arab2000, one of Canada’s leading Arab-language newspapers, discussions of current events are always taking place. Last fall, far from the Middle East’s most volatile zones, I spent several days speaking to the people responsible for directing the five-year-old community paper. Not surprisingly, suicide bombing was a dominant topic – it… Continue reading Crossing the Line