[ ] Review of Journalism : The School of Journalism

Alas, Poor CityNews. We Knew it Well

The newsroom at Citytv is missing the people that used to make it more than mediocre. Photography by Jeff Kirk

Hmm…she looks good.” CityNews producer Amar Sodhi watches former anchor Anne Mroczkowski in a promo for Global Toronto News Hour on a flat-screen TV, one of two above his computer showing rival networks. It’s 6:30 p.m., halfway through Citytv’s suppercast on a hot May evening. His station is throwing to a commercial break, but Sodhi’s eyes are on Mroczkowski,… Continue reading Alas, Poor CityNews. We Knew it Well

12 Days of the RRJ: Bonus – A News London

In London, Ontario, A News at 6 p.m. is more popular than Global, CBC or CTV’s national newscast. But the station is losing millions of dollars each year and has to deal with corporate decisions that seem indifferent to local needs. Alyssa Friesen speaks with A reporter Nick Paparella on why local news matters to… Continue reading 12 Days of the RRJ: Bonus – A News London

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Poles Apart

If Polonium remains just a portal, it will likely continue to have a Twitter following that can be counted on one hand

It’s early April, and Tomek Kniat stares at his computer screen in the basement of his Scarborough, Ontario, home. His usual desktop image of a polar bear with gentle eyes is covered by a graph that zigs sharply higher and higher, reaching peaks that were foreign to Kniat only three or four days earlier. Is this… Continue reading Poles Apart

Swerve Ahead

“I hate mags that make you feel that if you don't have the right haircut or eat at the right restaurant or don't know the right people, your life is shit,” says Youngblut. Photography by Heather Saitz

Shelley Youngblut had a problem. How can I get people like me to feel they can do home improvement? She was working on art ideas for a cover story titled “What’s the Worst That Can Happen?” So, when the Swerve editor-in-chief saw someone dressed as Mike Holmes at a Halloween party, she thought, Wouldn’t it be funny to put him… Continue reading Swerve Ahead

Lost and Bound

Illustration by Gracia Lam

Andrew Westoll was on a mission. His motorboat, loaded with food and supplies, pushed upriver. Along the banks of the Sipaliwini River the foliage was dense, the layers of varying shades of greens and browns occasionally reverberating with bird cries. He was deep in the neotropical jungle of southern Suriname, the least-travelled country in South… Continue reading Lost and Bound