In September, Heather Mallick wrote a cbc.ca column about Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin that sparked hundreds of complaints and questions about how editors could allow it to run. Then, during the federal election campaign in early October, CTV aired the false starts of an interview with then-Liberal leader Stéphane Dion, even though reporter Steve… Continue reading One Ombud is Better than Two Reporters
Category: Online Exclusives
Strung Along
It is Graeme Smith’s 15th trip to Afghanistan. Though famous for his intrepid journalism, this time he’ll be spending more of his nights under a ceiling of impermeable cement. The Globe and Mail’s Afghanistan correspondent answers my e-mail from inside a concrete bunker. “We’re under rocket attacks again,” he writes. “Thank God for Wi-Fi.” But… Continue reading Strung Along
After the Buyout
Times to cut newsroom staff and pages published. Torstar to cut 160 jobs. Canwest cuts 560 jobs Canada-wide. Multiple rounds of newspaper buyouts across the nation and south of the border have provided steady fodder for gloomy headlines. Paper Cuts, a site that tracks layoffs and buyouts at American newspapers, reports that the total number of jobs lost in… Continue reading After the Buyout
Feuding with the Family
Bob Rupert saw it coming. In mid-October, the Carleton FreePress editor knew his time with the paper would soon be over when he discovered the company was having trouble paying its printing bills. Sure enough, the next Monday afternoon, owner Dwight Fraser walked into a story meeting and revealed that the New Brunswick weekly would… Continue reading Feuding with the Family
The Gatekeeper of Grammar
It’s hard to maintain Canadian English. Even that paragon of virtue, the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, is flagging in its efforts to uphold the language’s integrity. Faced with competition from free online dictionaries, Oxford University Press laid off all four staff members in its Canadian dictionary division in October, including esteemed editor-in-chief Katherine Barber. Fortunately, Judy… Continue reading The Gatekeeper of Grammar