This past June, then Industry Minister Jim Prentice introduced a bill on Parliament Hill that sparked debate across creative industries nationwide. Bill C-61, a reform on copyright legislation, could have potentially strangled the freedom of online journalists without them even realizing it. Fortunately, thanks to university professor, blogger and columnist Michael Geist, thousands were aware… Continue reading Fight for your Write
Category: Winter 2009
Strength in Numbers
In 2002, when Kim Shiffman was an editorial assistant at Chatelaine, she heard about an American organization called “Ed2010.” This 11-year old group, formed to encourage editorial juniors to aim for top jobs, instantly struck Shiffman as intriguing. Although there was already the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, Ed2010 was for people starting out, and… Continue reading Strength in Numbers
One Ombud is Better than Two Reporters
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
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