While Canadian and American journalists often lament the annual slow news days in late December and early January—when legislatures have risen and everyone else is at home—reporters in the United Kingdom never want for stories at that time of year. In the past month, British journalists have carried out the ritualistic writing of stories… Continue reading The stories we miss without a real 30-year rule
Fetishizing the form’: on the importance of word counts
Last week, The New Yorker published a 17,000-word piece on Barack Obama by editor David Remnick. I haven’t read the feature yet, so I don’t know much about it, but I know how long it is because: Gawker noted it in a story about quote approval. So did the Washington Post. So did The Wire… Continue reading Fetishizing the form’: on the importance of word counts
Friday Funny: MSNBC, where the ‘B’ stands for ‘Bieber
From the department of “Things That Make People Complain About ‘The Media,’ Whatever That Means.”
In-house plagiarism: is it ever okay to steal another reporter’s words?
On October 28, 2010, Toronto Star staff reporter Daniel Dale wrote a clever lead for his article about vanity licence plates: “You may be a Budweiser-guzzling ex-cop stripper who worships Buddha, carries a pistol, uses Viagra and supports Barack Obama, fine. Just don’t you dare mention any of those facts on your licence plate.” On… Continue reading In-house plagiarism: is it ever okay to steal another reporter’s words?
The silence over Mohamed Fahmy
Mohamed Fahmy is a Canadian citizen, working in Egypt as Al-Jazeera’s acting bureau chief. Before working for the Qatari broadcaster, he was with CNN. He is, then, kind of a big deal, and the kind of journalist of which the country ought to be proud. Fahmy is currently holed up in Cairo’s Tora prison, which… Continue reading The silence over Mohamed Fahmy
