Scowling portraits of premiers past glower at the members of the Queen’s Park press corps as they saunter down from their comfortable offices to the scrum area at the Ontario legislature. On arrival, the seven cameramen and 16 reporters are hit with huge news: a tax break for the province’s two pro hockey teams. The… Continue reading The Last of the Big Shots
Killer Assignment
It’s the end of a long week in October for Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Bolan. This was supposed to be her last day in the newsroom before going south of the border on a two-week speaking tour with the other recipients of the International Women’s Media Foundation awards. It’s now the middle of the afternoon… Continue reading Killer Assignment
Schmooze Operators
Fil Fraser, armed with his remote control, is hoping to show me how times have changed for black journalists in Canada. He aims the remote at the television set, surfing the channels to count how many black journalists he finds. Karen Percy’s smiling white face greets us on CBC Newsworld. Click. Another white anchor, Leslie… Continue reading Schmooze Operators
The Watchdogs
“Has this been lawyered?” How often in newspaper, radio and TV newsrooms, in magazine offices, does this clarion call go out on any given day? Lawyering may be a clunky term, but it’s become as much a part of publishing and broadcasting as copy and tape editing. So much so, in fact, that some lawyers… Continue reading The Watchdogs
All the Rave
To say that Ben Rayner and Joshua Ostroff are exhausted would be an understatement. The pair has endured three days of burning sunshine, fast food and little-to-no sleep, and the wear and tear is evident. They look no different, though, than the thousands of other burned-out 20-somethings around them – with their hair cropped close… Continue reading All the Rave