Series: Summer 2004

“I made my choice for mayor two years ago.” So begins John Barber’s glowing 700-word endorsement of David Miller in the Aug. 23, 2003 issue of The Globe and Mail. The election is still three months away and, in the wake of SARS and a province-wide blackout, it’s hardly a hot news item. Yet the… Continue reading Voting power

The four panelists shift in their seats as the emcee makes his third attempt to quiet the audience. “Could everyone turn their attention to the front? I believe we are ready to begin.” There is a brief shuffling throughout the room as each guest finishes up conversation and turns to face the front. Mike Fitz-James,… Continue reading Tipping the Scales

The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) building stands two stories tall, sandwiched between warehouses in one of Edmonton’s many light-industrial areas – a far cry from the Heritage Canada boardroom that served as its first home 21 years ago. It’s an average, stand-alone building, occupying an innocuous piece of Alberta real estate, but make no mistake… Continue reading Survive and Conquer

Everyone’s crowded around the boardroom table on a chilly October afternoon for the Ryerson Review of Journalism’s first story meeting. My foot’s tapping impatiently as the student beside me pitches her story; then, it’s my turn. “Public health reporting,” I suggest. “It’s surrounded us through what some are calling the year of panic: Mad Cow… Continue reading Sick and Tired

Back in mid-October, Jim Williamson was as nervous as an expectant father in a hospital waiting room. Fidgeting in the front row of the John Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Disclosure’s executive producer turned his head to scan the audience every 15 seconds. He griped his clipboard tightly, flipping through pages of… Continue reading Mission impossible