Langara Journalism Review LANGARA 2 0 JOURNALISM 0 9 REVIEW LJRNumber 13

This is not a Game Journalists on the Olympic beat struggle to get the full story

Silencing satire Canada’s laws leave criticism in the crosshairs Simma Holt As feisty as ever, the ‘loose cannon’ tells all Caution The dangers of reporting in conflict countries It’s good to know who your friends are.

The media is an important and If you want to know more exciting field. But especially in about what you should expect in this economic climate, it’s tough the world of media work, we’d to go it alone. be happy to help. The more you When you belong to a union, know, the better off you are. you’re not alone. And when you And if you think it might be belong to the Canadian Media time for you and your colleagues Guild, you are part of a group of to form a union in your work- more than 6,000 media place, we’d like to hear from employees across Canada, and you. thousands more across North Together, we can help renew America. the promise of this vital industry. The Guild represents employ- ees at some of Canada’s biggest and most important media organ- izations, including CBC/Radio- Canada, The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters, and the Aboriginal Peoples Television 1-800-465-4149 Network. www.cmg.ca

2 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Contents Nowhere to go...... 5 Journalism graduates are on the hunt for employment, but are there any jobs? LJR By Sarah Douziech 2009 Juggling journalists...... 8 Multimedia is making a hard job even harder. By Brenna Temple The incredible shrinking newsroom...... 11 Economic uncertainty and the shift to online news are causing massive job losses. By Sam Smith Bombs, bullets and bravery...... 12 Foreign correspondents risk their lives to tell the stories of war-torn countries. By Sarah Massah Protecting their own...... 15 Playing games...... 16 A news embargo may have saved a reporter’s life, but did the CBC act ethically? The hurdles facing Olympic reporters. By Nafisa Kaptownwala By Matthew Aitken Glossed over...... 19 Advertorials disguised as journalism are plaguing magazine stands across Canada. By Marina Shevchuk Irrelevant editorials...... 21 Newspapers’ political endorsements in a world of blogs, web news and voter apathy. By Janaya Fuller-Evans Instant news or immediate headache?...... 26 As the blogosphere expands, journalists and politicians weigh in on the revolution. By Alex Moser More than meets the eye...... 27 No laughing matter...... 22 Images can be altered in mere seconds, but where do photo editors draw the line? Canwest strikes back at satirical critics. By Justine Leung By Andrew Weichel Contract controversy...... 29 Canwest’s freelancing agreements have some writers taking their work elsewhere. By Brenna Temple Penny for your thoughts...... 34 Online news readers get a chance to voice their opinions—for better or for worse. By Kristen Douglas A world away...... 35 A recent journalism grad shares her first foreign reporting experience. By Jessica Barrett Reminiscing reporter.....30 The tangled web we weave...... 37 A look at the vibrant life of Simma Holt. News outlets are ramping up their web presence to meet growing online demands. By Melissa Smalley By Jeremy Stothers

Langara Journalism Review 2009 3 The Langara Journalism Review An annual review of trends and issues in Western Canadian journalism Editor Matthew Aitken Managing Editor Melissa Smalley Art Director Charlotte Brown Photo Editor Justine Leung Chief Photographer Stefania Seccia News Editor Jeff Lawrence LJR staff and Langara journalism diploma class of 2009 Production Editor Janaya Fuller-Evans Back row: Sam Smith, Jeff Lawrence, Jeremy Stothers, Andrew Weichel, Matthew Aitken Third row: Sarah Massah, Brenna Temple, Janaya Fuller-Evans, Charlotte Brown, Marina Assistant Publisher Shevchuk, Melissa Smalley Rachel McHollister Second row: Justine Leung, Nafisa Kaptownwala, Stefania Seccia Advertising Manager Front row: Kristen Douglas, Rachel McHollister, Ashleigh McIvor Stefania Seccia Missing: Alex Moser Copy Chief Andrew Weichel Copy Editors A letter from the editor Ashleigh McIvor, Jeremy Stothers, Sarah Massah, Kristen Douglas Like everyone else in the world, I’m trying to stay positive about the current economic situation. Not that I have much to complain about. I haven’t watched my Page Editors life savings go up in smoke on the world markets. Heck, I haven’t even lost a ten- Alex Moser, Nafisa Kaptownwala, cent piece—not that I had anything to lose anyway. Sam Smith, Brenna Temple, Marina I have spent the past two years in a journalism program watching a once-proud Shevchuk, Rachel McHollister, industry in an uncontrollable tailspin. Conglomerates bleeding money, newspapers Kristen Douglas folding, layoffs—something is wrong. The world is grappling with a recession, but Illustrations belt-tightening and restructuring have plagued the news industry for years. Alex Cho In the ’90s it became clear the Internet was going to have a huge impact on information sharing, and its impact on the journalism industry has been gargan- Instructor/Publisher tuan. The information age has put a publishing licence in everyone’s hand. Talk has Rob Dykstra always been cheap and online it’s free. But newspapers and magazines can’t pay staff with a doing-the-world-some-good sentiment. While the industry is downsizing Produced by second-year journalism and the blogosphere is growing, we need real journalism now more than ever. students at: This edition of the LJR is a bit darker than past issues. Perhaps the economy of Langara College the day is influencing our rather bleak take on the journalism industry. 100 West 49th Avenue But everyone knows a sharp journalist with a barrel of ink can still change the Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6 world. Good journalism challenges the status quo, which would otherwise never be Telephone: 604-323-5415 questioned. It tells the stories of people who would not otherwise be heard. www.langara.bc.ca/ljr We need good journalists and good journalism. We don’t need smaller news- Email: [email protected] rooms. We don’t need a cacophony of opinions masquerading as news—a typical feature of the blogosphere. Printed in Canada on 30 per cent The recession might be tough on everyone, but it will be a harder slog for those post-consumer paper by of us in an industry looking to redefine itself in a brave new world. Nathen Printing, Burnaby, B.C. This magazine is a testament to everything we respect about journalism, and everything that needs to change. Cover: Reporter Bob Mackin, 24 Hours —Matthew Aitken Photo by Stefania Seccia 4 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Working hard but hardly working

By Sarah Douziech

hen I enrolled in journalism Szymczak entered school deter- low grads have gone into public relations school, I thought I was making mined to get her dream job. “If one per- or pursued jobs in other industries. Wa practical choice. Here was a son [was] going to make it, it [was] going While some view the Canadian me- way to combine a love of writing with a to be me,” she says. In some part the sta- dia as being in a state of crisis, others secure, paying job. bility of her husband’s career freed her to see the transition away from traditional One month into the program and pursue journalism. “It’s not an industry journalism as a huge opportunity. I was questioning if I could handle it. that makes a lot of money, so you really “New journalists will have to be far Deadlines were demanding, the volume do have to love it to do it.” more entrepreneurial,” according to Al- of work seemed cruel and any inclina- Meanwhile, 27-year-old King’s fred Hermida, a journalism professor at tion I had toward flowery narrative was University-College grad Sarah Hoyles the University of British Columbia. systematically forced out by a pointy in- found herself moving across Canada Hermida’s areas of expertise include verted pyramid. and abroad to find satisfying work. She virtually every new journalism buzz- Months later, that question of capa- had to be creative and flexible to secure word out there: multiplatform journal- bility seems irrelevant. meaningful employment. ism, blogging, podcasting, interactive Jeff Gaulin operates the journalism Hoyles eventually found the daily journalism and user-generated content. job website, Jeffgaulin.com, and he says news grind to be too much, so she tran- Business skills not usually taught the industry has been in decline for the sitioned into public relations jobs with at journalism school are the foundation last three to four years. non-governmental organizations and from which young journalists will launch “I’ve been running the website since now has moved to project management. their careers, according to Hermida. 1995 and this is probably the worst time “It’s a very adaptable skill set that “You need to develop your own per- for job prospects for journalists that I’ve you learn in journalism school,” Hoyles sonal brand,” he urges, and the way to ever seen.” says. Though she’s moved away from start is with a website or blog; multi- In January 2008, Gaulin posted 150 traditional journalism, Hoyles says she’s media skills are indispensable to a new jobs on his website. The same month this never had trouble finding work. journalist’s survival. year he posted only 50. Enter Noa Glouberman, a 2004 Ry- A personal website or blog can help More than 1,200 jobs were cut in erson grad who worked for magazines journalists generate income through ad the last three months of 2008: 600 at Sun in Toronto after graduating. She is now revenue, and offers an accessible portfo- Media, 150 at CTV and 560 at Canwest. freelancing in Vancouver and her passion lio for potential employers. These cuts have The Canadian Associa- for journalism overshadows the low pay, “The issue here is not journalism in tion of Journalists saying, “journalism in long hours and limited opportunities. crisis, it’s the way journalism has made Canada is reaching a tipping point where Despite her current success, Glou- money that’s in crisis,” Hermida adds. the decline in the quality of news content berman does admit it may be pretty un- Stable, nine-to-five jobs with benefits will lead to an industry death spiral of common in this industry. are becoming increasingly scarce, if not less content, smaller audiences and yet “My major concern for myself and completely extinct. more cuts.” Read: fewer opportunities other young journalists is that there just “It’s not going to be easy,” he says. than ever before for young grads enter- don’t seem to be those nine-to-five steady “Young journalists entering the market ing the market. jobs anymore.” are entering at a time of tremendous Facing this doom and gloom as a Aaron Eccles, a 2003 Langara College change with tremendous challenges.” journalism student can be disheartening grad, has been working at the BBC in How we deal with those challenges and has made me wonder why anyone in London for five years and feels the jour- in the coming years will influence the his or her right mind would be pursuing nalism industry in Canada is saturated. course of journalism in a profound way. any amount of education in journalism, There are “just more jobs to be had” in Perhaps we’re naive to hope we’ll let alone a career. the U.K., he says. not only survive but thrive—as one of my So why are we still here? “If you’re passionate about what classmates put it, maybe we’re not in our Well, it might not as bad as it seems. good journalism can do, there will always right minds. Sherisse Szymczak, a 29-year-old Mount be opportunities,” says Eccles, though he But for those with an entrepreneur- Royal College graduate, has been in a admits, “the hardest thing to do is to stay ial spirit, work ethic and a love for adver- full-time TV broadcast job running on positive in this business.” sity, there lies the immense privilege of five years now. Eccles concedes that many of his fel- shaping the future.

Langara Journalism Review 2009 5 Honey, I shrunk the newspaper

edia outlets are cutting the Canadian Community Newspa- costs left and right, but the pers Association in February. MGlobe and Mail is taking Crawley said the reason for cutbacks to another level. the size reduction was to take ad- In 2010 the national newspaper vantage of new high-speed colour will shave 1 by 1.75 inches off its presses. No doubt there is an eco- margins. This is the second time nomic motivation for the move as in three years the newspaper will well. It’s a trend, he said, that is reduce its size. In 2007, the Globe catching on. shrunk its page sizes by 1.5 inches “Because newsprint is continu- as part of a major redesign. ing to be more expensive...more and “We saw cost savings of several more papers are going to be looking million dollars immediately by just fo these solutions,” he said. Canwest can’t reducing the size of the page,” Globe and Mail CEO Phillip Crawley told —Jeff Lawrence shake debt

he biggest media company in Canada is in dire straights after Tits creditor capped lending at $112 million in February, down from a promised $300 million. Winnipeg-based Canwest Global Communications, which owns news- papers and television channels across the country as well as media stations in Australia and Turkey, is sitting on about $3.9 billion of debt. But the company’s outlook re- mains rosy, saying that by trimming spending, it will be able to pull through this tough financial situation. “Based upon current cash flow projections, the company believes that access to the reduced facility will enable it to continue to operate normally through this period,” the company said in a February news re- lease. Canwest’s shares have dropped to about 30 cents, down from a high of about $7 per share at the beginning of 2008. Canwest-owned Australian news network Channel 10 has been on and off the market for the last two years. While it is up for sale, Canwest has no serious offers for Channel 10.

—Jeremy Stothers

6 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Magazine money on the way

iling newspapers and maga- my. It is expected Canada will owe Global Toronto says zines are getting help from lenders $522 billion by 2012. Athe federal Conservative New government ad cam- government as part of a stimulus paigns may also help struggling goodbye to morning package aimed at keeping Ca- publications find important ad- nadian publications in the black vertising money, up to $1 billion during dark economic times. over five years, according to the and noon news The Publications Assistance Canadian Community Newspa- Program, a government-funded pers Association. anwest TV stations are cutting organization that subsidizes mail- —Jeremy Stothers jobs across the country as the ing costs for small publications, Cailing company seeks to cut will get $30 million over the next losses. two years. The program helps Morning and noon newscasts about 1,200 publications across have been cut from Global TV’s To- the country. ronto station, and cuts are expected The money will replace funds in Montreal, Hamilton, Red Deer, that used to come from Canada Kelowna and Victoria. Post, which is scheduled to stop “In the current economic en- contributing funds this year. vironment, we believe that our ef- The federal government’s forts are best focused on the areas budget this year shows a deficit of of greatest return,” Canwest CEO about $34 billion, much of which is Leonard Asper said. allocated to stimulate the econo- Vancouver is not a target for this round of cuts. But as Canwest faces a loss of $30 million in the first quarter of 2009, more jobs may hit the chop- ping block before the economic cli- mate improves. Canwest will focus on profiting from 18 specialty channels it owns, including Showcase, BBC Canada and Fox Sports World. The conglom- erate is anticipating a change in au- dience viewing habits.

—Jeremy Stothers

B.C., Vancouver nearly fail FOI test: CNA

ritish Columbia and the City manner, coming in with a C-, while is a shame and a tragedy for people of Vancouver barely make the Vancouver is among the worst munic- who believe in open, accessible gov- Bgrade when it comes to disclos- ipalities in Canada for FOIs. Vancou- ernment,” Darrell Evans, executive ing information requested through ver received a C, tied with cities such director of the B.C. Freedom of Infor- the Freedom of Information Act, a Ca- as Winnipeg and Hamilton. mation and Privacy Assocation, told nadian Newspaper Assocation audit The results mean B.C. journalists The Vancouver Sun. revealed earlier this year. have it tougher than most other Ca- Saskatchewan and the city of B.C. is the second-worst province nadians when requesting information Saskatoon both passed the CNA audit in Canada for responding back to FOI on Crown agencies in their province. with A- grades—top of the class. requests in a timely and complete “What’s going on in B.C. truly —Jeff Lawrence

Langara Journalism Review 2009 7 Photo illustrations Stefania Seccia 8 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Juggling Journalists

News gathering is now based on how much equipment a reporter can carry

By Brenna Temple

reporter sprints out of the news- brain can only do so much. Sometimes it ethical dilemmas,” Luymes says. She room’s front doors, knocking hurts your ability to gather the news as says reporting alongside a photographer Athem open with a barrage of opposed to producing it,” he says. comes in handy. bulky bags dangerously swinging from Although web-filed news is neces- “Having more than one person there her shoulders. She carries a digital cam- sary, he says journalism doesn’t mean is definitely an asset. The photographer era in one hand, a voice recorder in the what it did before. might see something that I’m missing be- other, with a video camera case slung “Since the advent of this web thing, cause I’m focusing on the police officer, across her back. She’s clutching a tripod I spend more of my time doing online and he might notice the grieving family under her arm. Her BlackBerry buzzes things than I would like to do, but in the member. If I don’t see it, then he can say, incessantly in her pocket, while she tries old days I had more time to do journal- ‘hey look at that,’ and then you totally to remember which case she’s thrown ism. Now you spend more time being a work together.” her laptop into. technologist.” Like other dailies, The Vancouver She will need these items to gather The Daily Bulletin, the smallest dai- Sun has a web-first priority for its re- information that will immediately be ly newspaper in Canada located in Kim- porters. Managing editor Kirk LaPointe posted to her newspaper’s website. At the berley, B.C., is also beginning to focus on describes the Internet as a cultural tran- same time, she will have to put together web news. Newly-hired reporters are ex- sition that has resulted in web-filed news an in-depth story for the morning edition pected to juggle many different tasks. taking priority over the newspaper’s eve- of her newspaper before 6 p.m. “I guess for this job, yes, you do have ning deadline. The need to report using all these to be a jack of all trades. Not only do you “It’s been a really strong cultural tools is hitting big and small newsrooms have to be able to write, you have to be shift to a web-first culture. We now file across the country. Now, a journalist’s able to edit,” says Daily Bulletin editor routinely all of our local content, and all ability to multitask is more than just an Carolyn Grant. “You have to be able to of our wire material, photos, all of our asset. It’s required. do page layout and design and take pic- audio files, create video, all of it with an This means there is less time than tures and be pretty good in Photoshop.” expectation that you need to publish it as ever for the “kind of door-knocking that While Grant says writing skills are soon as it’s ready.” journalists of another generation might still very important, “someone with web- According to LaPointe, multitasking have done, and that could be not great for writing skills would be very, very use- is bringing both positive and negative journalism,” says Mary Agnes Welch, ful because a lot of us who have been in reactions from reporters, many of whom president of the Canadian Association of the business for a long time can’t write are still adjusting to new web demands. Journalists. HTML code.” “The challenge is that a lot of journal- A Winnipeg Free Press newspaper Web-focused newsrooms are even ists are being asked to multitask and to reporter, Welch says juggling tasks is a more important at larger papers. Twen- do a lot of additional things, and I think skill that’s still developing. ty-five-year-old Glenda Luymes, a re- that we’re in a period of adjustment of “It’s the way newspapers have to go porter at The Province and a recent what that really entails,” LaPointe says. but I don’t think any newsroom has quite grad of University of British Columbia’s “If I’m asking a journalist to go blog figured out how to get reporters to do all school of journalism, has felt this de- at a conference all day long and to write a that stuff and still produce [quality] news mand since The Province’s change to piece at the end of the day, I think there’s coverage everyday.” web-filed news. wear and tear that happens.” The Terrace Standard, a commu- According to Luymes, the scramble Some like the opportunity to do nity newspaper in the Northwest of Brit- to file news for the web while simultane- some blogging, because it almost serves ish Columbia, requires its reporters file ously putting the story together for the as the first and second drafts of their sto- news to the web along with their usual evening deadline could mean there’s less ries that later end up in the newspaper. reporting tasks. These days, it’s not un- time for in-depth reporting. For others, it serves as a great dis- usual for any small paper to do the same. “When you have to put it on the web traction. “It keeps them from thinking However,the paper’s editor and publisher as soon as you get it, there’s a little bit and researching ... neither one is neces- Rod Link doubts its efficiency. less time for verification, so you have to sarily the better of the two, it’s just that “There’s only so many hours in a day be kind of choosy about what you decide some people are responding in different and so many hours in a week, and your to put on the web, or else you get into ways to it,” LaPointe says.

Langara Journalism Review 2009 9 nion officials are concerned about “Mathematically...one person cannot building “interactive web platforms for the new multitasking require- do the same amount of work as two,” Sol local news publishers.” Uments in Canadian newsrooms. says. “There’s no more time for investi- The demand for multitasking report- Darrell Brownlee, western region gative journalism.” ers has increased as “a direct result of treasurer for the Communications, En- Some journalists are cautiously op- the fact that there are fewer jobs at news- ergy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of timistic about newsroom staff’s ability papers,” he says. Journalists, he says, Canada says that such expectations have to adapt to web demands and new media can take advantage of such technology made journalists less productive. programs. since facts can be gathered easier than “I just ran into an employee from “New reporters have a more natural ever before. The Winnipeg Sun. He’s a sports jour- tendency to understand special media, nalist, and now he has to hold a digital or they’re more familiar with digital gad- camera at the same time as trying to take gets, but you have to keep some degree “I think there notes for his sports story. So he’s trying of humility and realize that just because is more pressure to do two things at one, and you can’t do you know technology, doesn’t mean you both at the same time,” Brownlee says. know about the reporting side,” says ...we’re expected “When you look at it with one person go- Vancouver Sun reporter and recent UBC ing out doing everything, they also come school of journalism grad Catherine to file to the web back with less.” Rolfsen. Wendy Sol, CEP Western region “People here have been really, really all the time. administrative vice president, says that fast to catch on, and go crazy with all this with pressure to multitask, the impor- new technology...it’s not always about Most of us have tance of factual details has been dimin- age and generation.” ished, meaning journalists don’t have as LaPointe says that when it comes to BlackBerrys now, much time to ask questions that may be teaching older journalists skills for filing so when we’re out essential for the full story. news to the web, it’s all about changing the way they think. on a story they “The bigger issue is to retrain, and to make sure that people who viewed always want a themselves as working for a newspaper view themselves as working for a multi- couple of quick platform newsroom, and that they adapt into this new era,” LaPointe says. paragraphs from He also says that adaptation is not a your BlackBerry question of age. “This is not like playing hockey in right away.” the NHL, where at a certain age you just can’t do it any longer. Some of the best adapters in our business are people who “I think that there’s a tremendous have had two or three decades of journal- opportunity to use new technology to do istic experience, so it’s not an age thing.” as much, if not more, investigative jour- Like Luymes, Rolfsen says filing to nalism,” Briggs says. “Even if there are the web makes her work more difficult. fewer people... because we’re entering an “I think there is more pressure, so I age where technology allows for easier guess the other way it’s changed is that collaboration. Journalists are starting to we’re expected to file to the web all the open themselves up and actually enter- time. Most of us have BlackBerrys now, tain the idea.” so when we’re out on a story they always Whether or not multitasking is em- want a couple of quick paragraphs from braced or resisted in newsrooms, it’s your BlackBerry right away,” Rolfsen clear that reporters need to learn how says. “That adds to immediate pressure... to deliver and feel comfortable with the it can be a real juggling act of whether new demands of news gathering. you’re going to write your quick news Discussion of these issues may help stuff or whether you’re going to keep in- to determine the balance between the terviewing and getting more of the con- new technology phenomenon and old- text ultimately that will be in your print fashioned quality journalism. story.” “When I talk to people in my news- Mark Briggs, author of the book room or people of union leadership, Journalism 2.0, advises journalism stu- when they have an open mind...great,” dents on how to survive and thrive in LaPointe says. the digital age. Briggs was the assistant “Let’s just keep thinking about this. managing editor for the News Tribune in Let’s just keep exploring, because we’re Tacoma, Washington, until October 2008. going to need all of the available brain He regularly leads seminars about jour- power to tackle the huge challenges that nalism and technology, and is currently we have in the time ahead.” 10 Langara Journalism Review 2009 More than a paper cut

Does cutting quantity mean losing quality?

By Sam Smith

he economic recession has the “Pretty much throughout the build- ordinator of the Canadian Media Guild, media industry under the knife. ing there’s a sense that we need to work agrees that quality is going down in con- TCorporate surgeons are perform- more smartly because we have less peo- junction with the cutbacks. ing critical cuts, but will the patient sur- ple than before,” Crawley says. “There’s less and less likelihood of vive? But not everyone agrees that the the profession being able to reach out to Sun Media Corp. recently cut 10 per quality will stay the same. those people in the younger age groups,” cent of its staff—600 jobs. Canwest Global “Fewer people gathering the same Wirsig says. “People are rightfully cyni- Communications Corp. cut five per cent, or more amount of news automatically cal about the type of news they see. We or 560 jobs, in the last two months of 2008 reduces the time and depth,” says Mary know it’s good when it really does make and put five of its television stations up Agnes Welch, president of the Canadian us think and it does make us challenge for sale. Association of Journalists, and a report- public policy and think about changes to The Globe and Mail had 60 voluntary er for the Winnipeg Free Press. “When what they’re doing. When’s the last time buyouts by the end of January and 30 you go in there as a reporter, you need you read something that got you think- people have been laid off. time to do in-depth and investigative re- ing?” One hundred-sixty jobs are gone porting. Fewer bodies, plus this need to Wirsig questions why people should from the Torstar Corp., owners of The kind of embrace new technology, [such still read the news if the quality of jour- Toronto Star newspaper. Seven full-time as] video takes time as well.” nalism continues to go down. reporters are gone at the Winnipeg Free “When the media isn’t challenging Press, not including a handful who took authority, being the watchdog, it’s espe- early retirements. “Fewer people cially not being inspiring to the younger Cuts are also expected to hit the CBC audience,” Wirsig says. later this year. While the number of job gathering the However, Wayne Moriarty, editor-in- cuts is unknown, insiders have speculat- same or more chief of Vancouver daily The Province, ed there could be up to 700 layoffs. believes that journalism still makes the Rogers Publishing, the company amount of news grade. that owns Maclean’s and Chatelaine, has “If anything the quality has gone up asked its full-time staff to take a 20 per automatically over the last 10 years,” Moriarty says. cent pay cut by shortening their work “And I would probably attribute the sharp week to four days. reduces the time rise to the quality of journalism schools. Despite these cuts, the same quality Young journalists are coming out today of product is still expected to come out. and depth.” far better equipped than I ever was.” “I think the paper will continue to be Moriarty does concede the newspa- a top-class product and the best news- “For me, the most fun part about be- per has changed its approach since re- paper in Canada,” says Phillip Crawley, ing a reporter is getting to really sink sources are being depleted. Three years publisher and CEO of the Globe and your teeth into a story,” Welch says. She ago, editors would get a press release Mail. “It’s one of these situations where believes the opportunity for creative, in- and decide to either go out and develop nobody likes having to go through these vestigative reporting is becoming lost for a story based on the release or trash it. periods; it’s unsettling for everybody and many reporters. “The ability to be the Today, the lack of resources sometimes people here are smart and intelligent. ‘watchdog’ is going down and down.” leave editors without that option. They’re connected to the world and we And it’s not only reporters who are “In the past we go out and shoot pic- have to adjust to these economic times.” getting the axe. tures and do a follow up story. Today we Crawley explained that with smaller “All are being cut—copy editors, might not have the resources for that so staff, the Globe will have to make adjust- photographers. At the Winnipeg Sun a let’s just use them and rewrite the press ments to maintain the same efficiency photographer became a reporter,” Welch release for the newspaper the next day.” as before, such as reducing copy-editing says. “He’s just completely freaked out. Referring to the New York Times desks from eight to three, making each I’d be freaked out if I had to take pictures motto, ‘All the news that’s fit to print,’ desk more universal and taking in more tomorrow.” Moriarty believes that’s no longer realis- work from every section. Karen Wirsig, communications co- tic in today’s newsrooms.

Langara Journalism Review 2009 11 Overseas horrors

Violence, abductions and death are realities journalists face when reporting in conflict and war zones By Sarah Massah

nscrew the lens cap, check the po- while overseas, but the way Fung’s information on the news because on the sition and straighten out the tri- story was kept from the public caused one hand we’re giving special treatment Upod. Take a deep breath and look. controversy. to reporters because we’re not going Bombs are exploding, tanks are rushing Editors and news directors agreed to to report on this but on the other hand through the city and barely metres away block the news of Fung’s abduction from we’re saving lives,” Adams says. there is a woman with blood pouring print and broadcast media in an effort Fung’s story is an example of from her wounds. Take a step back from to ensure her safety. Many viewed the how journalists are used as pawns in the carnage and focus, the lens and the media blackout as journalists protecting a conflict. Journalists have become mind, and start recording. Deadline is in one of their own. valuable hostages because they are the a few hours. media and therefore they will garner “It’s absolute chaos,” says Russ more media attention, Adams says. Froese, a journalist and former television “In Rwanda, I “Reporters are in more danger than anchor whose assignments have included they were before because there are coverage of the Lebanese-Israeli war and was wandering more of them out there and because the the removal of Chilean dictator Augusto through the bad guys are much more aware of the Pinochet. “It’s hell. I mean, you can’t even headline-grabbing potential of doing imagine.” church at things to journalists.” Hell. Many journalists use that According to the Committee to word when describing their time in Nairobi with Protect Journalists, the number of conflict countries. Working as a foreign journalists killed worldwide between correspondent for the CBC and travelling hundreds of January 1992 and October 2007 is 722. the world as a freelancer, Claude Adams This does not include the hundreds who has seen atrocities that can only be bodies lying in have gone missing. imagined in nightmares. the sun... one’s Amanda Lindhout, a freelance “In Rwanda, I was wandering through journalist from Alberta, was taken the church at Nairobi with hundreds of first reaction hostage in Somalia with Australian bodies lying in the sun,” Adams says. photojournalist Nigel Brennan and “We hadn’t expected to come across it is to be horror Somalian journalist Abdifatah Mohamed and one’s first reaction is to be horror- Elmi on Aug. 23, 2008 struck and run away, but we knew we struck and run She was abducted while doing a piece had about an hour to film, so we did and on refugees for French television station then we dealt with it later on.” away but we France 24. The kidnappers, who called Death and abductions are realities themselves Mujahideen of Somalia, that journalists must face when stepping knew we had demanded a $2.5 million ransom or the into a war zone. Scarier still, the majority about an hour journalists would be executed. of journalists’ deaths do not occur during The deadline passed with no crossfire; rather, journalists are hunted to film, so we payment. down and murdered, “often in direct On Jan. 15, Elmi was released but reprisal for their reporting,” according to did and then said he had no knowledge of Lindhout or the United Nations Educational Scientific Brennan’s condition. Subsequent reports and Cultural Organization. we dealt with it indicate they are fine. On Jan. 25 the CBC correspondent Melissa Fung ransom was lowered to $100,000. made headlines in 2008 when she later on.” While there was no news embargo was taken hostage while working in in Lindhout’s case, there is very little Afghanistan. It is not unusual for a “It was a big debate on whether or coverage likely because she is not Canadian journalist to encounter trouble not it was a good thing to embargo the connected to a major media outlet. 12 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Photo by Marina Shevchuk Claude Adams, foreign correspondent for the CBC and freelancer, has seen his share of atrocities overseas. “It’s natural that there should be the players, who knows the people, who be easy and relatively safe, but damages some kind of double standard in regards knows where to go and where not to go,” reporters’ reputations because they rely to that because no one wants to take re- he says. “The two most important things: too heavily on second-hand information. sponsibility for that and no one wants to blend in and don’t try and save money by “They send out their people with come up with the millions of dollars that getting a cheap fixer.” cameras and notebooks and tape record- are required to free someone,” Adams But he says some journalists suc- ers to do the leg-work. That’s where the says. cumb to what is known as “hotel roof- fixers become the most important part Adams recommends that journalists top journalism”—when they stay in the of the news operation. It’s not such a working abroad should hire a reliable safety of a hotel and rely on the fixer to great idea to lay off the danger to the “fixer,” someone who will act as a guide bring back information. This is a com- locals, even though they would not be in and a translator. mon practice in Iraq, as Adams saw first- as much immediate risk as we would be. “It’s so important to hire someone hand. It’s really not fair to get them to take all who knows the ground, the dangers, He notes this kind of reporting may the heat.”

Langara Journalism Review 2009 13 And even though fixers are usually der to protect themselves and sometimes because with dust on a car you can see locals, being associated with Western it’s as simple as picking a winner. very quickly if someone’s been tamper- media outlets is reason enough to be tar- “You try to go in with the winning ing with it, trying to put a bomb in it, be- geted. side so you have a little more safety cause you can see streaks in the dust.” But because of the United States’ when you’re caught in the middle, when Froese suggests journalists should history of involvement in international you go somewhere where an active con- have a proper understanding of interna- conflicts, American journalists may be flict is going on,” Froese says about his tional humanitarian law and the Geneva targeted more than Canadians. experience in Beirut. Conventions because they provide more While Froese was reporting on the But in a country like Iraq with many tools to work with. Israeli-Lebanese conflict, active U.S. different religious factions fighting for military presence spurred animosity to- power, it’s hard to know which side is wards Americans. winning. Embedded “The Canadian passport had more “It’s become such a fundamentalist sway—particularly in Middle Eastern society now,” Ditmars says. “It was much journalists are countries—than the American passport safer when it was a police state. Under not civilians... because the American marines had oc- Saddam you were being watched con- cupied and invaded,” Froese says. “There stantly as a foreigner but you knew who was a lot of anger against the Americans. was watching you. Now you don’t know. Being a Canadian journalist helped.” It could be various factions, sections or For example, embedded journalists— militias.” reporters directly attached to a military On Ditmars’ last trip to Iraq, while unit in an armed conflict—do not count “It was much interviewing women at the al-Gaylani as civilians under Protocol I of the Ge- mosque, she met three sisters who neva Conventions, according to George safer when it begged her to make their plight public. Chandler, manager of the Humanitarian “One of them had a terrible story. Issues Program with the Canadian Red was a police Her husband had gotten shell-shocked Cross. This is because they are travelling state. Under during the invasion and had started beat- with the military and are under the rules ing her,” Ditmars says. She left him. “He of the military. Saddam, you kidnapped their daughter, and said he “If someone attacks a tank and a was going to sell her in the market un- journalist is riding in [that] tank then were being less she came back.” there’s no recourse for that because a Ditmars and her translator went to tank is a tank. I’m wearing a helmet, I’m watched the woman’s home in Karkh (a working wearing a flak jacket, well, looks like a class neighbourhood in central Baghdad) soldier, talks like a soldier, must be a sol- constantly as a and in the midst of the interview Ditmars dier,” Chandler says. foreigner, but heard the sound of gunfire. But taking precautions can be costly. “I ask my translator, ‘What is that?’ Reporters Without Borders offers life in- you knew who And she asks the women and they got surance for freelancers costing roughly nervous because Karkh is somewhere $10 a day. They also loan equipment such was watching that has very open gun markets,” Dit- as bullet-proof vests—with a $1,600 de- mars says. posit, of course. you. Now, you “Basically they were suspicious that But in order to receive the insur- I had been sent by the Americans to ance, the freelancer must be a member don’t know.” crack down on some of their immediate of Reporters Without Borders, which re- male relatives who were gun-sellers. quires citizenship from a country in the “Out of nowhere, this photographer European Union. For a Canadian woman working as a came and took my picture, which is a For those who aren’t eligible, life journalist in post-invasion Iraq, the bal- thing that a lot of people did if they were insurance for an assignment in Iraq can ance between staying safe and reporting going to kidnap you. I was like, ‘I want to cost thousands of dollars a day, which can be increasingly difficult, as Hadani finish this interview’ and my translator has deterred journalists from working in Ditmars, international journalist and was like, ‘We’ve got to get the hell out of the war-torn region. author of Dancing in the No Fly Zone, here, right now!’ So we jumped in the car “I don’t think the world will ever give found. and drove away, past open gun markets, special protection to a class of people like Prior to the American invasion she with AK-47s hanging down.” journalists,” Chandler says. had been able to leave her hotel alone be- Knowing when to leave is important Despite the inherent dangers, jour- cause Iraq functioned as a secular police for a journalist to remember, but even nalists abroad will continue to risk their state; however, this was not the case dur- simple things can make a difference in lives to bring the stories of conflict and ing her last trip. ensuring safety. suffering to Canadians—and the rest of “It was quite dramatically different. “The most important thing is try the world. Sometimes a single flash of Suddenly I was told that I couldn’t go any- and adapt the local colouration. In other the camera, a two-minute video clip, or where on my own as a woman, because I words, don’t stand out,” Adams says. a compelling story can capture the raw could get kidnapped,” Ditmars says. “One of the things that we learned was emotion of an entire country in turmoil. Journalists need to have every bit of that if you were driving a car, and it gets For those reporters, it takes a lot of guts, knowledge about the feuding sides in or- covered in dust, don’t clear the dust off and there’s very little glory. 14 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Don’t do as I do

The CBC’s decision to spike the Melissa Fung abduction story raises an ethical dilemma

By Nafisa Kaptownwala

t is vital for journalists to abide by cumstances and the same practices— taking a greater level of responsibility a code of ethics and provide infor- whether or not it was a CBC employee — for their employees reporting abroad. Imation in the publics’ interest. But would have handled it the same way.” “Last time I was reporting in a dan- is it acceptable to risk a person’s safety Nearly every national news orga- ger zone was 45 years ago and there to provide the public with their news? nization knew about the abduction but was no [insurance] coverage,” Fletcher Last October, CBC reporter Melissa chose to honour the CBC’s request not says. Now correspondents are given ex- Fung spent 28 days in a hole a few feet to report it. pensive health insurance and extensive underneath Afghani soil, writing letters “We had conversations with news training. to her loved ones while lying on a bed of organizations throughout Canada, Although it wasn’t the responsibil- dirt. She was beaten, stabbed in the arm North America and around the world ity of other news organizations to main- and shoved into a mysterious vehicle seeking their co-operation in maintain- tain Fung’s privacy, Fletcher says they and the CBC knew almost immediately ing a news blackout which was frankly chose to do so out of respect for Fung’s after it happened. offered immediately,” Keay said. “They safety. The public broadcaster made a de- made a considered decision to co-oper- “[Other news sources] did know cision not to inform Canadians that its ate out of her personal safety.” and chose not to report. It’s reciprocal, foreign affairs reporter had been ab- However, the story was leaked you look after [my reporter] and I’ll look ducted. This choice may have saved her through new media. after yours,” Fletcher said. life, according to CBC spokesperson Jeff “We noticed stories on the Inter- Jas Johal, South Asia correspon- Keay. net,” Keay says. “You can’t tell people dent for Global National, said via e-mail “It’s the kind of thing that goes to do anything—you can ask and seek that journalists in Afghanistan, Iraq and against the grain of any news person their co-operation. It’s up to the news Bosnia are walking targets. However, no to get the story and not make the story organization whether or not they are responsible news organization would, public,” Keay admits. “Having said that, going to co-operate. The vast majority nor should, walk away from a reporter we also recognize that her life was at did. We appreciated that very much.” in danger. stake. Under the circumstances, our By not reporting the story, the CBC “If you’re there on behalf of your primary priority is to ensure her safe had to sacrifice its duty to the public in company to report on events, and dur- return.” order to ensure Fung’s safety, says Uni- ing the course of your duties you’re Guidelines provided in the the Ca- versity of British Columbia journalism kidnapped or in trouble the company is nadian Association of Journalists state- ethics professor Fred Fletcher. obligated legally, ethically, and morally ment of principles refer more to privacy, “It’s a close ethics case. It’s com- in my opinion to do their utmost to help but suggest that journalists “...will seek peting principles of publishing news in their employees,” he says. to minimize any harm done to people, the public interest and doing no harm,” Johal added his extensive prepara- especially the vulnerable, the trauma- Fletcher says. “Seems pretty clear there tion included war safety training cours- tized and the young.” was a reasonable chance of harm, es- es prior to reporting from war zones. Each situation should be judged in pecially with the Melissa Fung case. “It’s an intensive one-week course the light of common sense, humanity Whether major news sources acted dif- you can take in London or Washington, and the public’s right to know.” ferently with private citizens is a differ- D.C.” Johal says. “It’s almost become The CBC chose not to publicize ent story.” a requirement now. It would not have Fung’s case based on the corporation’s Fletcher says this decade has been been 10 years ago.” own journalistic standards and prac- the most dangerous one yet for foreign Johal believes Global would have tices. correspondents. Abductors target jour- handled it the same way had Fung’s “It was the view of the experts in- nalists because they generally expect a situation happened to him. volved that it was less risk to her per- big ransom from the news organization “Situations like Melissa’s are very sonal safety and a greater likelihood of or because they want Western media at- fluid and to jeopardize that over the affecting her return without publicity,” tention. public’s right to know would have been Keay says. “Given the same set of cir- Fortunately, news organizations are a mistake, in my mind.” Langara Journalism Review 2009 15 Going for gold Chasing the Olympic story can be frustrating and fun

By Matthew Aitken

When

Illustration by Alex Cho

tanding on the north shore of ver Organizing Committee’s website various publications, he has followed False Creek, close to GM Place in and Olympic numbers, whether they be the Olympic bid from its inception, and, Sdowntown Vancouver, it’s hard to headcounts or dollar figures, need to be as an accredited journalist with Sun Me- imagine the tarpaulin-draped buildings looked at twice. Other estimates regard- dia’s 24 Hours, he will cover the Games on the other side of the water could end ing the number of journalist are much up close in 2010. His efforts to tell the up costing Vancouver taxpayers close to higher—VANOC apparently doesn’t Olympic stories today, he says, are of- $1 billion. want to acknowledge those who are not ten stymied by the people at VANOC. With a little more than a year to go, certified—the indie journalists, the blog- “Covering an organization like VANOC a world economy on life support left the gers, the activists—who will be sending is both frustrating and fun. It’s a very in- city and its taxpayers in a bind. The de- their own messages and images around sular culture on the inside. They’re very veloper building the Olympic Village on the world. worried about what gets out into the pub- the south shore of False Creek was in fi- Likewise, the city’s—read taxpay- lic about their operations.” nancial trouble, and its New York-based ers’—financial involvement in the Olym- Mackin predicts that commuting in financier decided to pull the plug. There pic Village has grown from an original the Lower Mainland is going to be chal- were two options: let the project go unfin- $65 million commitment, primarily for lenging during the Games, but the trans- ished or keep the wheels turning on the social housing, to $429 million, which portation story is one he can’t seem to public dime. Image-conscious Vancouver includes buying out the developer’s crack. Initial transportation plans have chose the latter. loan. As of this writing, the city is on the been announced, and Vancouver can ex- And it’s Vancouver’s image that’s hook for a total of $875 million, backing pect to see some major routes in and out up for scrutiny when the 2010 Winter the project’s entire financing. And then of downtown—the Georgia Viaduct, for Olympic Games begin Feb. 12. Some there’s the anticipated security bill. Cost instance—completely closed. A number 10,000 media representatives­—2,800 estimates have ballooned from an origi- of other streets will have priority lanes reporters and 7,000 technicians—will nal $175 million to $900 million. for Olympic motor coaches. VANOC has be officially sanctioned to cover the Bob Mackin has been trying to make suggested to Vancouverites that carpool- Games. Members of the media will sense of the numbers—not to mention ing, tele-commuting and ditching the car outnumber athletes by about 3,000. other information involving the Olym- for public transit are their best travel op- But the 10,000 comes from the Vancou- pics—since the mid-’90s. Working for tions during the Games. 16 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Photo by Stefania Seccia Jeff Lee has been working on the Olympic beat since 2002.

This information isn’t enough for ate during the Games were directed to had bailed out Millennium Develop- Mackin, but he gets the run-around ev- the Canadian Olympic Organizing Com- ments, builders of the Olympic Village, ery time he tries to obtain more details. mittee. after a New York-based investment firm “The City of Vancouver won’t talk “I think if we do see protests during pulled its financing, Lee ended up with about Lions Gate Bridge or Second the Olympics next year, VANOC should a brown envelope. It contained the min- Narrows. They say, ‘talk to VANOC,’ look in the mirror itself because it has not utes of the closed-door meeting where and VANOC says, ‘talk to the Ministry set up a watchdog or allowed a watchdog councillors approved a $100-million loan. of Transportation and Highways,’ and on the inside,” Mackin says. “In the past, I would not have had the the ministry says, ‘talk to VANOC.’” Jeff Lee, a senior reporter for the forum to post them, I would have had to Mackin says forcing reporters to jump Vancouver Sun who was assigned to the refer to them,” he says. through five hoops before getting any Olympic beat shortly after Vancouver Some in the non-mainstream media answers isn’t doing Olympic organizers was short-listed as a host city in late 2002, claim that the Lee’s coverage is soft, due any favours. says he also has to work hard at getting to a sponsorship agreement between “I think they’ve missed the boat on the Olympic story, sans hype or spin. VANOC and Canwest, Lee’s employer. community relations. I don’t see them “VANOC is the toughest organiza- The Vancouver Sun’s coin boxes have out in the community very often,” he tion I’ve ever had to cover in 30 years of been getting a five-ring facelift and this says. news reporting,” Lee says. show of Olympic boosterism suggests So when I spoke with a VANOC pub- There are many stories he’s like to the Sun’s coverage of the Games isn’t lic relations representative for this story, write, but they require time, a commod- as critical as it should be. Lee says this his reaction was no surprise. He told me ity in short supply in most newsrooms couldn’t be further from the truth. he couldn’t be quoted. My questions re- these days. He says the internet has made “We get a lot of flak right now from garding some journalists’ concerns about it somewhat easier for him to convey in- people who think we’re being soft on obtaining Olympic information were met formation to readers because he can post VANOC,” Lee says. “All they [editors] with a “no comment.” Questions about unedited, unfiltered information quickly. have said is, ‘make sure you’re accu- how the both the accredited and the non- For example, last January when the rate.’” accredited media will be forced to oper- story broke that the City of Vancouver Chris Shaw, a keen observer of the Langara Journalism Review 2009 17 Olympics and a self-described “hobby will be tightly controlled by Olympic ing those of a more social nature. journalist” says he is amazed at how the officials—for example, television broad- “We want to bring attention to Van- story of the Games has been presented casters get first dibs on interviews with couver and its needs,” Scales says. “We to the public. “I think the [mainstream] medal winners; print reporters go to the want to cover stories not covered by media have utterly failed this file,” he back of the line—other stories involving mainstream media.” says. Olympic matters, including those on the Raincity will have a 15,000 square- Shaw started his blog 2010 Watch inevitable protest actions, will be freely foot space as its own media centre dur- because he guessed from studying past disseminated via the Internet, not fil- ing the Games, complete with computers Olympics that Vancouver’s show wasn’t tered through the Olympic information so independent journalists can write and going to be any different. He didn’t like machine. upload their stories quickly. it from day one and, “I don’t do neutral,” Even now, protests are being planned The B.C. government is hosting an he says. and many of the activist groups want to international media centre in downtown By day, Shaw is a professor of oph- cover these events themselves, or with Vancouver at Robson Square. To access thalmology at the University of British the help of journalists expected spe- this facility, journalists will not be ac- Columbia. He says he has no particular cifically for the larger anti-globalization credited through Olympics organiza- motive in digging up Olympic informa- movement. Some organizations are al- tions but will have to apply to the provin- tion. He is simply interested in informing ready holding meetings about how to cial government. The province expects the public. “I made a commitment to the some 1,500 journalists to use the centre people of Vancouver and the people of and its services, including the provision British Columbia to be a watchdog and of scenic backdrops and prime rooftops that’s what I did.” “We want to for television broadcasts sending shots Some journalists have described of the city’s spectacular scenery around Shaw as an oracle and an enigma be- bring attention to the world. cause of his voluminous research on the For journalists who want a backdrop Olympic story. Despite his lack of formal Vancouver and its a little more down to earth, the W2 media journalistic credentials, a close look at centre project in the Woodward’s build- his work reveals he is almost right on needs. We want to ing aims to provide a 22,000 square-foot the money when the money isn’t right. space to include radio and television In his book about the Olympics, Five cover stories not facilities, and wireless Internet access. Ring Circus, Shaw estimated the cost for The space is designed to facilitate Olym- security for the 2010 Games at $1.4-bil- covered by main- pic-related coverage from a street-level lion. Compare that to the $175-million stream media.” perspective, and is expected to remain estimate in 2002, when the Games pitch open to the community afterwards as the was first being made to the public. Last “newsroom” for the Downtown Eastside. February the updated security figure best organize such coverage, setting up “It will be a community media centre involving all the agencies involved—the an anti-Olympic newswire, likely protest with the capacity to support dozens of RCMP, the Vancouver Police Department venues, and where to billet these visit- community-generated media practitio- and the Canadian Forces—was pegged ing journalists for free. These groups ners,” says project organizer Irwin Oost- at $900 million. Shaw may not have won are sketchy with details, and prefer to indie. The artist and social activist also on The Price is Right—his estimate was remain nameless. sees it as a future training facility for over­­­—but he was certainly closer than During the Bejing Olympics, the people looking to break into the world of the original $175 million. world saw how a host country can come journalism. Aspiring journalists will re- Despite Shaw’s inherent biases under scrutiny from a group with a par- ceive training, “to put them in entry-level against the Olympics, Mackin acknowl- ticular agenda. Activists for a free Tibet positions,” he says. edges he is doing important work. “He used the 2008 Games as a podium for has done his research from past Olym- airing their grievances with the Chinese o with the cranes still swing over pics and I think he’s someone people government. There is nothing to suggest the Olympic Village, construc- should listen to,” Mackin says. that protesters won’t take advantage of Stion crews are working smart to Skepticism of VANOC and its plans the spotlight on Vancouver to showcase meet its November deadline. The City of for the big party in 2010 is most evident to the world the city’s income disparity Vancouver, now bankrolling the project, in the many other Olympic-critical blogs and significant social problems, particu- may reduce the number of units desig- based in Vancouver. Olyblog.com, Spec- larly on the city’s shame—the Downtown nated for post-Olympic social housing. tacle Vancouver, No Olympics on Stolen Eastside. In doing so, the city would be reneging Native Land, and others are tying the Robert Scales, CEO of Vancouver’s on its original commitment to the less- Olympics and the massive amounts of Raincity Studios, is trying to bridge the fortunate—part of the so-called Olympic money involved to the city’s social ills gap between the Olympics and indepen- legacy. But this is the type of story that such as poverty, lack of adequate hous- dent journalists. Raincity is a web devel- VANOC, the city and the provincial gov- ing, and one more universal scale, hu- opment company dedicated to building ernment don’t want journalists to dwell man rights. online communities. on—it doesn’t fit with the feel-good Everyone agrees the worldwide In- An accredited 2010 Olympics jour- spirit of the Big Event. To be sure, such ternet forum will change the way big nalist himself, Scales hopes to host his information doesn’t fit into the positive, events like the Olympics are covered own media centre during the Games albeit somewhat narrow view. But when from the street. While the rigid structure where individuals can use the facility to the Games begin, these stories will be of reporting on the actual sporting events tell a variety of Olympic stories, includ- will be hard to suppress. 18 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Advertisements disguised as editorial content are blackening magazine pages, but at what cost?

By Marina Shevchuk

espite all the hype about journal- outright refused to participate in this ity is lost and the reader is upset. Nobody ism’s migration to the web, maga- cheque-book style of journalism. Publish- comes out ahead. Advertorial is fine as Dzines are everywhere, and cover- ers—and certainly editors—understood long as it’s labelled very prominently,” ing every topic from dirty wars to pricey that doing so would damage editorial he says. cars, from haute couture to cattle ranch- integrity, and taint the magazine. Today, Four pages into the Globe and Mail’s ing, from bicycles to the bubbly world the practice seems to have infiltrated December 2008 Report On Business of beer. There are some 1,250 magazine the magazine publishing business to the magazine are nine pages of back-to-back titles in Canada today, compared to 860 a point where boundaries between mar- advertisements for luxury wristwatches. decade ago. But does this signal a public keting and journalism are blurred, and Four of the pages are stories and photos. thirst for more and better journalism, or even reputable publications are forced— “A special information supplement” are magazines becoming tools for slick or want—to play the hucksterism game. is written above the material in small marketers? “[Advertiser] demands are getting plain black font on a white background. Look at any major newsstand and stronger across the board—advertisers It is easily overpowered by the title you’ll see a vast array of magazines con- are starting to feel more powerful and are “Timeless trendsetters” on a bold red taining stylish artwork surrounded by making more demands and encroaching background. stories with enticing hooks, interesting into editorial space,” says David Jordan, “If you label it anything, why not la- characters and entertaining quotes. But editor of Granville, a magazine that fo- bel it advertisement?” Jordan asks. the content often reads more like an ex- cuses on environmental trends and sus- “That’s what it is. That’s just going tension of advertising than informative tainable living in Vancouver. out of your way to mislead people by la- journalism. The articles tell the reader Even if the material is identified as belling it ‘information supplement.’ We of the latest trends and then subtly work being something other than editorial, know there are all these fly-by-night in brand names, subliminally inviting us misleading labels combined with layouts community magazines and newspapers to buy. that mimic editorial material make it dif- that have misleading advertorial and This form of advertising has been ficult for readers to identify exactly what you can brush those aside, but when the around for decades, but is appearing in they’re looking at. Jordan notes there Globe and Mail starts labelling advertis- magazines more and more with labelling are various euphemisms for such adver- ing as information, then I think we’ve that is becoming subtle. Referred to in tising material, for example, “special fea- really got a problem with journalism in the industry as “advertorial” they work ture” or “information supplement,” and Canada.” like this: A potential advertiser agrees to the tags are sometimes placed in obscure Inside the same Report on Business buy a full-page colour ad—but only if the locations. issue is a two-page article on the late magazine agrees to publish an accompa- “You’re not fooling anybody by put- Ted Rogers, former CEO of Rogers Com- nying story, either on the organization, ting paid content in a format that looks munications. The article is a flattering or the products it is trying to sell. Noth- like editorial,” Jordan says. “The reader reflection on his accomplishments and ing critical, of course. That’s understood. is going to read a few lines and see that the future of the corporation, all framed A decade ago most magazines there’s something funny here. It’s not re- around Rogers’ 75th birthday celebra- frowned upon the practice, or editors ally a news story. And then your credibil- tion and autobiography launch. It seems

Langara Journalism Review 2009 19 innocent enough but several pages later publishers sometimes are tempted to tisers… that’s happened forever and it’s there is a full-page advertisement for lower their editorial standards just to going to continue happening,” Ursi says. Rogers. In this case there may not have keep the revenue flowing. “There are people out there who been an advertising-for-editorial deal “We’re in one of those markets where get into this business with the inten- but the ad’s obvious contribution to the the advertising is not very robust,” says tion of making money and they will take magazine’s revenue raises questions for Marco Ursi, editor of Masthead, Canada’s shortcuts to do that, but in the long run the reader about the article’s objective. magazine about magazines. it doesn’t pay off because you don’t have Advertorial guidelines are outlined Lack of advertising has, ironically, the trust and authority you need with in the British Columbia Association of killed the print version of Masthead, your readers to get them to really believe Magazine Publishers—Canadian Maga- which was launched in 1987. But overall, in your magazine.” zine Publishers Association nationally— Ursi doesn’t see magazines going extinct But do readers even care about which promotes professional editorial anytime soon. which form advertising takes? Magazine integrity and production standards. The “Now the economy’s in bad shape, advertising is not something readers guidelines stipulate advertisement-ed- but people are still coming out with new have come to hate. In fact, they have ac- itorial ratio, labelling, placing and fre- launches,” Ursi says. “Despite the prob- tually come to expect advertising as part quency. The 80-plus magazines that are lems magazines are having right now— of the magazine experience. members must follow the guidelines, because they are having problems—and Sixty-one per cent of Canadians held but those that are not members are not despite a lot of closures, there are always a positive attitude to advertising in mag- obliged to follow the rules, and can make people who continue to give it a shot and azines and 48 per cent felt that it added up their own. want to do it. It’s really an exciting thing enjoyment to their magazine reading ex- “We need to have perience, according to a some sort of standard Dynamic Logic AdReac- in place just to ensure tion survey conducted in when we’re promoting 2005. While advertising our members we can interferes with nearly stand behind them,” half of Canadians’ en- says Heidi Waechtler, joyment of media such project co-ordinator as the Internet, radio, at BCAMP. “Just to or TV, only a quarter ensure the integrity felt the same way about behind the editorial magazine ads, accord- content, that nobody ing to a 2005 Roper Pub- is doing advertorials without clearly to come out with a magazine and…get lic Affairs survey. marking them as such. That’s our main people reading it, and writing in to you “A common argument I hear from concern when we’re looking at potential and saying how much they love it or even people when they’re trying to tell me members.” how much they hate it.” how great magazines are, is that the ad- Members are required to send three The intimate nature of magazines vertising is not intrusive, that readers copies of every issue published for re- makes them a popular marketing tool like it just as much as editorial,” Ursi view by BCAMP. Waechtler says appli- for companies. Bell Canada Enterprises, says. “Personally, I don’t. I don’t look at cants have mainly been rejected based the country’s largest telecommunica- advertising in magazines. It’s weird for on their editorial-advertising ratio. tions company, until recently published me to say that because I’m the editor of “We really want to be inclusive and a monthly called Vu Magazine covering Masthead and I understand the business help grow and represent the industry,” entertainment choices available to Bell’s is based in advertising.” she says. “We don’t want to be accused ExpressVu channel subscribers. But as Masthead abandons its print of having members whose existence is “It’s a different kind of marketing version and sets sail in the treacherous based solely on advertising-based edito- because it’s one-to-one,” Ursi explains. online world, Ursi will be forced to look rial. We want to ensure that we’re put- “It’s not so in-your-face, it’s more subtle, at web advertising revenue to keep Mast- ting out quality, original content. It’s to it’s ‘Hey, you like TV, don’t you? You like head’s website afloat. maintain an industry-wide standard… to watch these shows and you like these “People are experimenting online,” and to help the magazines themselves, people? Well you’re a subscriber to our Ursi says. “Online is the Wild West of so that the editors and ad-sales teams Bell Satellite TV and we thank you for publishing right now and everyone is just can understand them and communicate that through the magazine and we hope trying things and killing things, starting them to their customers. And to under- you’re going to stay a customer.’” new things and closing old things, faster stand what they’re producing as well. It is evident that Vu Magazine was than you can track it, both in terms of They look to us for what’s appropriate.” trying to persuade readers to stay loyal editorial and advertising.” Advertising, of course, is the life- to Bell. But when general interest maga- As more publications face financial blood of any magazine, unless it is in- zines with the goal of providing good hardships, the pressure on publishers dependently funded. Business or trade journalism are competing in the same to sacrifice editorial integrity for adver- magazines rely on advertising for 84 market, the pressure to increase revenue tising revenue grows. New competition per cent of their revenue, while general by providing editorial support to adver- from online publications compounds the interest magazines get 56 per cent of tisers can undermine that goal and turn problem even further. their revenue from advertising. The rest magazines into nothing more than mar- “Publishers are letting [advertisers] comes from subscriptions or other activi- keting tools. get away with more. Sales reps are prom- ties, such as selling circulation lists. The “The idea of magazines not having ising them more. I see publishers really competition for scarce ad dollars means editorial integrity or selling out to adver- caving,” Jordan says.

20 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Insignificant commentary

Newspaper political endorsements may have little influence on readers

By Janaya Fuller-Evans

t is election night in Vancouver. ing more popular with those looking for tial election, the Chicago Tribune even People trickle into St. Augustine’s a new perspective on any given topic. suggested how people should vote over IAnglican Church in Marpole to vote But Jones says blog writers do not the telephone. for their favourite candidate—and elect a have the same credibility as an editorial The paper was so against the incum- federal government. It is the same scene board does when endorsing candidates. bent U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in churches, school gyms and commu- “I don’t think blogs have the same that 10 days before the election, the Tri- nity centres across Canada. voice of formal authority as a newspaper, bune’s switchboard operators answered In the weeks before voters make but that may change in the future,” Jones the phone with, ‘Hello. Chicago Tribune. their selections, editorial boards from the says. Only 10 days left to save the American country’s major newspapers announce According to Kay, reporters who blog way of life.’ their choices in eloquent editorials. The for newspaper websites, such as the Na- Richard Stengel, writing in Time editors weigh and ponder the political is- tional Post’s, showcase the risks inherent Magazine last year, questions the pur- sues of the day in an effort to convince in this new medium. pose of political endorsements in edito- and cajole their readers, all in the name “Blogging is an exercise in quick- rials. of what’s best for the country. reflex reactivity: Good bloggers tend to “Sure, I know the history and the The question is, do these editori- get their posts up within hours, or even tradition, the fact that newspapers in the als have any impact on election results? minutes, of breaking news—not enough 18th and 19th centuries were often af- Deborah Jones, a former member of the time for decisions to be run through filiated with political parties, but why do editorial board for The Vancouver Sun, newspapers’ normal editorial chain of they do it now? Why do it at a time when now a freelance journalist, believes they command,” Kay writes in an article for the credibility and viability of the press don’t. She says endorsements really only Newmajority.com. are at all-time lows?” Stengel writes. concern folks in the industry. “More importantly, why do it at a time “The percentage of people who read when readers, especially young readers, editorials is so tiny,” Jones says. “I think “The people who question the objectivity of newspapers in the people who read editorials tend to read editorials particular and the media in general?” be possibly the policy makers or people While readers may not be directly who are more informed anyway, and the tend to be possibly influenced by newspaper endorsements, politicians themselves. I’m not sure that editorials about little-known or inde- it has a big effect on the public.” the policy makers pendent candidates can inform the pub- Jonathan Kay, managing editor of lic about the variety of political choices content for the National Post, agrees that or people who are available. Unfortunately these are the most voters pay very little attention to politicians who are frequently ignored endorsements. more informed by editorial boards. “In the United States they’ve done Peter Prontzos, a college political some studies on whether journalistic en- anyway.” science instructor who ran for the NDP dorsements of political candidates sways in the 2008 federal election, says endorse- political races and I think the conclusion While editorializing in newspapers ments can have a huge effect for lesser- they came to was that it doesn’t,” Kay is going in a new direction—online—it is known candidates. says. only within the past 50 years that a line “If you’re an underdog or you’re new Only 37 per cent of newspaper read- was drawn dividing news from opinion in or something and almost as a surprise ers read editorials, compared to the 73 the paper itself. a paper endorses you, again, it leads to per cent who read local news, according Newspapers have historically pro- credibility,” Prontzos says. “I think it to a 2007 study conducted by the Newspa- claimed political and economic positions, makes a huge difference.” per Audience Databank, Canada’s daily urging readers to adhere to the same val- Likewise, if the media does not take newspapers’ research arm. ues. In the past, news stories carried the such candidates seriously, voters won’t One possible reason is that readers reporter’s or the paper’s opinions. But in either. now have a variety of sources for opinion recent decades, newspapers separated If newspapers do not provide infor- pieces that did not exist when the edito- the two areas in an attempt to maintain mation about unknown candidates, no rial section of the local newspaper was the appearance of objectivity. The politi- one knows who they are. first created. cal slant of the local paper was once so “If it doesn’t get past the gatekeeper, Web blogs, in particular, are becom- obvious that, during the 1936 presiden- it doesn’t exist,” Prontzos says.

21 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Split on free speech

Photo illustrations Stefania Seccia Gordon Murray (left) is being sued by The Vancouver Sun, a newspaper Kevin Bent (right) publishes.

22 Langara Journalism Review 2009 The fine line between satire and defamation in Canada By Andrew Weichel

he morning of December 7, 2007. comment on broad social issues, like the born, California-based comedienne her- Retired Simon Fraser Univer- satirical 2006 Onion newspaper article self, argues our nation’s strict libel laws Tsity sociology professor Morde- that grazed on America’s immigration stifle the humourist, and she’s not alone. cai Briemberg sat packed and ready to debate as well as globalization (“Illegal While some—generally, the person leave the country. His son Joshua, who Immigrants Returning To Mexico For or persons making potentially insulting co-ordinates water distribution efforts in American Jobs”), while others aim at statements—frame the debate as a Central America, would be expecting his more direct targets— among them, spe- matter of free speech, others—typically arrival in Nicaragua that evening. Only cific corporate brands and logos. the victim or victims of a scathing one item was missing from Briemberg’s While the former subdivision of insult—opt to frame it as defamation. bundled travel bags: a new laptop sched- satire may have managed to endure Who’s right? Is it an individual’s right uled for delivery that afternoon. historically even under fascist regimes to make fun, or to not be made fun of? A knock. Briemberg stood up from (Russian playwright Mikhail Bulgakov’s While such a conflict between individuals the table where he sat with his wife and satirical anti-revolutionary productions may be open to legal interpretation case shuffled to the door. He was met by a were mystifyingly awarded the full sup- by case, our legislation is much more plainclothes man with a clipboard. port of Stalin himself), the difficult-to- succinct when dealing with corporate “Mordecai Briemberg?” he asked. define rights of the more direct targets interests—specifically pertaining to “That’s me,” Briemberg said, signing leaves the latter form’s future lingering trademarked logos. Whereas the U.S. for his delivery. “I don’t see my laptop.” in a grey area of Canada’s legal system. Trademark Act contains two “fair use” The man was confused; there was no provisions that distinguish “parodying, laptop. He extended his arm and instead he evening of June 6, 2007. Pal- criticizing, or commenting” from handed Briemberg a sealed envelope. estine Media Collective support- infringement, Canada’s Trade-mark Act “I’m here to deliver your writ of Ters gather outside of the Roman lacks a specific provision for humour summons.” coliseum-inspired architecture of the or social commentary. Instead, Section As the deliveryman drove off, Vancouver Public Library for a rally. 22 states that if any trademarked Briemberg opened the ominous envelope Stacked in piles on the ground were cop- intellectual property is used in a way that to unsettling news: At 70 years old he ies of what at first glance appeared to be depreciates the value of the “goodwill was being sued by one of the largest and The Vancouver Sun. After inspecting the attaching thereto” the logo, legal action most powerful media conglomerates in headlines, however, they proved to be is warranted. Canada. anything but. Morecai Briemberg bent In 1996 this led Canada’s federal court down and picked one up. to rule in favour of tire manufacturer I have been assured by a very know- Michelin over its employees, who had ing American of my acquaintance in CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF used the Michelin Man mascot on union London, that a young healthy child well CIVILIZING THE WEST BANK protest posters. Thirteen years later, that nursed is at a year old a most delicious, STUDY SHOWS TRUTH BIASED legal precedent, which has been accused nourishing, and wholesome food, wheth- AGAINST ISRAEL of penalizing satirical criticism, may be er stewed, roasted, baked or boiled… paired and strengthened. —Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal Taking an armful of papers, Briemberg headed home for the night. decided to distribute them because A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y? Con- He had decided to take the papers to they were funny,” Briemberg says. sonant or vowel? Make up your mind, a SkyTrain station near his house in I“And they provoked people to think we’re at war. Burnaby the next morning to distribute again about the kind of media they’re —Stephen Colbert, The Colbert Report to commuters. getting here.” And that’s what he did. The decision would lead him to be From Jonathan Swift’s ironic propos- accused of trademark infringement by al to end Irish peasants’ starvation in the n a recent Walrus article titled The none other than Canwest Mediaworks 1700s to Stephen Colbert’s modern char- Last Laugh: ­­Why Canadian Satire Publications, owner of 10 major Canadian acterization of Bill O’Reilly-style political ICan’t Measure Up to Stewart and daily papers including the National Post, punditry, centuries of effective popular Colbert, Rebecca Addelman compares The Province, and the Sun. Despite the satire have cemented the form’s place in the current success—and general rele- size of the satirical publication (two social criticism. vance —of American comedy shows such pages), the phony-baloney names on Once exclusively defined as a liter- as The Daily Show and The Colbert Re- the bylines (Cyn Sorsheep and P. Rupa ary device, satire’s provocative mix of port to our own comparatively lame fare Ghanda) and the ridiculous headlines, mockery and critique is no longer bound like This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Indeed, the unaltered masthead of The Sun to any medium—visual­ arts, film, TV, anyone familiar with our southern neigh- provided grounds for Canwest to pursue and particularly the increasingly popu- bour’s satirical programming would have legal action. lar “fake news” genre all employ satire to concede the recently retired Royal For his part in the paper’s distribution, and parody to skewer everything from Canadian Air Farce to be milquetoast Briemberg’s name was included on the sacred cows to vapid socialites. Some in comparison. Addelman, a Canadian- writ along with the printer, three Jane

Langara Journalism Review 2009 23 is accused of defamation it’s his or her responsibility to prove that the joke was based on fact. “All you need to do in Canada to get a libel suit going is to get your feelings hurt. You call your lawyer and start the meter running,” Bate says. In order to deal with the constant stream of complicated legal struggles, Bate decided to take sole responsibility for the authorship of each article published in Frank by providing his own byline for his reporters’ stories. “The trouble is if you put someone’s name to it then they’re liable as well and nobody will write for you. In theory, I was the author of everything. I edited everything, so I was the author, so I was the target for the suits; the magazine, the holding company and me,” Bate says. “And I had no assets so there was nothing they could get.” Former CTV political pundit Warren Kinsella, and journalist-cum-senators Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy have all taken legal action against Frank, though only Duffy’s case advanced far enough to even settle out of court—which is not to say each case wasn’t stress-inducing. After nearly two decades of taking sole responsibility for the magazine’s content, Bates, currently penning his memoir tentatively titled The Frank Diaries, is burnt out. “In retrospect of doing that for 20 years, I can’t recommend that for satirists or for future Frankians,” Bate says. “It’s a nerve-racking way to run a publication.”

ow that his name, along with his wife Carel Moisewitsch’s, ap- Npears openly on the Canwest writ in place of Briemberg’s, Gordon Murray has no qualms about taking responsibil- Illustration by Alex Cho ity for the Vancouver Sun parody. Does and three John Does—blank slates funct Ottawa edition of Frank magazine, “I did it,” Murray confesses. “I to be filled in as evidence was collected. Bate spearheaded the publication’s move designed it and wrote it.” Following protest support through from the Maritimes to the nation’s capi- Donning a black t-shirt with an the Seriously Free Speech Committee tal 19 years ago. He also headed the mod- upside-down Canadian flag that reads —which counts prominent dissidents est, yet influential magazine through “Canadian holocaust”, a reference to Noam Chomksy, Naomi Klein and Linda a myriad of legal troubles—and even the exploitation of Canada’s aboriginal McQuaig as honourary members—and willfully courted a few of them. When population, it’s clear that Gordon Murray the unveiling of the real culprits behind Canwest decided to sue Mordecai Bri- is no stranger to controversy. After the parody paper, Briemberg’s name was emberg, for instance, for distributing the observing ongoing mass-media coverage eventually dropped. fake Sun newspaper, Bate published the of the Israel-Palestine conflict, which The sour taste, however, remains. front page of the controversial paper on Murray perceived to be biased toward “We’re often very smug about how we’re Frank’s cover. Israel, he and Moiseiwitsch made the so much better than the Americans,” Like Addelman, Bate faults Canadian decision to produce a parody. Briemberg says. “But I don’t know.” legislation for the satirist’s difficulties. “[Canwest’s] The National Post Trademark law aside, Bate says that libel specifically has been studied, and their f anyone in Canada can sympathize laws in Canada unfairly default with the coverage of the death of children, Israeli with satire-borne legal woes, it’s Mi- plaintif. Instead of being innocent until children versus Palestinian children, Ichael Bate. Publisher of the now-de- proven guilty, if a Canadian humourist showed that they were 80 times more 24 Langara Journalism Review 2009 likely to report the death of an Israeli versus the pro-Palestinian stance. This can you prove that? I have been mocked child,” Murray says. “When the bias is Seriously Free Speech group has been a million times for example by my wife, that outrageous, it’s difficult to talk about suggesting that we haven’t been fair, and I am not hurt by that at all,” Petro it in academic terms. Satire seemed to balanced and accurate in our coverage says. “It’s for the better; she’s trying to be a good way to deal with some of the of what’s happening in the Middle East. set me right. She’s sort of frustrated, and issues.” And it’s not about that at all. In my mind maybe when she makes fun of me she’s Despite their current candour, it has nothing to do with that. This is going to achieve her purpose better than Murray and Moiseiwitsch left their trademark infringement.” when she says it straight.” names off the original parody paper, Bent compares the Sun to a Coke When speaking about the current leaving the Sun no easy recourse—and or Nike product, where the consumer’s lack of legal protection for satirists, no responsible party to communicate trust in the brand is paramount. however, Petro’s tone becomes noticeably with—when it was distributed. “I came from another industry that sombre. “Knowing that Canwest is very made packaged goods and if anyone “Well, not protected in my mind litigious, we knew there was a possibility tried to damage our reputation, damage equals not allowed. I’m not an idiot to that they would try to take legal action. our product offering, essentially hurt the write a satire and find myself punished, We did it anonymously, and that was equity that we’ve spent a hundred years or lose my job. So it’s no good to say that one of the reasons; we didn’t want to get building in our brand, then we would it’s not protected,” Petro said. “I think involved in a SLAPP suit. The other being take it seriously.” what we have to say is that satire is not to focus on the issues, and let the parody According to Bent, people had been allowed in Canada, because that is the speak for itself without getting involved opening street corner coin boxes and consequence of not being protected.” with the personalities behind it,” Murray wrapping the fake paper around real says. “It’s kind of impossible now, but editions of the Sun, which—despite the * * * * * that was the original intention.” obvious pun bylines and the extreme Satire dramatizes better than any other SLAPP suits, or strategic lawsuits content of the parody—caused confusion use of it the inherent contradiction of free against public participation, began among a number of readers as to whether speech: that it functions best when what in the 1980s as a corporate reaction they were reading a Canwest product. being said is at its most outrageous. to environmental groups that were “People actually did call me and —Tony Hendra, satirist speaking out against logging and urban e-mail me and said, ‘I can’t believe you development. SLAPP suits, according guys are putting out this garbage. I don’t Canada’s trademark law prohibits to their detractors, are not necessarily know if it’s you guys or if it’s somebody anyone from making “a false or filed in the interest of collecting else, but you know, you shouldn’t stand misleading statement tending to monetary damages; they may be filed on the sidelines.’ And this wasn’t one or discredit the business, wares or services with the simple intention of siphoning two e-mails, this was quite a few. of a competitor.” Did Murray and the resources of an opposing interest, “We’re all for satire and parody, but Moiseiwitsch mean to discredit the Sun a method available only to the wealthy when it harms a business that’s when it with their parody? In a word, yes; it’s at and powerful, and most effective against crosses a line. It has harmed our business, the very least a discernable criticism. groups or individuals with limited and we’ve got work to do in that area.” Whether Murray and Moiseiwitsch, resources. While asserting that Middle who did not profit from the faux-paper’s Today, 24 states in the U.S. have East coverage was inconsequential to distribution financially, can be credibly “anti-SLAPP” legislation in place to Canwest’s lawsuit, Bent still refutes considered “competitors” is for the judge prevent these lawsuits from seeing trial. Murray’s claims of bias. to decide. “B.C. in fact had such legislation. It “They’re clearly off-base in What’s evident is that Canada’s was passed in April of 2001 by the NDP suggesting that Canwest or the Sun or trademark law in no clear terms even government, and repealed in August 2001 any of our products are slanted towards addresses the possibility of parody, a by the incoming Liberal government,” one direction or another from a coverage confusing scenario compounded by the Murray says. perspective. The newsroom’s task is and parallel murkiness of Canada’s laws “It was their very first act.” always has been to be fair and accurate, regarding free speech. The Canadian and if there was anyone giving any Charter of Rights and Freedoms merely lean cut, confident and sharply directive to me or to Patricia [Graham, states that freedom of thought, belief, dressed in suit and tie, Kevin Bent editor-in-chief] or to Valerie [Casselton, opinion and expression are guaranteed Cseems yanked off the cover of GQ executive editor] or to anybody, we’d “only to such reasonable limits prescribed magazine—and like the perfect natural have a revolt on our hands,” Bent says. by law as can be demonstrably justified counterpoint to Murray. Bent is the pres- “That’s not the way to run a strong media in a free and democratic society.” ident and publisher of Pacific Newspaper company in today’s environment.” What’s missing is a sturdy legal Group, which puts out both the Sun and precedent to either bar or embrace satire The Province—the two largest papers in n the phone, speaking in a strong and deem it defamatory or protected, competition (more or less) for Vancou- Slovak accent, University of Brit- respectively. ver’s readership. His perspective on the Oish Columbia Russian literature For Murray and Moiseiwitsch’s trial, lawsuit is, of course, as contrary to Mur- and satire specialist Peter Petro is ami- however, the question of satire is moot. ray’s as their appearances. cably eccentric. When the question of The judge has barred any mention of “This has been spun from their satirical defamation is raised, he muses biased reporting from their statements angle as a Canwest and Vancouver on hurt feelings. of defence, asserting that Canwest’s trial Sun issue in a sense, that this is about “How do we know that mocking is is to be determined on the grounds of Canwest taking the pro-Israeli stance hurting the reputation of someone? How trademark infringement alone.

Langara Journalism Review 2009 25 Interactive journalism Blogs circumvent conventional news media, but disciplined reporting may be the victim By Alex Moser iberal candidate Lesley Hughes anywhere online. extraordinary yet,” Turner says. was asked by the Liberal Party “You’re living through a revolution. In his experience as an elected Lof Canada to step down last year There’s no other way to say it,” The official, he has noticed the effect of blogs, after one blogger lead the way in alleg- Black Rod says. even in mainstream media. ing she was “9/11 truther,” someone who Blogging has become commonplace “Blogging and blogs are used now as believes the attack on the World Trade in a world that is virtually online all the a [news] source,” Turner says. “My blog Center was conspiracy by high-ranking time, and it’s changing the way people statements would appear in newspapers. U.S. officials to provide justification for get their news. Of course it was a substitute for people overseas wars. “Blogs provide immediacy and they actually having to talk to me.” The Black Rod—whose identity is free people from dependency on the Despite the cost to his career, Turner unknown—prints his blog at Blackrod. gatekeeper media,” says The Black Rod, still praises the format. blogspot.com and is proud of the citing his Hughes post as an example. “From a public person’s perspective, accomplishment. “A story appears, people comment on blogging is an indispensable tool of “If newspapers covered news it, link to it, and follow it up in their own communications which allows one to properly, the bloggers wouldn’t exist,” he way. After the story was posted, we were actually go around mainstream media,” says. “Or news blogs wouldn’t exist.” spectators. It burned its way through the Turner says. One of the major problems But his definition of “proper” is not national consciousness within 48 hours with blogging is that “there are no ethics, the same as an accredited journalist. and was gone. Welcome to the future.” there are no standards, and there’s no Hughes was not given the opportunity Sean Holman, prominent British legality,” according to Turner. to respond in The Black Rod’s post, Columbian blogger and recently laid-off “Anyone’s free in this country to following the typically one-sided nature legislative reporter for 24 Hours, believes start a website anonymously, to say what of blogs. that blogging’s biggest benefit is its they want. You get lots of instances of Hughes says The Black Rod’s interactivity. shoddy reporting, where people pretend anonymity allows him to speak his “I think that blogging offers a to be investigative reporters.” opinion with little recourse. different way to go about journalism One idea that Turner talked about “I certainly wish he would disclose than most mainstream media allow,” on his blog was what he called “digital his identity,” she says. “The problem says Holman, who created his blog democracy”, whereby blogging would be is bloggers are not really accountable Publiceyeonline.com in 2004. a conduit for public figures to interact if they slander you or misinform or “By that I mean, when a story is directly with the public. disinform. published in a newspaper ... it’s as a stand- “I did a lot of things. I had straw “The Black Rod made an unfounded alone entity. Blogging allows you to have polls, asked what their opinion was on allegation based on his personal opinion, a conversation with your readers.” a number of issues. I calculated the which ended up being accepted in the Holman says the smaller, instant results and passed them around to my mainstream media.” updates of blogging are popular for a colleagues as an instant snapshot of National Post writer Jonathan Kay reason. public opinion.” relied solely on The Black Rod’s blog “If you look at television... a lot of the In the larger picture, Turner says when he reported on Hughes, calling really popular dramas right now are done that while he thinks blogging as an MP The Black Rod “the MVP blogger of the in a serial format,” Holman says. “It’s was a worthwhile experiment, it has election.” what keeps the viewers watching, it’s the a long way to go before being a tool of “I haven’t spoken to The Black Rod. hook. I think that’s a really compelling “digital democracy.” I’m not even sure I know who he/she is,” format for journalists to use as well, “Blogging undermines political Kay said in an e-mail to the LJR. “Nor did and I think it’s a format that blogging parties, it undermines political leaders, I speak to Hughes.” encourages.” it undermines their ability to control Kay says the story was picked up Blogging has also had an influence on their message.” from one of his favourite blogs and he Canadian politics. Former Conservative Turner believes that political parties traced back the chain of links until he MP Garth Turner was one of two MPs who aren’t ready for another stream of found the original source. kept a blog until January 2009. In 2006, he communication to monitor and control. “This is a common task when you’re was turfed from the Conservative Party “It opens up far too much relying on blog sources,” Kay says. “You caucus for “breaching caucus secrecy” accountability to the citizen, the want to find out who was the first person on his blog, Garth.ca. taxpayers, and the voters,” Turner says. who actually broke the story, even if Author and journalist Turner says Hughes says The Black Rod’s opinion dozens of other sites followed up on it.” the impact of blogging isn’t wide, but it’s of her was perceived as truth and is The Black Rod publishes his growing. something she will never recover from. thoughts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, “Blogging has had an influence “I’ll be a monster on the Internet but his material is available instantly, on journalism [but] it hasn’t been until I’m dead.” 26 Langara Journalism Review 2009 The above photo by Kelli Cardinal is the original. The image below was altered by photographer Allan Detrich. He added foliage and removed the legs behind the Bluffton pennant before submitting it to the Blade newspaper.

Digital deception In the age of Photoshop, seeing isn’t always believing By Justine Leung

wo opposing basketball players After further review of his photographs shelf software such as Photoshop, how spring into the air side by side, it was found that Detrich, a newspaper trustworthy are they? Is what you see Tarms outstretched, flailing to- photographer for 18 years and winner actually what happened? wards a ball floating in mid-air just out of hundreds of newspaper photogra- Even when objects removed from a of reach. Photographer Allan Detrich phy awards, had submitted 947 photos photograph seem inconsequential, Row- was at the game to shoot the action. The for publication in 2007. Ninety-seven of land Lorimer, a professor of mass com- University of Toledo women’s basketball those had been digitally altered; 58 made munications at Simon Fraser University team was playing against the Kent State it to print. says they are important to the informa- squad and this photo could be a great ad- Detrich made changes such as re- tion a photograph provides. While fore- dition to tomorrow’s local paper. moving people, tree limbs, utility poles ground images affect people on a more Or could it? What if the basketball and other background objects. conscious level, background images are wasn’t in the picture and the photograph Images are powerful tools in story equally as powerful. was of two women jumping? That’s all telling. They transcend language bar- “For instance you see a tree in a the photograph was, in fact, until Detrich riers, illiteracy, and can be viewed and shot but you don’t sit there in your digitally added the ball. And though this shared in countless formats. They can mind thinking about it,” he says. “You photo did not make it to print, other al- also capture moments that are otherwise don’t really operate on it—not in words tered photos did. indescribable. anyways—you don’t realize what enters In April, 2007 Detrich, a photogra- Strong images have the capacity to your mind, but it sets reality and certain pher for the Blade newspaper in Toledo, leave long-lasting emotional impacts assumptions.” Ohio, resigned after confessing to alter- and memories. But with the capability to He uses the example of a photo of a ing a photo that appeared in the paper. manipulate photos digitally with off-the- fire at a local building to explain the type

Langara Journalism Review 2009 27 of information a reader would take away moving photographs faster and easier, selves and set standards for the photo- from the foreground of an image. news media receive images almost in- graphs they supply. The action in the foreground of the stantly from around the world. One of the major photograph-supply- photograph confirms the validity of the Unverified doctored photographs ing newswires is Getty Images. Getty has story on a conscious level, while back- have splashed across international 120 employees and 300 contributing and ground objects inpact thoughts on a sub- newsmedia as a result of this connective freelance photographers spread across conscious, less thought-provoking level. convenience, and multiple websites dedi- the globe. “I certainly think images set up an cated to exposing altered photography in Getty offers many services to dif- overall context in which words are inter- the news have risen up in their wake. ferent clients all over the world. This preted,” Lorimer says. “Images are for includes not only an editorial feed to people to make interpretations and add news media but also branding services elements of what the story’s about. If a for companies. The different branches picture shows what a person is talking might have been an ethical issue if not about, one gets a sense of drama and ex- handled appropriately. tent.” “Every time it “As long as they keep the two divi- But when images are altered, so is sions separated and a news photographer the information they provide. happens people doesn’t take ad photographs as well, it’s Mary Agnes Welch, president of the okay,” says the CAJ’s Welch. Canadian Association of Journalists says lose a little more She adds newspapers do the same doctoring photos is easy to do. “It’s as thing by selling ads and then sometimes simple as cropping something out of a faith in the news.” having to write about the companies that photograph,” she says. “It’s like taking a placed them. quote out of context.” Cole Porter, Getty Images edito- She notes that altering photogra- rial ombudsperson, insists that editorial phy affects the credibility of news media. teams and commercial teams of photog- “Every time it happens people lose a little An image of an Iranian missile test in raphers and editors are sent out sepa- more faith in the news. July 2008 was picked up and published by rately even if they cover the same event. “A photograph is a piece of news,” media worldwide. The photo was of four For example, Getty Images is the offi- Welch says. “Changing or doctoring a missiles being launched from a fenced, cial photographer of the 2010 Vancouver photo is like making up facts or a quote. flat, barren strip of land. Rolling brown Olympic Games. The company plans to It’s unethical.” dust clouds blanket the launch area, as send a commercial team that has been She acknowledges that sometimes a grey and yellow smoke pillars tail out of hired by the Olympic committee, as well photo is altered for creative reasons on the glaring white flames firing from the as a team to provide editorial content for a feature page. “It’s not a big deal, if it’s back of the missiles. news media. clear to the reader.” A photo analysis later showed the For credibility reasons, Getty keeps But this brings up the question of picture was tampered with, but only af- news material separate from other pho- how clear is clear to the average reader? ter the photo—which was originally re- tography, Porter says. Occasionally, And is that an assumption made by an leased by Sepah News, the media arm of a commercial photo might make it as editor? the Iranian Revolutionary Guards—was news.If a photographer on a commercial Newspapers such as The Vancouver picked up by media around the world, shoot, for example, takes photos of some- Sun and The Province alert readers to spreading false information. thing newsworthy and those photos are altered images, labelling them as photo In reality, only three of the four mis- the best, or the only ones avalaible, Getty illustrations, advising the readers of in- siles launched successfully. A composite puts them on the newswire with a label tentional discrepancies between what image of an extra missile was added to alerting news outlets. After that it’s up to would have been the original image and the photograph and the image of the un- newsroom editors to decide what to use. the image that they are viewing. fired missile still piggybacked to a white But commercial photographs will go But without the original, the reader carrier truck was cropped out. on the newswires only if the commercial is unaware of what has been altered and The photograph—and the truth— client agrees, Porter adds. is left to speculate. had been digitally altered, leaving read- Today’s sophisticated cameras can This has the potential to be a slip- ers with the wrong context for the arti- lie, too, Porter notes, so Getty has stan- pery slope in terms of ethics in news cles that accompanied it. dards for shooting news photos. As for photography. There was speculation that the pho- using software such as Photoshop, ma- Bill Holden, photo and graphics edi- tograph was altered to exaggerate Iran’s nipulation is limited to cropping and tor at The Province, says “Photoshop is military capabilities and news media colour adjustments to avoid damaging a great tool and with varying types of were used as a tool to further an agenda. the editorial integrity of the image, as quality some photographs need work. This suggests the need for a fact- well as to maintain the principles of ac- We never take anything out of a photo. checking system for photographs and curacy and honesty that news media We’re very conscious of that.” shows that scrutiny must be applied need to uphold. He concedes the temptation could be when considering the sources of news Photographs are a form of immedi- there to alter photos, but notes that it is photographs. ate information. If readers get to a point as important to trust a photographer’s Newspapers subscribe to numerous where they can no longer trust the valid- judgment as it is to a trust reporter’s. newswires because the logistics of each ity of newspaper photojournalism, news Problems can also arise when imag- media outlet placing their own photogra- media lose more than a story telling tool. es don’t come from staff photographers. phers in every part of the world are not It loses a language of information the en- With technology making sharing and realistic. But newswires oversee them- tire world can speak.

28 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Freelance flatlining

Writer suggests boycotting Canwest’s freelance contract

By Brenna Temple

elf-employed journalists are criti- zation like a newspaper, it’s true that the someone else will, especially in this cizing Canwest’s freelance con- employer owns your work,” says Maskell. economy. I can’t say it’s unethical but it’s Stract, an agreement they say takes “In return for that you get a wage. definitely mean-spirited and I’m disap- away their right to a liveable wage. There’s a certain amount of employment pointed. It’s the worst contract in Cana- Under the contract, writers are paid security—you may have employment da, basically,” Welch says. a one-time flat rate, allowing Canwest to benefits—and that’s the understanding. “Companies have the right to do what reprint their work elsewhere for free. It You own my work and in return, derive they can to make money and save money. also allows for the byline to be removed some benefit from that. But I think there is a power and balance and for the article to be edited without “The simplest way to put it is that at work, and freelancers are an easy tar- the writer’s permission. Canwest appears to want to be able to get because they don’t have a union be- David Johnston, the executive di- treat freelancers’ work as if the freelanc- hind them and there is always someone rector of the Professional Writers Asso- ers were employees, while at the same out there who will do it cheaper.” ciation of Canada, says besides the fact time denying freelancers any of the ben- Shannon Lee Mannion wrote a col- that freelancing rates have not recently efits or credits that flow from [being an] umn for the Ottawa Citizen as a freelanc- increased, freelancers’ rights have also employee.” er for 11 years. After refusing to sign been diminished. Prominent Vancouver freelancer Canwest’s revised freelance contract last “Not only have they [Canwest] not Daniel Wood says the contract is unethi- year, she lost her column. Mannion says raised their rates in decades, but they’re cal because it takes away the journalist’s freelancing for small amounts of money asking for more,” says Johnston. rights over his or her own material. under the contract is a matter of desper- “It’s a rights grab. In the electronic ation that writers should resist. world they’re asking for rights that they “We all have to stick together and didn’t have previously and they’re not say, ‘No, we are professionals. We’re go- paying for them.” “If you write ing to work for an adequate and appro- Because of the contract’s rigid rules, priate amount of money,’” says Mannion. freelancers may be forced to find entirely for Canwest as a “But that’s not happening because people different jobs, says Johnston. will just take whatever they can get.” “Fewer and fewer people are going freelancer, you are Margaret McMillan, a Winnipeg to be doing that kind of work. They’ll Free Press editorial administrator who turn to corporate work or government dancing with the handles freelance contracts, says the pa- work, which pays better, because they per’s contract also seizes copyright from can’t repurpose the material and sell it devil.” freelancers, but offers more advantages elsewhere.” since the work will not be widely distrib- When asked to comment on the “The writer is the creator of the uted without additional monetary gain. criticism of the contract, Scott Anderson, material he writes. He subsequently, “We’re just buying it for this market. Canwest’s senior vice-president of con- by writing things, earns the copyright. The freelancer benefits in that way be- tent, declined. That’s what the law says,” Wood says. cause we’re not spending a couple hun- “You’d have to talk to our lawyers “But in the Canwest contract the writer dred dollars for one story and then send- about what the specifics are around it,” relinquishes what is fundamentally his. ing it to 15 different papers,” McMillan Anderson says. He added the contract No sensible person would agree to the says. was just like any other. stipulation of that contract.” If and when the Free Press is con- “It was put in place to make sure Wood believes it’s unlikely the con- tacted by another publication interested everybody understands what we’re con- tract will be changing anytime soon, so in the story, it’s up to the freelancer if he tracting for. It’s like any contract in a he advises freelancers to avoid Canwest or she wants to sell the work again. civil society.” altogether. “Out of courtesy we always ask. We Keith Maskell, staff representative of “Don’t write for Canwest. If you say it’s fine with us, but contact the free- the Canadian Media Guild, says the Can- write for Canwest as a freelancer, you lancer and if they choose to charge for west contract prevents freelancers from are dancing with the devil,” Wood says. it, they can do that,” McMillan says. “We earning a living, unlike regular employ- Mary Agnes Welch, president of the don’t pay by the flat rate, we don’t pay by ees who get job benefits and a liveable Canadian Association of Journalists, word or anything. Each editor’s material wage in return for their work. hesitates to call the contract unethical. is based on their budget and what they’re “If you’re an employee of an organi- “If they don’t take the contract then buying.”

Langara Journalism Review 2009 29 30 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Photo by Stefania Seccia Forever feisty Journalist Simma Holt reflects on a life of uncompromising unruliness By Melissa Smalley

ate last year, the Global Morning plete, and spans eight decades of her Holt graduated in 1944, and with a News welcomed a special guest exuberant life. passion for journalism that blossomed Lto its show, Simma Holt, 87, who Holt caught the newspaper bug at during her time in Winnipeg, she im- was there to promote her new book, an early age, growing up as one of eight mediately set out to start her life in the Memoirs of a Loose Cannon. Holt sat children in the Milner family in Vegre- newspaper business at the Canadian at the anchor desk with the two hosts, ville, Alberta. She can recall being 11 Press in Calgary. mischievously grinning from ear to ear, years old and peering through a window Her role in the two-person office blue eyes sparkling as she told amusing of the Vegreville Observer, excitedly was that of “editorial operator.” She was stories from her book. watch- ing the publisher set in charge of the ticker tape, a machine Toward the end the metal type for made up of an arrangement of 26 holes, of the segment, each weekly edi- each one representing a letter of the al- one of the hosts tion. phabet. introduced me- At 19, she left CP bureaus across the country used teorologist Mark the comforts of her the machine to pass along news from Madryga who hometown for Win- East to West, ending each transmission was meant to con- nipeg to pursue with the sender’s initials. tinue the show an Arts degree To say Holt was thrown into the with his weather at the Univer- deep end at CP would be an understate- forecast. However, sity of Manitoba. ment; with little instruction from her Holt took the op- chief operator she was assigned portunity to scold to the tickertape on Madryga for not her first day, June 6, returning his fan 1944—D-Day. mail, a lecture that Though it was stemmed from a one of the biggest letter Holt had sent news days of the him 14 years ear- Second World War lier that went unan- and Holt struggled swered. Holt never with the tickertape to forgot about it. transmit even her ini- While berating a tials, she survived her weatherman on live She de- first day at CP. television about mail from years ago scribes the But as the weeks may seem like a bold and bizarre move experience passed, things didn’t for some, for Holt it was something that as being improve much for the came naturally. the most aspiring reporter. Her “I just had to get it out of my sys- frightening only stories for CP tem,” she says with a laugh. This loose in all her were rewrites from cannon—a term she adores—has been life, super- the two major Calgary unapologetically speaking her mind for seding her papers, and they were decades. But while she may not hesitate time spent rarely longer than a few to share her opinion with others, Holt is in peniten- paragraphs. equally as kind-hearted and understand- tiaries interviewing convicted Discouraged by the ing as she is an offbeat loudmouth. killers, death threats she received from menial work, Holt began to question Holt is now reliving it all, touring Sons of Freedom Doukabours and inter- her dream of being a big city reporter. the country to promote the book that viewing gang members on the streets of A friend from Vancouver encouraged chronicles her life as a reporter, a Mem- New York. her to write a letter to Himie Koshevoy, ber of Parliament and a member of the But her fear of leaving home soon city editor of The Vancouver Sun, and National Parole Board. It also provides faded and it wasn’t long before Holt although she thought it was a long shot, an intimate look at the struggles of sex- worked her way up to the rank of man- she sent it anyway. ism and insecurity Holt faced through- aging editor at the university’s student To Holt’s surprise, Koshevoy re- out her career, as well as her marriage newspaper, the Manitoban, also filling in sponded to her letter with a job offer, to Leon Holt, the love of her life. The as university stringer for the Winnipeg and her first day at The Vancouver book took more than 25 years to com- Free Press. Sun was Nov. 1, 1944. Her first duty Langara Journalism Review 2009 31 as “number three” on the city desk was Simma for so long and he replied, “I stick to freelance for magazines such as Ma- to check in with the police, ambulance around to see what will happen next.” rie Claire and Chatelaine. She also wrote and firefighters and pass along potential Holt soon became one of the Sun’s top three books; Terror in the Name of God news stories to Koshevoy. She was also reporters, covering a variety of beats and (1964), Sex and the Teen-age Revolution in charge of the war’s casualty list pro- training newcomers to the newsroom in (1967), and The Devil’s Butler (1971). She vided by the National Defence Depart- the ways of big-city reporting. One such would later write The Other Mrs. Diefen- ment each day, and would follow up with reporter was Fred Cawsey, who joined baker, a biography of Edna May Brower, biographies and human interest stories the Sun as a summer intern in the late former prime minister Diefenbaker’s of those killed, wounded or missing. 1960s and recalls Holt’s first wife. Holt’s most important duty at the tenacity above all else. “Journalism Never one to sit Sun, which she describes as “the fact “She was a great re- on the sidelines, Holt of my life that gave me acceptance in a porter,” Cawsey says. is the most decided to run in the man’s world,” was to go out, escorted by “She would hang out 1974 federal election a reporter or copy boy, and pick up her until she got stuff that important as a Liberal, some- liquor ration book to be brought and dis- nobody else got. She thing she refers to tributed to the men in the office. She re- would out-wait people, profession, and as a “change of ven- calls it was the only assignment outside and she would out- I hope that it ue.” During Pierre of the newsroom she had in her first year smart people.” Trudeau’s first term at the Sun, but was wasn’t discouraged. Cawsey also bore survives” as prime minister “It didn’t matter to me. I didn’t care what witness to the sex- in the ’60s, Holt was they thought,” she says. “I was careful be- ism Holt faced as a woman reporter in a never shy about expressing her astonish- cause I knew they resented the fact that I male-dominated industry. Jokes were of- ment and disapproval of the “Trudeau- was in that office in the first place.” ten shouted across the Sun’s newsroom mania” that had swept the country. Despite being more or less tied to about Holt needing to be “serviced” by a While filling in for Jack Webster on CK- her desk in the Sun’s office, it wasn’t certain black football player. In another NW’s popular morning radio show, Holt long before Holt began to do what she instance, male staffers started an office told listeners she couldn’t understand did best—develop a long list of close con- pool to see who could sleep with her the appeal of this “short, wiry man with tacts throughout the city. Initially, she first. But the only attacks that seemed a face with bumpy skin that was hardly was reprimanded by her superiors for to shake her confidence, and still do to Hollywood gorgeous.” However, shortly being too “chatty” on the phone when this day, were the attacks on her writing after an election was called in 1974, Holt speaking with sources from the police or skills. She experienced what she called met Trudeau for a photo op at the Hotel fire department. But the scrutiny began “vindictive editing” on the part of copy Vancouver, and she was unable to resist to subside as her ability to get the stories editors who would often make it a point his warmth and charm. With pressure no one else could blossomed. In her first to hack her copy to pieces. One editor, from other local politicians and digni- official out-of-office story—covering a who Holt recalls taries, she agreed to run as the Liberal fire in Chinatown— displayed “overt re- candidate for Vancouver-Kingsway, and Holt scooped the sentment of women on July 8, 1974 became the first Jewish city’s top reporters in the newsroom,” woman elected to parliament in Canada. simply by sticking would praise her Though now on a national stage around the scene ability to find the in the House of Commons instead of a long after the others story and then tell newsroom in Vancouver, Holt contin- had left. She ended her, “If only you ued to follow her convictions, never shy up with an exclusive could write.” about reminding her Liberal colleagues interview and photo- Looking back, that her priorities as an MP were first to graphs of a man who Cawsey finds it her constituents, then to her country and had narrowly escaped hard to under- finally to the party. She was not afraid the fire. stand her lack of to vote against her party when she felt As Holt’s career confidence in her it was necessary, and once in the House as a journalist began ability to write, of Commons even made a point of cor- to flourish, so did her especially after recting a member of the opposition when personal life. She met decades of suc- he referred to her as “honorable lady” Leon Holt in the sum- cess. “As talent- by reminding him she was an “honor- mer of 1947 and was ed as she is as able member.” She developed a close immediately attracted a reporter, as friendship with Trudeau, which was to his caring, patient engaging she perhaps her downfall in the 1979 elec- nature. Leon’s calm, is as a human tion. Her NDP rival, Ian Waddell made quiet and thoughtful being, she’s a point of highlighting her friendship personality comple- always been with Trudeau during a time when the mented Holt’s outspoken filled with self- West had soured on the prime minister. and lively character and doubt,” Cawsey says. “I’ve always sort of Holt, along with many other Lib- the two were married on May 29, 1949. wondered if that’s what drives her, that erals, was defeated that year, and Leon worked as a Sun photographer for insecurity.” with another experience under her a brief period in the ‘50s and when a col- During her 30-year career as a Sun belt she returned to Vancouver. league asked him why he had stayed with reporter, Holt also managed to find time she had a hard time finding work in the 32 Langara Journalism Review 2009 Vancouver media after her stint as an MP. CKNW wasn’t willing to hire her back despite the good ratings that fol- lowed her previous appearances. She spent the next few years writing, and in 1981 Holt was appointed a member of the National Parole Board. She only stayed on for one term because, she says, “the chairman knew I wouldn’t take any of his bureaucracy.” After Leon died of a heart attack in 1985, Holt took a very different foray into politics, this time landing a research and writing position with the presidential campaign of George Bush Sr. Although she did not fully agree with the politics of the Republican candi- date, Holt’s journalistic instincts couldn’t resist the insider’s look at the mechanics behind a presidential campaign. Howev- er, as the election neared and the extreme Christian and anti-feminist elements took the forefront in the campaign, Holt knew it was time to get out. “Everything in which I was now in- volved was the antithesis of what I be- lieve in,” she writes in her memoir. Holt says the unfiltered access to behind-the- scenes election campaigning was invalu- able, especially for a reporter. “I don’t know whether I helped them or not, all I know is I saw a lot. It was like seeing into the volcano; you’re never the same after.” Today Holt is as feisty and outspo- ken as ever, but she still exudes genuine kindness and empathy for others. She still regrets an incident that occurred de- cades ago. “When I was on [Jack] Webster’s show, a man came on and he said, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about today, but I’d like to talk to you.’ And I said, ‘Well, you’re not listening so why should I talk to you?’ and I hung up. And to this day I’d like to say I’m so sorry, because that man needed someone to talk to.” Journalism remains Holt’s true pas- sion, but she’s not optimistic about its future in a time of media conglomeration and massive layoffs. “Journalism is the most important profession, and I hope that it survives. These egomaniacs who are running newspapers should remember that newspapers are the first things that are destroyed by tyrants. Nowadays, every- thing’s fast and everything’s small, and you can’t be fast if you’re going to tell the real story and get all the information.” And after ranting about the state of newspapers and those who run them, she adds with a grin,“At my age, I’m enjoying being a bitch—certifiable.”

Langara Journalism Review 2009 33 A quick comment Voicing opinions online has never been easier but how do news sites keep out the riff-raff? By Kristen Douglas

ith online news gaining pop- rules for the media outlet to be held ac- you post online you can argue back-and- ularity in the last 10 years, countable. forth. There’s a standard for letters to Wmedia outlets are finding But a precedent-setting decision may the editor; they’re much more eloquent,” people coming to their sites in record be on the way. In early spring, Manitoba Rolfsen says. Letters to the editor are numbers­— not just to get the news but to First Nations leaders were outraged by also edited extensively. let the world know what they think. comments posted on the CBC Manitoba’s The Vancouver Sun’s policy is simi- Most news sites offer comment website that they perceived to be hate- lar to that of The Province. Postings are boards allowing everyone to discuss the ful and racist. Swan Shannacappo and not edited for grammar and spelling but latest event or issue and offer a point-of- Chief Russell Beaulieu, members of the profanities and anything deemed libel- view. Posters can sound off about politi- Sandy Bay First Nation group, urged the ous is removed. cians, the police or a poorly performing Manitoba government to investigate the “The rules for the Internet are still sports team. They can also bash each CBC for violating Canada’s hate laws. If being established and we’ve been in dis- other. Hurling insults and name-calling charges are laid and the case goes before cussions with our legal advisors,” says are common place. On some comment the courts it is possible any media outlet Paul Bucci, the Sun’s deputy managing boards it seems anything goes. Or does caught publishing slanderous comments editor responsible for multimedia. it? could be held legally responsible. Up for discussion is whether or not Not so say those who oversee media “It’s very new terrain—a bit of an un- pre-screening is the right route to take. sites. Most pre-screen posted comments known. It still needs to be tested in the Unlike most media outlets, Black to ensure they adhere to a strict set of courts,” Richards says. Press does not pre-screen comments on guidelines. its news websites. At the CBC, comments are moder- Instead, comments go through a ated 24 hours a day by an outside com- “It’s very new word filter containing about 6,000 taboo pany called ICUC Moderation Services, terrain—a bit of an words. because of the volume of comments the “Our legal advice is that liability is CBC’s website receives. unknown. It still heightened if you moderate. It’s saying if Tim Richards, senior news editor at you’ve seen them, then you’ve made the the CBC in Vancouver, says the number needs to be tested determination that they’re okay,” says of posts per day is growing, depending Rob DeMone, Black Press’ online media on the story. “It’s not uncommon to have in the courts” editor. 100 comments on one story. We have had Black Press also follows a set of rules 3,000 posts on stories before.” Erik Rolfsen, online news editor regarding libel. When opposition parties threatened at The Province, agrees that there’s no “Basically I tell the editors to tell to form a coalition to overthrow the Con- clear answer. “There’s no case law as to people that you want to be able to have servative government last November, whether the paper would be held legally the discussion with your mother,” De- online stories covering the issue drew responsible.” Mone says. about 1,000 publishable comments each We don’t know. If something gets by So far, he says Black Press online has day. the editors people will call or e-mail, and not had a libelous comment. Those that exhibit hate or slander it’s easy to take stuff down.” People also post complaints about or don’t follow the CBC’s guidelines are Rolfsen says The Province’s website stories or specific reporters. Richards supposed to be deleted. Those guidelines receives an average of 250 comments a says when the CBC makes a mistake peo- also state that anyone who posts to the day but of those one in 10 are removed. ple will comment on it. website gives the CBC permission to “Anything that is slanderous or is At The Province, Rolfsen notes post- use the material, for free, on any of the just name-calling or off topic is deleted,” ers often complain about the writer of a CBC’s platforms and agrees to waive all Rolfsen says. So is spam. particular story. “People will take issue moral rights in any submission. But, he says, “there is some stuff with our journalism or our writers and Sometimes material that readers published that’s just ridiculous” because we will freely publish it.” post even turns into a news lead. there is more leniency in what can be said For now, most media outlets want to “For example we’ll find someone online as opposed to what can be printed remain as freewheeling as possible, let who will say ‘oh, my brother took a flight in the newspaper. Which is partly why posters have their say and not discour- on that plane’ and we’ll follow that up,” online comment boards are much more age them from engaging with their sites. Richards says. appealing to readers than writing a let- The case in Manitoba may provide some In the event something offensive or ter to the editor. more concrete answers on how far those libelous does get through, there’s no set “There’s immediacy [online] and if comments can go. 34 Langara Journalism Review 2009 A stranger in Sri Lanka Recent journalism graduate shares her first experience reporting overseas By Jessica Barrett

Jessica Barrett based her radio documentary on Nelum, a Sri Lankan woman working in a motorcycle repair shop.

he phone rang. It was a sunny female enrollment in their trade pro- while crafting beautiful radio features. April Saturday and the Canadian grams—a number that far outstrips simi- As the date neared, however, my antici- TInternational Development Agen- lar apprenticeship programs in Canada. pation gave way to abject terror. I was cy was offering me the opportunity of a But Sri Lankan tradeswomen had just months out of school and not entire- lifetime. I had won the 2008 CIDA-Lang- their work cut out for them. Many were ly sure I had the chops for what seemed ara journalism development scholarship now the breadwinners of their families, like a mammoth task. for foreign reporting and would soon be with much of the male labour force di- Sri Lanka is a country where jour- heading off to Sri Lanka, a small island verted to aid the war effort. Some families nalists are not only unwelcome, but fre- nation off the coast of India best known were still reeling from the 2004 tsunami, quently kidnapped or killed. And you for its legendary teas, pristine beaches while others struggled to deal with pov- don’t have to be a journalist to find your- and epic 25-year civil war. erty brought on by rampant inflation. self in harm’s way. In Sri Lanka’s current I would be reporting on a project run I was headed there to collect their political climate it’s all too easy to wind by the World University Service of Cana- stories for a radio documentary I would up in the wrong place at the wrong time. da [WUSC], a non-governmental organi- produce for The Current on CBC Radio The war between the Liberation Ti- zation that was training women in male- One in Vancouver. gers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri dominated trades, occupations such as Thrilled by my impending adven- Lankan government officially started in plumbing, carpentry and mechanics. ture, I immediately set to work planning 1983. But tension between the Sinhalese Working within Sri Lanka’s tradi- and researching. majority and Tamil minority had built tional patriarchal society, WUSC had I imagined myself a hard-nosed for- for centuries, stoked by a series of colo- managed to average around 30 per cent eign reporter, deftly flirting with danger nial rulers who played favourites with

Langara Journalism Review 2009 35 one or the other. The LTTE—considered alone and claiming to be “on business”— jeans covered in grime and answered a terrorist organization in Canada—has was anomalous to much of the country. my questions with an honesty and can- launched ground and air strikes in the I had prepared for the challenges of re- dour I hadn’t found elsewhere. Here was North and East of the country in its cam- porting from a conflict zone, but it hadn’t someone willing to let me tell her story. I paign for an independent Tamil home- occurred to me that my gender would began to build my documentary around land. Meanwhile, their insurgent offen- become a determining factor in where I her. sives have hit nearly every part of the went, what I did and how I was treated. With my time winding down and my country. The group is also responsible Outside of the few large urban cen- main story under wraps, I seized the op- for inventing one of the grizzliest tactics tres, Sri Lanka is a nation of villages portunity to break off from the NGO and in modern warfare: suicide bombing. where women working outside the explore. I didn’t have to venture far to So far, the war is estimated to have home are rare. If they do, most are con- find other stories. claimed more than 70,000 lives. No one fined to domestic or factory work. After There were the fishermen who had knows just how many more since the dark, women all but disappear from the lost their ancestral lands after the tsuna- government refuses to allow indepen- streets, leaving the shops, restaurants— mi when the government forbade them dent journalists inside the conflict zone. even night club dance floors—the exclu- to rebuild within 100 metres of the coast- Each side gives vastly different numbers sive domain of men. line. There was the school for the deaf of casualties. While in the company of WUSC staff whose students communicated with their The fighting had escalated through- I was given honourary male status, which hearing relatives for the very first time out 2008 with the government vowing to is to say I was treated as an authority by text messaging. There were the Tamil quash the rebellion by military might figure. Rolling up to project sites in the women who plucked tea high in the hill alone. They also started cracking down marked NGO 4x4 with a throng of mostly country who were gaining independence on journalists, even inciting public ha- male WUSC staff, the students seemed with the help of Canadian funds. tred against them after reporters started spooked. It was as if they thought I held I wandered around in search of inter- inquiring about the well-being of hun- the purse strings funding their humble esting leads but found there were limits dreds of thousands of civilians caught training centres, which I would yank to what I could do on my own. between the warring factions. away at the first unfavourable comment. While perusing markets or writing One Sri Lankan journalist was Without being able to disclose that notes over lunch, my daylight hours were hacked—repeat: hacked—to death a few I was a journalist, the local NGO staff punctuated with interruptions from im- weeks before my July visit. didn’t quite know what to make of me, or promptu salesmen hawking guided tours It was one thing to apply to go. Now I my project. or hotel packages. actually had to do it. I proceeded with my Eager to show their “intern” as many However, nightfall brought about a checklist: gather recording equipment, project sites as possible, they handed me shift in the market for human services make flight arrangements, purchase a packed itinerary to be executed at a and I soon realized that, lacking a male comprehensive life insurance. Gulp. break-neck pace. It took a solid week of companion, it was I who was perceived I landed in Bandaranaike Inter- diplomatic visits and constant needling to be for sale. national Airport—a sterile, utilitarian to negotiate my way out of the scheduled After one particularly frustrating ex- building with a barracks-like feel—after ceremonial-style receptions. perience, a hotel manager explained that roughly 30 hours in transit via Hong When I finally gained permission to Sri Lanka’s growing sex trade, imported Kong and Singapore. I was jet-lagged, hit the road with a pared-down company from Eastern Europe, was to blame for disoriented and in unfamiliar territory. A of two (a driver and my translator, Asan- the misconception. There was another small force of bored-looking young men ga) I promptly hit another roadblock. story to add to my queue of freelance brandishing AK-47s casually roamed the I had hoped that without the WUSC ideas. airport halls. entourage I would be on even keel with This irritating reality factored into I started to get nervous in the secu- my interview subjects, able to talk to the remainder of my travel plans. I start- rity clearance line. Ahead of me a man them woman to woman. But there were ed booking hotels with restaurants ei- calmly watched as his luggage was quite still language and cultural barriers to ther in house or nearby, knowing I faced literally torn to pieces. If mine befell the break through. a de facto curfew of 7 p.m. It’s not that same fate, the guard would discover sev- Most of the women preferred to focus I couldn’t go out after dark, but with fa- eral feet of cable, two microphones and on the positive aspects of their difficult tigue setting in toward the end of my trip myriad other recording paraphernalia situations, a tendency I truly admired the extra vigilance required was an en- and I’d have some explaining to do. I’d but got in the way of my story. I wanted to ergy expenditure I made selectively. neglected to reveal the fact that I was a know how these burgeoning tradeswom- Still, I used the remainder of my journalist and I doubted my cover story en were regarded in their traditional ru- time wisely, taking in every piece (that I was a “communications and re- ral communities—places where women of information I could. By the time I search intern”) would sufficiently justify wore saris and saffron-robed Buddhist lumbered on to the plane for the long my gear. But when my turn came the monks led nightly temple chants. haul home, I had reached my saturation guard blithely looked me up and down Here I was, a stranger with a mi- point. before waving me through with a shrug crophone asking these young women to Exhausted, I plunked down in my and a toothy grin. open up about their personal challenges, seat, clutching the precious stories There are different standards for not only to me but to my male transla- chronicled in my tattered notebooks, westerners in Sri Lanka. That goes dou- tor as well. Getting past the polite veneer their pages puckered and ink smeared ble for western women. took significant prodding. from humidity. I tried to jot down some I didn’t know it yet, but my pres- Then I found Nelum at work at a last-minute reflections but fell asleep ence—a young white woman travelling motorcycle repair shop. She wore baggy before plane left the ground. 36 Langara Journalism Review 2009 News dot com

new business model

Internet media is growing and newsrooms are scrambling to keep up

By Jeremy Stothers

he Internet is revolutionizing the Advertising in print, TV and radio permanently shut down one ma- news industry faster than any in Canada is a multi-billion dollar in- chine in a Creston, B.C. paper mill. Tother invention in nearly two cen- dustry, but Internet ads aren’t ready to “The slowdown in newspaper adver- turies. Every advance since the invention fuel major websites, which is a problem tising along with restructuring by pub- of the telegraph in 1837 has launched that will need to be swiftly addressed. lishers in key paper markets is unprec- journalism into uncharted territory. Ra- While both print and broadcast edented, and conditions are expected to dio was supposed to trump the newspa- media are putting more weight on remain very challenging in the foresee- per, and television was supposed to get Internet news, the majority of jour- able future,” Catalyst president Rich- rid of them both. This never happened— nalists file for print, radio or TV. ard Garneau declared earlier this year. every new medium has coexisted hap- The Internet is still often treated But while ad rates are falling in pily with the previous ones. Until now. as more of an after-thought, a place to print, radio and TV, advertising on news News websites have burst on to the throw articles or raw interviews that websites is steadily growing. In the U.S., journalism scene like a drunken relative at are destined for newsprint. It’s not Internet ad revenue rose 11 per cent in a family dinner; surprising, head turning, known when the balance will switch, 2007 to nearly $5.9 billion by the end of and as off-putting to established media but some say it may happen soon. the third quarter of 2008, according to the as they are welcomed by the newer ones. Interactive Advertising Bureau and ac- Since the Internet’s arrival, some counting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. sites have posted ceaseless inane com- anadian newspapers are in trou- Vancouver-based news website mentaries. Others are finally sobering ble. Canwest, which owns 12 ma- The Tyee is leading the way into exclu- up and being taken seriously by readers, Cjor newspapers across Canada sively internet-based journalism. It was academics and news corporations. Inter- and most of the local papers in every the first for-profit news site in North net news sites are breaking stories faster major city, is facing serious financial America, according to The Tyee’s ad- than their print counterparts, and with difficulty. Since November 2007, it has vertising director Allison Bauman. It’s greater depth than either TV or radio. laid off about 760 of its 2,171 employees financed by what Bauman calls “angel News websites are here to stay, but across the country. And that was be- investors,” people, businesses or unions they have a few major hurdles to jump fore Canwest stocks started plummet- that financially support the site, but before web-based journalism becomes ing. At the beginning of 2008, its stocks keep their hands off the site’s content sustainable. The first is funding. Few—if sold for $7.29 per share. Now, the stocks “Many of us are sort of fumbling any—news websites are posting a profit. are hovering around 30 cents per share. towards a workable solution, one The reason lies squarely in the engine- Newsprint is in such short de- that allows you to work and be profit- room of profit-making, the advertising. mand that paper giant Catalyst has able at the same time,” says Bauman.

Langara Journalism Review 2009 37 “I don’t really know of any one orga- ing an ad for a mass market to trying tively low-impact” by the SBDC. nization either in Canada or in the to tailor things to a specific consumer.” Space-wise, websites have very States that’s found the golden key, The companies that have used little room for ads. Most news sites the way to do it that ensures profit- Hot Tamale spend less than 10 per have one banner across the top of ability, viability and sustainability.” cent of their advertising budget on the the page and a couple of skyscrap- web, while the other 90 per cent goes er ads down the right-hand side. to traditional forms. This ratio was It is impossible for news web- “The biggest echoed by Bauman, as well as the U.K.- sites to duplicate a full-page ad in the based ad company ZenithOptimedia. front section of a newspaper, or 30 shift has been seconds of the audience’s time that dvertising rates are usually de- can be sold at will on a TV station. away from cided through a bidding contest. While The Vancouver Sun’s front AWhen more of a company’s ad- section of the newspaper is more creating an ad for vertising budget is directed towards the than 53 per cent advertising, the news a mass market to Internet, the rates will go up because site appears to be about 10 per cent. firms will outbid each other for prime But Elliott Pap, a sports reporter for trying to tailor banners. But what will it take to do The Vancouver Sun who has been posting that? Stringham says he doesn’t know. to the Internet for four years, says that in things to a specific The low percentage of Inter- spite of it’s flaws, news websites can be a net spending may be because Inter- powerful tool. And they are here to stay. consumer.” net ads are still comparatively cheap. “I think the Internet’s great,” he says. According to the Canadian Advertis- “We’re going head-to-head with radio and ing Research Foundation, a 6cm by 6cm TV … before, radio would kill us. Now square in a Canadian newspaper such as we’re getting the stories out there. But Since Bauman started at The Tyee in The Vancouver Sun costs about $1,300 there’s still a role for newspapers, some 2007, advertising revenue has risen from for six issues, while 30 seconds of prime- people still love them, and I’m one of them.” “very minimal,” to covering almost 10 per time television for five days in a row on cent of the site’s costs. The end goal, she a major channel costs around $200,000. says, is to cover about 30 per cent of the Radio lags behind at about $100 per “We’re going site’s budget. Angel investors will contin- 20-second time slot, while an outdoor ue to provide the bulk of the site’s operat- billboard will cost up to half-a-million head-to-head with ing costs. She doesn’t see that figure ever dollars for four months in a prime neigh- passing the one-third mark. “I don’t know borhood, like Vancouver’s West End. radio and TV … if that’s possible on the Internet,” she says. An ad on the web costs about 60 Bauman says The Tyee won’t have cents per click on average, or roughly before, radio would any invasive ads, pop-up windows or an- $1,400 for about a month of “invasive noying banners, even if they may bring advertising,” a term that refers to ads kill us. Now we’re in more revenue. She says The Tyee that move about the screen or make prefers a low-key ad presence. “You noise to attract the reader’s attention. getting the stories have a limited number of ads that you According to a report by the can put on a page before it started get- Small Business Development Cern- out there.” ting too ad-heavy, and it looks like junk.” er, advertisers in North America see But from an advertising perspec- many downsides with Internet ads. tive, the ad-heavy pages don’t look like The first is a small number of view- The key to ensuring profitabil- junk; they indicate a bigger cash flow. ers per ad; each ad is only viewed by ity has not been found, but it seems Thomas Stringham, a Vancouver people accessing that specific web- that most companies are on the right advertising executive who started Hot page, and viewers can click away at path, or at least they’re surfing the Tamale Advertising a little more than any time. In contrast, a full-page ad on right wave—one that’s changing 10 years ago, says his company has fo- the back cover of a newspaper is seen quickly, and getting bigger every day. cused on the Internet since its inception. by everyone who picks up that paper— An obvious question still hangs in And even after a decade, he says the while the web has nothing like that. the air: How will web journalism sus- web is still a very under-used medium. Also, the narrow demographics tain itself if nobody has figured out “There’s a lot more opportunity. It’s a of people who see the ads and the fact how to make money from doing it? place that’s somewhat uncharted in terms that the audience controls the expo- Nobody has yet come forward with of territory. It’s pretty exciting, I think.” sure are downsides to Internet ads. the answer, but when somebody does, he Stringham, who calls Internet The biggest drawback is that Inter- or she will probably find fame quickly, ads non-traditional, says, “The big- net ads are the only form of adver- because the industry is ready for that gest shift has been away from creat- tising that is seen as being “rela- golden key.

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