THE LANGARA JOURNALISM REVIEW

LL2007JJ RNumberR 11 Vaughn Palmer putting the bite on politicians

Media hype do journalists cause the crisis?

Losing CityNews one less local view ISM AL RN U O J

The Langara Journalism Program offers two distinct streams: • a one year (two-semester)  program designed for those with university degrees. • a two-year (four-semester) program for high-school graduates Both streams encompass all aspects of the gathering, writing and preparation of news and feature stories for print and broadcast. Courses include: • researching and interviewing skills • writing for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast • photojournalism • publication layout and design Apply to: • media ethics and law Student Services • radio and TV reporting Langara College • electronic publishing 100 West 49th Avenue Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6 Check our website at www.langara.bc.ca LL2007JJRR Content

14 26 37 Shorts Longs Profiles The Free Dailies...... 6 Media Hype...... 16 Vaughn Palmer...... 20 Bite-size news Vancouver Sun columnist keeps a By Joel Harris tight leash on Victoria Urban weekly heads up town...... 8 The WE chases the Straight Pick up a newspaper, turn on the TV. You’d think the world is Elisha Moreno...... 37 FOI...... 10 coming to an end. Do the media PR power princess is the face of A fruitless excercise? create a crisis where there is none? BC Hydro

Covering Pickton...... 12 All the gory details? Daphne Bramham...... 34 Her beat is Bountiful Cops and reporters...... 14 A troubled marriage City’s new menu...... 26 Salim Amin...... 30 Media ownership...... 23 Meet the man who wants to shape The gobbling continues By Krista Siefken African journalism

Internships...... 24 Citytv dumped it’s suppertime news. Experience or exploitation? Does Breakfast Television provide viewers with enough news nutrients Citizens journalism...... 32 to start the day? The new frontier of reporting

Cover photo of Vaughn Palmer by Lee Guille

Langara Journalism Review 2007 03 THE LANGARA JOURNALISM REVIEW Trends and issues in journalism in Western Canada

Edited and Produced by journalism students at Langara College

Editor Marcia Downham

Managing Editor Claire Le Noury

Art Director Hannah Sutherland LJR staff and graduating journalism diploma class of 2007 Photo Editor Back row left to right, Jon Braun, Adam Dunfee, Mark Janzen, Troy Watts, Rob Mangelsdorf. Third row, Graham Perkins Melissa Serraglio, Courtney Shepard, Andrea Buchko, Devon Goodsell, Hannah Sutherland,Graham Perkins. Second row, Joel Harris, Krista Siefken, Jessica Walden, Tessa Holloway, Dyrarene Canicula, Marcia Downham, Sonia Aslam. Front centre, Claire Le Noury News Editor Adam Dunfee

A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Copy Chief Mark Janzen

Production Manager Feeling the pressure Devon Goodsell

s young journalists in training, extremely challenging. Assistant Publisher we have learned that truth and If anything, putting together the Annabelle Lucero integrity are the real keys to Langara Journalism Review has taught our success. During our time us to work together, keep our patience Chief Photographer Aat Langara College we have been told and check our egos at the door. Courtney Shepard over and over again to question not only The LJR is a symbol of our passion, others–but ourselves. dedication and persistance. It is the finish Copy Editors During the last two years we have line we have all been working towards. Sonia Aslam, Jon Braun, Andrea worked harder and faster than any of us It has been a short journey, yet Buchko, Joel Harris, Rob Mangelsdorf, thought was imaginable. through it all we have gained the sat- Melissa Serraglio, Krista Siefken To the untrained eye the world of isfaction of knowing we now have the journalism looks easy. How hard is it re- knowledge to loyally serve the public. Page Editors ally to write stories, take pictures, talk on This magazine is a stepping-stone; it Andrea Buchko, Dyrarene Canicula, the radio or appear on TV? In the begin- has given us the opportunity to be cre- Devon Goodsell,Tessa Holloway, ning, we were all a little naive in thinking ative and stand up for what we believe in. Melissa Serraglio, Krista Siefken, journalism was going to be a joyride. When the pressure of production JessicaWalden When our class first started, we hit, we put on our working shoes and ran didn’t expect becoming journalists would with it as fast as we could. Advertising Manager be so demanding. With our adrenaline pumping, we, Shelley Lai Long hours, thorough researching, in this, the 2007 issue of the LJR, explore Instructor / Publisher badgering sources for information, non- the many realms of journalism. Rob Dykstra stop editing and tight deadlines are just So follow us as we question media some of the pressures we had to deal exaggeration, look into the debate of citi- with on a daily basis. zens journalism, detail the challenges of We have all felt the heat of these reporting on the Pickton trial and try to Published by Langara Collge Journalism Dept. pressures first hand, especially while find out what makes high-profile journal- 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6 working on this magazine. ists tick. Telephone: 604-323-5415 Trying to produce a piece of quality http://www.langara.bc.ca/ljr journalism in a very short period of time, – Marcia Downham Printed in Canada by Nathen Printing while juggling other classes, proved to be 04 Langara Journalism Review 2007 News Nuggets Tidbits from around the journalism world The Onion goes postal ‘America’s Finest News Source’— the Ma. “It’s a business partnership; the con- Onion is joining forces with the Wash- tent is coming entirely from the Onion ington Post to bring its total print circu- [and] the editorial control of the publica- lation to more than 710,000. tion is with the Onion. There’s no brand- The D.C. area will be the 10th U.S. ing, all were doing is handling some of city to receive the the business functions and publishing.” newspaper ver- The Onion will not be distributed as sion of the Onion. an insert with the Washington Post but photo courtesy of CBC The Onion is also instead be available through vendor box- Gloria Macarenko and Ian Hanoman- available at theon- es and at restaurants and bars. sing will remain hosts of CBC’s B.C. ion.com. Though Ma doesn’t believe that the newscast, CBC News at Six. Despite being partnership will turn Onion readers into available in sever- Washington Post readers. al U.S. cities, this is the first time the On- “I think a lot of the readers of the ion has entered into an agreement with a Onion in Washington probably already CBC goes back newspaper. But fear not, the partnership are Post readers. The nature of much will not lead to the Onion taking down of the Onion’s humour is at the expense presidents and the Washington Post of people involved in political arenas so to the future featuring headlines such as Incoming you almost can’t get the jokes unless you The CBC’s rotating formats of early North Korean Mis- have a certain level evening news have performed another sile Intercepted by of awareness of poli- flip-flop with the Feb. 19th premiere Deion Sanders. tics.” of CBC’s new early evening newscast, “ We p a r t - The Onion was CBC’s News at Six. nered with them started in 1988 by “We’ve done a fair amount of re- solely for advertising sales and distribu- two undergraduates at the University of search and had conversations with our tion,” says the Onion Editorial Coordina- Wisconsin. After eight years as a stu- audiences and one of the things we’ve tor, Chet Clem. “We maintain editorial dent publication, “someone said this In- heard consistently across the country control.” ternet thing seems interesting perhaps is that audiences are very interested in Christopher Ma, vice-president in we should see what happens if we put local programming, not only in terms of charge of business development for the our content there. And then we quickly the product on the screen but also the Post, echoes that. became a national publication,” says editorial control,” says Jeff Keay, CBC “It’s strictly a business deal,” says Clem. spokesperson. The switch back to an hour of local news won’t be new to British Columbi- A deadly year for journalists ans. Before Canada Now debuted, a lo- cally focused newscast aired on CBC. Last year wasn’t a good year for from 2005 when 63 journalists were killed, But that format was abandoned, as it was journalists as more than 80 were killed more then 1,300 phys- cheaper for CBC to air a national format worldwide. According to France-based ically attacked or newscast. Reporters Without Borders, 81 reporters threatened, and more But the evolution isn’t stopping and 32 media assistants were killed. then 800 arrested. there; CBC has established a task force Almost half of the casualties oc- Last year was that’s considering several other options. curred in Iraq where 39 reporters were the deadliest year Keay says the CBC doesn’t know if killed; Mexico came in at a distant sec- since 1994 when 103 change will happen in the backroom with ond with nine reporters killed. journalists were PAUL DOUGLAS assignments being generated or on the The organization also said that at killed, a majority of CBS cameraman front line with reporters providing infor- least 871 reporters were arrested, while them as a result of killed in an ex- mation to television, radio and websites. 1,472 reporters were physically attacked the Rwandan geno- plosion in Iraq. or threatened and 56 were kidnapped. cide and the Algerian Compiled by Adam Dunfee The numbers took a sharp jump Civil War. Langara Journalism Review 2007 05 A full Dose of dailies Free newspapers battle it out to capture young, urban readers

by Graham Perkins

n dowtown vancouver, they’re hard to miss. They’re in boxes on every Ibusy corner. Abandoned copies are stuffed in curbside garbage cans, or blow across sidewalks. Copies litter the seats and floors of buses and SkyTrain. Welcome to the world of the free dailies. Since their emergence on the in- ternational scene nearly 10 years ago, free daily newspapers have been pop- ping up in markets all around the world. In March 2005, they hit the West Coast, with Dose, 24 Hours and Metro leading the charge. Before long, red, orange and green newspaper boxes began to appear on the streets, with vendors on popular street corners doling out copies to pass- ers-by. The free daily newspaper is where readers whet their appetite for news; ar- ticles are short and to the point, leaving out the details in lieu of more stories. “We like to see ourselves as a mini- newspaper,” says Fernando Carneiro, managing editor of Metro Vancouver. “What we give people is headlines from the day and a format they can read in roughly 20 minutes. The idea is, if you read something you like in our paper, you start with us and go on to read more about it in another news source. We’re not trying to compete with the Province or the [Vancouver] Sun for readers.” The city’s other main free daily newspaper, 24 Hours, sees itself in a slightly different light. “We have 11 people in our newsroom, so I see us competing with something like the Province,” says Dean Broughton, editor-in-chief of 24 Hours. The two freebies see themselves as important parts of the local newspa- per landscape. But wait—weren’t there three? What happened to Dose? Media giant CanWest Global, which owns Dose, decided to stop production of the paper version only a year after its introduction and instead is focusing its GRAHAM PERKINS photos efforts on Dose’s website. A forgotten Dose box serves as a memory of the paper’s short-lived tenure in B.C. Even as a newspaper, Dose looked 06 Langara Journalism Review 2007 more like a webpage or stylized magazine have a strong effect on the Vancouver cover the front and back cover of the than a newspaper. It’s name doubled as market. newspaper. it’s philosophy; a quick flip past the cover “It was a moral victory, but not much Advertisers love it because it gives and the reader would be given tiny tidbits more,” Broughton says. “There wasn’t a them premium placement that no reader of offbeat news with a heavy emphasis on lot of advertising in it, so we didn’t gain a can ignore and it can be all theirs if sidebars, graphics, and quirky attention lot from it [financially]. Now there’s just they’re willing to pay a hefty sum (Metro grabbers. less clutter in the marketplace.” sells them for no less than $17,000 each). “We saw Dose was reaching a Despite Dose’s dissappearance from However, taking the news off the different audience than anyone else, the Vancouver market, there is still front page and turning the product so we felt that the best thing to do was significant potential for growth in into more of an advertising tool than a to bring it entirely online,” says Dave Western Canadian markets. Metro is newspaper can cause friction between Stevens, director of international content working on plans to expand into Alberta sales and editorial departments. for CanWest. “The Dose magazine was (a province currently void of any free “I don’t like it personally, but our very much like a web page. Our sales team loves it,” Carneiro audience was very web savvy, and says. He puts a cap on the we realized they were getting a lot number of wraps at two per of their information from the web. year and never on a day after By moving the product entirely major news events. online, we were able to expand our Broughton says he thinks audience.” wraps weaken “the integrity of “We want to be a one-stop the product.” He says, “ I don’t shop for advertisers. We want to like them at all.” let them communicate with the One variation of the reader through the web and text wrap that has seen increased messaging,” he says. prominence is the “jacket,” Carneiro, who worked at where a half-page section of Metro newspapers in Toronto and advertising obscures the front Helsinki, Finland, before coming to page. This seems to strike a Vancouver, saw Dose’s demise as middle ground between editors more of a failed business model. and sales people, although it “They claimed to put out does show the challenges of roughly 60,000 copies each day, the industry. and they had roughly 33,000 With 24 Hours and Metro readers. They struggled to pitch gaining ever-increasing their product to advertisers and prominence, it’s clear they they struggled to find readers,” he aren’t going anywhere for the says. “It wasn’t really a newspaper. time being. The big question, It was very opinionated. They however, is how they’re going editorialized…a lot.” to adapt to a constantly The target demographic for changing media landscape Metro and 24 Hours is women where the Internet rules. Dose between the ages of 18 and 35, abandoned the print version, which is considered by many but according to Stevens, advertisers to be a group with a the traffic on the website has lot of spending power. However, 24 Hours Editor-in-Chief Dean Broughton increased by 82 per cent since Dose’s offbeat design didn’t attract June 2006. As Stevens sees it, this readership. daily newspapers) and 24 Hours is the future of print journalism must have “Dose had a bit of local content, constantly looking for more advertising a strong web component if it has any but it was more of a national paper,” to expand the size of its paper. hopes of survival. Broughton says about why Dose didn’t The main ingredient, not Not everyone shares this philosophy hit it off in Vancouver. “I quite liked their surprisingly, is local news. and many people still see newspapers design, but I thought it was too magazine- “We can’t localize the paper as an irreplaceable institution, but it’s like. For a daily newspaper, I think they enough,” Carneiro says. “People want certainly a hot topic of conversation for overshot their market.” local reporters, local columnists. They those who have carved entire careers out “I don’t think they understood that don’t want to read about what’s going on of broadsheets and tabloids. their readers were turning out to be so in Toronto.” “Journalism is in such a state of flux young. I think they were aiming for the The growing demand for local right now with everyone jumping on the same readers as 24 [Hours] and Metro, coverage has resulted in bigger electronic bandwagon,” Broughton says. but what they ended up getting with newsrooms for the free dailies, putting “The biggest challenge is keeping up their format was 16-year-old guys in pressure on the marketing departments with the appetite of society.” high school and a few older readers who to come up with creative ways of appreciated the design,” Carneiro says. generating revenue. Although it attracted attention with One of the more controversial L its flashy covers, Dose’s downfall didn’t creations have been “wraps” ads that JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 07 Urban Weekly dressing up for downtown

The WestEnder steps out with a hip new makeover

by Jessica Walden

08 Langara Journalism Review 2007 COURTNEY SHEPARD photos ancouverites have long been information on where to go and what to is because it has echoed his publication’s known by other Canadians as a do. design. Vbunch of relaxed, outdoorsy pot- “The paper is more dynamic. We needed Claiming an average weekly reader- smokers with a passion for the environ- to have listings; it’s what city readers ship of 340,000 and a publishing history ment and their oats and grains. needed.” that goes back more than 30 years, the One needs to look no further than Nugent says the paper was rede- Straight boasts of being Canada’s largest the lululemon clad streets of the West signed to focus more on lifestyle, which urban weekly. And it is still the paper of End to know what the rest of Canada is is evident on the cover of another recent choice for many people, especially for its talking about. The young, trendy, elite edition, where an article on fitness gets classifieds and entertainment listings. Vancouver crowd just coming from yoga, the major play, along with a picture of a Ainsley MacCallum, a student at the with a tall, non-fat, half-sweet chai latte new band you should know about, and a University of British Columbia fits the in one hand, and high-priced tickets to promo photo of a recently released film. profile of what Nugent describes to be see that hot new band at the Commodore WE’s urban niche has for years been the quintessential reader. The 20-year- in the other. occupied solely by the Georgia Straight, old Gamma Phi Beta goes to the gym This is the crowd that the marketing which it is now trying to challenge. Even regularly, shops with the best of them and sales people at Vancouver’s urban the WE’s street boxes are the same co- and is a fixture on the Vancouver night- weeklies refer to when life scene. they talk about the “The Georgia Straight “West Coast lifestyle.” has pretty good listings; Gail Nugent, sales man- I like their dining out ager of the revamped section and club list- WestEnder—now called ings. I’ve looked at the WE—describes her pub- WestEnder before but lication as “very Van- I wasn’t as impressed couver.” when it came to the list- Aimed at an active, ings.” urban, 18- to 45-year- Nonetheless, the make- old crowd, the WE has over for the WE appears re-focused its reader- to have been a positive ship base, away from its move. According to fig- previous role as a more ures from Black Press, traditional community the publication’s owner, newspaper serving Van- readership sits at ap- couver’s West End. proximately 55,000 per On the cover of one week, which is about recent edition of WE, a 10 per cent increase three young, hard-bod- compared to previous ied specimens smile figures. The paper dis- into the camera, teeth plays a healthy ad-to-ed- a gleaming white, skin itorial ratio. The ads are golden-brown and hair well-aimed at its read- perfect. The scene be- ership target, featuring hind them is the essence the latest cell phones, of Vancouver: a beach, trendy clothes and pric- the downtown core and ey Yaletown condos. blue-green mountains Nugent says the WE beyond. Underneath has seen more advertis- them, big red letters ers wanting to tap into proclaim: GET FIT. its demographics. Tirtha “It’s a live, work Dhar, an assistant pro- and play in Vancouver fessor at UBC’s Sauder crowd we’re after,” Nu- School of Business, says gent explains. it makes sense that the Nugent, who has urban weeklies would worked with the WE for 12 years, has lour as the Straight’s, black and white. have a good response from advertisers. seen the paper’s coverage shift from Any similarity between the two papers “They’re very urbanized papers. such mundane stuff as city council news is likely not an accident. WE’s publisher, They’re free newspapers. They have a and problems about too many defacating James Craig, was for many years the wide circulation and a very good target dogs to upbeat items on entertainment, Straight’s advertising manager, and base,” he says. “Community newspapers food, health and fashion. Nugent says thought to be responsible for the WE’s are much smaller newspapers. They there is more room for stories with al- new hip urban branding. don’t reach as many people.” ternative viewpoints, and, especially im- In fact, Dan McLeod, founder and portant, more entertaiment listings pro- publisher of the Straight, has been quot- L viding the free-spending trendies with ed as saying the WE’s new-found success JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 09 Information held captive by Troy Watts

espite efforts to create a more made without fear of embarrassment or open and accountable govern- retribution. ment in British Columbia, the Originally, this section referred to a Dlandmark Freedom of Infor- narrow part of the decision-making pro- mation and Protection of Privacy Act cess. But in December 2002, following a (FOIPP) is continuously being eroded, B.C. Court of Appeal decision on a case creating a culture of denial and secrecy between the province and the College within the province’s halls of power. of Physicians and Surgeons of British When the NDP government passed Columbia, the court ruled that medical the Act in 1992, it was lauded across Can- reports obtained by the college for the ada, and the world, as a shining example purposes of investigating a complaint of open democratic government. against one of their physicians were The act was designed to enforce protected. Due to the ambiguous word- public bodies to be more ac- ing of section 13 of FOIPP Act, the ruling countable by providing public expanded “policy advice” to include a access to records and informa- plethora of documents that were previ- tion. But almost immediately the ously available. government retreated and started “The court applied a common-law blocking requested information. In concept of what ‘advice’ is, which could the mid ‘90s ministry budgets were mean any kind description or factual slashed and the number of FOI coor- analysis,” says Darrell Evans, executive dinators were cut by almost one-third. director of the B.C. Freedom of Infor- The budget of the independent watch- mation and Privacy Association (FIPA). dog has since been cut by 35 per cent and “That covers a lot more territory. That’s fees keep increasing, all resulting in a what is killing the act right now.” longer, more expensive and more secre- As part of their 2001 “New Era” tive process. campaign platform, the B.C. Liberals Private citizens make the majority promised to bring in “the most open, ac- of FOI requests. Between 1998 and 2003 of countable and democratic government in the nearly 33,400 applications, 63 per cent Canada.” They set up a special commit- were individuals looking for personal in- tee in 2004 to review the FOIPP Act formation, such as adoption records and and come out with a list of recom- employment files. Law firms made 4,135 mendations to reform the act. requests, while political parties filed The committee was open to 1,670 requests, two-thirds of which were the public, so anyone filed by the then-Liberal opposition. Jour- could voice nalists, special interest groups, and busi- nesses filed fewer than 1,300 requests. The government and its subservient opinions bureaucracy are employing tricks such on policy directions. as legal loopholes, narrow interpreta- The subsequent report in- tions of requests, and stall tactics. De- cluded a laundry list of recommen- nied applicants then must appeal their dations to make government infor- request to the FOI commissioner, a pro- mation more accessible, shorten cess that can last more than a year. wait times, improve technol- Currently, the most contentious is- ogy and routinely release certain sue surrounding the FOI debate is the kinds of information to alleviate misuse of a so-called “policy advice” the need for FOI requests. clause in the act, which applies to advice However, instead of acting on bureaucrats give politicians on policy, the committee’s recommendations, the ensuring that sensitive decisions can be Liberal government decided to launch

10 Langara Journalism Review another review. This time around the ans is not confident that it will provide a government did not go to the public, opt- framework for meaningful change to the ing instead for a hand-picked list of con- FOIPP Act. sultants. “We don’t know what those amend- “This is a bureaucratic move,” Ev- ments are but we have very, very little ans says. “The government wasn’t happy faith that there will be much in the way with the really democratic process, so of what were asking for,” Evans says. they opted for another one.” All FOI requests to find out what the He feels the reason behind the new recommended amendments will be have About the B.C. Press review is that the bureaucrats responsi- been denied under the “policy advice” ble for administering the FOIPP Act sub- provision in the act. Council mitted their own list of recommendations Although most requests from jour- The Press Council is a voluntary body that considers unsatisfied complaints from the public about the conduct of the press in the gathering and publication of news and opinion. “The press in a way is the public’s Who serves on Council? The council has 11 directors – five investigative agency.” professional members who are officers or employees of member newspapers and six public members (including the chair) who are no in any way associated with the press. to the committee and had all of them re- nalists are treated as “sensitive”, public Who pays for Council? jected. Additionally, the bureaucracy is bodies usually respond to FOI requests The Council was formed at the “heavily invested in secrecy” and abuses from the press with regularity. initiative of B.C. newspaper publish- the policy advice exemption of the Act “The press gets fairly good treat- ers. Although funded by contribu- more often then politicians do. ment because it is the press; it has such tions from member newspapers, it is “They started from scratch,” Ev- power in society, rather than a public in- a wholly independent and unbiased ans says. “Basically, we feel that was terest group that has a more limited rep- body whose directors are weighted because they were not getting their way. resentation,” Evans says. “The press in a They were not happy with the way their way is the public’s investigative agency.” on favour of the public. recommendations were received and re- Vancouver Sun journalist Chad How to complain jected.” Skelton uses FOI requests extensively A complaint must be precisely During the process, the FOI bureau- for researching and finding stories. He defined and accompanied by a crats submitted another wish list of rec- has used requests to break a number of clipping of the story. The complain- ommendations to FIPA for comments. At stories, many of which contained contro- ant is required to approach the news- this point, things were starting to look versial information. He says at times it paper to see if the dispute can first be suspicious, Evans says. They were asked can be a frustrating process but it is still solved without intervention by the to sign a confidentiality agreement and possible to obtain important and poten- Press Council. If the complaint is not the process was beginning to feel coun- tially damaging information through use satisfied with the newspaper's ter-productive. of the act. response, he/she and the newspaper FIPA and their allies felt that they “It’s certainly not the case that you will be asked to submit final written were never going to get the major reform can’t get stuff out of the government,” of the act recommended by the special Skelton says. “Sometimes it takes a while summaries of argument and evidence committee so they began a campaign to but you still can get good stories out of and attend an informal hearing to lobby the government to accept the rec- FOI.” argue the issue in person. ommendations. Knowledge about how to use the act Normally, the hearing is held in Among the diverse groups partici- and the wording of the requests are key public. Neither party may be repre- pating in the campaign are the Canadian to obtaining information, Skelton says. sented by council. After the hearing, Taxpayers Federation, the B.C. Civil Lib- He would like to see a fee exemption the Council issues a notice of adjudi- erties Association and the Sierra Legal for journalists written into the act and cation. The newspaper involved is Defence Fund. a reduction in the time it takes to get a obliged to publish the adjudication. Their goal is to implement the rec- reply to a request that is in the public in- ommendations put forward by the initial terest. FOI reform committee, increase funding “I would like to see a presumption to public bodies that respond to FOI re- that if you’re a journalist it is in the pub- quests, and end the “culture of denial” lic interest, and maybe the government among political aides and bureaucrats. would have to prove that it’s not in the 201 Selby Street, Despite the fact the new review won’t public interest if they want to charge you Nanaimo, B.C., V9R 2R2 be released until the spring of 2007 the a fee,” Skelton says. Toll free 1-888-687-2213 Liberal government has already prom- Web: www.bcpresscouncil.org L Email:[email protected] ised to make amendments to the act. Ev- JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 11 Covering Pickton The gruesome details: How much is too much?

MARCIA DOWNHAM photos

by Tessa Holloway

rnie Crey is reliving the horror have been struggling to find answers and The trial continues to grind on and all over again. Ever since his tell the tragic story properly. Crey is worried about the media “vanish- sister, Dawn Crey, went missing Never before in Canadian history ing from the scene.” He wants to keep at- Efrom Vancouver’s Downtown has someone been on trial for so many tention focused on the trial and said he Eastside in late 2000, he’s been telling murders, and Crey is glad the media has worries the public may have had enough. reporters her story. put this much attention on the case. Crey says reporters have told him read- “For some people it’s the scariest Lindsay Kines started reporting for ers are phoning news outlets and asking thing on Earth. They just don’t want to the Vancouver Sun on the dramatic in- them to tone down coverage. do an interview,” he says. crease of missing women in 1998. Then, The editor-in-chief of the Province, But he does interviews: he wants to police were aware of 16 missing women. Wayne Moriarty, said he couldn’t think keep the public’s attention focused on the By 2001 the toll had risen to 26, so of a time in his 25 years of journalism missing women, and to see an end to the Kines and colleague Kim Bolan decided when the paper received this much pub- suffering. to do some digging. They identified 45 lic feedback. Readers have complained For years now, the story of Vancou- missing women–not the 26 police listed. about the nature of the coverage, includ- ver’s missing women and the alleged They shed light on a police investiga- ing some who have cancelled their sub- murders of Robert “Willie” Pickton has tion marred by lack of resources, conflict scriptions until the trial is over, but most been a growing media circus. and inexperience. of the responses have been positive says It started with a few reporters fol- Crey says he’s not sure if the RCMP’s Moriarty. But even when there’s public lowing the story when the Vancouver joint task force to find the missing wom- backlash, it’s integral to the paper’s cred- Police insisted there wasn’t a serial kill- en would have been created if it weren’t ibility that the trial is covered properly, er. Then Pickton was arrested and his for the reporters’ investigative work. he adds. farm scoured for evidence. The murder “[But] there’s still a long list of miss- “On one hand, you express you un- charges started with two and grew to 26. ing women and no one can account for derstand their [readers’] concerns, but Pickton is currently on trial for six of the their whereabouts. That includes my this is what we do,” Moriarty says. murders. And through it all, reporters sister.” “There are so many issues around 12 Langara Journalism Review 2007 the trial that the public is paying for and DNA was found on Pickton’s pig farm but forward their agendas,” he says, pointing they have a right to know.” he’s not charged with her murder. towards the circle of drummers. Ethan Baron is covering the trial for The Pickton story is not for the In fact, reporters covering the trial the Province and isn’t worried about it weak-stomached. So how do journalists find they have to be careful about a lot dropping off the radar. cover something so graphic and make it of things. Most importantly, publication “I think the public is very interest- appealing, but not so gruesome it would bans. ed in this case,” he says. “Whether that offend standards of good taste? “Whether it’s a live or taped story, translates into changes, I don’t know.” Crey wants change. He worries about the next generation of young wom- en, especially his teenage nieces who are struggling in foster care. The eldest at 15 only recently returned to school and the younger, who is 14, dropped out. “I remember [my sister] as an ener- getic, bubbly girl with long, wavy black hair.” Being 10 years older and grow- ing up in a home plagued with alcohol abuse, he took care of Dawn. He fed her, changed her diapers and took her along when he played with his friends. The sib- lings were eventually sent to separate foster homes. He saw her a few times as a teenager, but soon after she started ex- perimenting with drugs. Dawn was hooked. She moved to In a front-page editorial published at we have to be so, so careful about what Vancouver with her boyfriend and turned the start of the trial, the Vancouver Sun’s we say,” Waterman says. “You edit your- to prostitution to support both their hab- Editor-in-Chief, Patricia Graham, prom- self constantly. We have a team put to- its. She was in and out of jail and much ised to do two versions of the story: One gether with all lawyers and senior edit- of the time Crey’s only updates on his for sensitive readers and one with the ing staff and all stories have to be vetted sister were through an Aboriginal elder gory details as they come out in court. by them.” “You will be able to keep the stories If he were to say one wrong word he out of the hands of your children should could be in contempt of court, possibly you choose to do so,” Graham assured. resulting in a mistrial. Saying dismembered But the very next day’s headline “Just hearing about what the Crown “ read: “He murdered them, butchered is alleging…. We’ve never seen allega- pieces of them were left them and disposed of their remains.” tions like this in Canadian law,” he says. here and there, that Not even a child could miss these During the ugly parts of evidence in words in bold face type across the front the voir dire, Baron said sometimes he’d has a stronger effect on page. have nightmares, but is still far removed the public The Province puts warnings on the from the situation. graphic stories so readers have a heads- According to Global BC reporter up. While it may not be pretty details, Ted Field, he gets the trial off his mind ETHAN BARON Baron says they’re important and be- by covering other stories. lieves readers should not have the choice “The one thing actually decent about to sidestep the story. being a general assignment reporter is “Saying he killed them has an effect you spend half the time doing gruesome who worked in the prison. After losing on people,” he said. “Saying dismem- stuff and half the time doing human in- contact with her boyfriend, Dawn drifted bered pieces of them were left here and terest,” he says. further into a vicious cycle of prostitu- there, that has a stronger effect on the Crey has endured hours of gut- tion and drugs. public and it’s important that the public wrenching pre-trial testimony but he “In order to cope with the feelings, is affected in a powerful way.” can’t step outside of the story or take a she turned to more drugs. She was self- And he’s not the only one to say so. break; he is the story. Every time Crey medicating with heroin,” Crey says. “I watch the news just for this,” says talks, his feelings swell and rise to the One day Dawn didn’t show up for her Lisa Alkek, who came from Lillooet for surface. methadone appointment. She didn’t cash a drumming ceremony outside the New “It’s like a tap. It turns the emotions her welfare cheques either. Dawn’s sis- Westminster courtroom in remembrance on and it’s difficult to turn it off.” ter searched the Downtown Eastside for of the missing. But he feels it’s his duty to keep talk- weeks, but never found her. Dawn was of- According to CBC Reporter, Alan ing to the media. All he asks from report- ficially listed missing in September 2000; Waterman, journalists need to be careful ers is that they take time from scribbling Crey didn’t find out until December. about becoming advocates. notes to look up and listen. Crey says his sister tried several “I’m not out here to create any times to take her own life and in the end change, that’s not my role. There are JL he never found out how she died. Dawn’s already people coming out here to put R Langara Journalism Review 2007 13 COURTNEY SHEPARD photos Covering the Cops

Journalists have a responsibility to serve the public. So do police. Sometimes they clash.

by Courtney Shepard

he Vancouver Police Department’s Such an affable media briefing is an information that is out there. It’s amaz- media liaison officer ended a Thurs- example of how the relationship between ing. I’ll finish doing an interview with a Tday morning media briefing in an cops and journalists can work for the journalist and the next day I read the pa- unusual way. From his elevated podium, benefit of the public. Police officers have per and it’s truly not anything reflective Const. Tim Fanning thanked the room of a duty to serve and protect people while of what we discussed.” reporters for doing their jobs. Hockey maintaining law and order, while jour- But still, Ward, who has been the equipment stolen from the Hockey Edu- nalists have a duty to inform and warn voice of the provincial police force on and cation Reaching Out Society (HEROS) the public of the dangers the police tell off for 13 years, sees value in trying to get program, which provides equipment to them about. as much information out to the public via children who cannot afford it, had been But what happens when police and the media as he can. recovered. Fanning told journalists that journalists’ duties clash? What happens “We simply need to let the public because the theft was well publicized, the when police refuse to release certain de- know what we are doing.” It’s important, thieves had difficulty selling the equip- tails–they will claim it jeopardizes their he says, to inform the city of amber alerts, ment. One jean-clad reporter sitting at investigation–but journalists believe the fraud scams and public safety adviso- the conference table, asks Fanning if the public has a right to know those details? ries. “If there is a known sex offender on publicity was the reason the equipment What hapens when journalists do the loose, we want to let the public know was abandoned. Fanning nods. “Because get the details and use them in what because they need to be able to protect you guys got all the information out and police deem to be an irresponsible man- themselves.” it is such a compelling story, to steal this ner–out of context or, heaven forbid, sen- The communication channels are ex- equipment from kids who really need it sationalizing? tremely open and congenial between the and from such a worthwhile program, “I used to be worried about being RCMP and the media, he says, but there they just dumped it. So, thank you for misquoted, now it’s just something I live is a downside: the inaccuracies that are all your interest on that one.” Fanning with,” says RCMP Staff Sergeant John reported. Both Fanning and Ward have smiles and ends the media briefing in the Ward, who has given up correcting in- concerns when reported facts are incor- small carpeted room on the second floor formation in the media. “It is absolutely rect, stories are sensationalized or infor- of VPD’s Cambie Street headquarters. alarming to see the amount of incorrect mation is reported out of context. 14 Langara Journalism Review 2007 Fanning is aware of errors from time investigation. They are not going to tell Skelton, who deals with law agencies to time, but says reporters are usually you anything that’s going to impede their on a regular basis, says his relationship keen to fix factual errors. “They thank chances of a conviction when the thing with the VPD and the RCMP is schizo- us for correcting them if they made a comes to trial.” phrenic. The police are helpful when he mistake. Overall, most of the reporters Matthew Ramsey, who has covered is reporting routine crime stories that and news outlets like to get the informa- crime for the Province for the last three reflect positively on them, “but then the tion out the right way.” years, says the relationship between law next day I might be doing a story about Fanning has been the VPD’s media enforcement and the media is, “neces- 89 misconduct allegations against the liaison for the last two years. He says sary, but sometimes problematic. You RCMP and then they are a bit testier. speaking to the media is like a balancing can run the risk of becoming too close They are not as happy with the story.” act. The guidelines are, make sure the to the police and losing objectivity.” Skelton cites several positive experi- public is informed and don’t hamper any Ramsey says if police funnel information ences with the police, such as when he investigations. through one source, be it the media of- was given the opportunity to interview The Surrey Now’s crime reporter, ficer, it’s less likely potentially damaging officers overseeing the chronic offenders Tom Zytaruk, has been reporting on the information about police operations will program. Another time he was provided crime beat for 16 years and understands be made public. with information about the Hells Angels his responsibility. Having a single media spokesperson when working on an organized crime se- “There is always going to be the un- means all police information is channeled ries. derstanding, nobody wants to interfere through one source. This also gives po- Regardless of the focus of his stories with an investigation or the due course lice more control over that information. Skelton asserts the police treat him in a of justice. We want police to catch our Reporter Chad Skelton finds the me- professional manner. bad guys and killers and what not, and dia briefings helpful. He says police used “When I am working a late night on I can’t think of any reporter that I ever to hold a briefing daily whether they had Sunday and I’m trying to find out about ran into that wanted to cause a mistrial. news or not. Now when there is nothing a shooting or something like that they That would be pretty hard to live with.” to report or when police simply don’t return my calls and are pleasant on the He says cops and reporters may have want to talk to the media, briefings are phone,” he says. perceptions about each other but, “we cancelled. continued on page 38 just have to realize we are both in the service of the public and let’s keep things democratic.” Zytaruk imagines what it would be like to have his words misquoted or tak- en out of context and says he’d be wary of that, too. He says there is a responsibility for journalists to conduct themselves ap- propriately and not hype a story. When he’s writing a story, say, about a child who’s just been killed, he imag- ines himself being the child’s father. How would he feel reading this report? He uses that as a guideline in terms of taste and compassion. Zytaruk believes sensational copy may sell more papers, but if the informa- tion is incorrect reporters are failing the public. Fanning says the role of a media liai- son is, “a necessity for a big city depart- ment. We know what the media need, what sort of information they’re look- ing for, the who, what, where, when and why.” And, he says, people who are not experienced at dealing with the media may not be able to give that information to them or answer their questions. Gerry Bellett has been a crime and general reporter at the Vancouver Sun for more than 30 years and says when questioning media spokespersons, “You’ve got to know what you’re likely to get before you start asking. You have to understand if they’re in the middle of an investigation they’re not going to give you anything that will mess up that A reporter interviews Constable Tim Fanning during a police media briefing. Langara Journalism Review 2007 15 DO THE MEDIA CAUSE THE CRISIS?

16 Langara Journalism Review 2007 Violent storms, poisonous drinking water, deadly viruses. Are we nearing the end, or do the media just make us feel that way?

by Joel Harris

t’s the end of the world as we wreaks havoc in B.C. One reason why the media tend to know it and I feel fine,” the Then there are “killer diseases” that exaggerate and turn news stories into classic R.E.M. song goes. never quite go away, such as SARS and crises is competion for readers or audi- This could be the anthem of avian flu. These diseases make dramatic ences. journalists.“I The world is full of scary people headlines: “They exaggerate because it’s easy, and scary events so aren’t journalists just Bracing ourselves for the looming it’s dramatic and they think it draws the doing their jobs when reporting calamitous avian flu pandemic, Flu pandemic just eyeballs of readers or the ears of listen- events? Or is it just fear mongering for around the corner and DRUG-RESIS- ers to a story,” Ward says. “We are in an dramatic stories and great headlines? TANT SUPERBUGS: There are more of era of hot media pressure and competi- Late last year in Vancouver health them, they are more widespread and they tion where traditional media are fighting authourities issued a 12-day boil water are making moe of us sicket than ever. for a diminishing niche of audiences and advisory after a mudslide muddied the The World Health Organization re- so you want to tart the story up.” Lower Mainland’s two main drinking wa- ports 165 confirmed deaths of avian flu The pendulum swings the other ter sources, the Seymour and Capilano since 2003, none in North America. Accord- way, too. If competition forces media to reservoirs. Nobody got sick, and not one ing to Statistics Canada, in 2003, the latest exaggerate stories, it also forcing news positive test of any harmful bacteria was date for cause-of-death statistics, 30 people organizations to be accountable for their ever found. Headlines such as ‘Dirty wa- died from SARS, 511 died from Clostridium exaggeration for fear of pushing the pub- ter costing us millions’ and ‘NDP urges difficile, a bacteria that infects the colon, lic to another news organization, Ward debate on water crisis’ were played large. and lung cancer killed 17,374 people. says. People lined up at grocery stores for The so-called killer diseases turned “The public believe these large cor- bottled water. At one large store people out to be busts — not pandemics as me- porate entities respond to nothing. They waited for six hours for the store to open dia reported scientists saying. do respond. If it’s going to affect their to buy bottled water. As it was snapped British Columbia Disease Control subscription rates or their audiences up, fights broke out and several people spokesperson Roy Wadia worked for they will listen.” were injured. three years with the World Health Orga- Vancouver Sun writer Pete McMar- “All you had to do was boil the water nization in China dealing with the avian tin, opined in a column that there was rather than go out and support bottled flu virus. much overreaction to the downed trees water companies. There was no crisis,” “When somebody says the sky is in Stanley Park. Readers wrote letters to says Stephen Ward, who teaches jour- falling and the sky doesn’t fall you tend the editor agreeing with him. nalism ethics at the University of British to become complacent and say, what the “Finally a dose of logic and reality Columbia. hell was all that about? And was the fuss about the condition of Stanley Park,” one In another one of Mother Nature’s really warranted?” he says. reader wrote. Another said: “I cannot un- fits, windstorms knocked out power and The RCMP certainly believe media derstand why this incident is being treat- blew over thousands of trees includ- exaggerates. An internal RCMP report ed as a tragedy of epic proportions.” ing those at Stanley Park. Stanley Park obtained by the Vancouver Sun sug- Why was Stanley Park making head- carnage, Hundreds of fallen trees lasting gests media relation officers should be lines daily when communities in the inte- scar in Stanley Park, and Stanley Park less helpful to reporters to reduce the rior and northern B.C. are losing trees by devastated by windstorm were the head- number of crime stories because of me- the thousands to the pine beetle? lines across the country. Elisha Moreno, dia exaggeration. The RCMP conducted “It’s a natural disaster that hasn’t spokesperson for BC Hydro, dealt with an analysis of B.C. newspapers during a been dealt with in part I think because hundreds of calls from the media. She four-week period and found 67 per cent of the national media haven’t picked up on said the media exaggerated the story, front page stories were about crime. The the story the way they should,” says Mel dedicating entire afternoons to cover the RCMP also polled 750 B.C. residents and Rothenburger, editor for the Kamloops windstorm coverage, calling it ‘Wind- found 68 per cent were concerned about Daily News. “There has been some atten- storm 2006’, as if Gulf war had broken crime despite a 2005 Statistics Canada re- tion paid to it but nothing in comparison out. port indicating a drop in the crime rate. to the coverage of Stanley Park.” The downed trees at Stanley Park “The media are so huge; inevitably Oliver Lum, assistant managing edi- recieved worldwide media attention. someone out there is going to exagger- tor for Global BC, doesn’t believe his sta- Global BC launched a three-day fund- ate,” Ward says. tion exaggerated the Stanley Park story. raiser amidst their six o’clock news hour Ward helped conduct a study in 2003 He said Global BC does several fundrais- to help restore Stanley Park. Radio and that found out of 3,012 Canadians, 92 per ers throughout the year for a variety of television stations were dedicating large cent believe the media sensationalize public causes. Lum says the media are al- blocks of time to the windstorm with stories and 63 per cent said it affected ways under public scrutiny so there will headlines such as Major windstorm their trust in the media. always be critics. Langara Journalism Review 2007 17 “We’re not in the business of sensa- is: What is the degree of truth to these tionalizing news. Does it happen? Prob- reports, or is this stement placed in per- ably somewhere but I don’t think we do spective? that.” “If there is any danger, even if it is Rothenburger says the media have somewhat remote, it is better to flag it failed to put Stanley Park into context of and to let the public know,” Wadia says. what is happening in the rest of the prov- Because the worst is for something to ince. happen and your citizens to accuse you “The loss of Stanley Park is exag- of not having prepared them.” gerated when you compare it to the pine Ward says language is an important beetle crisis.” tool for journalists and sometimes words Ward agrees with Rothenburger. are chosen for effect or as an attention “Stanley Park is important and it is very grabber. important to the community and to get it “The role [for journalists] is you have back into shape. But I mean a lot of peo- to note the possible consequence without ple can rightly say what about poverty, resorting to simplistic scare words.” what about all the other issues and, to be Beers recalls just after the planes hit cruel, trees grow back.” the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, David Beers, editor of the Tyee, an anthrax was the scare of the moment. online news site, says journalists need to The media were running stories about do stories that audiences find interesting the potential of the bacterial spores but without sensationalizing them. causing the disease being found in Van- “They need to realize people need couver. Beers says the story was blown context; they need perspective in order out of proportion. People in Vancouver to judge how important it is. The thing to were walking downtown with masks on. do is not just go to the sources that make He suggests more balanced experts were it sound as dire as possible,” Beers says. needed in some of these stories. “You have to come up with some objec- “Unfortunately cooler heads often tive rational standard of what is an im- don’t make great headlines. But I would portant story and what isn’t.” have loved to have heard cooler heads In the Stanley Park matter, Beers point out, for example, ‘I don’t think suggests reporters talk to environmen- we are high on Al-Qaida’s list here in talists who aren’t attached to the park, Vancouver,’” Beers says. “The media which will give people a balanced view worsened the situation and kind of em- on how bad the problem of the blown- barrassed itself rather than bring some over trees is. sense of perspective and order to the When Vancouver health authorties conversation.” issued a boil-water advisory last winter, When journalists use melodramat- the media needed to convey this informa- ics to boost their story from A10 to A1 tion to the public. But it was also an op- they are doing a disservice to themselves portunity to produce compelling drama, because the public becomes jaded and out-peform the competition, and, by ex- stops believing the news. tention, capture new readers and audi- “We have to warn people but we have ences. to do it with the best scientific evidence “It’s much harder to write about the we have. It never serves to frighten and water shortage in a respectful manner scare the hell out of people,” Ward says. Ward says. In a point of context, such as The media often like to compare cur- what about all the other people in Canada rent calamities to devastating historical who are under the boil water advisory?” ones. Avian flu stories, for example, are Dr. John Blatherwick, chief medical quick to make a connection with the 1918 officer for Vancouver Coastal Health, be- Spanish flu, which killed an estimated 40 lieves the media generally do a good job million people. of reporting health problems but they But Wadia defends these compari- sometimes get carried away when re- sons. “It is useful to know that if it hap- porting on the threat of influenza. pened to that extent at that time then it Wadia believes the media went over- could happen in the world of today.” Wa- board with coverage of avian flu, with dia points out even though international television stations dedicating extensive travel wasn’t nearly as common in the coverage to bird flu, calling it the next early 1900s as it is today, the disease still killer virus. managed to spread fast in a short time. When the media report a scientist Dr. Marc Siegel, who teaches medi- saying there is going to be a huge out- cine at New York University and has writ- break of avian flu or SARS, people natu- ten several books about bird flu, believes rally become frightened. The question there is an overreaction to the threat of 18 Langara Journalism Review 2007 bird flu by scientists and media. -He be possible—which, by the way, are often lieves the Spanish fly ad the avian flu the people whose names are on the press should not be compared because of the releases. Also talk to people who might improvement of technology and knowl- have a very different perspective,” he edge of diseases. says. Siegel feels journaists do not con- Kirk LaPointe, managing editor of sult the proper experts in some cases, or the Vancouver Sun, agrees journalists are satisfied to merely obtain a dramatic must be suspicious of sources and their quote. motivations for being interviewed. “Too much attention has been paid “You have to approach each of these to the worst-case scenario involving hu- interests similarly, which is that your re- mans in part due to the attention placed porting has to be critical and you have on the statements of human health ex- to recognize that part of the transaction perts without an essential background in inherent in journalism is that someone is disease of birds,” he wrote in an e-mail to seeking an advancement of their views the Langara Journalism Review. or interest on your platform,” he says. Siegel believes instilling fear moves Special interest groups, lobbyists the focus away from long-term prepara- and anyone who deals with media on a tion of stocking vaccine and trying to regular basis have become more knowl- find a cure, but he doesn’t just point the edgeable about how the media work and finger at media. “The thing to do is not just go to the sources that make it sound as dire as possible....”

“The media isn’t entirely to blame as it better at stirring up crisis, Ward says. is stimulated and fed by the posturing of “One of the things you need to look public health and government officials as for in the cause of exaggeration is a grow- well as profit-seekers,” he says. ing manipulation of the media by very Wadia believes avian flu is an impor- media-savvy groups. It used to just be tant issue that journalists must keep in the environmentalists who were really the public eye without causing too much good at this, at getting the media’s at- unwarranted panic. He realizes it poses tention. But now they are everywhere.” a challenge. Ward says, most news organizations “It is difficult for any journalist to don’t have the staff or the time to check spot something looming on the horizon.” out the claims of special interest groups With newsroom cutbacks, journal- and thus those groups are more success- ists are constantly being asked to do ful at getting out their message. more with less and so what often hap- Global warming is on everybody’s pens is they wind up talking to the same minds and a popular topic on news sta- sources and people with a vested interest tions, radio and newspapers, which in getting a message to the public, often means environmental groups such as the in the form of a press release. Sierra Club or Suzuki Foundation are of- Beers believes journalists should not ten quoted. base their stories only on press releases Media have reported that the entire fand instead use the old-fashion journal- world is in danger of being besieged by ism nose. malaria due to global warming. A study “The thing to do is not just go to the GRAHAM PERKINS photo sources that make it sound as dire as continued on page 36 Langara Journalism Review 2007 19 LEE GUILLE photo

20 Langara Journalism Review 2007 Political shark Vaughn Palmer has been ripping apart B.C. politicians for two decades

by Adrian Nieoczym

hen Gordon Campbell took government,” Baldrey says. Palmer’s the fast ferries saga, many of them based the stage during his first column has appeared in the Sun five days on insider information. But had Palmer’s Liberal convention as head a week for 22 years and has outlasted father not recently retired from the ferry of the party, Vaughn Palmer seven premiers. service, Palmer would not have felt free Wlooked on, clutching a freshly delivered Last fall, Palmer received the Jack to use it. copy of the leader’s prepared text. Webster Foundation’s highest honour, the “I could use all the leaks without Campbell’s 1994 speech to the party Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement having anybody suspect that they came faithful should have been a triumph. Award. The 54-year-old Palmer’s from my father,” Palmer says. In just over a year, Campbell had reputation as a hardworking, tough, but The result for then-premier Clark repaired old rifts and convinced former fair journalist has been cemented. was devastating. “Clark’s goose was kind Conservatives and Socreds to join him, “It gets to the point where politicians of cooked by the fast ferries scandal,” while Mike Harcourt’s NDP government look to see what he’s writing about and it Smyth says. was staggering under the weight of the probably sets part of their agenda from Palmer is a thorough researcher ever-growing Bingogate scandal. time to time,” says Steve Crombie, co- who knows what to ask a politician. Campbell got about as far as page chair of the Jack Webster Foundation In a scrum, Palmer “is the one whose four and a trashing of the NDP, before board of trustees. questions are most feared,” Mair says. departing from his notes. In press row, Campbell certainly took note of the Palmer doesn’t jostle for position at the journalists scratched their heads as damage Palmer inflicted on him at the front. Instead, he prefers to stand along they tried to decipher the meaning of convention. “I’ve heard from Liberals the fringes in his smart grey sports coat Campbell’s ramblings. The partisans, still afterwards that Campbell never forgot and tie, waiting to pounce. euphoric, jumped to their feet and tried that,” Baldrey says. Campbell realized “And all of a sudden this question to blow the roof off with their applause. that if he was going to become premier, comes kind of zooming through the At the press conference afterwards, he was going to have to pass what former crowd,” says Dan Miller, who took over Palmer took the first bite. “Is that the best Sun reporter and columnist Jamie Lamb as premier after Clak’s resignation. “He you can do?” he asked, tearing a chunk of calls, “the Vaughn sniff test.” has the ability to phrase questions well. I flesh out of the premier-to-be’s hide. Born in Gaspé, Quebec, Palmer think that’s just as important in terms of “It was one of those zingers that moved to Nanaimo with his family when trying to elicit information.” Vaughn throws at a politician,” says he was 15. His father Syd was a BC Ferries Other journalists welcome Palmer’s Keith Baldrey, Global BC’s legislative captain. As a teenager Palmer worked pointed questions because he draws out reporter, who worked with Palmer at the a summer job on the ferries himself. the juiciest quotes and information. “He’s Sun. “And the politician just sits there “The messiest busboy in the ferry fleet,” kind of like the great white shark and and melts.” he recalls with a deprecating laugh. the rest of us are sort of like pilot fish,” When the shock wore off, the feeding Palmer’s connection to B.C.’s ferries is Smyth says. “He’s ripping all the flesh off frenzy was on. Following Palmer’s lead, significant because it was Palmer who the bones and we just sort of nip at the his colleagues darted in on the wounded shone the spotlight on the NDP’s fast scraps that float by.” prey. They asked, do you really think you ferry debacle. Yet, as hard as he is on those can be premier? Rafe Mair, the former Socred he covers, Palmer does not let it get “Because Vaughn was able to get cabinet minister turned radio host and personal. “He can be quite hard-edged that first shot in, it just sort of set the himself a Webster lifetime achievement in his criticism of personal conduct but tone for the entire media contingent’s award winner, believes the fast ferry he never crosses the line,” Baldrey says. coverage of the whole speech,” says Mike coverage is one of Palmer’s most notable “Vaughn doesn’t take cheap shots.” Smyth, the Province newspaper’s long- accomplishments. “That was his story. Palmer’s ethical reputation helps time political columnist. I should have had it as my story but explain why people seek him out to leak Twelve years ago, Palmer was the like an asshole I listened to one of the information. It is widely acknowledged undisputed leader of Victoria’s press government representatives and decided he has the best sources in Victoria and gallery and B.C.’s most influential that the guy who was blowing the whistle he meticulously protects them. “There’s political writer. His hold has only gotten was a kook,” Mair says. “Vaughn didn’t no story worth the short-term burning of stronger. buy that bullshit. He stayed with the a source,” he says, nodding sagely. “His column is must reading for story.” And because Palmer stayed with Government workers who leak anybody associated with government or the story, the rest of the media picked it confidential information to journalists wanting to know what’s going on with up. Palmer wrote almost 150 columns on often risk their careers. When he uses Langara Journalism Review 2007 21 leaks, Palmer never reveals his sources ried Dale Ketcheson, who was working Lamb says. and is careful to make sure his story can- in the Sun’s art department. Still happily But Palmer soon found his groove not be traced back to the source or even married, Ketcheson is a landscape paint- and style. “He grew into the position,” the source’s department. er and the two of them have a 19-year-old says Mair. “When you start out in these “People trust him around here,” daughter, Elise, who is attending Queen’s things, you’re just appalling, you’re just Smyth says. “So when he says to some- University. “I regret to say she’s taking beginning to learn. You don’t even know body this is on background, I’m not going political science,” Palmer says with a where the bathroom is.” to disclose I talked to you, you can take chuckle. “I have a lot to answer for.” In 1986, the B.C. electorate gave that to the bank.” The lack of a degree has never hin- Palmer a gift in the form of Bill Vander Surprisingly, becoming a journalist dered Palmer. He even spent the 1982-83 Zalm. As Vander Zalm set about destroy- was not a childhood dream of Palmer’s. academic year at Stanford on a fellow- ing both the government and the Social “I didn’t go to university thinking that I ship for professional journalists. Credit party, he provided Vaughn and would work for the university paper,” he Shortly after Palmer’s return to other journalists covering the legislature says. “And I didn’t go to work for the Sun B.C., the Sun’s popular political colum- with an endless supply of good material. thinking I’m going to be here 34 years nist Marjorie Nichols decided she’d had From the Coquihalla Highway cost later and I didn’t go to the Sun thinking I enough. “She wanted off the rock as she overrun scandal, to Vander Zalm’s bla- wanted to be their political columnist. It put it,” Palmer says. The legendary Bruce tant conflict of interest during the sale of just sort of all happened.” Hutchison recommended to Palmer he his Fantasy Gardens theme park, Vaughn Palmer attended UBC from 1970 to go for Nichols’ job. was there, poring over documents, feast- 1973. “Note attended,” he says, display- As editor emeritus of the Sun, ing on leaks and pounding out biting ing his dry wit. He majored in history, Hutchison still wrote a column for the columns. It was during the Vander Zalm something that is still a huge interest, years that Palmer rose to the top. but he never finished the degree. He was the first to dig up how the In class he met a guy who used his “He’s ripping all construction of the Coquihalla Highway position at the UBC student newspaper was massively over budget and the gov- to secure a summer position at Canadian the flesh off the ernment was forced to call a commission Press. “It sounded to me like a pretty de- of inquiry. When the report was released, cent way to get a summer job so I went bones and we just “most reporters only read the executive to work for the university paper and got summary,” Baldrey says. But Palmer dis- hired at the Sun for a summer job and sort of nip at the appeared to digest the whole 400 pages. here I am,” Palmer says. Once the Socreds were ousted, These days, Palmer likes to frequent scraps that float Palmer trained his sights on the NDP. He the fitness club across the street from helped expose the Nanaimo bingo scan- his home. He is svelte, has well-defined by” dal, after which Harcourt felt compelled cheeks and tidy short hair. That was not to resign, setting the stage for Glen the case when Lamb met Palmer at the Clark. Sun in 1976. paper. Despite the 50 years age differ- Clark’s former communications advi- “I noticed him, an odd-looking duck, ence, Palmer and Hutchison hit it off sor, Geoff Meggs, is one of the few people I thought,” Lamb says. The Palmer of and Hutchison became something of a interviewed who had anything critical to the ‘70s had unruly neck length hair and mentor. After Palmer started writing his say of Palmer. “He’s extremely partisan liked to wear T-shirts with Merry Melo- column in 1984, he would regularly visit against the government of the day, if it’s dies cartoon characters stamped on the Hutchison for dinner and advice on how an NDP government,” he says. Meggs’s front. He had a bit more heft and his face to hone his craft. The visits and friend- complaint is that Palmer can overplay an was puffier. ship continued right up to Hutchison’s issue. In Meggs opinion, accusations the Lamb and Palmer quickly became death on Sept. 14, 1992. The next day, the NDP fudged the 1996 budget “were blown close friends. “We were both insane mu- Sun ran a 4,000 word memorial to Hutchi- out of proportion.” sic aficionados,” Lamb says. They also son written by Palmer. But Meggs still respects Palmer. “He shared a taste for books and magazines. For Palmer, the fact the lifetime is a very hard-working and ethical per- Palmer is an avid reader with a wide achievement award is named after son,” he says. “Many times he’s apolo- range of interests. “He knows something, Hutchison “is the nicest part” about win- gized right in his columns and taking and usually a lot of something, about ev- ning it. Hutchison’s support was impor- responsibility for your own column is, I erything.” tant in getting Palmer through his rough think, outstanding journalistic practice.” Palmer soon became the Sun’s rock first year on the island. Palmer says government officials of- critic. “Disco was at its height,” Palmer “There was a lot of talk in the Sun ten think he is hard on them and light on says. Meanwhile, Palmer and Lamb rent- newsroom that this guy isn’t going to the opposition. “If you had interviewed ed a house on the North Shore with two last,” Lamb says. “Marj was a very strong Bill Vander Zalm when he left office, he other bachelors. “It was wilder in those columnist, and a real yeller and that was would have told you I was harder on him days,” Lamb says. When asked if he re- the attraction.” Palmer was not a yeller. than I’ve ever been on anybody.” members any good stories, he replies Instead of calling then-premier Bill Ben- Miller certainly thinks he got fair “nothing printable.” nett or opposition leader Dave Barrett an treatment from Palmer. Miller spent 10 “Nothing that was ever reported to idiot, Palmer often provided a dry policy years in NDP cabinets before serving six the police,” Palmer says. analysis, “which would prove one or the months as premier in between Clark and In 1980, Palmer moved up to become other was an idiot at the end of it but it Ujjal Dosanjh. “I always used to try and the Sun’s city editor. A year later he mar- wasn’t just loud yelling, ‘what an idiot’,” continued on page 38 22 Langara Journalism Review 2007 Falling on deaf ears Senate committee calls for curbs on media ownership. Is anyone listening?

by Robert Mangelsdorf

oves by one of Canada’s me- in a single market, only compounds an take in advertising and avoid competing dia giants to swallow another already bad problem, Schneidereit be- directly with private broadcasting. Mmajor media corporation have lieves. Often, a reporter will file stories Schneidereit supports the report’s raised questions about media monopo- for more than one outlet, further de- findings, and would like to see laws lies in Canada and in B.C. in particular. creasing news diversity. similar to those in the United States and By gobbling up Alliance Atlantis, In 2003, the Canadian government, Europe, which limit the concentration CanWest Global plans to add 13 specialty responding to public concern about of media ownership in a single market, television channels to its already vast cross-media concentration and news- established here in Canada. media empire, which nationwide includes room layoffs, launched a Senate commit- “You can’t look at the CanWests…or seven specialty channels, 16 local televi- tee to probe the Canadian news media. anyone else specifically, you have to look sion stations, 13 daily newspapers, more This is not the first time media own- at the environment in which all these than 25 community papers, and Canada’s ership has come under the microscope. companies operate,” he says. “What’s largest Internet portal. Both the Davey Committee of 1970 and needed is specific recognition that me- While CanWest contends this con- the Kent Commission of 1981 advised dia companies have to be looked at a solidation is just good business and en- more stringent regulations to protect little differently than other companies sures the survival of small market news media diversity. However, both sets of because they play a fundamental role in outlets, many feel it is detrimental to recommendations were shelved and to- our democracy.” Canadian journalism, and by extension, day sit gathering dust. Those who sup- However, David Gollob, vice presi- democracy. port journalistic variety are hoping the dent of public affairs for the Canadian Paul Schneidereit, president of the findings in the new report will leave Newspaper Association, an advocacy Canadian Association of Journalists, is more of an impression. group for Canadian daily newspaper among them. It was pointed out to the 2003 com- publishers, balks at the idea government “If you have people in a local market mittee that Quebecor-owned Sun Media should dictate how newsrooms are run. and all of their media choices are con- Corp., which owns 20 dailies and more “We are of the view that Canada is trolled by one corporate interest then than 160 community weeklies across the a free society and we are not of the view that really limits the diversity of voices country, cut 120 positions last year. that governments should regulate the available to them,” he says. The result: However, while this practice of re- press,” Gollob says. “Pierre Trudeau Canadians don’t get the whole story. ducing labour costs may increase the said the government has no business in David Beers, editor of independent profitability, and in turn viability, ofa the bedrooms of the nation. We say the news site The Tyee, agrees. paper, it has a profoundly negative effect government has no business in the news- “If you don’t have different forms of on the quality of journalism, the Senate rooms of the nation.” media ownership then you’re not going committee found. The CNA wrote in its presentation to to have different questions being pursued In its report released in June 2006, the Senate committee that, “the right of in the media. You’ll get a monochromatic the committee recognized that while me- any owner or publisher to influence con- view of the world from a publisher that dia organizations are businesses, they tent should be celebrated as a strength of is only interested in chasing big adver- are quick to say they are motivated by Canadian law…not a weakness.” tising bucks,” he says. “When you have the public’s best interest when seeking The report clearly recognizes cross- only one skewed view upon which you’re greater access to information or protect- media ownership and consolidation as making your decisions, then you’re not ing their sources. a significant threat to Canadian news likely to make the best decision.” The Senate committee concluded media as newsrooms are whittled down, In the Lower Mainland alone, Can- there should be a limit on media owner- reporters are shouldered with increas- West owns two dailies, 12 community ship and monopolies, broadcast regula- ing workloads, investigative journalism papers, and the most popular local tele- tions should specifically encourage a declines, re-written press releases be- vision station, Global. The Black Press diversity of news and news outlets, and come news, and the diversity of voices is news chain owns the remaining 20 com- start-up media should receive govern- choked. munity papers, leaving only one major ment funding to increase diversity. It remains to be seen whether or not independent publication, the Georgia The call for stronger government the Senate committee’s proposals will Straight, which is more entertainment regulation to increase media diversity be put into practice, or join the previous than news oriented. was virtually ignored by the Canadian recommendations on that dusty shelf. This example of “vertical” or cross- news media. Instead, stories on the Sen- media concentration, where one com- ate committee report focused on recom- JL pany owns many different types of media mendations the CBC scrap its $300 million R

Langara Journalism Review 2007 23 Avoiding the internship treadmill

Where do journalism hopefuls draw the line between experience and exploitation?

by Ania Mafi

ROBERT MANGELSDORF illustration

fter hours, weeks or even months of working hard Smyth says. “Some of them really didn’t like it because on the and paying their dues, journalism interns are gaining days when it’s not very busy, there wasn’t a lot to do.” Ahands-on experience with the hope of landing a much- Smyth says she makes the effort to pitch ideas at story anticipated job offer. It’s common to find prospective journal- meetings and treats her role seriously and professionally. ists boasting two, three or four internships, none of them paid. But no amount of hard work and dedication can allow Realistically, every journalism student and industry hopeful Smyth to cross the line that restricts interns from doing the can’t be hired after interning somewhere; there are simply not work of a paid employee. Global BC employees are under the enough jobs to accommodate the demand. So what are young Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, journalists really gaining from an internship and what’s the which is good news for paid workers but bad news for interns next step after interning? hoping to get their hands dirty. “Some days you’re so busy that you think, ‘wow, what “One day [the web writer] was really bogged down with would they have done if I hadn’t been there?’” says first-year stuff and he asked me to write the write-up to go on the web- BCIT broadcasting student Megan Smyth. “It seems that in the site,” Smyth says. “He didn’t put his name on it, but he couldn’t journalism industry you need to devote some sort of free time put my name on it.” for experience.” Smyth will return again to Global National in March to Interning on and off at Global National in Burnaby since continue her nearly year-long unpaid internship. March 2006, Smyth, like many journalism hopefuls, faces the John Pippus, tape editor in the Global BC newsroom for ups and downs of today’s competitive world. Stations are flood- the last 20 years, says interns don’t get paid in dollars but are ed with talent and interns have no guarantee of being hired instead given the opportunity to increase the value of their afterwards. Smyth applied for the internship while studying experience with the right amount of curiosity and ambition. English literature at UBC. She got her foot in the door, but be- Journalism internships started at Global BC in 1985 with only ing a journalism hopeful with no education or industry experi- a couple of interns working per year. The program has since ence, what could she do? grown and reached a high of 18 interns in the 2002-2003 aca- “When I started in March for Global National there were at demic year. Despite the overwhelming popularity of the intern- least three other interns, but they’ve kind of all disappeared,” ship program, Pippus’ opinion is most interns don’t take the 24 Langara Journalism Review 2007 initiative to ask how a job is done. outlets were expected to train employees. Now, she says, there “Often when I see the interns, they seem to be, for what- aren’t enough resources to train new journalists. ever reason, shy or unmotivated, not curious,” Pippus says. Although big media companies today may not have the “They’re waiting to be told what to do. I don’t know what time to mentor and train up-and-comers the way they once they’re doing, but they’re not out and about.” could, one way to gain experience is to branch out—far out. When an intern works hard and doesn’t get hired at the Flanagan says she started as a journalist when she moved to end of an internship, where do they go from there? Faced Vancouver Island and got a job at a small community paper. with the disappointment of leaving an opportunity they hoped “In a sense it was equivalent to an internship in that I had would blossom into a career, some resort to finding another my hands on everything. I’ve worked in a larger setting and internship. Thus, a serial intern is born. I see interns who come in or young writers Vanessa Richmond, assistant editor of who come in and their experiences are a little the Tyee, a Vancouver-based online news more restricted,” she says. magazine, feels interns must not lose sight Young journalists may benefit more by of their goals. starting out on a smaller scale and avoiding “I definitely think people get intern- the media giants as places to gain experience. addicted and get kind of on an intern- According to Flanagan, up-and-comers can’t ship treadmill. I think one of the reasons let ideas of where they want to see their fu- that happens is that people aren’t careful ture in journalism stunt the potential growth enough to define exactly what they want and experience they can gain by working at a out of it,” she says. “If you’re getting to the smaller media outlet. end of your internship and you realize you Carolynne Burkholder works as features haven’t met anybody and you haven’t pub- editor at the Nanaimo Daily News. She be- lished anything, I think then it’s up to the lieves smaller media give those starting out intern [to] really be proactive and do that.” in the industry more of an opportunity to How many internships are too many? gain experience. Burkholder is a student in According to Noreen Flanagan, manag- UBC’s master of journalism program, writing ing editor of Elle Canada magazine, young her thesis while adding work experience to journalists should do no more than two her resume. Having interned for one summer internships. She says by doing more than at CBC Radio in Prince George, Burkholder that, interns are sending a message that chose to jump off the internship treadmill be- they don’t mind donating their services fore it sped up. and are willing to work for free. After two “Something like the CBC, it’s a huge cor- internships, Flanagan feels prospective poration so it’s good to have on your resume journalists have learned all they can about but it’s also good to go somewhere where you the internship experience and continuing actually get to do something,” she says. to intern becomes exploitive for them. Clearly, interns need to be more proactive, “If I look at someone’s resume and I see but what can the professionals who offer the they’ve done a string of internships, it tells internships do to help these keen learners? Is me two things: either they lack confidence providing the opportunity for them to absorb to get out there and get a job, or they’re not information and network with media profe- that good,” she says. sionals enough? Flanagan feels it’s the responsibility According to Jim Wong-Chu, creator and of interns to turn their experiences into a ROBERT MANGELSDORF illustration editor of Ricepaper Magazine, places that paying job of some sort, even if it’s not their offer internships should make sure interns dream job. She says interns often want to stay longer but can’t know what they are doing and offer as much guidance as they and at that point they shouldn’t be afraid to venture towards can. something smaller or even take a job that may not put them At Ricepaper, Wong-Chu says interns are assigned to a where they want to be. Flanagan says these young journalists project they can work on for the amount of time that they in- are held back by their unwillingness to step outside of their tern at the magazine. Many interns stay on board as regular direct path. volunteers long after their internships are finished. “That [attitude] can be a bit of a curse,” she says. “If you “We are more interested in developing the volunteer, their have to go to another magazine that’s smaller or not what personal experience and training. We want to train them so you’re interested in, don’t see that as a setback in your career. that when they do go out to look for a job on the outside that Maybe eventually you’ll be back at wherever it is you’ve set their qualifications match,” he says. your sights.” Whatever avenue prospective journalists want to persue, Although Flanagan believes prospective journalists they must not lose track of the goal of the intersnhip. Gain- shouldn’t exploit their talents for too long, Pippus believes in ing experience is one thing, but making the most of it by be- this day and age interning may sometimes be all the experi- ing proactive and curious takes the internship to a whole new ence a young journalist has access to. level. With so many gunning for the finish line, running the “As long as you’re learning the craft and getting your name internship race might be the necessary course to that elusive out there and looking for related work, then go for it—with no prize—a paid job. apologies. It’s a tough job market these days.” Richmond says several decades ago when people were L entering the field of journalism, few had training and media JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 25 The Death of CityNews

by Krista Siefken

n the morning of July 12, 2006, Citytv reporter Jill Bennett was on her way Oto court. She was as- signed to cover the trial of one of the men charged with the high-profile murder of Aaron Webster in Stanley Park. On her way to meet the camera crew she received a call from a co- worker telling her to drop her assign- ment and return to the newsroom. Bennett sensed something was amiss. If she wasn’t at the trial, the station wouldn’t have this important story. She returned to Citytv’s West Second Avenue newsroom, buzzing as other staff also returned. The rou- tine was wrong. What was going on? Bennett checked her e-mail. A message from management instruct- ed her to attend a meeting in the sta-

COURTNEY SHEPARD photo tion’s studio. 26 Langara Journalism Review 2007 Now she knew something was wrong, She did – and was then abruptly escorted So is Breakfast Television filling the because her fellow reporter Dag Shar- out of the building. hole CityNews left behind? man had received an e-mail instructing “It’s kind of a blur, but one of the cold- The 2004 agreement between Chum him to attend a different meeting, this est things they said to us in that room was and the country’s broadcasting regula- one upstairs. ‘Don’t dawdle at your desks, don’t take tor, the Canadian Radio-television and “At that point Dag and I looked at each longer than you need to get out of here Telecommunications Commission, says other and we knew one of us was getting because you’re making the people up- Citytv is required to broadcast a certain the axe, but we didn’t know who,” Ben- stairs really uncomfortable, still being in quota of news. nett says months later in a Vancouver the building,’” Bennett says. “They were The agreement states in part: “The coffee shop. probably uncomfortable because they licensee shall broadcast during each “I could tell from looking around the were huddled into a room upstairs.” broadcast week a minimum of 27.5 hours studio that the people in that room were Outside, competing television news of original local programming, of which a not the people needed to keep a station crews were setting up, ostensibly to cover minimum of 12 hours will consist of origi- going. So it was obvious that the group I the news of the takeover, but instead they nal local news programming...” was in was the group going.” found the fired Citytv employees leaving However, determining if Citytv is meet- Meanwhile, on vacation in Zanzibar, the building with their belongings. ing the news requirement is difficult be- Citytv reporter Elaine Yong was check- “I got a box of stuff and as soon as I cause the CRTC does not have an exact ing her e-mail in an Internet café. It was left the building CTV was there shooting definition of what “original local news almost 11 p.m. and Yong had received a me putting my box into the car,” Bennett programming” is. message on her work account also telling says. “I couldn’t find a local news definition her to attend an important meeting. Citytv Vancouver had cancelled the 6 at all,” says Peggy Nebout, a spokesper- The café was about to close so Yong and 11 p.m newscasts. In addition, Chum son for the CRTC. left, wondering what was going If the entire three and-a-half on back at home. When she hours of Breakfast Television returned the next morning she counts as news, then Citytv is ex- found she was inundated with “People crying and being escorted ceeding its news obligation. How- e-mails: Citytv had scrapped the ever, one episode of BT has roughly news. to your desk by a security guard one half-hour of hard news items, Her friends were concerned. after you’d worked at the same which are repeated up to 20 times Some asked if she’d been laid during the show. off and others simply said they place for years...it was a shock for The promos featured on Break- were sorry, as if a relative had everybody.” fast Television’s website for one just died. Her parents wrote to episode included a feature on You- say they had seen Citytv em- - Elaine Yong Tube, tips on “do-it-yourself spa ployees crying on the evening products,” and “a little rabbit from news. The last e-mail was from Europe that gives you the weather her office manager instruct- and reads your e-mails to you!” ing Yong to call her news director, Bud chopped news programs across the coun- Sounds like entertaining information, Pierce, immediately. try, eliminating 281 jobs. Instead of tradi- but is it news? “I called him and said, ‘I’ve been laid tional suppertime news, Citytv Vancou- Nebout says the commission is cur- off, haven’t I?’ And he just kind of paused ver transferred its news programming rently looking into Breakfast Television and said, ‘Yes.’ So there I was, in Stone to Breakfast Television, a morning show content to see if it qualifies under the Town, Zanzibar, in some Internet café hosted by Simi Sara and Dave Gerry. It conditions of licence. on the phone long distance, and I’d just runs weekdays from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. “I don’t know if it does count as news,” found out I’d been laid off,” Yong says. and is intended to give viewers a daily she says. “I know that we received a com- “When I came back and I started hear- dose of news mixed with features, enter- plaint about the content; that they do not ing from other people about what hap- tainment and contests. air 12 hours of original local news, and pened that day, I’m glad I was in Africa, The show’s news host, Mark Docherty, the complaint is in front of the CRTC, so because being here would have been reads the dozen or so news stories, as everything will be examined.” even worse. People crying and being es- well as sports. Weather and traffic host Nebout won’t release the details of the corted to your desk by a security guard Dawn Chubai provides updates usually complaint because she says it is not pub- after you’d worked at the same place for before each commercial break, and Sara lic information. years...it was a shock to everybody.” and Gerry, as well as co-host Tasha Chiu, But ex-Citytv employees believe Break- A total of 47 people were let go from chit-chat about recent events, usually of fast Television falls short of a newscast. Citytv Vancouver that morning. On the the entertainment variety. “A breakfast show to me is one part of same day CTVglobemedia (at the time Monitoring the show reveals it devotes a news wheel,” Bennett says. “When you Bell Globemedia) announced a $1.7-bil- more time to such items as children’s break the show down they do news every lion bid to buy Chum, the current owner ballroom dancing than the federal de- 15 minutes, but it’s recaps of the top sto- of Citytv. Representatives for both com- bate over Kyoto protocol. There’s an item ries. There’s no digging, there’s no going panies deny the two events were related. about the discovery of a body in a local after people. I would liken it to reading 24 Back in Vancouver, Bennett, along suburb, and other major items included Hours rather than reading the Globe and with the rest of the staffers in the studio, the results of Anna Nicole Smith’s au- Mail; it’s going to give you little snippets, had been given a layoff letter and told she topsy and the previous night’s Grammy but you’re not going to get anything in- had five minutes to clean out her desk. winners. depth out of it.” Langara Journalism Review 2007 27 Yong agrees. sector radio and television stations, be- Citytv outlets across the country “In my opinion, absolutely not. But lieves Breakfast Television satisfies the have been known for a distinctive, in- the CRTC is not necessarily black and CRTC requirement but she feels it leaves formal style of news coverage. Instead white. And frankly, you hear about it a much to be desired. of camera crews, reporters often take lot—when a new station gets a licence “Technically it does [meet the re- handheld cameras with them to cover a they promise all kinds of things and quirement], but it certainly is playing fast story, and anchors read the news with slowly they start pulling back,” she says. and loose with the intent of the licence, Citytv staff working behind and around But station officials stand behind which is to have effective independent them. This cinema verite style is success- Breakfast Television. news editorial presence,” says Murray, ful in Toronto but failed to grab Vancou- Steve Scarrow, the regional director an associate professor at Simon Fraser ver audiences. There is speculation sur- of promotions and marketing for Chum University’s School of Communication. rounding why the style failed to make an and Citytv, refers to Breakfast Television “City has really made its licence impact in the West. as a morning news show and says it is a brand around the country basically on “I don’t think Vancouver was quite growing market. three types of news. It’s done a lot on ready for that style,” Bennett says. “It “This [the traditional evening news- crime reporting, it’s done a lot on urban worked in Toronto, and because the com- casts] wasn’t an area that’s growing. politics, and it’s done a lot on what I’d pany is run out of Toronto they tend to Whereas an audience that is growing call arts and culture – not entertainment think that if works in Toronto it’ll just is Breakfast Television’s, and morning news – but arts and cultural news local- work in Vancouver, and why on earth television is growing across the con- ly,” Murray says. “I would be looking for would Vancouver be any different from tinent. As traffic congestion becomes the degree to which they’re carrying on the rest of the country? Our market is

COURTNEY SHEPARD photo even more difficult, people want more with that. Clearly, if that goes, then we not as big. I don’t know if we have enough weather information in the morning, are arguing that there really is a retrac- people interested in local news to support they want more headlines and highlights tion [on the CRTC agreement]. And the three local six o’clock newscasts that are of the day, and more conversation about problem I have is that their traditional still very similar. Even though the style current events,” he says. “We have de- areas of strength aren’t an easy fit in at City was different, the news itself was fined it [Breakfast Television] as a news what I’d call a morning show.” pretty much the same.” program because even when they [the Whether Breakfast Television ful- Yong says the difference between hosts] are talking they are talking about fills the news quota or not, Ian Haysom, the two markets is vast. current events and topics of the day.” news director at Global BC, says it is not “People are not coming home at five “So we still are respectful of our making much of an impact in Vancouver, in the snow and the dark, sitting at home conditions of licence. We still want to in part because it can’t compete with watching TV,” she says. “A lot of times contribute to the community and give Global’s morning news program. they’re outside, they’re doing stuff, so I a different voice. We just said it doesn’t “We’re [Global BC] hyper-competi- think it takes a lot more to win a news appear they need another voice at six tive all the time,” Haysom says. “They’re audience here than it does in other parts o’clock,” Scarrow says. [Citytv] competitive in the morning. I of the country.” Catherine Murray, a member of the have a morning show so I have to ensure Murray says CityNews’ failure also Canadian Broadcasting Standards Coun- we’re beating them everyday, and we do. stemmed from a lack of journalistic cred- cil, an organization representing private We have huge ratings in the morning.” ibility. 28 Langara Journalism Review 2007 “They never developed authoritative CRTC’s director of public affairs, says cally it seems to me there’s been media journalist voices,” she says. “They never the application for the sale, received late mergers going on for as long as there’s had a solid news presence.” last year, will be made public and then been media and it hasn’t resulted in any- Evening news programs cost a lot the CRTC will go to a hearing, expected thing catastrophic yet. There’s still quite to produce and are generally a drain on some time this summer. The federal a variety of perspective out there.” the station’s budget. Some feel Citytv Competition Bureau already cleared the But Bennett says the loss of Citytv’s couldn’t compete in Vancouver because takeover in March, decreeing that the evening news has left a hole in Vancou- it didn’t spend the money required. deal would not substantially lessen ad- ver’s broadcasting landscape. “I know news isn’t a money-maker, vertising competition. “For all that we like to make fun of but you really have to spend money to Paul Schneidereit, president of the City[tv] and the fact that there was some get the right stories and to get complacency there and they the people to research and spend didn’t really go after the news, time,” Bennett says. there were a few times when “And what they wanted was City brought things up,” Bennett more community-based; they says. “There were times with City wanted more people, and more broke things that made the other real people, in their stories, and stations scramble... and that kind if you want to develop that and of competition is healthy.” Ben- really get into that you need to nett says having fewer stations is spend money to do it, and they problematic because there isn’t just wouldn’t.” a push to go above and beyond Yong offers an example of since there is less chance of a dif- this thrifty behaviour. ferent story or angle ending up “When the ferry sunk off on Vancouver televisions. the coast of Prince Rupert Citytv But Yong believes losing didn’t send anybody. We had a Citytv’s evening news hasn’t videographer from the sister sta- made a large impact on Vancou- tion, the NewVI [based in Victo- ver’s news scene. ria], one man, one videographer.” “I think overall, to be honest Yong pauses, then adds sadly, ...it’s not making much difference “They sent him to cover the news because it wasn’t that effective for the entire country in Prince to start with. I think anytime you Rupert. Meanwhile at Global at lose a station in a market it’s not least three crews went. And we good news because it’s just one had one man, who was not even less outlet, one less place people from our station, and we were us- can go to, one less opinion, one ing his stuff.” KRISTA SIEFKEN photo less slant on a story. So I don’t The lack of spending may Former Citytv reporter Jill Bennett think that’s good at all, to lose a have translated into poor rat- station. To not have a newscast ings. According to the Bureau of coming out of there is pretty sad Broadcast Measurement (BBM) Nielsen Canadian Association of Journalists, says but if you look at what it’s been doing Media Research, in the Vancouver area the CAJ has called on Ottawa to carefully over the last few years, I don’t think most during Feb. 1 to May 31, 2006, CityNews scrutinize the takeover of Chum to “en- people really have noticed much differ- ranked last with 13,000 viewers. sure that the media landscape didn’t suf- ence at all, and that’s unfortunate,” she Global BC, on the other hand, had fer the further erosion of diversity.” says. a total of 246,400 viewers. CTV ranked “When you have alternatives as Yong now works for Global BC, fill- second with 64,800, and CBC placed third a viewer or a listener or a reader, that ing in while another reporter is on ma- with 17,100 viewers. gives you access to other viewpoints, ternity leave. She says she has moved on, The station’s image also lacked sta- other points of view, and I don’t mean as has Bennett, who is now at CKNW and bility, further fragmenting its audience. that just in terms of commentary. Even fills in occasionally at CTV. Since its inception in 1976 the station has in the straight news reporting, you can Yong says it is a nice change to be changed hands several times and under- have the best reporter in the world, but working on a broadcast that reaches a gone numerous image makeovers. Origi- if you’re relying on them for all your large audience. nally owned by Western Approaches, Ltd. information you’re going to be missing “To have something like this hap- and branded as CKVU, it was purchased some stuff because more sets of eyes and pen, I think everybody was affected by by CanWest in the late 1980s and became ears will pick up more things,” he says. it, even the ones that weren’t working at U.TV. In 1997 it was re-branded as Glob- “The problem is that in too many places City,” she says. “But you know what? Life al. In 2001 Chum purchased the station in Canada the number of choices of local goes on, people move on, and when no- and named it ckvu13 until 2002 when it voices is getting dangerously small.” body was really noticing you in the first became known as Citytv Vancouver. John MacNab, the executive direc- place, then nobody notices when you’re The sale of Chum to CTVglobemedia tor of the Canadian Broadcast Standards gone.” is subject to CRTC approval and will de- Council, doubts the sale of Chum will be termine if the station is to make any detrimental to news diversity. L additional changes. Denis Carmel, the “I think that if you look back histori- JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 29 Salim Amin with his late father, Mohamed Amin, in Ethiopia. photo courtesy of SALIM AMIN Uniting Africa

alim Amin is a man with a vision. African journalist Amin Foundation, a professional media- For the past three years he has training centre in Nairobi, Kenya. Since Sbeen working on what he believes envisions a home-grown its opening the centre has trained 29 is going to be one of the most significant young East African professionals who leaps forward for African journalism: a pan-African TV network now work in the region’s developing tele- pan-African television network, called vision industry. A24, which will be owned by Africans Amin admits the pan-African televi- with content written and produced for an by Troy Watts sion project is ambitious and not without African audience. He hopes the network risk. The idea has been tried by others is up and running by the end of 2007. twice before, both without success. One Amin, 36, is the son of the late Af- images and stories around the world. of the problems was the technology rican photojournalist Mohamed “Mo” Mohamed Amin was tragically killed needed for a pan-African television news Amin, whose images depicting some in November 1996, when hijackers forced network was either too expensive, or not of the most momentous events in Afri- the Ethiopian airliner he was on into the available. Now that the technology is can history were broadcast around the Indian Ocean. At 26, Salim was thrust more accessible, such a project is more world. Mohamed Amin started his com- into the helm of his father’s company. achievable. Amin is confident his station pany Camerapix in a small shop in Dar es In February 1998, Salim Amin, along will be successful in part because much Salaam, and built it into a well-respected, with television producer and journalist of Africa is modernizing and Amin feels independent media company delivering David Johnson, started the Mohamed Africans are more ready for it. 30 Langara Journalism Review “There isn’t anyone who has said that CNN or the BBC. Washington, London and Beijing, giving this is not a good idea,” says Amin who “From our point of view it’s been an African perspective on world events. received his journalism training in Van- very negative, and it continues to be In much of Africa, television sets couver. very negative. All that you are still not a common household items, The unsuccessful get on the Western media especially in the rural areas. Amin is networks—TV Africa and “All that you is stories of death, destruc- hoping to tap into the growing use of the African Broadcasting get on the tion, famine, and war,” cellphones that can download video and Network—imported much Amin says. “It is a depress- the Internet, both of which are increas- of their programming from Western ing picture that is painted ing in use, especially among the growing the West. It was also a media is of their own continent if middle class. time when Africans were they don’t know any bet- Not only Africans but people around emulating Western culture, stories of death, ter.” the world will be able to access A24 via fashion, music and idolizing destruction, A24 will not only cover the Internet. Amin says he is negotiating Westerners. Amin says Af- the events that get the at- with major broadcasters throughout the ricans now are more aware famine and tention of the Western world, including the CBC, to carry A24’s of “Africanism among Afri- war.” press it will also focus content once the network can provide cans,” and that is what Af- more on success stories regular high-quality material. ricans want to see in their and other positive initia- Amin is now in the process of look- media. tives throughout the continent. ing for “seed funding” for the project, “They [the failed networks] didn’t “Even the negative stories will be about US$600,000. He estimates a $35 focus on building local content, which is covered from an African perspective, million operating budget, expected to what Africans want to see,” Amin says. which will hopefully have a lot more keep the company going until it becomes He cited the example of poorly made, but depth, perception, background, and financially viable, expected within four wildly popular Nigerian films and serials knowledge behind the stories” than the years. Revenue is to come from advertis- that have phenomenal sales throughout Western press, Amin says. ing, satellite subscription, sales of mate- the continent “simply because other Af- Most Western media “parachute” rial to international broadcasters, mobile ricans can relate to those stories.” reporters into areas only when there are phone revenues and non- government or- A24 will have an empowering effect big stories, never spending enough time ganizations. throughout the continent. It will give to understand the people and their his- The ownership of the television sta- Africans the information they need to tory. However, they are trying to feed a tion is structured so that no entity can make educated decisions of who they “24 hour machine” want their political and social leaders to and have to report be, where they want to invest their mon- every hour. It does ey, and where they want to travel, Amin not give journalists note. It will give Africans a voice and a time to conduct the platform for dialogue not only within research needed their own continent, but to the world and to produce as well. It will create a sense of African meaningful pieces. unity that will transcend tribal, linguistic The news net- and local divisions. work Amin envi- Amin is aiming to structure much of sions will focus on the station after the popular Middle East- events in Africa. It ern television network Al Jazeera, espe- will produce news cially the station’s talk shows, which give stories and docu- Arabs an opportunity to question their mentaries about leaders on taboo topics on live television. events throughout Amin wants to give Africans a similar op- the continent. It portunity to put politicians “on the spot” will mainly employ courtesy of SALIM AMIN on live television. African journalists. “I think this will enable a lot of good Amin hopes to be- Salim Amin in his Nairobi office: Aiming to set up 46 bureaus. government and accountability,” Amin gin with 10 to 12 bu- says. “I think the fact is that there will be reaus in the major African countries and own more than 15 to 20 per cent of the an independent station that is highlight- expanding to 46 as the company grows. company. Amin says it is important the ing some of these issues and actually Each of the bureaus will consist of a team company remains independent so it will holding politicians accountable, which is of two local journalists who will provided have complete editorial control of con- something that hasn’t happened on this with the technology to write, produce, tent. A24 will be too powerful a force on continent. I think it will be a huge step film, and edit stories independently.This the continent to be left unprotected from forward in the democratic processes.” is important in covering events in Af- control, Amin says. “It will allow Africans to communi- rica because local journalists will have a “I think it could be the biggest pro- cate and talk to each other for the first greater understanding of their area, un- paganda tool this continent has ever time in their lives,” Amin says. derstand the language and local culture had; if it’s in the wrong hands it could be Many Africans, especially in rural that a foreign journalist likely would disastrous. If this works it’s going to be areas, now only have access to news net- not have. Initially A24 will employ 250 massive.” L works from the Western world, such as journalists. It will also have bureaus in JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 31 Journalism GRAHAM PERKINS photo takes to the streets A cell phone can turn the average person into a reporter. But is citizen journalism an oxymoron?

by Jon Braun

nyone with a keen eye, a cell The citizen journalist, however, is the subway tunnels. phone and a little luck can be a untrained and might not dig for the truth “It was dreadful by all professional A reporter these days. So-called like a professional journalist has been standards, but it didn’t matter because it citizen journalists are born by being trained to do. But some say citizens still took you there,” he says. “It was a sense in the right place at the right time and have a role in modern journalism. of being there.” possessing the tools to transmit pictures Alfred Hermida, a pioneer of online The footage was on TV stations or words about events of interest to the journalism, felt the full force of citizen’s across the globe less than one hour after public. journalism while working for the BBC the attacks occured. The BBC received They can be found on millions of during the bombings of London’s trans- 30 video clips and more than 300 e-mails web pages across the Internet, which portations system on July 7, 2005. with an average of three images each. is the citizen journalist’s most powerful “There was an avalanche of footage When the tsunami hit Asia at the tool. coming into the BBC,” Hermida says. end of 2005, Hermida says the BBC saw Citizens have captured some of the He believes this was a key event for citi- the same flow of images. Shots of the most important events of recent history: zen media and the most compelling vid- wall of water rushing through the towns the Indonesian tsunami, the attack on eo even though it was taken by camera were all from people who were on-scene the World Trade Center in New York and phones that produced shaky, low-light by chance, when journalists couldn’t be the execution of Saddam Hussein. images of shadowy figures coming out of there or dared not go.

32 Langara Journalism Review 2007 “It’s very rare to get those images citizens? mainstream media.” so you get that sense of immediacy,” he “I don’t think people know with any Ruvinsky notes, however, that she- says. certainty if they are getting the real herself helped set up independent media Hermida is now a professor at UBC story,” Sullivan says. “Even professional during the 1960s, well before the advent and teaches a multi-platform journal- journalists make mistakes and they get of the Internet, because she didn’t trust ism course. His instruction and research the facts wrong.” the “straight press,” much like a large leads his students to a better under- Citizen journalism is still evolving majority of citizen journalists are doing standing of future newsrooms and how but it generally needs to adhere to the today with indie-media websites. journalists will deal with elements such same ethical and legal standards of that “Sure, citizen journalists and blog- as citizen journalism. professional journalism does. gers could become professionals,” Hermida is a blogger himself and Hermida says bloggers can just as Ruvinsky says. “I think there’s a great runs Reportr.net. Now living in Kitsilano, easily be charged with contempt of court, potential there because at least there is Hermida uses Kitsilano.com to find out for example, if they publish proceedings a passion for good journalism.” what’s happening in his community. with a ban. “The real impact of the Inter- Hermida senses some sort of com- “It offers me a level of information net is yet to be felt,” he says. promise will take place, bringing togeth- I’m not getting from professional news Some journalism educators argue er the best of both worlds. He points to sources,” he says. a news organizaion in Bluffton, Hermida says that in many South Carolina, where an experi- cases blogs are quicker to post ment is taking place. information. Bluffton Today, a daily news- “People want to be heard. Sure, citizen paper with a circulation of 17,000, They feel they have something to encourages the community to say and want the world to hear contribute to the paper through about,” Hermida says. journalists and its online site, BlufftonToday. The Vancouver-based web- com. site Orato.com invites anyone bloggers could The paper has been using with a story to upload it to their blogs on its website to enhance site. The material, vetted by Ora- coverage—gathering story ideas to’s professional journalists, pro- become professionals. or augmenting stories and keep- vides perspectives that wouldn’t ing in touch with the community. normally be heard, according to This is a good example of a paper Paul Sullivan, Orato’s founding I think there’s a going “hyper-local,” interacting editor. with readers by publishing some Sullivan, who has worked as great potential there of their blogs as stories. “I don’t a journalist for 30 years at such know anyone who does it exactly newspapers as The Globe and like we do,” says executive editor Mail and The vancouver Sun, because at least there Kyle Poplin. “We don’t lift any old says the difference between him blog and throw it in the newspa- and the citizen journalist is his is a passion for good per. It’s still a professional news- training and experience. paper with professional journal- “Citizen correspondents are ists.” not necessarily trained journal- journalism. He says the interactive na- ists,” he says. “The only creden- ture gives readers the power to tial I’m interested in is how good challenge the newspaper. the story is.” “They didn’t feel like we The stories featured on Ora- —MAXINE RUVINSKY were doing a good job covering to.com come from more than 100 the school system so we just re- correspondents worldwide and verse published these blogs and many are first-person. let them have their say.” For example, Pauline VanKoll and citizen journalists don’t possess the Hermida and Ruvinsky both believe Trista Baptie, former sex-trade workers training required to be reporters. citizen involvement in the creation and on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, are “Bloggers may have the romance of dissemination of information—whether writing about the Robert Pickton trial in the press in their bones but don’t have we call it journalism or not—means the New Westminster, B.C. the credentials,” says Maxine Ruvinsky, journalist’s exlusive role of gatekeeping They describe the emotions they chair of journalism at Thompson Rivers will be a thing of the past. Journalists feel while watching the trial and past University in Kamloops. “All of the prime must realize they will no longer hold a experience in sex work to construct and values of good quality journalism like ac- monopoly on information, and take that write their stories. Sullivan believes they curacy, fairness, balance, depth, context, into account in any new media system. are providing a perspective not found in all of those things are missing,” says “People will keep deserting the press mainstream media outlets. Ruvinsky, who has more than 20 years until the press remembers what it’s sup- But journalism is founded in objec- of journalism experience and a byline in posed to be doing and does it,” Ruvinsky tivity and accuracy. Are the stories on many major publications across Canada. says. Orato.com or other citizen’s journalism “What’s curious is that people are L outlets truthful? Can we trust untrained going to blogs because they mistrust the JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 33 by Patti Shales Lefkos

ids scatter and hide in the ditches or run into their houses. Women look away and Kcover their faces with their hands. Teenage boys yell taunts at the visiting reporter and the photographer. These are some of the images Daphne Bramham recalls from her first visit to Bountiful, the polygamous community near Creston, B.C. Bramham, a columnist for the Vancou- ver Sun, was on assignment to interview the wives of Winston Blackmore, the for- mer bishop of Bountiful and still its spiri- tual leader. Blackmore reputedly had 26 wives and 80 children, and some of them were willing to share their perspectives on the polygamous lifestyle after reading Bramham’s earlier column describing the trafficking of Bountiful women to the U.S. “I thought I’d write one column, but it didn’t all fit in one, so I wrote asec- ond,” Bramham says. Bramham, who has been a reporter, editorial page editor and columnist for the Sun for some 20 years, has made Bountiful her beat. “What has kept me going on this story is that it has forced me to stretch as a reporter. I have had to learn and use new skills, to dig up research and follow the money.” Bramham’s investi- gations are related to possible fraud by Bountiful wives involving welfare and child tax credits. She searched property titles, court documents, the independent schools’ act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in an effort to delve into the community’s operations. Vancouver Sun columnist Daphne Bramham Photo courtesy of Daphne Bramham After even a brief conversation with Bramham, it is obvious her approach to journalism can be summed up by her de- termined desire for social justice. Although research and interviews on Bountiful and other stories are time consuming, Bramham loves the work. She says her genuine interest in people Her beat is and her perseverance are the secret. “I want to find out everything and I’ll stay until I get the good quote.” Fazil Mihlar, Sun editorial page edi- tor, says Bramham has a sense of hope- fulness, taking on issues and pushing them, hoping things will change. “She has a passion for issues which matter and gives a voice to the voiceless in the community.” Bountiful “Over the years her point of view has become stronger, more passionate

34 Langara Journalism Review 2007 and punchy,” says Mihlar. Because of Her father, Donald Bramham, a my career. She blocked a promotion I her determination to see things through, chiropractor, and her mother, Lydia, a was promised and completely destroyed “she builds a reputation for the paper high-school principal, thought a career my self confidence,” says Bramham. and the paper owns the issue.” One of in law, medicine or education more ap- Knowing no future existed for her at those issues is Bountiful. propriate for their 17-year-old daughter Canadian Press, she applied for a job at “One of the things very liberating and considered her too young to go away the Vancouver Sun and first worked as a about being a columnist is knowing you to journalism school. Bramham’s resolve reporter and then as editorial page edi- can continue with a story,” Bramham never wavered though, and a deal was tor. That’s when she met one of the big- says. When she started writing about struck. She agreed to attend university gest influences in her life, Neil Reynolds, Bountiful, Bramham soon realized she close to home before going to Toronto for who became the Sun’s editor-in-chief. would continue and was able to make journalism school. She fulfilled her part Bramham says she hated being editorial deals with people she never would have of the bargain by completing a Bachelor page editor and Reynolds saved her. made as a daily reporter. She built trust of Arts in English and German in 1975 at “All of us in our lives need someone by making sure people understood what the University of Regina. In exchange, to tell us what we would be perfect at. He off-the-record meant. “But off-the-record her parents supported her decision to at- decided I should be a columnist,” says can be a double-edged sword, because tend Ryerson to study journalism. Bramham. “He is the only person who once you know you can’t unknow.” made me believe that everything is pos- “I remember the first time I met sible.” His first offer was a column four Jane Blackmore, [Winston Blackmore’s times a week about the city. Before she ex-wife] and I was terrified to ask her a could respond, he revised it to twice a question because I thought she would “She’s like a dog week and topics of her choice. break,” Bramham says. At the time she She says the job is perfect for her was still married to Blackmore. “I have with a bone...” because she doesn’t play well with oth- never seen a woman so fragile,” says ers, preferring to work on her own. Col- Bramham, “and I didn’t want to be the leagues disagree. While neither Mihlar one to push her over the edge so I tip- Bramham’s journalism debut was a nor her Sun colleague Amy O’Brian toed around her.” summer internship at the Regina Lead- question her independent nature, both Because Bramham treated members er-Post. Assigned to news, she was given happily collaborate with her. of the Bountiful community with respect, a rental car, sent on the road and loved “She’s like a dog with a bone once they still talk to her. “They now tell me it. “Working at small papers is great. You she has an idea or an issue that she their stories on-the-record.” get to do everything,” Bramham says. thinks needs to be dealt with. In her te- Her passion for the written word After her second summer intern- nacity to polish a story, she writes and was evident from childhood. By age 10 ship, this time at The Globe and Mail, she rewrites ad nauseum and I have to grab she made her decision to be a journal- returned to the Regina Leader-Post but it the copy from her kicking and scream- ist. Born and raised in Regina, Bramham felt like a defeat. Bramham considered ing,” Mihlar says. credits her Grade 5 English teacher, Mrs. a switch to law, but journalism prevailed A self-described space pig, Bram- Black, with the original inspiration. and she continued to learn her craft, cov- ham begins early each week to negotiate She didn’t discuss her career goal ering various beats. extra column inches. To solidify her opin- with her parents until the end of Grade In 1983, offered a job at Canadian ion, she debates issues with colleagues. 12. When she did, they were horrified. In Press, she moved to the West Coast. “It could be easy for a columnist to stay 1972, Bramham says the image of journal- Three years in Vancouver were followed in her own little world and not partici- ists “was still pretty much guys with bad by two in Victoria, as CP bureau chief. pate in newsroom life, but she refuses suits with scotch bottles, who smoked too There, demoralized by the worst boss to do that,” says O’Brian. “She is always much, who were not very well educated she ever had, she again thought about open to suggestions and other opinions.” and not very well regarded.” quitting journalism. “She tried to ruin “She brings intelligence and au- thority to her work. She has a sense of responsibility to her readers and to soci- ety,” Valerie Casselton, executive editor Dave Hayer listens! of the Sun says. Despite six years as a Sun columnist Our office is open to all and more than 25 years as a journalist Bramham still considers herself a writ- residents of Surrey-Tynehead er-in-progress. “You have to constantly evaluate language and you need to read and we look forward to hearing good books all the time,” says Bramham, your questions, concerns and who is on leave from the Sun while she works on a book about Bountiful. ideas. “There are very few people in jour- Da ve S. Hayer, MLA nalism that get this kind of freedom and 202 – 15988 Fraser Highway independence,” says Bramham. “This is Surrey, BC V 3S 2W4 the best job in the world.” T: 604-501-3201 F: 604-501-3233 L w w w . d a v e h a y e r m l a . c a JR Langara Journalism Review 2007 35 continued from page 19 mixed up, but says it was a misunder- standing. He also says closer to the truth, conducted in 1997, funded by the David Victoria might be submerged within Suzuki Foundation, predicted Canada hundreds, if not thousands of years and would now be threatened by malaria, not in our lifetime, as was reported. caused by global warming. But to date, When such special-interest groups the Canadian Public Health Agency has provide information for compelling sto- not found one case of malaria in Canada ries, journalists often run with it, even caused by global warming. though they might not be familiar with Recently, the Sierra Club of B.C. the material.

“...it is really difficult for media to cover science-based issues.” claimed at a press conference staged in “I think it is really difficult for the Victoria that global warming will cause media to cover science-based issues be- the provincial capital to be submerged cause science is really complex,” says in 25 metres of water within 100 years. Donald Gutstein, a lecturer at Simon Members of the Sierra Club painted for Fraser University’s school of communi- the reporters Technicolor images of the cation. “The reporter has to simplify it Empress Hotel and the parliament build- somehow and communicate the essence. ings both submerged. The famous inner I don’t think they do a very good job in harbour was gone. The Victoria Times- most cases of doing that.” Colonist, the Calgary Herald, the Prov- Phillip Austin, an associate profes- ince and the Vancouver Sun all pounced sor at UBC’s department of earth and on the story. ocean science, believes the media need to Victoria was clearly going to be the do their own research by looking at sci- next New Orleans — until Andrew Weav- entific journals, reading peer-reviewed er disputed the claim. Weaver holds the reports and not just take the word of spe- Canada Research Chair in climate mod- cial-interest groups. elling and is co-author of the UN Inter- If the media simply try to attract au- governmental Panel on Climate Change’s diences by fear and hysteric headlines, it report on global warming. only backfires because they lose credibil- “It’s wrong. It’s downright silly,” ity, says LaPointe. Weaver was quoted in the Province a few “I think mainly people will pick up days after the story was published about your newspaper or draw them into your the Sierra Club’s claim. Weaver said it newscast spontaneously not because of would take thousands of years, not 100 your lead item or your first couple of sto- for Victoria to become a victim of global ries, but because of the experience they warming. had the last time.” “There was some confusion in our LaPointe believes the media need presentation I will acknowledge,” says to be balanced in what they report, and Colin Campbell, science advisor for the don’t declare the world is ending for ev- Sierra Club. “We spoke about it in real ery degree of danger. estate, who gets flooded, and the point Campbell agrees. “Fear immobilizes really wasn’t that. The point wasn’t peo- people. I think it only does if there are no ple in Victoria will go under 25 metres options. If you say it’s going to happen [of water]. The point was in the next 20 and there is nothing you can do about it years we get to decide whether that hap- that would be irresponsible. The point is pens or not.” there’s a lot you can do about it.” Campbell, a paleontologist who has done sea levels research, says a few of L the reporters got some of the numbers JR 36 Langara Journalism Review The face of BC Hydro As Hydro’s spokesperson, Elisha Moreno is energy personified

by Dyrarene Canicula

t’s 10:11 a.m. and an announcer’s voice on the radio rattles off the Ilatest CKNW traffic report as Elisha Moreno unscrews her pink water bottle and takes a sip. As the media spokesperson for BC Hydro, Moreno’s face and voice were ev- erywhere during a rash of nasty storms that hit the West Coast last winter. Thou- sands of frustrated, sometimes angry customers were without power for days and it was up to Moreno to tell reporters why. Not only did she survive the 24-hour days, but she turned into a minor celeb- rity and kept the embattled utility comp- nay in a reasonably positive light. “I’m aware that everything I’m do- ing reflects on BC Hydro because in a lot of cases I am BC Hydro whether I like it or not,” Moreno says. So, what does it take to be BC Hydro? Moreno will tell you it takes an extra limb and a lot of energy. “I’m plugged in 24-7,” she says, keep- ing the radio just loud enough to catch Elisha Moreno atop the BC Hydro building. DYRARENE CANICULA photo any reports about BC Hydro. Her short brown hair is tied neatly sonality. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Al- back into a low pony tail and her bright Working in public relations was not berta, Moreno’s drive to achieve started eyes are framed by her bobbed bangs. the first thing on Moreno’s mind as a Lan- at a young age. She was valedictorian for Her smile is inviting, kind and genuine. gara College journalism grad in 1998. At her high school class, edited the school She carries her BlackBerry on her waist. 21 she went to work for VTV, now CTV paper and starred in school plays. Today, “The BlackBerry is with you all the and then to CBC-TV before venturing she still puts boundless amounts of en- time. If you’re swimming in the pool the into PR. It was the ’99 CBC technicians’ ergy and enthusiasm into her work. BlackBerry is at the edge of the pool. If strike that made her take a contract with “I pretty much did 24-hour days be- you’re having a shower, it’s in the bath- the Pace Group, an agency specializing tween November 15 and December 22,” room with you. The BlackBerry is always in media and government relations. she says referring to the period that saw with you. I kind of feel like it’s an exten- Her job there gave her exposure to the worst of the storms. “I didn’t have a sion of my arm some days,” she says working with BC Hydro where she orga- personal life.” laughing. nized school tours about energy conser- Moreno spends a lot of time in the Those who know her suggest More- vation. She then moved to the Vancouver office and on the phone, even working no is energy personified. Aquarium where, she says, the job was weekends. She has built such a rapport “You don’t even want to see this a challenge because it was “frought with with the media that reporters would woman on coffee,” says Carolyn Glee- issues.” Within a year, she left for BC Hy- venture to her Port Coquitlam home on son, a communications advisor, who has dro. weekends to get a quote. known Moreno since she started work- “She was quite accomplished at such She recalls one instance where she ing for BC Hydro seven years ago. Glee- a young age,” Gleeson says of the then 23 stook outside her house in slippers and son says Moreno just keeps going under year-old Moreno. “She’s very dynamic, pajamas, with a jacket overtop, explain- pressure and never loses her bubbly per- outgoing, bubbly and effervescent.” ing to the cameras why it was taking so Langara Journalism Review 2007 37 Face of BC Hydro December storm gong show, Vaughn Palmer was she there to kind of mute I basically took a few days— the criticism. It was a tough continued from page 37 continued from page 22 went to the spa, went snow- question.” The kind that has shoeing with my dogs, spent become Palmer’s specialty. long for power to be restored. remind my colleagues who some time with my friends “He can be really ruthless,” “It becomes part of your would sometimes read a and family and just recon- says Mason, now a Globe and life. It’s part of who you are Palmer column and flip out a nected with everybody.” Mail columnist. and you have to be up for little bit, rail about it, say it’s Moreno feels some pride Besides writing his col- that,” she says. “If you have a unfair. ‘Well you know,’ I said, when her work is recognized, umn, Palmer appears on ra- life that’s not conducive to re- ‘when he wrote those same even in an indirect way. When dio seven times a week and ally rapid change and having kind of columns about the Vancouver Sun reporter Scott television three times a week. things that are changing basi- Socreds, you thought he was Simpson won a Jack Webster Baldrey jokingly refers to his cally on the fly… you won’t be bang on’.” award for his series on con- friend as “Vaughn Inc.” able to survive in this job.” Since 2001, Palmer’s struction of new dams on the Palmer says he appreci- “All the people I’ve dealt main target has been Gordon Peace River, he commended ates his lifetime achievement with tell me I’m faster on my Campbell and the Liberals. BC Hydro on its transparency award but finds it a little dis- feet,” she says. “I try to make When Campbell held his first and helpfulness. concerting because journal- their priorities my priorities. news conference after his “It drives me to believe ists usually receive it near I think they understand that drunk driving arrest, his wife that I’m on the right path with the end of their careers. He’s I have to represent BC Hydro was standing with him. Once my strategy so that I know nowhere near calling it quits. as an organization,” and she again, Palmer took the first that the results I’m getting “Governments have been very says this brings the mutual shot. are really worth the effort,” good to me in terms of mate- respect between her and the “He was asking why Mrs. Moreno says. rial,” he says. “I find the story media. Campbell was beside the pre- continues to be interesting.” She admits the job does mier,” recalls Gary Mason, a occassionaly wear her down. L colleague of Palmer’s in the L “At the end of the November- JR ‘80s. “And the suggestion was, JR

Covering the cops of course in one breath we are saying, Record Straight.” yes, the more media people take in the Police explained it as a “tool for elab- continued from page 15 higher their fear of crime, but... if people orating on information published in the Zytaruk says it’s “not really so much want to know if there’s a serial robber, or media.” an us-and-them kind of thing. purse snatcher in the southwest part of Dan Ferguson, the Surrey Leader’s Some police officers make excellent town that struck eight times at Oakridge crime reporter for the last seven years, sources and then the other guys see jour- in the last two weeks I think that’s impor- says the RCMP can present information nalists as a kind of threat. It all depends tant. And we would be negligent in not any way they choose. He says reporters on the individual, you’ve got good people informing the public of crime that’s going have to learn how deal with criticism. and bad people and friendly people and on.” “There’s nothing more ironic than re- unfriendly people in every profession.” Skelton says the connection is a le- porters who will cheerfully crusade and Zytaruk was writing crime stories gitimate concern. “It may create an over- try to nail someone’s hide to the wall, before police had such a thing as media all impression, if you have crime stories who then flip out and then go into a tow- liaisons. “Back in those days, the report- all the time, that crime is more prevalent ering rage because someone somehow er really had to work the contacts. You than it is.” in some minor way questioned they way could get more scoops and stuff like that If people are overly concerned about they do their job.” and there was more of an atmosphere crime, the answer is not to hide it. In terms of the relationship between of competition between different news Ramsey acknowledges some truth the media and the police, Bellett says, groups and newspapers. Now of course to the claim the more media coverage on “It’s the same relationship that exists be- the competition hasn’t stopped, but it’s crime there is, the higher the level of pub- tween us and anybody else. We’re here different. It’s basically who can get the lic fear. However, he does not agree with to put news in the paper. That’s not what same story first because there is so much the view that there is too much crime re- they’re for. They’re there to solve crime homogeneity now.” ported in the news because crimes are a and keep people safe.” Uniformity of information from po- fact of life and thus need to be covered. Even when journalists are doing a lice sources on crime stories works well Zytaruk agrees. Reporters must negative story on the police, all they ask for the media liaisons because they have be careful about getting into the whole is reporters get all the facts and make some control over what information re- concept of self-censorship, he says. “We sure the stories are balanced. “Ultimate- porters can print. The amount of crime don’t go out of our way to bombard ly our belief here is reporters should be coverage has become an issue. people with crime stories; you know we looking for the truth, not trying to sen- According to a recent study released don’t make up crime stories, crime hap- sationalize something, overplay it or by the RCMP, the more crime stories pens. So we are just reporting on what underplay it,” says Fanning. “But,” he are reported the higher the public’s fear happens. Don’t shoot the messenger.” laughs, “ I don’t think there is much of a level. Fanning says, “You have to have The RCMP have a new weapon in fear of underplaying in my experience.” officers that communicate with the- me their media arsenal. Earlier this year, dia because the public have the right to they launched a new feature on their me- L know. It may not always be pleasant and dia relations website called “Setting the JR 38 Langara Journalism Review m o c . r e i r u o c n a v . w w w Reach for yourOpportunities

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