Chatelaine tracks down all four federal leaders for Q & As

In what seems like both a journalistic coup and playing an important part in bringing issues to the fore, Chatelaine magazine has managed to bag and publish interviews with all four federal leaders. Its particularly useful especially in light of the recent cancellation of the "women's debate".

"Plenty of ink has been spilled over what exactly the term “women’s issues” means," the editors said "and whether it should be used at all. Women comprise more than half the population and are also more likely than men to cast ballots, so there is something a tad reductionist about corralling us all into a special-interest group. Yes, we care about reproductive health and gender parity in leadership — but so do men. And yes, men worry about national security and the economy — but women aren’t exempt from those concerns....

In fact, the focus of the interviews -- conducted over 13 days in August and September -- was fairly wide-ranging and the questions that were asked were quite hard-hitting. You can be the judge about whether the answers came up to the standards of the questions.

Rogers Media forcing issues of sexual assault out into the open with year-long Project 97 campaign

Rogers Media is getting a lot of attention -- and praise -- for its Project 97. Over the course of the next 12 months, Rogers publishing and broadcasting outlets, including Chatelaine, Maclean’s, Canadian Business, Flare, Today’s Parent, Châtelaine, L’actualité and CityNews will explore, on air, in print and online the issues of sexual assault, abuse and harassment as it affects both women and men.

The name of the project is drawn from the fact that 97 per cent of sexual assaults against women in Canada are either never recorded as crimes by police or assault victims come forward and then withdraw their testimony because many find the highly adversarial courtroom experience to be as grisly as the original assault.

“The best solution, if there is such a thing, is for people to know that it’s not going to be quiet anymore,” says Cheri DiNovo, a Toronto member of the Ontario legislature who shared her own story of rape by an ex-boyfriend for the project.”This is not going to be hush-hush.”

 http://www.project97.ca/en/

J-source seeking expanded support for its work from individual and corporate funders

The Canadian Journalism Project (J-source.ca) is appealing for individual donations to support the online project, which covers journalism issues and news from across Canada. Until now, a large part of J-source's revenues came from support of the Canadian Journalism Foundation. 

Now, the CJF is stepping back somewhat and the work of the organization will be spread out to various journalism schools and support is being sought from  a wider variety of sources. According to an open letter from Christopher Waddell, director of the school of journalism and communication at Carleton University:

The project started as a collaboration among the country's leading journalism schools and organizations, managed and underwritten by the Canadian Journalism Foundation. While the Foundation will continue to provide substantial support, we are restructuring the project so that the various elements of J-Source and ProjetJ will be housed in and supported by several journalism schools. The English editorial centre will be at Ryerson University in Toronto, the French equivalent in Quebec City under the aegis of Université Laval; the publishing and business centre of the entire project will at Carleton University in Ottawa. In addition, there will be regional or specialized bureaus at journalism schools such as King's College in Halifax, UBC in Vancouver, Mount Royal University in

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Whether "native advertising" will kill journalism worries the inventor of the banner ad

The New York Times's David Carr has written a thought-provoking column about the perils of "native advertising", a column centred around an interview with Joe McCambley, the founder of the digital design firm Wonderfactory. 

"When the guy who ruined the Internet with banner ads tells you that a new kind of advertising might destroy journalism, it tends to get your attention," [says Carr.]

McCambley thinks native advertising may damage the longstanding contract between consumer and media organizations (what we used to call readers and publishers). Ads mimicking the style and format of journalism and nestled among real stories; sometimes labelled, more often not, gain attention and engagement. (They're what we used to call "advertorial" but even more closely integrated with content.) 

“I completely understand the value of native advertising but there are a number of publishers who are allowing P.R. firms and advertising agencies direct access to their content management systems and allowing them to publish directly to the site. I think that is a huge mistake. 

“It is a very slippery slope and could kill journalism if publishers aren’t careful....

“You are gambling with the contract you have with your readers. How do I know who made the content I am looking at and what the value of the information is?”

U of Ottawa suspends its Bachelor of Journalism program

The University of Ottawa will not be accepting students in its Francophone four-year Bachelor of Journalism program this fall and it may discontinue the program altogether. It has been run in partnership with Algonquin College and La Cité. A story in Le Droit, says that the decision is an outcome of a scathing report issue in May 2012 by the university Senate.

"It seems that these" programs "are nothing more than experiments. They are poorly constructed and undermine the reputation of the University," said the previously confidental report, obtained by the paper. "In light of the extent of the difficulties faced by these programs," the committee said a complete overhaul of these programs was warranted - or their outright abolition. The committee said the problem had essentially been ignored for a decade by U of O administration. 

Students who are enrolled now will be able to carry on as will 36 freshmen enrolled for September. Other students will begin their studies in journalism in one of the colleges. 

How to write about people

David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, talking about the art of the profile.

[Thanks to Parker Donham at The Contrarian]

Finkle plans to market long-form journalism by the piece, online

Derek Finkle, the director of the Canadian Writers Group is planning to launch a pay-as-you-go online digital publishing venture this spring to market single, long-form articles in much the way that this is now being done by Byliner and Guardian Shorts. 

According to a story by Jason McBride in the January 1, 2012 issue of Quill & Quire magazine, the as-yet-unnamed company is part of a growing trend towards new models for the publishing and monetizing of non-fiction writing, comparable to e-books. Byliner, for instance, markets original articles for from $0.99 to $5.99.

Finkle, who represents about 120 writers across the country ... is frustrated by both the shrinking magazine and newspaper markets and by how writers are being squeezed out of revenues generated by new digital platforms....

“No one is fostering and paying talent in this country,” he says. “And there are really very few places left to publish long-form stuff.” Unlike Byliner, Finkle also intends to focus on local stories, at lengths and depths that newspapers and magazines can’t realistically accommodate.

Finkle can imagine publishing, say, a controversial story about a Bay Street law firm that would potentially be downloaded by tens of thousands of lawyers taking the train home from work, with each reader actively contributing to the writer’s bottom line. “It’s subversive,” he says. “It’s an entrepreneurial opportunity that magazine writers haven’t had before. If you can make $40,000 on a story, that’s a game changer.”

New Canadian online resource links journalists with experts on health policy issues

There's a new Canadian online resource available to journalists covering health policy issues: EvidenceNetwork.ca. It's a non-partisan web-based project funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Manitoba Health Research Council. It links journalists with health policy experts to provide access to credible, evidence-based information, particularly the latest evidence on controversial health policy issues (such as wait times, health care costs and spending, the aging population and so on.)

"When health related stories crest the top of the fold, we want the stories to be based on evidence, not whimsy," says a release from the organization....

"Our experts are ready and able to answer journalists’ questions and connect journalists with the evidence on issues in Canadian health policy. The experts were chosen based on standing in the health policy research/academic community, publishing record, ability to communicate in lay language, the absence of lobbying affiliations, and region. EvidenceNetwork.ca understands the time constraints that journalists labour under and has asked each of the experts to respond to media inquiries within a two hour timeframe, whenever possible."

The pursuit of accuracy in your online publishing

Craig Silverman, the Montreal-based publisher of the blog Regret The Error, managing editor for PBS MediaShift and a frequent user of social media such as Twitter, has published (in his column for the Columbia Journalism Review) 8 simple rules for doing accurate journalism online. It's preparation for a workshop he's giving next week at the Online News Association.

One of his rules for accuracy is what he calls the "Law of Incorrect Tweets":

The point is to emphasize that a piece of misinformation is often far more appealing and interesting than the subsequent correction. People are therefore more inclined to retweet or like a false news report than to pay attention to any subsequent correction. Be careful with the information gets pushed out, and be diligent about repeatedly offering a correction. This is especially true with social media, but the principle—invest time in spreading corrections—is universal.

Another maxim is that people will forget who got a story first, but will remember who got it wrong.

Scoops are almost never as impactful and glory-filled as they seem.

Quote, unquote: Defending freedom and fairness in journalism

"As journalists, we believe in free speech and a robust free press and media. We also believe we have an overall duty to serve the public interest and the common good. The press should be fearless, exciting, entertaining, waspish, commercial and competitive.

"At the same time journalistic integrity must be respected, encouraged and protected from political, commercial and other pressures. Any reforms to press regulation should seek to strengthen the ability of journalists to report the news without fear or favour – and not further weaken it."

-- from an online petition being promoted by Press Gazette in Britain in response to fears that -- in the wake of the News International phone-hacking scandal -- draconian controls will be instituted for the media.

25 novels that should be read by journalism students

A list of 25 novels of interest to journalism students has been compiled by the blog of  OnlineCollege.org. It says it created the list because of how  literature and journalism so frequently hook up:

"Students really should explore this bizarre, beautiful and wholly logical relationship before embarking on a journalism career," says the organization, which provides information about online learning of all kinds. "Even though the industry's shape changes considerably along with inevitable technological upgrades, the lessons to be learned in history remain the same."

The top five novels listed are:

• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson: Easily considered the quintessential work of gonzo journalism, this classic novel transports readers to the darkest pockets in the "American Dream." Part memoir, part fiction, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas makes for an essential read when exploring different literary movements.
• Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West: "Miss Lonelyhearts" is actually a frustrated newspaper columnist ashamed with his advice column and foolhardy boss. Pitch-black comedy ensues, including horrifically, hilariously misjudged sex with both the boss' wife as well as a pushy regular reader.
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh: Louse Fitzhugh's most beloved read might target young adult audiences, but can still delight students looking for a little nostalgia. Harriet M. Welsch makes more than her fair share of mistakes, but her pluck, determination and attachment to her spy notebook make her a fun, fictional investigative journalist.
• Bel Ami by Guy Maupassant: Former military man Georges Duroy manages to land a career in journalism, from which he begins professionally ascending. Unfortunately, he does so through manipulation, charm and other means of a scoundrel, preying mostly on successful women.
• Bunker 13 by Aniruddha Bahal: Despite debuting to worldwide acclaim, Bunker 13 still won the 2003 Bad Sex in Fiction Award, given by Literary Review. Journalism students with a love of spy action, sex and drugs might want to check out this tale of a magazine reporter serving as a double agent between Indian and Pakistani intelligence.

This is what magazines do best: an outstanding article from the April issue of Vancouver magazine

It's a rarer treat than it ought to be to read a meaty, moving and excellently written feature such as "Blood Brothers", a piece in the April issue of Vancouver magazine by Timothy Taylor. It's about a battlefield encounter between enemies in the protracted Iran/Iraq conflict, how  one saves the other's life, only to meet again, years and appalling tribulations later, in Vancouver. That precis doesn't do the story justice. Only reading it will. [Thanks to Vancouver editor Gary Ross for tipping me about it. He has good reason to be proud.]

Why shouldn't crap journalism carry warnings?

A British blogger, Tom Scott (no relation) has posted an hilarious item about stickering "free" newspapers with warning labels such as the one above. [Hat tip to David Hayes over at TFEW]

It seems a bit strange to me that the media carefully warn about and label any content that involves sex, violence or strong language — but there's no similar labelling system for, say, sloppy journalism and other questionable content.

I figured it was time to fix that, so I made some stickers. I've been putting them on copies of the free papers that I find on the London Underground. You might want to as well.

Scott has created a template for you to print out your own labels and has thoughtfully created a U.S. version that better fits label sheets available here.

This is a good -- but wholly American -- list of the best magazine articles ever

Much excitement in the Twitterverse about a list of what are said to be the "Best magazine articles ever (in English)", compiled by the website Cool Tools.  The list contains 27 articles from The New Yorker over the years, 17 from Esquire, 9 from Harper's, 8 from The Atlantic Monthly and 8 from Wired and ones and twos from more than a dozen other magazines. Nothing very surprising; these are all excellent magazines that publish and have published excellent, largely long-form journalism. I certainly don't quarrel with the top 5, as selected based on how many people cited them. However...

I bow to no one in my admiration for many of these articles which I have read; I am also glad to have links to many that I have not yet read. But I don't think I'm alone in saying that the list is mislabelled: it should have been the "Best American magazine articles". I note that there are no British, no Australian, no New Zealand and no Canadian articles included.

To be fair, the creators of the list invite inclusion of new links. Certainly, we should take them up on it and send in at least the top articles from Canadian magazines as selected by the National Magazine Awards, demonstrating that there is excellent, involving journalism being done outside the U.S.

ABC Life Literacy Canada makes $2,000 fellowship available to create an adult literacy story

Nobody was more a passionate advocate of great magazine journalism and engaging with audiences than the late Peter Gzowski. He's now remembered as a beloved host on CBC radio, but it must be remembered that he was also a prolific magazine writer and editor, notably as editor of Star Weekly and as editor of Maclean's.

In 1993, ABC Life Literacy Canada founded an award of merit to honour his services to and advocacy of literacy. To date, the golf tournaments that he founded have raised more than $10 million, making it the most successful literacy fundraiser in Canada.

Now, the prize has been succeeded by The Peter Gzowski Life Literacy Fellowship, with financial support of $2,000 to one journalist to research and develop a story on adult literacy in Canada. Detailed guidelines and criteria are available online. The deadline for application for the fellowship is August 27, 2010.

U.S. news executives worry about the future state of journalism and its fundamental values

A study of the attitudes of newspaper and broadcast executives about the future of journalism in their media found them concerned about the state of journalism.

The study was conducted with 208 executives by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. And while they see some positives in the changes they are witnessing, they are worried about the future. 

For instance, they were asked how the internet is changing the fundamental values of journalism and 65% said it was loosening standards, 30% said it was putting an emphasis on speed (good and bad), 16% said there was more opinion and bias and 13% said the coverage was more superficial and with less analysis.

The survey found some significant differences in the attitudes between leaders of newspaper-based newsrooms and those of broadcast. Among them was their view of journalism’s future. Broadcast news executives were strikingly more pessimistic, with those who see journalism headed in the wrong direction outnumbering those who think it is headed in the right direction by almost two-to-one. Leaders of newspaper newsrooms, by contrast, are split, with a slight tilt toward optimism.