Now on J-Source: The legitimacy of advocacy journalism; Ethical hacking; CBSC decision on Sun News Network
TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2012 /CNW/ -
CJF Forum: Only one week left to book tickets for Digital First. Print Last. The Gospel According to John Paton on February 16.
CJF Award: We invite news organizations large and small to apply for the Excellence in Journalism Award. View the details in English or French. Deadline: March 1.
FEATURES
Covering Violence and Trauma
We're only human: The case for altruism and advocacy journalism
Journalists are trained to be observers; to not get personally invested in their stories. But what if, faced with extreme circumstances, they overstep their boundaries as a reporter and lend a helping hand to those less fortunate? Rhiannon Russell explains why journalists sometimes feel compelled to do more than just write stories and why this advocacy doesn't always mean sacrificing credibility.
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J-News
Sun News' Krista Erickson wasn't out of line in Margie Gillis interview: CBSC
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council received 6,676 complaints after Krista Erickson interviewed contemporary dancer Margie Gillis on a segment of Canada Live on Sun News Network on June 1, 2011. Belinda Alzner reports that after the review, the council has concluded the broadcast did not violate provisions under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' Code of Ethics.
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Town Hall
Five questions for Calgary Herald's digital engagement editor Tom Babin
The Calgary Herald is creating a giant Rolodex for its newsroom with its new Be a Source program. We asked digital engagement editor Tom Babin to tell us about the new program that turns its readers into sources and how it can help journalists.
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Computer-Assisted Reporting
Hacker-assisted reporting: can it be ethical?
If you hear the word 'hacker' and all you can think is News of the World scandal, stop cringing. Cecil Rosner explains how working with hackers who mine for publicly available data can be beneficial to not-so-tech-savvy journalists.
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Town Hall
Good reads: Licence plate recognition technology and your privacy
If you've ever attended court to get legal custody of your child, had a mental health problem attended to by police, or been accused of breaking a municipal bylaw, you have something in common with car thieves and child kidnappers in Victoria B.C. Rob Wipond wrote an account of the difficulty he'd had getting a straight story from just about everyone on Automatic Licence Plate Recognition for Victoria's FOCUS magazine.
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THE BIG ISSUE
If Sun TV execs care about Canadian broadcasting standards, they might be relieved by a supportive CBSC ruling on the infamous Margie Gillis interview - although some argue the council didn't apply the right code. The ruling follows the 'new Canadians' scandal, which at its low point erupted into a Twitter-spat between Ezra Levant and Jennifer Ditchburn.
Promising hard-nosed news coverage, Quebecor's Sun Media television operation began making headlines well before its 2010 CRTC approval and April 2011 launch. Commentators noted the station appeared to arrive at the CRTC hearings under the wing of the Harper government. There was a dust-up over a petition. Then fate placed the successful application alongside a long-delayed review of Canada's truth in broadcasting requirements. The optics and resulting public backlash put the review on ice.
A few months after launching, Sun Media withdrew from the Ontario Press Council. The company was back in the news in November 2011, when Quebecor's CKXT-TV license was revoked for piggy-backing Sun TV coverage into the free cable realm. Meanwhile, the network delivered on promised controversial news coverage, much of it focused on gaining access to information about the CBC, sparking a Twitter-spat over salary disclosure. To its credit, Sun Media polished its reputation with a very public turn-down of a fake photo of Michael Ignatieff - although it turns out Sun TV's staff are themselves no strangers to Photoshop.
If the first days of 2012 are any indication, the network that brought you the Jack Layton massage story and "CBC porn" will doubtless continue to make as much news as it reports.
EVENTS CALENDAR
- Feb. 16. Digital journalism for pay, ON
- Feb. 16. CJF Forum with Digital First Media CEO John Paton, ON
- Feb. 28. Google for journalists: Getting the most from the web, ON
- Mar. 8-9. Press Freedom in Canada Conference, ON
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» CRTC postpones CBC licence renewal hearings again, this time 'until further notice'
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