J-Links for Aug. 10: Jean Charest angry over Radio-Canada report; Political coverage and ‘churnalism’; A $70,000 parking ticket

In Canadian media:

Jean Charest angry over Radio-Canada report on cancelled surveillance operation

Quebec premier Jean Charest was visibly angry after Radio-Canada aired a report one week into the Quebec election campaign that said police stopped surveillance on a construction union official after he chatted with Charest. There are allegations of criminal corruption in the construction industry with links to political parties in the province — Charest said he never intervened and rose questions of why the report came out during the election as the incident happened in 2009.

Political reporting suffering from ‘churnalism’

Senior Toronto Star political writer Susan Delacourt writes about the negative affects ‘churnalism’ has on political reporting. In the United States, 78 per cent of respondents to a poll on political coverage had a negative view on political coverage in the country. In Canada, Delacourt says, people would likely react the same as the Conservative Government has a “minimalist” approach to communicating with the media and reporters often practice churnalism.

Jan Wong on self-publishing, newsroom culture and teaching journalism

Former Globe reporter Jan Wong’s self-published memoir that tells of the aftermath of her infamous column on the Dawson College shootings has become a Canadian bestseller after three months. She talks to Shannon Rupp for The Tyee on publishing the book, the story behind it, what it’s like to be teaching young journalists and how she finally found happiness.

In international media:

Head of UK journalism school charged with fraud

The head of London journalism training college NoSWeat Journalism is charged with four counts of unfair trading and one count of fraud. The school was shut down in April after losing its accreditation and its chief executive, Steve Ward is accused of fraud by false representation by using the term National Council of Training of Journalists (NCTJ) on the website and intending to profit from its use. Using the NCTJ brand implies the courses were accredited, though they were not — something Ward also failed to inform students about.

Today’s read:

Think your parking ticket is bad? Try $70,537

A Toronto doctor lost a battle over a $31 parking ticket by launching a class action lawsuit and after arguments went as far as to the Supreme Court of Canada, the doctor has now been asked to pay the city’s legal bill of $70, 537.