Ask a Mentor
Nov 24, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: What advice do you have for reporters who cover dangerous figures (bikers, organized crime members) and want to keep their kneecaps right where they are? Answer by Toronto Star reporter and author of The Bandido Massacre, Peter Edwards.
QUESTION: What advice do you have for reporters who cover dangerous figures (bikers, organized crime members) and want to keep their kneecaps right where they are? Answer by Toronto Star reporter and author of The Bandido Massacre, Peter Edwards.
Nov 17, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: I'm a freelance photojournalist and I take photos of people on the town. Almost all of the photos I take are posted publicly. From time to time people ask me to take photos down and I typically ignore or refuse to remove the photos. I don't believe as journalists we have the right to selectively remove content when a member of the public doesn't like what they see. What are best practices in this situation? Answer by Andy Clark, senior photographer for Reuters News Agency based in Vancouver.
Nov 10, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: My editor removed quotation marks from a direct quote I took from an online statement from a press conference. She says journalists have free reign to use any info presented by news release, public statement or interview, without accreditation. I disagree. Please advise. Answer by Winnipeg Sun columnist Kevin Engstrom.
Nov 03, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: I cover a lot of court. A man pleaded guilty to contravening the National Parks Act for not having a licence for his rafting company. A quick search showed he'd been convicted of three counts of sexual exploitation and sentenced to 14 months in jail a couple of years earlier. Is this relevant to my story? Should it be in the lead, at the end or not in the story at all? Answer by Edmonton Journal reporter Karen Kleiss.
Sep 22, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: In All the President's Men, I heard about the two-source rule on information that comes from an anonymous source. But I don't hear about it much anymore and have even forgotten what it is, exactly! What is the "rule", and is it actually followed by journalists today? Answer by Esther Enkin, executive editor of CBC News.
Sep 15, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: I worked as a political advisor to two cabinet ministers and ran as a candidate in a federal election. I know and understand politics inside and out, but have not been a member of a political party for at least four years. Is it true that news directors will not hire me to become a political journalist? Answer by Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief Bruce Campion-Smith.
Jun 30, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: I know I'm supposed to get outside verification for things told to me by anonymous sources. But how about named sources? When is a reporter expected to get independent verification for information that's properly attributed? Answer by Cecil Rosner, managing editor for CBC Manitoba and author of Behind the Headlines: A History of Investigative Journalism in Canada.
May 26, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: Do you have any advice on which program I should take and do I stand any chance of finding employment when I graduate? I'm 43-year-old freelance photographer and writer. In spite of strong writing and photography skills, my feeling is I need to acquire skills in layout and website management to compete against more recent computer savvy graduates. Answer: Roger Gillespie, senior editor, training and development at the Toronto Star asked five senior-level newspaper editors.
May 22, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: What advice do you have for making tired assignments like weather stories and pet shows interesting for readers and reporters? Answer by Tom Hawthorn, Victoria freelance reporter and presenter at the recent CAJ conference in Vancouver.
QUESTION: What advice do you have for making tired assignments like weather stories and pet shows interesting for readers and reporters? Answer by Tom Hawthorn, Victoria freelance reporter and presenter at the recent CAJ conference in Vancouver.
Apr 20, 2009
- Posted by Regan
Ray
QUESTION: I phoned the Elections Canada media line and was informed that as per the Canadian Elections Act a person must come in person to the office in Ottawa to make photocopies of invoices because the department does not have the capacity to fulfill requests from journalists outside Ottawa. I live in Alberta and it was suggested I find an Ottawa j-school student to get the documents I want. Is this true? Can this department refuse me this information unless I appear in person to get it? Can I fight this and how can this rule be changed? Answer by Dean Beeby, deputy bureau chief in Ottawa for The Canadian Press.
Ask a Mentor
edited by ROBERT CRIBB
Ask a Mentor provides answers to practical questions about the craft. Our mentors will steadily expand this fount of tips, traps and shortcuts on the trail to truth. Submit your question and we'll pass it on to a mentor for answering. Robert Cribb is an investigative reporter and deputy investigations editor at the Toronto Star, past president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and current president of the CAJ Educational Foundation. He is also a lecturer at Ryerson University and co-author of Digging Deeper: A Canadian Reporter's Research Guide.
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