Ideas

Using data to tell stories -- on deadline

Apr 17, 2012 - Posted by Belinda Alzner

Raw data can be the foundation for good stories—you just have to know how to use it. Here, David McKie explains the benefits of computer assisted reporting and data-driven journalism and the sessions that he, Glen McGregor and Fred Vallance-Jones will be running at the upcoming CAJ Conference.

Embracing the deadbeat: The final word on a life lived

Feb 01, 2012 - Posted by Belinda Alzner

When it comes to writing obituaries, your story is the last word on a person’s life. Don Gibb gives advice on how to write these sensitive stories in a way that gets everything right while humanizing, remembering and celebrating a person's life the way they deserve. With an introduction from Media magazine editor Dave McKie.

Web scraping: How journalists get their own data

Jan 11, 2012 - Posted by Belinda Alzner

Don't rely on others to get you the information you need. Glen McGregor explains in the latest issue of Media magazine that the ability to program a basic script can allow you the freedom to no longer rely solely on Access to Information laws and give you the liberty to analyze data in new ways. And a foreword by David McKie, J-Source's Ideas editor, explains why this is important.

Fighting for the soul of journalism amid imposters

Dec 21, 2011 - Posted by Belinda Alzner

As journalists, we ask tough questions of our sources. But it turns out we may need to ask such questions of fellow journalists as well. Stephen Ward writes about an alarming trend he is seeing south of the border: partisan groups passing off their work as journalism. Partisan journalism simply can’t provide the value that public journalism ideally does. The U.S. cases should serve as a warning to Canadians. Foreword by J-Source Ideas editor and Media magazine editor David McKie.

Participatory Journalism: an interview with Alfred Hermida

Nov 10, 2011 - Posted by Lisa Lynch

Lisa Lynch chats with Participatory Journalism co-author and UBC associate professor Alfred Hermida about citizen involvement in the news, comment policies, and newsroom innovation.

Blame it on neoliberalism: the fix

Oct 19, 2011 - Posted by David McKie

In the final installment of this two-part series, Nick Fillmore argues that journalists and community groups must develop larger independent and alternative Canadian media outlets if we want to preserve freedom of expression.

Blame it on neoliberalism

Oct 12, 2011 - Posted by David McKie

In the first of a two-part series, Nick Fillmore argues that freedom of expression is threatened because of the way corporate media cater to powerful neoliberals and that small-l liberal ideas that champion the public interest are missing.

Coming up in Media magazine

Sep 07, 2011 - Posted by Lauren McKeon

J-Source's new Ideas section editor David McKie introduces himself, plus gives you a preview of what you can expect from Media magazine's upcoming issue, a Canadian Association of Journalist's publication, and a J-Source content-sharing partner.

Distorted and disconnected: how election coverage "often missed the mark"

May 24, 2011 - Posted by Heather McCall

Two weeks after the federal election, there’s still lots to be said about how journalists covered the election. Elly Alboim offers a stinging reproach: that journalists missed crucial events and trends and didn’t connect with what voters were thinking, and ultimately, how they voted. While some of the blame lies with wildly contradictory polls, Alboim faults journalism’s imperative for dramatic narratives and the news organizations who don’t invest enough in political reporting. Alboim delivered his post-mortem at the Canadian Association of Journalists conference in Ottawa; this article has been adapted from those remarks.

Sun TV head Luc Lavoie: "I don't have a social mission"

Apr 05, 2011 - Posted by Heather McCall

Sun TV lands on the canadian media landscape in three weeks. Dubbed "Fox News North" by observers in anticipation of its right-wing slant, the Quebec network will rely on that reputation as well as its uncompromising stance to shake things up. Anne Caroline Desplanques, associate editor of J-Source's French sister site ProjetJ, talked with one of its architects: Luc Lavoie, head of Sun TV and advisor to Quebecor president, Pierre-Karl Péladeau.