FeatureGlobe and Mail justice reporter Kirk Makin likens maintaining a beat to tending a garden. “There’s only a certain period where there’s fruit in the trees,” he says, “but you have to do a whole lot of gardening in between.” Beat reporting remains the lifeblood of newspapers. So why is the Globe clogging its arteries…
CommentaryA libel suit filed against Mumsnet, a community website where women offer one another advice, support and friendship, underlines the need for a libel law that reflects the reality of publishing online. In this May 2007 commentary, Justine Roberts, co-founder of Mumsnet, argues that treating an electronic bulletin board as if it were a newspaper or…
FeatureFaced with the challenge of reporting on the graphic evidence presented at the murder trial of Robert Pickton, editors struggled to decide how much was too much. What do audiences want, and should they always get it? Regan Ray reports in the Ryerson Review of Journalism.
Journalism students rely heavily on the internet for research, but are not always good judges of what’s credible and what’s just plain wrong. This guide by John R. Henderson, a reference librarian at Ithaca College in New York, provides a clear set of guidelines for evaluating websites. He also offers some fascinating examples that should help students…
NewsEdmonton (June 7, 2007) — An Alberta judge has ruled that mandatory bans on publishing evidence presented at bail hearings are unconstitutional. The federal government has a year to change the law to limit such bans to cases where media coverage could prejudice the right to a fair trial. Fred Kozak, one of the lawyers…
NewsOttawa (June 21, 2007) — The Supreme Court of Canada won’t review a ruling that prevents people whose identities are protected by publication bans from coming forward on their own. But media lawyer Dan Henry says those who no longer want their names shielded should be able to talk to the media without having to seek…
NewsToronto (August 13, 2007) — The murders of Somali journalists Ali Sharmarke and Mahad Ahmed Elmi, of the radio network HornAfrik, are a blow to press freedom in Somalia and a great loss to the journalistic community, says Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. Read the group’s press release.
Le Perroquetlibere.com Le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris vient de préciser la jurisprudence relative aux noms de domaine, en refusant au Perroquet Libéré le droit d’exploiter le patronyme du candidat Delanoë suivi d’une extension en “.com” jusque là non concernée par la législation française. Le Perroquet devra verser 1 euro de dommages et intérêts…
Pierre Haski, Rue89/Photo: Rue89Fallait-il inviter Mahmoud Ahmadinejad à s’adresser à l’université de Columbia? Et, plus largement, une institution libérale doit-elle donner la parole au représentant d’un pouvoir autocratique et intolérant. Le débat fait rage aux Etats-Unis, où la réponse ne va pas de soi. Et pas seulement aux Etats-Unis. La venue du Président iranien aux…
Le Devoir/AFP Paris — L’ensemble des syndicats de journalistes français souhaite qu’une loi garantisse l’indépendance juridique des rédactions, ont-ils indiqué hier lors d’une conférence de presse au cours de laquelle ils ont appelé la mobilisation. «Jamais la profession ne s’est aussi mal portée depuis 1946», a estimé David Larbre, représentant du Syndicat national des journalistes…