• J-Source

    Tributes pour in for Margaret Philp

    Beautiful tributes have been pouring in for Margaret Philp, a Globe and Mail reporter for more than 20 years who died last week at 43. Her family has planned a memorial service for Sunday Sept 27 at 1 pm at the Ward’s Island Club House in Toronto. Dan Westell, who worked at the Globe from…

  • J-Source

    Military media monitoring

    Canadian government agencies from the military to the Prime Minister’s Office extensively monitor and distribute the work of correspondents covering Afghanistan, reports The Canadian Press. No surprise there, especially with a government notable for its extreme tendencies to control information. But good on CP for obtaining documents proving it and for reminding us — and…

  • J-Source

    Turkey and the press

    Of the (too many) ways to silence journalists Turkey has added another: censorship by court fine. The New York Times calls a contentious $2.5 billion fine against a media company a “particularly chilling example of another way to shut down independent voices … that appears to be designed to put a major media company out…

  • J-Source

    Reporter’s Guide to Multimedia Proficiency

    A very gifted, very tech savvy and very generous multimedia professor has produced a 42-page guide to basic mutimedia skills for young journalists and made it available for anyone to download free, use and share as long as it is attributed to her. Mindy McAdams teaches multimedia journalism at the University of Florida and writes the very helpful blog Teaching…

  • J-Source

    Social media skills for journalists

    Teaching j-students to use social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and You Tube, is something most j-schools are beginning to try, or at least consider. For those looking for guidance about how to do it, two Columbia University professors have generously posted a course outline, complete with links to resources and examples, as a…

  • J-Source

    Student support for investigative work

    How many investigative journalists could benefit from some free research support? Quite a few, judging from the way many media organizations appear to be retreating from this field lately. In Britain, a unique program offers support from students at London’s City University journalism department. Journalists fill out an online application, and if approved, get free…

  • J-Source

    A new model in California

    A decade ago there were more than 80 reporters based in Sacramento, scrutinizing the state government. Now the number has declined to about 25. That is why a new non-profit organization called California Watch was founded. Created by the Center for Investigative Reporting, it hired a dozen journalists with the help of foundations and sponsors.…

  • J-Source

    Jumping the gun

    When CNN and Fox cable news reporters in the U.S. jumped on what they thought was a hot story, the ensuing panic became global news. When the “story” turned out to be a routine Coast Guard training exercise, the target became not just the trigger-happy cable news reporters, but journalism in general.

  • J-Source

    Cramahe Now: an experiment in hyperlocal journalism

    When former Colborne Chronicle editor Bob Owen was laid off during the amalgamation of three local newspapers in Southern Ontario, instead of rolling over, he created an online news site to serve his community of 2,000. Robert Washburn, editor of our new Innovation section, reports on Owen’s progress.

  • J-Source

    Maziar Bahari reported acquitted, still in jail

    Iranian-Canadian journalist has been acquitted on minor charges of inciting political uprisings, according to Liberal MP Dan McTeague, but remains in an Iranian prison. The opposition MP says the Canadian government should do more to secure his release.