“As the economic downturn triggers layoffs for many traditional media outlets across the country, several ethnic media groups in the Greater Toronto Area appear to be thriving, according to industry insiders and observers,” reported CBC. The story quoted a source saying that unlike TorStar, CanWest and the CBC, “the ethnic publications aren’t struggling to find…
“Read 40 Papers for as little as $10 a month—become a friend of Sightline today!” says a solicitation for money from an environmental organization in the Pacific NorthWest. The email from Sightline Institute goes on: “I’m writing to you today because Sightline Daily needs your help. Your Sightline Daily editors get up at 5am every…
A large majority – 82.8 per cent – of Americans believe newspapers are still relevant but far fewer – 45.5 per cent – believe they’ll still exist in 10 years, according to a survey conducted by New York PR firm The Rosen Group. More than 29 per cent of survey respondents declared “websites devoted to news reporting” to…
Andre Picard, who is perhaps Canada’s top medical journalist, is fed up with the impact of instant online commentary on scientific debate. “On the Web, it is mob rule,” writes Picard, quoting author Anatole France: ‘If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.’ ” Excerpts of Picard’s uncharacteristically-irate piece…
Media giant Readers Digest has hired a firm of lawyers to explore restructuring and possible bankruptcy, reports Bloomberg. The corporate web site of Reader’s Digest Association Inc. calls it “a global multi-brand media” with offices in 45 countries, products reaching 130 million households in 79 countries, 92 magazines including 50 editions of Reader’s Digest (which…
Tom Hawthorn explores the crisis in journalism with a profile of Vancouver native John Temple, editor of the American Rocky Mountain News, which closed this month. An excerpt from Hawthorn’s Globe and Mail piece: “A newspaper is dead five days now, and still the publisher speaks of his column and his staff and his newsroom…
FeatureThere’s a growing chorus of complaint that access to key court documents — informations setting out criminal charges, exhibits tendered during trials, youth court dockets — has become increasingly restrictive in Canada, despite a string of Charter rulings demanding greater openness. Court officials are using outdated precedents and flawed legal interpretations to deny access, while understaffed…
Newsroom culture discourages journalists who cover traumatic events from seeking help for fear of being stigmatized as weak and unprofessional, writes counselling psychology professor Patrice Keats. Keats found those affected clearly want and need more help from employers and peers.
In recent years, local newspapers and broadcasters were called on to prop up empires that dabbled in everything from baseball teams to movies. At a crucial historical moment that called for excellence – the arrival of the Internet – newsroom resources instead disappeared down a black hole of ill-managed conglomerates, ensuring few would care at…
The Tyee has a round-up of the status of lawsuits Canwest launched in response to a parody of the Vancouver Sun. Not a lot of humour is evident.