2010 tally: what went wrong, what went right
2010 began with journalists hitting the ground in Haiti, and ended with an unfolding WikiLeaks circus – with a whole lot of media ownership horse-trading in between. Globally, journalism remained under threat, with journalists dying in record numbers. Canada suffered its own nasty bouts of media repression at the G20 Summit and the Olympics. At the Olympics, the scribes themselves suffered some notable ethical lapses. On the alternative media front, the CRTC badly fumbled a community media policy. And in 2010 we encountered muddy ground in the long-awaited McIntosh decision and a “watery” conclusion to the cable provider debate.
But a lot went right in 2010. Despite stepped-up repression, Iranian journalists remained bloodied but unbowed. The Canadian launch of Al Jazeera English brought renewed hope for the fading international beat. In the Canadian courts, the responsible journalism defence successfully passed its first test. As ever, journalists refused to be quiet. The Canadian Association of Journalists took a stand in the census debate, while the Canadian Press brought extreme federal message management to public attention, revealing the ‘Message Event Proposal’ form. In the workplace, we heard CBC journalists humming ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.’ Meanwhile journalism education continued to evolve and grow in Canada, ensuring a fresh crop of eager journos come the spring. The profession survived the usual knocks and is still standing. All the best in 2011.
2010 began with journalists hitting the ground in Haiti, and ended with an unfolding WikiLeaks circus – with a whole lot of media ownership horse-trading in between. Globally, journalism remained under threat, with journalists dying in record numbers. Canada suffered its own nasty bouts of media repression at the G20 Summit and the Olympics. At the Olympics, the scribes themselves suffered some notable ethical lapses. On the alternative media front, the CRTC badly fumbled a community media policy. And in 2010 we encountered muddy ground in the long-awaited McIntosh decision and a “watery” conclusion to the cable provider debate.
But a lot went right in 2010. Despite stepped-up repression, Iranian journalists remained bloodied but unbowed. The Canadian launch of Al Jazeera English brought renewed hope for the fading international beat. In the Canadian courts, the responsible journalism defence successfully passed its first test. As ever, journalists refused to be quiet. The Canadian Association of Journalists took a stand in the census debate, while the Canadian Press brought extreme federal message management to public attention, revealing the ‘Message Event Proposal’ form. In the workplace, we heard CBC journalists humming ‘Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.’ Meanwhile journalism education continued to evolve and grow in Canada, ensuring a fresh crop of eager journos come the spring. The profession survived the usual knocks and is still standing. All the best in 2011.
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Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.