When a severe snowstorm swept into Southern Ontario in December it stranded hundreds of people on a highway near Sarnia, including Colin Stewart. While waiting to be rescued, Stewart used his BlackBerry to update friends and family on Facebook. As a result of some techsavvy reporting– and before rescuers even reached the scene — Canadian…
Broadcasters and publishers know they can count on at least two responses to portraying graphic images of death and destruction: complaints about disgusting or invasive displays of blood and gore; and, journalists writing stories about media’s insensitivity or sensationalism. According to one broadcaster, the gatekeepers are constantly debating the responsibility of revealing the cruelty…
When big, national media showed up in Woodstock, Ont. to cover the abduction of Victoria (Tori) Stafford, the story changed. There was a desire among local journos, writes Bruce Urquhart, from the Woodstock Sentinel-Review, not to be scooped by out-of-town reporters that, unfortunately, pushed them toward pack journalism.