Maite Taboada, Simon Fraser University and Fatemeh Torabi Asr, Simon Fraser University “I believe that all voices are equal and deserving of equal respect.” That’s what Siri responds when asked if she is a feminist. We share Siri’s sentiment. That’s why, using computational linguistics — the technology behind voice-activated assistants — we’ve created the Gender…
Living in the eye of a global media storm of coverage of an alleged serial killer for the past year, Karen Fraser has learned more than she ever could have imagined about today’s journalists and how they work. Continue Reading Toronto Star Public Editor: Lessons from the eye of a global media storm
The complainant, Robert Muir, says there were flaws in an article CBC Toronto published in the aftermath of flooding the city experienced last summer. He felt the article left readers with the wrong impression about the municipal government’s ability to prevent damage caused by heavy rainstorms. COMPLAINT You are a professional engineer responsible for developing…
(Disclosure: I’m the full-time paid publisher of Briarpatch Magazine, a volunteer board member of the Media Co-op, CEO of the currently inactive environmental consulting company Porpoise B Consulting, and freelance journalist. My partner is a designer for the CBC, not involved in content.) Derek Burney has been writing op-eds for the Globe and Mail since…
From Jan. 3 to 6, emerging journalists from across the country came together in Calgary, Alta. for NASH, an annual journalism conference hosted this year by the University of Calgary’s student publication the Gauntlet and supported by the Canadian University Press (CUP). Reporters and editors from about 37 publications attended sessions and workshops hosted by…
This post was originally published on the CBC’s website on Jan. 7, 2019. This is my first day as CBC’s new Ombudsperson. I’d like to tell you a bit about how I plan to do the job. It starts with a pretty fundamental question: why have an Ombudsperson at all? I could go on about…
Are you a media whore? Or do you worry you might be labeled one by your colleagues – if not to your face, then behind your back? In the process of delivering hundreds of media engagement workshops, I’ve heard dozens and dozens of you express this fear, using precisely this language. You’ve made it clear…
Media Localism: The Policies of Place. By Christopher Ali. University of Illinois Press – 2017. 272 pages. $25.00. The challenge of enhancing local media regulation beyond geographic and spatial considerations is at the heart of Christopher Ali’s recent book Media Localism: The Policies of Place. Ali, a Winnipeg-raised University of Virginia media studies professor, sets…
I regularly advocate for journalists to tell stories they see as newsworthy in the manner they see fit, because a key element of the journalistic skill set is the ability to determine news value. Making principled decisions about what is or isn’t news is a vital public service, and news value should be assessed by…
Over the last three years, I’ve had some version of this conversation with countless young Canadian journalists. “I’m so anxious right now.” “My work laid off 15 per cent of the staff and I’m really scared I’m next.” “I’m pretty sure I’m not good enough to be here.” The journalists I have had these conversations…