As journalists trek toward the G8/20 Summit, it may be hard to muster excitement for another round of unmet aid pledges and quickly forgotten PR moments for the hosts. Outside the gates there’s perhaps a more interesting story in the showdown between political power and street power. Yet social activists complain the issues at stake…
With all the mainstream and independent working to cover the upcoming G20 summit in Toronto, the new kid on the block has cut itself out a niche. OpenFile, the new online hyperlocal journalism project, is dedicating an entire section to examining the many aspects of the G20 event, but from a very localize perspective. It…
Les propos de Lise Bissonnette sur le « public gazouilleur » et la « communauté de placoteux », qui ont tant fait réagir cette semaine dans le petit monde médiatique québécois, sont désormais disponibles dans leur intégralité et surtout leur contexte. Pour qui se donne la peine de l’écouter, l’ex-directrice du Devoir et de la Grande Bibliothèque du Québec…
On se réjouit comme on peut. Selon les dernières données ABC, le déclin des tirages des journaux se poursuit aux États-Unis, mais a fléchi durant le premier trimestre de 2010. Par ailleurs, les abonnements électroniques des quotidiens et la fréquentation de leurs sites web seraient en forte hausse. Les journaux à « forte valeur ajoutée » comme le…
Press gallery journalists across the nation are calling for an end to Harper’s history of information control. Photojournalists, documentary filmmakers and scientists are among those suffering the chill. Even the Taxpayers are ticked. A joint op-ed calls on journalists to report refusals and delays as news, and editors to turn down proffered pap. In recent…
The Harper government’s efforts to control the flow of information have “grown into a genuine and widespread threat to the public’s right to know,” says an open letter signed by the presidents of the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, the Parliamentary Press Gallery and several provincial press galleries.
News A sweeping publication ban will continue to be imposed on bail hearings, even when suspects won’t face a jury trial. The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a Criminal Code provision that requires judges to ban publication at the suspect’s request. While the ban is designed to prevent jurors from hearing information about the suspect…
CommentaryThe Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to uphold a sweeping ban on bail hearings is a loss for the public as well as for journalists, J-Source Law Editor Dean Jobb argues in a commentary in the Toronto Star. By shutting down informed debate over judges’ decisions to grant or deny bail to criminal suspects, the…
The Supreme Court of Canada has denied an appeal by several media organizations that sought to remove a Criminal Code provision making a publication ban on the proceedings of bail hearings mandatory if the defence requests it.
One of the first, most comprehensive studies of community news, especially hyperlocal news, was posted May 27, identifying key local online news sites. It surveys publishers, examines what is working and what needs further development. This is a significant contribution to the emerging trend of hyperlocal news.