Public voting is open for CP 2011 Canadian Newsmaker of the Year
Let the year-end best-of lists begin. The Canadian Press wants to know who the public thinks is the Newsmaker of the Year.
Let the year-end best-of lists begin. The Canadian Press wants to know who the public thinks is the Newsmaker of the Year.
What constitutes such a title? “It should be a Canadian who dominated news coverage during the year,” wrote Scott White, editor-in-chief of Canadian Press on the Daily Brew blog. “And we never say someone ‘won’ the Newsmaker, because sometimes someone makes headlines for all the wrong reasons.”
Case in point: Russell Williams, who was found guilty of raping and murdering two women, was named last year’s Newsmaker of the Year.
CP surveys newsrooms across the country for who they think is worthy of the title. The public vote has no influence on the decision — rather, as White writes, CP wants to know "if the choice of the professionals matches up with the people’s choice.”
But as OpenFile Vancouver asks in response to CBC opening voting for the B.C. story of the year today: How do you decide? “Is a story’s significance defined by its impact on actual people or the amount of media coverage it receives?” Michael Aynsley writes.
It’s food for thought for both the public and the professionals who will be making the decision.
Some of the nominees this year include Arcade Fire, Conrad Black, Stephen Harper, Jack Layton and Lloyd Robertson. The full list can be viewed here.
CP is also asking for people to vote for the News Story of the Year, most of which are the stories pertaining to the Newsmaker nominees.
