Archive
16 Sep

Municipal water district in California hires PR firm to write stories, post to fake news site

<p>Back in 2010 the Central Basin Municipal Water District of California's hired PR company, the Coghlan Consulting Group, was faced with a problem. "All of us know that getting positive news coverage about the Agency is a very difficult challenge," <a href="http://documents.latimes.com/water-board-news-deal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote company head Ed Coghlan in a letter to the Water Distric</a>t, "With news staffs reduced (and often inexperienced) it is difficult to create stories that speak to the accomplishments of Central Basin."</p>

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9 Sep

State regulation of journalism is a dangerous idea: Montreal Gazette column

<p>Quebec Culture Minister Christine St-Pierre's heart may have been in the right place when she endorsed the Payette report and all that it implies, writes <a href="http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Opinion+State+regulation+journalism+dangerous+idea/5361240/story.html">Klaus Pohle in the <em>Montreal Gazette</em></a>, but there are still a number of reasons why she's wrong.<br />

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9 Sep

CBC Ombud talks balance in latest review

<p>CBC Ombudsman Kirk LaPointe has released a new review in response to a complaint that a series of late June <em>Sunday Edition</em> segments on the police handling of the G20 protests were unbalanced and anti-police.</p><p>Lapointe concluded there was no violation of CBC Journalist Standards and Practices, ruling the focus of the programs were sound -- and that police and political officials were given a fair chance to appear on the show, choosing not to.</p>

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24 Aug

Commenting on the dead: all in the timing?

<p><em>When Christie Blatchford came under fire for critiquing Jack Layton’s letter to Canadians on the day of his death, the question became: how much should taste, and sensitivities of timing, encumber opinion journalism? J-Source's <strong>Ivor Shapiro</strong> thinks there’s another question: what exactly is “journalistic” about the expression of opinions?</em></p>

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10 Aug

Tabloid journalism and crime reporting

<p><em><strong>Romayne Smith Fullerton</strong> and <strong>Maggie Jones Patterson</strong> take a look at how the European tabloids report on crime. This tell-all reporting style can ruin lives and reputations. Does journalism that's not done solely to sell papers ultimately win people’s support?  </em></p>

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3 Aug

Why transparency is not enough: The Case of Mr. Mike

<p><em>Are bloggers journalists? Can insiders be outsiders? <strong>Ira Basen</strong> confronts some long-debated questions using the case of Mike Arrington, the Silicon Valley lawyer and entrepreneur who started the blog TechCrunch. This article originally appeared on the <a href="http://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/2011/06/21/why-transparency-is-not-enough-the-case-of-mr-mike/">Center for Journalism Ethics in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> site.</em></p>

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19 Jul

Five new CBC Ombudsman reports released

<p>Kirk LaPointe has been busy.  The CBC Ombudsman has recently released five new reports. You can <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/ombudsman/notes.html">download and read them in full</a> from the CBC Ombudsman website, but here are some summaries:<br />

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8 Jul

AP warns staff about tweeting opinions on news stories

<p>Tom Kent's memo is clear: Tweeting opinions on issues in the news is a definite no-no. The Associated Press deputy managing editor for standards and production, recently reminded reporters of the company's ethical standards after journalists tweeted opinions about the Casey Anthony trial and New York Senate vote on gay marriage.<br />

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7 Jul

Hacked phones scandal shows needs for journo accountability: Globe editorial

The most recent edition to the years-long hacked phones scandal in the United Kingdom shows the need for greater accountability in news everywhere, argues today’ editorial in The Globe and […]

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6 Jul

Dutch hyperlocal pushes envelope in mixed-zone editorial/commercial content

In just one year, Bart Brouwers has grown Dutch hyperlocal Dichtbij’s (meaning “close by” or “close to me”) website network to 85 communities from just three. It’s been fast, he […]

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