Archive
14 Sep

Journalists protecting sources: When Don Martin willingly gave up his anonymous source

<p><strong>By Thomas Rose, Law Editor </strong></p><p>The value and credibility of modern journalism rests primarily on the belief that it exists to serve the public good. There is perhaps no greater demonstration of that principle than a reporter who is willing to suffer the consequences of not revealing a source who provides information the public should know about.</p>

READ MORE
28 Jul

Media tweeting from courtroom impresses Nova Scotia top judge

<p><img alt="" class="imagecache-large inline-image" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/large/images/Twitter homepage_0.JPG" title="" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em>Photo courtesy of Michelle-Andrea Girouard</em></p><p><strong>By Geordan Omand, for the Canadian Press</strong></p><div style="clear:none;"><p>A top judge in Nova Scotia says he is surprised at the positive impact live-tweeting inside the courtroom has had after the province’s judiciary recently relaxed the rules on the use of Twitter in the courts.</p>

READ MORE
11 May

Broadcasters say no to political ads using their content. Sounds good, but can they do it?

<p><strong>By Thomas Rose, Law Editor</strong></p><p>With a provincial election underway in Ontario and four federal by-elections slated for the end of June, the timing of the announcement by Canada’s national broadcasters that they will not allow unauthorized use of their content in political ads is auspicious. </p><p>The announcement late last week by CBC, Rogers, Shaw and CTV—who own or operate the bulk of all television and radio stations in Canada—came wrapped in the ideal of journalistic independence.</p>

READ MORE
16 Apr

Manitoba judges allow media cameras in court

<p><img alt="" class="imagecache-large inline-image" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/large/images/Courtroom_0.JPG" title="" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em>Cameras line up in Winnipeg on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 to hear Manitoba judges announce a pilot project to allow cameras in courtrooms. Photo courtesy of Chinta Puxley for the Canadian Press.</em></p><p><strong>By Chinta Puxley, for The Canadian Press</strong></p>

READ MORE
3 Mar

New Furlong filing admits ‘no actual knowledge’ behind a key allegation

<p><strong>By Bob Mackin, for <a href="http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/2014/03/02/Furlong-Filing/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=030314#sthash.EsE62glr.dpuf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Tyee</em></a></strong></p><p id="39236408">In new B.C. Supreme Court documents, the CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics admits he has no proof that a journalist made an abuse complaint about him to the RCMP.</p>

READ MORE
3 Mar

Sun News host Ezra Levant sued for libel

<p><img align="left" alt="" class="imagecache-thumbnail inline-image" hspace="10" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/thumbnail/images/Ezra Levant_0.JPG" title="" /><strong>By The Canadian Press</strong></p><p>A Saskatchewan lawyer is alleging Sun News Network host Ezra Levant defamed him in a series of blog posts and is seeking $100,000 in damages.</p><p>Khurrum Awan was completing his articling and looking for work as a lawyer when he alleges the most egregious libels were posted.</p>

READ MORE
24 Feb

Is law enforcement turning journalists into agents of state surveillance?

<p><strong>By Thomas Rose, Law Editor</strong></p><p>They’re called "production orders" and they signal what may be a growing trend among law enforcement agencies to co-opt journalists into becoming agents of state surveillance.</p><p>Production orders occur when a judge agrees to a police request to compel media outlets to surrender material obtained by journalists in the course of preparing their news reports. </p>

READ MORE
21 Feb

Five media outlets ordered to turn over photos, video of New Brunswick protest to RCMP

<p><img alt="" class="imagecache-large inline-image" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/large/images/Rexton_0.JPG" title="" /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><em>Photo courtesy of RCMP</em></p><p><strong>By Tamara Baluja, Associate Editor</strong></p><p><by associate="" p="" tamara="">The RCMP have obtained a court order compelling five media outlets—the CBC, Global, APTN, Brunswick News and Rogers—to turn over footage and photos of the Oct. 17 riots in Rexton, NB.</by></p>

READ MORE
14 Feb

Ask a Mentor: Is it OK to write about a source you’re suing?

<p><em>Ask a Mentor is a collaboration between J-Source and the Canadian Association of Journalists. The goal of the section is to provide advice to journalists and journalism students who may not have direct access to a mentor or subject matter expert on a particular topic.</em></p><p>The question: </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p><a href="https://twitter.com/jsource">@jsource</a> is it acceptable for a reporter to continue writing about the person that the reporter is suing? <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23AskMentor&src=hash">#AskMentor</a></p>

READ MORE
27 Jan

York University withdraws legal action against Toronto Life

<p><img align="left" alt="" class="imagecache-medium inline-image" hspace="10" src="http://j-source.ca/sites/www.j-source.ca/files/imagecache/medium/images/Toronto Life_0.PNG" title="" /></p><p><strong>By Tamara Baluja, Associate Editor</strong></p><p>York University has withdrawn its legal action against <em>Toronto Life </em>for an article by freelancer Katherine Laidlaw alleging the campus has become a “hunting ground for sexual predators” in the October 2013 issue.</p>

READ MORE