TORONTO, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -

FEATURES

A PC majority in Alberta: The narrative the media missed
Wildrose surge vs. a disenchanted PC dynasty: It was an aggressive narrative the media wanted so badly to be true that we—encouraged by dependable polls—urged it along. As Zoey Duncan reports, it wasn't until the ballot boxes were counted that we realized how utterly we'd all been swept along. In part two of her report, she takes a closer look at how mainstream news, bloggers and tweeters covered the election.
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Science Journalism
Freelance environmental journalism: Going it alone and making it work
With little demand for environmental stories in Canadian mainstream publications, freelance journalist Stephen Leahy faced two options: Give up the beat, or find a new way to make ends meet. Paul Weinberg explains why the 20-year veteran chose the latter and how he is faring.
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Book Reviews
Review: The Tower of Babble by Richard Stursberg
The Tower of Babble by Richard Stursberg is a mass of contradictions, says Howard Bernstein in his review. So, why read it? A few reasons: It is a rare opportunity to see inside CBC management. It is an amazing look at one of the most controversial, confrontational characters to work in media in Canada. And it actually does provide many examples of what's wrong with our national broadcaster and the difficulties inherent in trying to keep it running.
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Innovation
Journalism conference offers bright moments for news industry in transition
The Journalism Strategies Conference at McGill in Montreal was full of interesting critiques, insights and thoughtful discussion. Professor Robert Washburn provides a summary on a few impressions from this past weekend where academics, journalists and students examined journalism and its role in democracy now and in the future. And in this piece, Karen Owen, who presented at the conference, explains the challenges of collaborative storytelling in television news.
Link to article

Sports
There's opportunity in them sports fields
Malcolm Kelly gives a preview of a panel on sports journalism taking place at this weekend's CAJ Conference that will look at the revenue sports produces and the audience figures it draws that are, he says, the envy of more "serious" journalists.
Link to article

THE BIG ISSUE

Canadian Association of Journalists annual conference preview

This weekend, the Canadian Association of Journalists annual conference will be taking place at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. A number of events will run in partnership with Newspapers Canada's Ink&Beyond Conference, and registration is open up until the day the conference begins, April 27 (those also attending Ink&Beyond receive a discount). Keynote speakers at CAJ include NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, as well as Kenny Yum, managing editor at Huffington Post Canada. Dawna Friesen will emcee the CAJ Awards gala and banquet Saturday evening.  In terms of sessions you can find at the conference, there will be training for beat reporters, a weekend-long computer-assisted reporting training session, and a number of panels and sessions that journalism students or recent graduates will find helpful. Check out the full conference program for more information.

EVENTS CALENDAR

• Apr. 25-29: Ink&Beyond/CAJ conference, ON
• Apr. 27: What goes into the NYTimes culture section and why?, ON
• May 10-12: Media and minorities conference, AB
• May 15: Make your narrative non-fiction dazzle!, ON
• May 17: CJF Forum: Details to come, ON

IN THE NEWS

» A closer look at Alberta election coverage: tweeters, bloggers and mainstream context
» Michener Awards finalists announced
» Mix-up results in porn movie broadcast on CHCH
» Carl Langelier accused of impersonating a police officer

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TOWN HALL

Context is indeed everything but I don't think mainstream media can shoulder the load for not providing it, nor can social media try to puff themselves up as a saviour.

In today's communication mix one can't seem to exist without the other. Much of what gets re-hashed online stems from mainstream reports, and a good measure of stories that make it to print or broadcast come from online sources...
Reader: Mike Spear
Article: A closer look at Alberta election coverage: tweeters, bloggers and mainstream context

J-Source and ProjetJ are projects of the Canadian Journalism Foundation in collaboration with leading journalism schools and organizations.

CJF News:  Join Ted Koppel, Seamus O'Regan and other prominent journalists to celebrate excellence at The Canadian Journalism Foundation's 15th Annual Awards Gala on June 7 at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. Visit our Gala page for ticket and table information.

CJF Forum: Our full event report is online: View photos, listen to the podcast and read J-Source's liveblog of our sold-out event We're all journalists now...a CJF Forum on Participatory Journalism.

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