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Times Colonist wins 2011 Michener Award

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Source: michenerawards.ca

Ottawa, June 12, 2012.

The Times Colonist in Victoria has won the 2011 Michener Award for its reporting on a B.C. government policy that reduced support for people with developmental disabilities, Russell Mills, President of the Michener Awards Foundation, announced today.

The coveted Michener Award was presented to Les Leyne, columnist for the Times Colonist, by His Excellency, The Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada. The Victoria, B.C. newspaper was among six news organizations honoured at the ceremony.

The Michener Award, founded in 1970 by the late Roland Michener, then Governor-General, goes to news organizations of all sizes for articles, features and reports that make a significant impact on the public good and achieve identifiable results.

The Times Colonist received the award for reporting on the plight of people with developmental disabilities when the B.C. government changed its policy to save money and to address a client backlog at its underfunded agency, Community Living B.C. People were moved from their long-term residences to less expensive accommodation, lost needed assistance once they turned 19 or were left in jail or hospital because there was no where to go.

The newspaper demonstrated journalistic excellence and achieved clear results on behalf of a powerless and voiceless segment of society. The sustained coverage resulted in the reversal of government policy, a substantial increase in financial support for those with developmental disabilities, and administrative changes in the ministry of social development and Community Living B.C.

NEGOTIATION UPDATE

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NEGOTIATIONS WITH GLACIER MEDIA COMMENCE JUNE 29


Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions

Negotiations between the Victoria Times Colonist and the Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions will commence on Friday, June 29, 2012.  The CEP (Compositors, Platemakers and Pressmen) will be the first of the Unions to meet the company to discuss their “peculiar” issues.

Further meetings will be scheduled at a later date. The Joint Council will update you once the dates are confirmed

 

Victoria Joint Council of Newspaper Unions.

CWA/SCA Canada Local 30223 (VVING)                                                                  203-2610 Douglas St.

CWA/SCA Canada Local 30403 (Mailers)                                                                Victoria, B.C. V8T 4M1

CEP Local 2000                                                                                                              Phone: 250-388-7328

Fax: 250-384-6733  E-mail: vving@vving.ca

 

 

New publisher moves ‘Daily News’ forward

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Source: canada.com

Restructuring at the Nanaimo Daily News has resulted in a change in the publisher’s office for the 138-year-old flagship newspaper. Hugh Nicholson takes over immediately as publisher of the Daily News, Harbour City Star and their digital counterparts. Nicholson joined the Vancouver Island Newspaper Group in January, representing Glacier Media Inc. as the division manager. read entire story here

Editorial: Local News and Newspapers Deliver a Winning Combination

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Source: editorandpublisher.com

by: Jeff Fleming

Local news continues to be the mainstay when it comes to solving newspapers’ 21st century challenges. The newest report by Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism and Internet & American Life Project revealed that “72 percent of adults are quite attached to following local news and information, and local newspapers are by far the source they rely on for much of the local information they need. In fact, local news enthusiasts are substantially more wedded to their local newspapers than others.”

The Pew report focused on “local news enthusiasts,” which overwhelmingly named newspapers as their preferred information source for 12 out of 16 local news topics named on the survey. (http://bit.ly/HP6BkF)

The newspaper brand remains a prominent information source, and these findings offer encouraging insight when it comes to helping newspapers strategize editorial content and develop successful advertising programs. But as more competition enters the market, newspapers need to continuously maintain and strengthen their grip on local news content and do so by taking a cue from technology, which never stands idle. Editors and publishers should constantly be asking, “How can we improve and develop our content by taking advantage of the latest digital and printing breakthroughs?” Creativity, ingenuity, and intelligence drive content delivery — and the most successful initiatives will be those developed by writers, designers, and Web developers working as a team.

In March of this year, Heritage Media (a Digital First Media affiliate) flexed its digital muscles with local coverage of a tornado that ripped through Dexter, Mich. Managing editor Michelle Rogers posted an overview of the coverage in a blog post: “As a group of weekly publications in print, it has been an ongoing challenge to get our audience to realize we’re now a daily online. I think the tragedy of the tornado served as a reminder to readers that they don’t have to wait until Thursday to get their local news, and we’re happy to oblige, providing breaking news coverage from news stories, Storify compilations, photo galleries, and videos to Tweets and Facebook posts, and SMS texts to email alerts.”

This month, Gannett’s Journal News Media Group announced it is expanding local coverage of taxes, food, home, schools and education, real estate, and communities. The plan clearly punctuates local, focusing on topics readers identify as most important — almost a complete list of the preferred local topics cited in the Pew study. Under the new content model, all subscribers will have access to print editions of The Journal News and lohud.com, with iPhone, iPad, and Android applications. “Our core value is local content,” Journal News Media Group president and publisher Janet Hasson said.

Local also a plays a key role in advertising. Last month, Kip Cassino, executive vice president of Borrell Associates, in an interview with Media Life magazine revealed two of four factors that are helping fuel the growth of newspaper websites. “They have big local sales forces that know their markets intimately and they are trusted by their local advertisers, from years of contact.”

More and more newspapers are proactive in their local communities, maintaining and building a reputation that not only includes news, but also trusted relationships. If content is king, local content and interconnection may be newspapers’ Almighty Saviors.

Bleak day for journalism’ as Postmedia slashes dozens of jobs

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Source: cwa-scacanada.ca

Postmedia is slashing dozens of editorial jobs at the Montreal Gazette and Ottawa Citizen, which will also cease publication of its Sunday paper in July.

“It’s a pretty bleak day for journalism,” said a dispirited Debbie Cole, president of the Ottawa Newspaper Guild, which will lose 20 members to buyouts and layoffs.

Martin O’Hanlon, Director of CWA Canada, which represents journalists at the two targetted newspapers as well as the Regina Leader Post, said cutting jobs is the wrong strategy and will only make things worse in the long run.

“We understand that Postmedia is facing financial challenges, but we believe the company can only turn things around by investing in its product rather than slashing jobs,” O’Hanlon said. “If we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that cutting jobs only hurts quality and that does nothing to attract readers.”

“It’s interesting to note that while Postmedia focuses on cutting costs to service a huge debt, (legendary investor) Warren Buffett is busy buying newspapers and committing to quality journalism.”

In a $142-million bet on the U.S. print industry, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is buying 63 daily and weekly newspapers from Media General.

In a letter to publishers and editors, Buffett said newspapers will be successful if they do a good job of covering their communities and producing local news that cannot be found on the Internet.

Postmedia, meanwhile, continues an austerity program that began shortly after purchasing the bankrupt Canwest Media newspapers. CEO Paul Godfrey, in a memo circulated today, said even more editorial production will be done at the company’s facilities in Hamilton.

This means, said Cole, that copy editors are likely to take the brunt of this latest round of cuts.

“This isn’t just bad for our members. It’s bad for the paper,” said Cole. “If you don’t invest in your product, how are you going to sell it?”

O’Hanlon said in a news release that such job cuts carry a personal and community toll. “Dozens of fine journalists will soon be out of work, hurting them, their families and the communities in which they live and contribute.”

Winners of Belcarz-Zeidler bursaries write about chemistry, social justice

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Two university students at opposite ends of the country are the winners of this year’s Belcarz-Zeidler Memorial Scholarships.

Stephanie Rufh, the daughter of Gord Rufh, a member of Local 30403 who works at the Victoria Times-Colonist, chose chemistry as the topic of her essay, which is also her field of study at her home-town university.

Rosamund Tutton, of Dartmouth, NS, the daughter of Canadian Media Guild member Michael Tutton, is an engineering student at St. Mary’s University in Halifax. Her essay argues that social justice derives from personal understanding in small group settings.

The $1,000 bursaries, established in 2010 in honour of union activists John Belcarz and Dan Zeidler, are intended to aid in the personal development and enrichment of those to whom they are granted. There were 26 applicants this year.

Here are excerpts from the winning essays:

Stephanie Rufh

“My course of study is incredibly important to me because it gives me a new perspective on the universe, it is a central science and the basis for all life and chemical systems… Everything is built of atoms and molecules, and so the study of chemistry is crucial to the understanding and analysis of nearly everything.”

“When anyone looks at the world … they see it macroscopically, only observing what is at the surface and on a visible scale. However, there are so many more layers to the universe than this. When I look at the world I see this big picture, but I also see waves, rates of change, mathematical models of systems, forces of attraction and repulsion, and so much more.”

“Every day I am exposed to new ideas and experiences that let me see the world differently and connect the dots between the many fields and disciplines of science. The growing amount of research and thus the impact that chemistry has on the sustainability of the world and its inhabitants fascinates me, and I am very excited to be a part of it.”

Rosy Tutton

“Social justice begins with the premise that each individual has the basic rights to achieve a physically and emotionally healthy lifestyle. However, it can only be fulfilled when we fully value the qualities of fellow human beings through our relationships to them. … the first step towards such a society is often made through participation in small groups where we learn sharing, compassion and mutual respect for people with diverse gifts.”

“The criticism is sometimes raised that personal involvement in a social justice mission, whether it be a soup kitchen or food bank, is promoting a charity that excuses governments from properly funding the supports in needed community services. However, it is often from these environments that the advocates for changes to systems in our society emerge and support for policies that assist the poor and weak in society find their most passionate advocates.”

“To create noticeable change, individuals must share the desire for a common goal. Similar to building a bridge or putting up a school, a common good is understood, identified and created. Although the interest of every individual in the group may not be exactly the same, they can unite around such projects.”

Jobs lost as PNG exits insert business

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Source: mediaunion.ca

The Vancouver Sun and Province are getting out of the insert business effective July 15, 2012, a move that will cost over 50 Local 2000 members their jobs. Management informed the union about the move on Monday, saying that the insert business was on track to lose almost $1 million this year. Only about 12 members will be eligible for relocation (severance) pay under Part E (the Mailroom Department) of our collective agreement.

PNG mailers are divided into three groups: Regulars, substitutes and day slippers. Regulars are guaranteed hours and operate the machinery that assembles the newspaper for delivery; substitutes fill in for regulars, but get the majority of their work when inserts are added to the newspapers; day slippers are called in as needed. Only the 12 regulars who will fall to the substitute “board” under the company’s plan, are eligible for relocation pay of up to one year’s pay. Even though some substitutes have over 20 years seniority, they are not eligible for severance of any sort, in these circumstance under existing contract language.

Discussions  with the company are ongoing under Section 54 of the B.C. Labour Code.

TEXT-S&P revises Postmedia outlook to negative

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Source: reuters.com

(The following statement was released by the rating agency) Overview — We are revising our outlook on Toronto-based Postmedia Network Inc. to negative from stable based on the company’s weaker-than-expected operating performance in the second quarter ended Feb. 29, 2012. — We are affirming all our ratings on the company, including our ‘B’ long-term corporate credit rating. — The negative outlook reflects Standard & Poor’s view of the ongoing challenges Postmedia faces with revenue and profitability declines given difficult industry fundamentals.

Read entire story here

How 2 twentysomething journalists brought down a corrupt Kentucky sheriff

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Source: poynter.org

“60 Minutes” | Nieman Reports | YouTube
Samantha Swindler, then 27, had been managing editor of the Corbin (Ky.) Times-Tribune for about three years when she asked 20-year-old Adam Sulfridge to report on a corrupt sheriff, Lawrence Hodge, who was involved in trading guns, drugs and favors. At the time, Sulfridge was a local college sophomore “whose only experience was working on his high school newspaper.” Swindler told “60 Minutes”‘ Byron Pitts she hired Sulfridge because, “He was smart, he knew about the community, and he cared about local government.” Sulfridge also had a personal stake in the story: his aunt had overdosed. “My first question was, I wonder if she got her drugs from somebody that the sheriff was protecting.”    Read entire story here

Save the press councils

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Source: straightgoods.ca

Watchdogs need more teeth as well as public and industry support.

Dateline: Tuesday, April 17, 2012

by John Gordon Miller, Ryerson University

In a new questionnaire about the future of press councils in Canada, we are asked, “In your opinion, how accountable are news organizations to the publics they serve?”

I suspect almost no one will answer “very accountable.”

About the only useful thing you can do if you object to something published in a newspaper these days is (a) write a letter to the editor, or (b) sue them. Success depends on (a) whether they decide to publish it, and (b) whether you’ve got a lot of time and money and don’t mind losing. read entire story here