|
Access to Information blind to geography: be persistent
|
|
April 20, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
|
|
QUESTION: I phoned the Elections Canada media line and was informed that as per the Canadian Elections Act a person must come in person to the office in Ottawa to make photocopies of invoices because the department does not have the capacity to fulfill requests from journalists outside Ottawa. I live in Alberta and it was suggested I find an Ottawa j-school student to get the documents I want. Is this true? Can this department refuse me this information unless I appear in person to get it? Can I fight this and how can this rule be changed? Answer by Dean Beeby, deputy bureau chief in Ottawa for The Canadian Press.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
Transparency online: don’t make invisible edits
|
|
February 17, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
|
 QUESTION: I am responsible for a small community newspaper's web site. My boss, the editor, and I have been arguing about protocols for correcting web versions of stories. What are the conventions for editing the web version of the story if the print version was (a) corrected and (b) if the error or omission wasn't deemed worthy of a correction? Answer by Marissa Nelson, senior editor, digital news, for The Toronto Star and thestar.com.
More» Comments (2) »
|
|
Traumatized by reporting: Get help now
|
|
January 27, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
|
|
QUESTION: My colleague is covering a graphic rape/murder trial and has started showing signs of extreme emotional stress. This person has expressed suicidal thoughts, but is determined to continue covering the trial and seems concerned about being branded as too 'squeamish' or unable to handle the crime beat. Our editor is aware of the situation, and has decided not to take my colleague off the story or the beat. Is this a good idea? Answer by Robert M. Frank, former freelance correspondent for Investigations desk of The New York Times and current director of the Canadian Association of Journalists' Education Foundation.
More» Comments (4) »
|
|
Lunch with sources: who pays?
|
|
January 8, 2009 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
 QUESTION: If you have regular sources with whom you meet for lunch, who pays? What about
eating off the sandwich tray at press conferences? How much of a stickler should
I be? Answer by Petti Fong, Western Canada bureau chief for The Toronto Star.
More» Comments (6) »
|
|
Crisis in Ottawa? Talk to backbenchers
|
|
January 24, 2009 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
 QUESTION: How should reporters cover a political crisis like the recent one on Parliament Hill? Answer by Jeff Sallot, former Globe and Mail Ottawa bureau chief, member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and journalism instructor at Carleton University.
More»
|
|
Pushing the boundaries in small communities
|
|
October 17, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
 QUESTION: I'm covering a story that involves an investigation by Ontario's Child Advocate into the suicide of a teenager who was in care. How far can I push the boundaries for describing the issue without identifying the individual? Answer by J-Source contributing editor Robert Washburn.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
Staying a step ahead of campaign spin doctors
|
|
September 23, 2008 - Posted by Regan Ray
|
|
QUESTION: What are the best tricks for sidestepping political spin and getting at the real stories during an election campaign? Answer by Toronto Star Queen's Park bureau chief Robert Benzie.
More»
|
|
Talking to politicos: a misstep can be easy
|
|
September 8, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
|
QUESTION: When is it advisable, if ever, to feed a question to an opposition MLA or MP to ask the government? How much information-sharing should there be between reporters and opposition politicians? Answer by Steve Lambert, a Winnipeg-based Canadian Press reporter.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
Facts wrong? Blame yourself, not sources
|
|
July 2, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
 QUESTION: When is it alright, if ever, to reveal a confidential source? What if the source has knowingly fed you incorrect information, perhaps to discredit someone? Answer by Harvey Cashore, senior editor at CBC's the fifth estate.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
Cleaning up quotes
|
|
May 16, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
 QUESTION: You return to the office after a news conference or interview and take a look or listen to sections you think are most important to your story. You realize that the interviewee has made a few grammatical errors. Should you slightly alter or clean up the quotes to use better English? Answer by veteran reporter Michelle MacAfee.
Photo by dweebydude5.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
Mining for data
|
|
March 27, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
|
QUESTION: What's the best way to obtain government data? Answer by award-winning reporter and J-Source "Computer-assisted Reporting" Contributing Editor Fred Vallance-Jones.
More»
|
|
Access to hospital info
|
|
March 4, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
|
QUESTION: Is a hospital a public institution, subject to access to information requests if they are not related to specific patient information? Answer by Toronto Star investigative reporter and J-Source "Ask A Mentor" editor, Robert Cribb.
More»
|
|
A brand new beat
|
|
February 25, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
|
QUESTION: What are the first things I should do when I start a new beat? Who do I call? What should I read? How do I start? Answer by Helen Fallding, the Assistant City Editor at the Winnipeg Free Press.
More»
|
|
Requests to preview copy
|
|
January 11, 2008 - Posted by Robert Cribb
|
|
QUESTION: What's the protocol when sources ask to see a copy of my story before it's published? Halifax Daily News reporter Rachel Boomer answers based on her 10 years experience.
More»
|
|
Is there money in a journalism career?
|
|
November 19, 2007 - Posted by Heather McCall
|
|
QUESTION: Are there enough well-paying journalism jobs to go around, or should I start considering a career in communications? Jeff Gaulin, manager of Canada's largest career website for media and communications professionals, offers his insight.
More» Comments (1) »
|
|
edited by Robert Cribb
 Ask a Mentor provides answers to practical questions about the craft. Our mentors will steadily expand this fount of tips, traps and shortcuts on the trail to truth. Submit your question and we'll pass it on to a mentor for answering. Robert Cribb is an investigative reporter and deputy investigations editor at the Toronto Star, past president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and current president of the CAJ Educational Foundation. He is also a lecturer at Ryerson University and co-author of Digging Deeper: A Canadian Reporter's Research Guide.
|
