Edmonton Headlines
That tree is one dead motherf--shut your mouth--I'm just talkin' about fall.
Good day to you, Edmonton.
It appears the mayor is making the media rounds, stopping in at the Edmonton Sun for an editorial board meeting. They focused on the downtown arena in their story.
Over at the Journal the mayor’s plans for the LRT to Mill Woods, specifically; not borrowing money to pay for it, was the focus.
Now, watch how that LRT story is “balanced” by our unbiased news friends. In this iCHED story (my new combo name for the shared newsroom of Corus Radio’s CHED and iNews) they counter Mandel’s statement about paying for the LRT line to Mill Woods with a statement from David Dorward. But the numbers don’t match up. The LRT to Mill Woods (the South East, or SE, line) won’t cost $3-billion. That’s the cost of all three expansion lines. The Journal gets the same quote from Dorward.
Just a quick bit of bias/fact-checking for you on a Wednesday morning. I say it checks on bias because countering statements is a tool newsrooms use to show they are fair and balanced. But you can see that those giving the quotes, from an opposing side, don’t always care about balance, or even staying on topic. And if the newsrooms don’t care to check on the facts of the statements, well…they feel they have to have an opposing view or we’d all think they were biased and western society would crumble.
Watch for that. It’s actually a bit of a PR weapon.
In the case at hand mayoral candidate Dave Dorward appears to be shooting down Mayor Stephen Mandel’s statement about paying for the South East LRT line without borrowing (or, presumably, without hiking taxes a whole bunch), because he mentions LRT and the same potential provincial funding Mandel does. But by throwing in the cost of ALL proposed LRT lines he makes it seem like Mandel is lying. And since Dorward comes in after Mandel (and most “counter” arguments tend to come after the main points have been made) his line about $3-billion probably sticks in the audiences mind.
In the rest of today’s election news… (more…)
Insert snappy James Cameron movie headline here
I had to leap over so many flooded intersections today. Most times I didn't make it over the puddle.
Well, this rain just won’t do. I was going to frolic in some leaves this morning. Now I’d get all soggy.
Hmm…I guess I’ll just get hopped up on coffee.
Oh look, James Cameron is here. The director is taking a look at the oilsands. That’s right, James Cameron. James Cameron!
I don’t know if you know this but he is a BIG DEAL.
One good question about all of this; why has the Premier pulled out all the stops to meet with the Hollywood director, but never been to see (downstream) places like Fort Chipewyan?
—–
Envision Edmonton doesn’t give it up. I’ll spot them that. The group that would like us to keep the City Centre Airport open is taking the City to court. They really don’t like that their petition didn’t meet provincial requirements.
I’m not sure how this is going to be solved in the courts. Though, it does keep the airport in the news during the election, and I can’t say I could tell you much else David Dorward is running for mayor on. (Money, and taxes, I think.) Plus, the group is launching its election campaign ads.
Speaking of campaigns, there’s the Airports Authority’s “Share the Facts.”
And there’s (more…)
September 17 Headlines
That's Edmonton International Film Festival programmer Guy Lavallee at yesterday's EIFF news conference. The movies begin in one week.
Well, I guess the election is going to be about the airport after all.
So many one-issue candidates…
And it sounds like the pro-airport group (Envision Edmonton) is throwing its support behind any pro-airport, pro-plebiscite candidates. Since Envision was looking to amass $500-thousand for a campaign during the election (if they had gotten the plebiscite question on the ballot) I bet they’ll have money too.
The really interesting item in that first link is about a mayoral candidate being asked to run for council instead.
And that’s not even about Don Koziak, who is actually stepping out of the mayoral race to take a run for council. He’s gunning to take out Ward 2′s Kim Krushell. She’s already up against another pro-airport candidate, in the head of the Alberta Aviation Museum. See what I mean by one-issue candidates?
Hicks on Six is also talking airport and election.
from the Edmonton Journal:
The Journal’s education reporter, Elise Stolte, has a new series on First Nations education, called Broken Pencils, which begins today.
Deformed fish found near Alberta oilsands development (Blinky?)
City couple campaigns together for school board seats
Sportsnet One available on Shaw (That’s where you’ll catch the Oilers games that would have been on Pay-Per-View in previous years.)
from the Edmonton Sun:
Crime down substantially in 2010 (That sounds good. Though, it’s interesting that I’m not seeing this story from anyone else. And it was at a public meeting.)
from the Globe and Mail:
Alberta eyes ‘people first’ overhaul of health care (We may actually begin reinforcing the idea of public health care in Alberta. Really.)
from The Canadian Press:
Wildrose Alliance party hopes industry can eliminate tailings ponds
from 630CHED/iNews880:
Celebrate Edmonton community leagues this weekend (Check the map, there’s a community league near you. There’s more on this weekend’s chance to meet your neighbours from the Journal.)
ERCB approves Sturgeon County upgrader
from CBC Edmonton:
U.S. Senators to tour oilsands (They just want to meet James Cameron.)
Edmonton Monday Headlines
Ah, the start of the school year...when all the ads at the University LRT station are for bars. Oh, and against abortions.
Good day to you, and you, and you.
Just a quick note to lead things off. It was great to see two pieces of local, original, investigative reporting on the front page of the Journal Saturday.
Here’s what I’m talking about:
Found money just web search away
and Tenants lived in squalor, health records show
Part 2 of that unused bank account story is here. And there’s more on the story today, looking at one account in particular.
The tenant story is following on something the Journal had Friday. While everything is at the allegation stage, it’s just sad to think people would rip off those living in affordable housing.
And there’s a nice bit of depth in this story from the Sun, on traffic tickets: Traffic tickets cash cow for the province.
from the Edmonton Journal:
Green south campus vision fading for area residents
Calling all Alberta school board candidates (Acclaimed ridings are for suckers.)
Meanwhile, current school trustees are uneasy with an umbrella group doing the talking for them.
Alberta lags nation in job creation, figures show
Beating the odds in a good cause
Mega-quilt encompasses all of Edmonton’s districts (Community League Day is this coming Saturday. Find your league and see if they’re up to anything.)
Fungus wiping out tomato plants across Alberta (Where my tomatoes at?)
Esks testing Tillman waters? (He does bring with him some unsavoury baggage.)
from the Calgary Herald: Alberta spends $1M to track high-risk offenders with GPS
from the Edmonton Sun:
Are we grown-up enough for longer bar hours? (Yup.)
Despite staff acrimony, Boyd righted ship (Still talking about the departure of Edmonton’s police chief. And his legacy.)
from Metro Edmonton:
Paying tribute to a wheelchair b-ball pioneer
from the Globe and Mail:
RCMP divers to search ponds on 65-hectare scrapyard for missing Alberta couple
from The Canadian Press:
Aboriginal rights violated in Edmonton courts: lawyer (An interesting argument, centered on how close to the downtown Law Courts potential jurors can be called from.)
from 630CHED/iNews880:
Firefighters remembered in Old Strathcona
Alberta & Quebec rally support for fight over securities
from CBC Edmonton:
Oilsands campaign hits Times Square (The discussion is hitting NYC.)
Friendly rivalry spurs Habitat construction
from Global Edmonton:
McDougall fight (People in this central neighbourhood don’t like what the Hope Mission has planned.)
Monday, August 16 Edmonton Headlines
Good Monday morning, Edmonton.
I’m slow to get going this morning, since I was trying to ignore most things this weekend. It sure made me realize how many Google Alerts I have coming my way each day.
You know who is probably trying to ignore things since the weekend? The Eskimos.
There are bright spots in Edmonton’s sports scene, however, like our little league team competing at the World Series (as seen in the Global story below) and Paula Findlay kicking butt in the triathlon.
from the Edmonton Journal:
Dead fish at Ma-Me-O outnumber visitors (I’m no expert, but that is a terrible tourism slogan.)
Alberta fears hike in home prices (This actually sounds like the home building industry fears a hike in people keeping them from shoddy work.)
Liberals see opening with MLA’s scholarship pledge unfulfilled (This would be good, ole Conservative MLA Carl Benito’s promise.)
Download the Fringe app for these Silly Hall productions (This should give you a chuckle or two.)
From the East, via the South Side
Edmonton escalates war on mosquitoes (Kill, kill, kill.)
‘Cat fight’ ends with village’s dissolution (The Journal’s got some nice back story on this decision to fold the village into Leduc County. We first heard about it from the Leduc Representative/Beaumont News.)
Edmonton fraudster to be deported again (Third time’s the charm.)
100 activists take ‘healing walk’ against Alberta oilsands
U.S.-based retail giant opening in Edmonton (And not even in West Edmonton Mall…)
From the Calgary Herald: Alberta No.1 in new-vehicle sales, latest per-capita figures show
from the Edmonton Sun:
Airport petition drive heads into homestretch
Alberta home to highest booze prices in Canada (Eww…those government run liquor commissions have some of the best prices…)
Pakistani flood victims getting boost from Edmontonians
Edmonton’s Tamil community rallies for refugees
Study finds bike helmet legislation a good idea (I wear my helmet all the time.)
‘Collective pride’ for Metis lawyer
Campaign’s rhetoric unsupported by thin numbers (Are that many people really planning vacations to Alberta?)
from Metro Edmonton:
Inaugral expo brings fighters, fans together
from 630CHED/iNews880:
Hugs earn peanut butter for Edmonton Food Bank (Hug it out.)
McCann reward fund-raising effort to be launched
from CBC Edmonton:
BP spill puts Alberta birds at risk: expert (And you thought the birds only had to worry about oil, and tailings ponds, here.)
from CTV Edmonton:
Envision Edmonton offers money for signatures (Legal, but there’s always a question of how something looks.)
Also, somebody else let CTV Edmonton know the Edmonton Capitals didn’t turf their homophobic-slurring manager, he quit after being suspended by the league.
from Global Edmonton:
Long-distance fans (Following Edmonton’s little league champs.)
from CityTV Edmonton:
Fringe on track for record year
from the Globe and Mail:
Alberta dean denies college offered admission to Omar Khadr
Mondays are always so busy!
p.s. Anyone catch Sally doing our first “morning show” today? (It’ll be in our livestream loop with Saturday Night with Samsonow until we figure out how to upload shows as videos.)
Edmonton’s Friday Headlines
Earlier this week I mentioned I’d try to watch for news stories that got followed up by another outlet. Yeah, I didn’t have try very hard.
It’s a practice that seems out of step with the speed, inclusiveness, and information of the Internet.
Here’s what I’m talking about.
The Edmonton Journal had a story Thursday, from a University of Alberta study, about the federal government’s tax credit for youth sports not helping as many low-income families. It’s an interesting story, which I linked you to yesterday.
I would venture to say that when a story is interesting, or important, it can make the rounds on blogs, websites, Twitter, etc… That’s the speed, inclusiveness, and information of the Internet.
A good story zips around quickly through networks of people, or you come upon it when another website *ahem* points you to it. We can all read the story without having to pick up a specific newspaper or tuning into a broadcast. That’s the inclusiveness.
The thing I find interesting is that this is a practice newsrooms can’t get into. Because they’re still tied into their paper or broadcast they feel they have to repeat the story for their audience.
Take today’s Edmonton Sun story on the same U of A sports tax credit study. Or the 630CHED/iNews800 story.
Not really much new information in either of those. But instead of telling their audiences to go read the Journal’s story, or saying “Hey, the Journal had this story, but you should go read the U of A study at the university’s website…” and then dedicating limited Sun/CHED/iNews staff resources to original stories, we get the same story in multiple places.
Now, I’m not saying newsrooms should ignore interesting and important stories. I’m the first to want people to read similar stories from multiple sources. You just better be adding something to the story, even if it’s a biased spin. You could also do new angles, follow-up on the story.
That’s what the Journal did with SEE Magazine’s second story on Progressive Conservative MLA Carl Benito. He promised to donate his MLA salary to scholarships. SEE did a story back in February and followed up Thursday.
In today’s Journal Benito tries to explain he meant only one year’s worth of his salary, doled out to students at his own pace.
That’s the follow-up story you want to see.
This leads me to my second point on attribution. I think the Internet, through blogs, podcasts, Facebook and Twitter, etc… breaks down the proprietary hold on stories newsrooms appear to have. There’s no mention of SEE Magazine’s two stories on Benito, yet anyone savvy enough to read more than one source of news (I wonder where you can find links on a daily basis…) will know where the Journal got the idea for the story.
I think the contrast of traditional news and Internet can be shown in links. Bloggers tend to – but it’s certainly not a blanket statement – note where they found something or where the idea came from for their story or opinion piece. You’ll usually at least see a link, indicating the spin-off.
It’s just too bad newsrooms, on a regular basis, ignorantly believe their audience consumes news only from them. That’s talking down to your audience. It also, as shown in the first example, wastes time on stories we’ve all already seen.
(My argument doesn’t include events or news conferences everyone can attend at about the same time. That’s also the best chance we have to see how the different newsrooms approach stories.)
Today’s headlines after the jump. (more…)
Almost our party (Or, scanning your way to a thinner you.)
It was really cool to see the first-year birthday party the Edmonton Journal threw us, it was unexpected. After I asked newspaper publisher John J. McDonald III where our presents could be found, and he tried to order a salad from me because he thought I worked at Earls, I figured out it wasn’t our party.
If I’m sluggish today, it’s because I’m so full of sliders.
Bistro's Liane Faulder talks about scanning. With herself in the background.
No, I didn’t cave and buy the Big City Slider Station for mini burgers and cook them into the wee hours of the night. I was at Earls Tin Palace for a ScanLife party. More specifically, a ScanLife party for the Edmonton Journal.
The Canwest chain (or whatever they end up being once all the sales are done) is putting ScanLife bar-cards into its newspapers. The actual paper kind.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, stay with me. I know you probably get a lot, or all of your news from computers and phones but stick with this for a minute.
I’ll be honest, I get almost all of my daily news from screens, so I needed to point-blank ask smarter people (such as, but not limited to online editor Karen Unland) who this was for.
The consensus I gathered is that the bar codes will help people with smartphones, but who still pick up paper, get some take-away information. They’ll be reading a story about, say, sliders, in the Bistro section and scan the codes to find out where the restaurants in the story are located and some recipes.
You could also bookmark information about columnists and connect to their Twitter feeds (if they have one).
The Journal has a short story on the launch party. It’s interesting that they’ve got the publisher of their paper quoted twice on how the technology will help them connect with readers but during his speech he talked about the opportunities for advertisers about three times as much as readers.
That’s not a shot. There really are a lot of opportunities for advertising in the ScanLife technology. As we heard last night Caritas Hospitals Foundation (think hospital lottery) is working with the Journal right out of the gate in this new technological realm.
Much like the U.S. President and Vice President have to be kept apart, we shouldn't let so many bloggers converge in one place.
I’m sure, much like Fourquare, there could be discounts and deals offered through scans placed in the paper. It’s a reason to pick up the actual paper, it’s a way for advertisers to know if people actually see their ad in all that newsprint.
If you’ve got the ScanLife app on your phone, you can also scan, if you’re into scanning everything, bar-codes in Metro newspapers. And since Mack mentioned he already had the ScanLife app on his phone I take that to mean there are crazy, Internet things that I don’t even know about using this tech.
It’s great to see a newspaper trying something different. I don’t think this will save a paper version if everything continues to go digital, but it could inject some new life (and money) into a business that needs it. I also don’t think Journal folk think this is a silver bullet to money.
Plus, if a party full of sliders and wine is any example, there’s some excitement at the newspaper. And don’t newspaper people deserve to have some fun and throw around a little money these days?
from the Edmonton Journal:
Witness recounts drop-off of homeless in Balwin (The Edmonton Police disciplinary hearing for officers who rounded up homeless people.)
“No rats” T-shirts a reaction to scrutiny, officer says
Health-care reform needs reform (Of skeptics and cynics.)
Edmonton arson victim says crime affects victims long after blaze ends
Killarney school welcomes all people, all faiths
Relief available for beetle damage (Those mountain pine beetles are still eating all of our trees.)
from the Edmonton Sun:
Taking stock of our river valley
Edmonton ‘Stay-cation’ guide launched (Attractions in the Capital Region. This also means I have to accept the term stay-cation is here to stay.)
Two students stabbed at Edmonton school
‘Buy and bust’ operation nets 22 arrests (In just one week.)
from Metro Edmonton:
Beautiful game, Edmonton-style (FC Edmonton won their first-ever soccer game.)
from the Edmonton Examiner:
Province sets inclusive special ed agenda
Virtual exhibition puts denim on display (Before Bangladesh, GWG jeans were made here.)
Public art proponents must put their money where their mouth is
from The Canadian Press:
Man protected under new law that protects officers
Doctor wants tougher distracted-driving bill
Ludwig arrested to ease public anger (I hope he was also arrested as a legitimate suspect in the pipeline bombings.)
from CBC Edmonton:
Don’t lay off teachers: education minister (But no, he won’t help them pay for the teachers.)
Canadian TV ‘crap’: Alberta Minister (Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett said it. He’s backpedaling now. But I think he’s onto something. If TV companies – CTV, Canwest, Rogers – bid on, and produced, local shows like they throw money at American programming we’d have fantastic shows to watch.)
from CTV Edmonton:
Local airline loses bid to stop closure of airport runway (That’s the runway that was supposed to close this summer. There’s also a new group that’s stepped forward to fight for the remaining runway and to keep the airport open for decades to come.)
Hennessey, Cheeseman appeal sentences (They were convicted in helping Mayerthorpe Mountie killer James Roszko.)
from Vue Weekly:
Lowest of the low (Alberta will soon have the lowest minimum wage in Canada.)
The cost of electricity (Deregulated y’all.)
from SEE Magazine:
Investing in the crop market (Growing your own food at the farm. And not in Farmville.)
Homeless deserve to be remembered
I guess we know which one of us the Journal thinks it a bigger deal.
Watchoo talkin’ ’bout Edmonton?
Yes, Edmonton, it’s time to dive back into that sometimes horrible, awful world of online comments.
Now, I don’t want to seem like I’m picking on the Edmonton Journal, because that was never my intention. In fact, I really want the Edmonton Journal’s comments to be a place we can all rally around as a spot to have valuable debate about city topics.
I just pointed out how their anonymous comments can knock down multiple comments of worth, with a single racist or personal attack.
One way we can help them is to sign up for the comment system, then go under the My Community tab (once you’re in “Your Account”) and activate your name. Anonymous no more you can shoot down the angry, dumb people and vote them off the island, so to speak.
The Journal being Edmonton’s most active newsroom they are my first point of reference on this. But let’s see what Edmonton’s other newsrooms offer in the ways of online connection and discussion with their audience (you and me).
The Sun doesn’t always seem to activate comments on every story. Or I’m just missing the “Comment here” button.
But when you can comment on a story you’re asked for your name and an e-mail address or your Facebook login. (See the image to the right.)
Sure, that stuff could be fake, but most people will likely enter real information and comment in a productive manner. While not moderated the comments can be removed, and if you’ve given your e-mail or Facebook info you could probably be blocked (I’m guessing that’s why they’d be asking).
And I really think that’s about all it takes. It’s going to be the rarest of trolls that will come back again and again, with fake e-mail after fake e-mail address, when they could just go somewhere without any information required.
The CBC doesn’t always allow comments. They’ve gotten into some trouble for people saying things in comments, and then being held to account for those comments on the CBC’s website.
So you probably won’t be able to comment on legal, court, crime stories.
They require you to sign up to comment.
That’s not to say signing up is the perfect way to limit trolls and stupid comments. As we learned with the St. Albert Habitat for Humanity letter, some people will gladly sign their real name to things that aren’t nice or smart. But sign-ups and moderation are BIG steps to having a worthwhile debate.
It doesn’t look like they activate comments. Or, again, I’m missing the button or tab while scanning the site.
You can, however, comment on their blog.
It appears you can comment. Whether it’s moderated isn’t clear, but since you’re to use your Facebook, Twitter or OpenID to login, they’ve probably got some tracking going on.
There doesn’t look to be a way to comment on 630 CHED stories.
You can comment on the blogs. Though, check my warning about the iNews880 blogs in case your comments don’t appear right away.
While CHED and iNews880 share a newsroom they do have different approaches to online comments.
iNews880 doesn’t let you comment on their iReports (sometimes audience-submitted stories). You can comment on their blog posts in a familiar fashion (though they go off somewhere for moderation) but they can take hours, even days to be approved. And when you comment on a story your thoughts are whisked away to a central comment area, not the story’s page. Which is weird.
Neither of these Corus newsrooms appear to ask for e-mail or ID stuff, but their comment-by-comment moderation would likely negate the need. Though, in my opinion, comments appearing quickly are more important.
Otherwise, aren’t you missing the point?
Metro’s tricky. They let you think you can comment without having an account, and then they ask for a name and e-mail address. (Look to the left.) They do have an official sign-up process too.
Again, it’s all about putting up hurdles to the lazy people that want to spew hate. There are way more of them then the hardcore trolls.
You won’t get away with posting whatever you want here, without the usual name and e-mail address for their sign-up process.
You’re required to register for SEE‘s comments. Though some people are still named “anonymous.”
I would hope that anyone asking people to register is then using that information to block idiots. Oh sure, send a nice e-mail asking for intelligent debate the first time, but be ready to turf them.
Actually, whenever we’ve sent an e-mail we never hear from them again…
It doesn’t look like you can comment on stories at Vue’s website. They encourage letters to the editor.
I checked a couple of stories and didn’t see any way to comment.
—–
That all said, most of the newsrooms were allowing their audience to share items via Twitter, Facebook, Digg, etc…
So, what does all mean?
I don’t know. I just wanted to see what everyone was up to.
It appears you can comment at most of the city’s news websites. Most of them require some basic information from you, which I hope is then used to block you for saying angry things.
I really don’t think you have a right to spew your vile thoughts at another website. If you want to exercise your freedom of speech you should get your own blog.
What do you take away from how comments and interaction are being done?
Where do you comment? Do you do it on a regular basis, or only when a story really grabs you?
Anonymous Anger
This guy probably love edmontonjournal.com
It’s time for our second installment of “Edmonton Journal anonymous comments make us look like the worst.”
Ugh.
Paul Band fire contained
anonymous
3:14 PM on April 21, 2010
no surprise this fire started on a native reserve…got out of control with all the somewhat empty whiskey bottles tossed in amongst the garbage
- I’ve already reported this one.
Approving Katz’s rezoning application would be a big mistake
anonymous
1:04 PM on April 20, 2010
Paula, you are fat, get a life, you want a crappy sprawled out city, go write for the Herald.
Edmonton Needs this Project and it needs it now, today, no more waiting.
- This is your response to a well-written, cogent, eloquent argument against City Council passing Katz’s zoning application? Maybe you should be the one getting a life.
So, here’s what we do, Edmonton. We all get signed-up to Canada.com’s system (It’s your standard name, e-mail, password…) and we start posting smart, informed, sarcastic comments that make those people look even worse.
Oh, and we flag them for being angry, racist, hate-filled Internet trolls and knock them right out of the comment section.
That combination of flagging stupid comments and shouting down the idiots should help keep things in order until the Journal gets better moderation, and less anonymity.
Update: After writing all that stuff up there, I went and commented on a story. That’s me at 4:59pm on April 21, 2010. Why it still says “anonymous” is beyond me. I’m just trying to help you, Edmonton Journal!
Comment on this!
I’ve been meaning to write about comments for a little while. Today, I got the extra bits of inspiration I needed to finally put fingers to keyboard.
The main push for me to write about comments is the Edmonton Journal‘s un-moderated free-for-all comment system. It’s great that they are trying to get people to register, but that doesn’t seem to be taking off.
So, I wanted to highlight a couple of truly outrageous comments, especially on fairly mundane stories, to help show those big bosses that something needs to be done.
As if all the “This comment was removed for being absolutely the stupidest/angriest/most racist thing,” wasn’t proof enough. My original inspiration also comes from people smarter and funnier than me.
Today’s extra pushes came from a neat look at Gawker’s comment system, which is more community-moderated, keeping the first-timers and one-timers (usually the angriest people) from getting much play and distracting the conversation.
The other was waiting 2+ hours for my comment to appear on an iNews880 blog. Ugh. Just don’t even bother. It’s the web and if my comment isn’t going up anytime soon I’m not even part of a real-time conversation and that’s what the Internet is supposed to help provide. If I wanted to opine and wait to see it appear I’d just write a letter to the editor.
Now…onto what this is supposed to be all about…
Edmonton vigil for Polish plane crash victims
anonymous
10:32 AM on April 13, 2010
Hyphenated Canadians are dragging this country down.
Name withheld
10:34 AM on April 12, 2010
This comment has been removed because it contains material which was deemed inappropriate.
- There were actually quite a few “inappropriate” comments. No respect for the dead I guess.
The Journal is Edmonton’s largest and most popular news source (That’s not really up for debate.), so it stands to reckon their comment section should be a big ole online water cooler – but they’ve basically got an anonymous comment system. While they’ve begun to ask people to register, that’s doesn’t really seem to be happening. So, really angry, hate-filled people are saying what they really think. Well, great. I suppose it’s sort of nice reminder about the price of democracy, but the Journal (or any other newsroom/website) doesn’t have to put up with that.
Now, over here at the edmontonian, we have neither the volume of readers, nor the amount of comments to deal with that the Journal does. This makes it easy for us to approve someone the first time they comment (which is required), since, generally speaking, angry, dumb people tend to say things that are angry and dumb right out of the gate. So far, once approved, nobody here has crossed the line.
We’ve sent a few “don’t talk like” that e-mails to first-timers, trust me. And then we never hear from the troll again. That’s what I hope for my friends at the Journal: a forced registration/held for moderation system that allows them an e-mail/URL/IP address to block stupid people.
Mandel shows support for downtown arena, LRT and Expo 2017
anonymous
4:46 PM on April 13, 2010
Who taught these rednecks how to use the internet… Go back to your double-wides.
anonymous
4:40 PM on April 13, 2010
Bunch of old people in this section who can’t see the big picture. Maybe we should build more nursing homes for you old farts instead.
- Play nice.
The super-angry people with loads of time might get another e-mail address or block their IP, but if the whole system was being moderated in some capacity the Journal’s online staffers could spend a few minutes zipping those people cease and desist style e-mails instead of having to read every. single. comment. because one (or many more) might contain hate speech or libelous accusations.
I don’t think letting people come to my site or your site and say whatever they want is a part of free speech. It’s the Internet, after all, and they can go ahead and get their own hatetank blog for that. The Journal, and hopefully all newsy websites (even this little one), should be trying to raise the level of conversation and keep discussion on track.
Now…what do you think about commenting? I open up this comment section to you, and all of your intelligent, thoughtful, hilarious insights. Keep the hate-speech for the Journal.
Slave Lake’s Jim Thunder made his voice heard
anonymous
5:07 PM on April 13, 2010
mmmmm whiskey
Edmonton’s coldest events
Whatever fun you get up to this weekend, Edmonton, remember to stay bundled up if you head outside. It’s going to be a cold one.
If you do nothing else, bundle up. Or buy some warm clothes. You'll catch your death out there.
Maybe the best idea is to put on your warmest sweater, curl up with a book you’ve been meaning to read, (or a book you’ve been meaning to download) put on the Bing Crosby and relax in your warm home. Bah. We’re a winter city, let’s go do stuff!
The Edmonton Journal is hosting a book fair and has plenty of authors abounding this Saturday.
A few months ago we mentioned the Gas Pump was holding a fundraiser for the Edmonton Food Bank. Well, they’re doing it again, Saturday, 3-8 is the Rock Fest East Coast Party for the food bank. There’s even a maritime buffet.
Sloan is playing the Starlite Room with Magneta Lane. Oh yes they are.
The McDades are doing a Christmas show at The Arden, Friday and Saturday.
You could always Make It! This is handmade goods that will make your head spin. 115 urban artisans and designers take over the Alberta Aviation Museum, December 11-13. They also have the best tag line: Make It is like a mullet; craft show in the front, party in the back. It’s $5.
More Christmas with the Edmonton Columbian Choirs, at McDougall United Church, Sunday.
You can laugh at global warming for the next week-and-a-half.
Stay toasty!
We called it!
(A tip of the hat to Stephen Colbert for the headline.)
Back in July (July, Edmonton!) we had a contributor put forward a plan that would revolutionize Fort Edmonton Park. It included rides, mazes, virtual realities, interactive pictures, videos and exhibits.
They all laughed.
Well, today the laughing stopped.
(The laughing at us and Janine I mean. You can feel free to laugh at the idea of a high-tech old timey park.)
If only we had predicted the log flume.
What if I told you the horses were actually holograms? (Photo: Fort Edmonton Park)
Cowboy Poker
Edmonton, it’s been a wonky day.
So, enjoy some Cowboy Poker from the recent Canadian Finals Rodeo, and have a great weekend.
Sisterhood will get ya
The headline of this story comes from the “name” when you get an e-mail from the Garneau Sisterhood. It certainly speaks to the idea the Sisterhood supports: that the people of Edmonton will be the ones to take things back from those who would do wrong.
The timing of this story couldn’t be better/worse with news of a new sexual assault in the university-U south area. Police aren’t saying the new assault IS connected but they also note that they can’t rule things out just yet. Either way, it’s troubling for that section of the city and, really, for everyone. Police are on the hunt for clues and tips.
One of the Garneau Sisterhood posters near the U of A.
After the school year began I noticed new posters going up around the U of A area. They were from the Garneau Sisterhood, which sprang up last year, when the Garneau rapist was part of police and community vernacular. As they identify themselves, they are “feisty concerned citizens in the Garneau area and the larger Edmonton community who are organizing and mobilizing to catch the most recent serial rapist in the neighbourhood, challenge the culture of violence and reclaim safe spaces for women in their communities.”
I e-mailed the Sisterhood to find out more about their visible re-emergence. I thought the new posters had something to do with the beginning of a new school year, and the influx of students who wouldn’t have heard (or be hearing, due to our news cycles of breaking news) about the Garneau rapes. (more…)
Morning Headlines, because it’s Wednesday
What a busy news day!
Good thing the Journal reserved its top headline spot for a story on its new mobile website. (We know an argument could be made for the bold Health Care headline underneath…but…)
Hey, being a website-only production we get the importance of such things, but really Edmonton Journal? Really!?!
We also started this website because we felt local news was being underplayed…So, thanks for proving us right?
High-horse dismounted. Headlines next!
from the Edmonton Journal:
Council passes transportation plan for ‘walkable’ city
Budget restrictions may force more cuts
More bed closures pending (Alberta Health cuts)
Byelection loss signals hostility against Stelmach: MLAs
Earth Day gets help from weatherman (Earth Day: take 2)
from the Edmonton Sun:
Assisted-living rents may rise by 25%, NDP warns
from Metro Edmonton:
Swine flu confirmed (drug-resistant H1N1)
from CBC Edmonton:
Byelection loss due to economy: Stelmach (Not quite what MLAs were saying in that Journal story…)
Alberta Health CEO’s bonus tied to performance
Bill 44 proclaimed into law (Not the opt-out clause, just yet.)
Greenpeace occupies Alberta oilsands site
Do you think I missed a story?
Opinion: Why is there no money for healthcare in Alberta?
By A. Sumaru, C.F. Crozier and L. Richards
“In the analysis of social and political issues it is sufficient to face the facts and to be willing to follow a rational line of argument. Only [sic] common sense, which is quite evenly distributed, is needed… if by that you understand the willingness to look at the facts with an open mind, to put simple assumptions to the test, and to pursue an argument to its conclusion.”
- Noam Chomsky (1978) Language and Responsibility
We are going to preface our comments with Chomsky’s remarks because everything being written about is based on information that is easily accessible to any citizen who pays attention and/or has access to the Internet.
With the government of Alberta delisting services to cut costs, in order to eliminate the deficit in the health care budget, our analysis of this problem will focus on a simple line of reasoning that asks; “Why is there no money for health care in Alberta?” (more…)
ProCura builds for the future. And steals my post office.
That's a nice looking Rexall you've got there...
Do you know what opens today?
A big and shiny Rexall Drugs, in a new office building on Jasper Avenue, at 108 Street.
Formerly known as the Professional Building this is a re-design under ProCura, an Alberta property company. It’s going to be called the Intact Building, named for its main tenant, Intact Insurance (also a formerly known as), formerly known as ING.
A couple of things to note about this; the building looks pretty sweet, it’s been built and designed with LEED Gold Standards in mind (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which should make it an example of environmental design in Edmonton, it’s stealing my post office.
The new Rexall going in at the corner of Jasper and 108 is an expanded version of the drug store that was at Jasper and 112 Street. That housed the post office I used for work because it was super-convenient. I like your style, ProCura, but I also like not having to walk very far for a post office. Let’s call it even.
This means there is a nice new Canada Post bureau in the building for those of you lucky enough to work near 108 Street. (The building itself is still under renovation, and it doesn’t look like office tenants are moving in quite yet.)
ProCura may also sound familar because they were in the news when Journal columnist Scott McKeen was talking about their ownership of land near Jasper and 109 Street (including this building and the old Mayfair Hotel) and how bullish the company appeared to be on downtown Edmonton’s future.
This all, also, means that if you’re looking for some storefront retail space on Jasper, I know a spot over in the 112 Street block that’s available…
Litter Enforcement, or, It’s not worth it people
Apparently, if you don't feed the new space ashtrays you get a $250 ticket
Starting August 16, there’s going to be a big ol’ fine attached to littering on Whyte and Jasper Avenues. Here’s the story from the Journal.
It’s the last phase of a Capital City Clean Up pilot project, that began with a public education campaign and installation of the new space ashtrays.
Not being litterbugs ourselves, Sally and I have been wondering whether $250 is actually enough of a fine to deter folks.
First we tried to figure out some going rates for litter enforcement.
Letter from the Editor – Jeff – August 4/09
You have to make a lot of tough calls in a regular, 24-hour, newsroom. I don’t envy people making those calls.
Newsrooms are under constant pressure to churn things out in the 24-hour news world, and that means they’re bound to get things wrong (as a former reporter for radio stations across the country, I’ve been there). There’s also the ongoing case of stories running without all the facts, perhaps to be added later.
Last week it was clear how tough things can be for the 24-hour newsrooms.
The recent story of police officers being swarmed by a group of teens is the kind of thing that grabs headlines, nay, creates headlines, and makes people want to watch and listen. It’s the sort of story that will fill talk radio with middle aged folks wagging their fingers, and saying it’s time to “teach young punks” some respect.
I mean, it’s not every day a police officer is assaulted (thankfully) and it touches a nerve that even those who protect us can still be vulnerable. But how do you tell this story in an even-handed way?
Because, as we all know, news isn’t a movie or television plot; in real life, things are rarely as black and white as we’d like. It’s incredibly difficult to get these stories across to the greater public in a fair way. It’s tough for a lot of crime stories, actually.
I bring this up because the accused in this swarming case is telling the Edmonton Journal police have it wrong. It’s easy to dismiss this as someone trying to defend their name. But sometimes the story does end up being very different from the initial version.
Days before this story of violence, a case of assaulting a police officer was thrown out of court by a judge. Here, the judge says the police officer went too far. It took the trial process to get more on the case. The information wasn’t readily available or provided at the headline-grabbing stage.
(Notes: The case could always be appealed and there are still other legal avenues being pursued. I’m also not linking the two stories to say this latest one will be thrown out.)
So what do you do? Do you just put up a little blurb mentioning the charges and wait for details at court?
The fear there would be that your competition will have a front page or top story all about the charges and people will wonder why you didn’t do anything more than a brief update.
Though, the days following the Journal story with the accused show that not everyone went full-out on that story. Even the Journal went from the front page with the assault allegations to page B4, with the story from the accused teen.
Another example of why newsrooms should ease up on the crime headlines (or work on the story thoroughly before publishing) is right here; this story was all about how four teens beat a man to death on an ETS bus. Turned out that’s not at all what happened. Again, things had to go to court before all the facts could be learned.
I think limiting sensational headlines (and possibly, most of the sensational story), especially when details are coming from one side, would be a start.
It would take bold newsroom decisions though. You might have to work on the story for a couple of days, watching the other guys produce stories one fact at a time, before you could give a full and/or fair balance.
It might also take some feature and in-depth reporting to make up for the lack of easy-to-cover stories. But wouldn’t it be better to have the story correct, all the way through?
Objectively Transparent Headlines
Some fall colours for you. Say, do you think I can eat THOSE berries?
Enjoy that sunshine, Edmonton.
It’s nice to see all that blue sky. Maybe we’ll get a taste of some lovely fall weather after all. Maybe…
—–
Last night was the Ward 7 candidates forum. That’s TonCat’s ward (Tony Caterina), and he’s facing four other people. The two main competitors are Brendan Van Alstine, who’s been campaigning since last year and is a recognized community volunteer, and Scott McKeen, the Edmonton Journal columnist.
Now, today’s Sun story says this: Ex-columnist taken to task for NIMBY column but I don’t think he’s an EX-columnist if he still works for the Journal. They may re-assign him if he loses the election but that’s not known at this point.
I think he should have quit before running. Or the Journal should have cut him loose.
Here’s why:
The Journal, like most newsrooms, stands firmly in the journalism camp of “Objectivity.” We, here at the edmontonian, don’t really think there’s much of that in news, and stand in the camp of “Transparency.”
But, because the Journal thinks its news coverage is objective it shouldn’t have a council candidate on staff. It’s for the same reason they don’t have regular columns from politicians and government staff.
(In a bit of cut-throat business, Postmedia is laying people off and offering buyouts, it’s the perfect opportunity to save some cash for the Journal.)
If they could just admit that choosing what gets covered, how much coverage it gets, who they talk to for quotes, how they lay out the paper, what stories they ignore, and a bunch more stuff actually makes their news coverage subjective they could keep McKeen on staff.
Instead, we have to look back at (at least) his last few columns and wonder if he was already thinking of running, or had been approached. It just makes the Journal look bad.
Now, I should note, I like McKeen as a candidate. He’s smart, funny, and seems to have a lot of the same urban values I want to see in my Edmonton. He and Van Alstine are fine choices for Ward 7. This is just about the journalism stuff. I have the same opinion for news folk jumping into PR or media relations without missing a beat, especially to work for government or politicians.
As for former Edmonton Sun columnist Kerry Diotte running in Ward 11, he hasn’t work at the paper for a year so I think he’s just fine and dandy.
—–
Let’s see what else is happening in the election today… (more…)
Sep 22, 2010 | Categories: NEWS | Tags: brendan van alstine, carson daly, comments, edmonton, election, forum, headlines, journal, kerry diotte, objectivity, scott mckeen, september 22, toncat, transparency, ward 7 | 6 Comments »