Posts tagged ‘London Free Press’
A comment on “Are We a Hindrance or a Help?” London Free Press 4/16/09
This is my comment on the opinion piece “Are We a Hindrance or a Help?” in the London Free Press, by Editor Paul Berton from April 16, 2009. In the piece, he explains his newspaper’s approach to the coverage of a breaking crime story which in my opinion, misses the mark on many levels.
Dear Paul Berton:
As you know, the first precept and guiding principle of journalism is to satisfy the public’s right to know.
The community at-large, and your readers especially, share an abiding need and certainly depend on this “right to know,” so that they may best evaluate how certain issues, decisions and activities—by individuals, government and other entities—will affect their lives, livelihood, safety, interests and well-being.
Credible independent reporting is the essential standard that provides citizens with facts, truth, information and insight to apprehend events of certain importance and urgency, to the extent that we may make reasoned and informed choices as free people in an open society.
The direct impact therefore, and the main purpose for reporting a crime story is not as you wrote in your discussion piece referenced above: to be “helping the family and the police”. Rather, your overarching responsibility as a journalist should be: “helping” the citizenry, by reporting on a dangerous state of affairs; and “helping” your readers be informed, alert, and aware; and “helping” them take appropriate measures to get involved, or equally, to avoid, to assess and to be secure against that risk.
By reporting and examining all aspects of the circumstances of this crime, you are “helping” not only by drawing attention to a sad human-interest story, but also “helping” by casting light on all the elements of the story that may yet have far-reaching and unknown consequences.
“Help” the victim, by seeking from every reporter to verify their widest sources: to ascertain any number of possible scenarios; suspects; criminal patterns and known offenders; instances of other abuse, and any wider victimization. Look at the family and neighbors, the wider community members, and their relationships, fears, motivations and concerns,
Look to leads from the public but surely challenge and condemn with every mighty tool of reason, those pathetically parasitic, carnival clairvoyants claiming psychic powers. Call them what they are: hateful manipulative scammers who prey twice-over on a family’s tragedy.
Look to “help,” by also examining the institutions mandated to serve and protect, and scrutinize whether their conventions and procedures will prove a praise-worthy success or show to have hindered and contributed in any way, to a tragic, failed outcome.
Point to any history of similar failings, and reveal the possibility of systemic shortcomings.
Finally, stay with the story. Call to task and analyze the intersection of the legal system with the process of justice, and “help” define the kind of protection that society demands.
The pursuit of reporting that aspires to the highest purposes of the greater good, may be the one way that we may try “helping” journalism succeed.
Serious topic diminished by puff-piece reporting
Sometimes a serious topic can be done a disservice by single perspective, single point-of-view reporting. Advocacy reporting that turns away from journalistic principles results in a soft, superficial take on an important issue that deseves to be more than a light lifestyle section feature. This piece should have been a full news story examination in the full sense of the term.
One example is this story: Soup kitchen still fuels community 25 years later from the Sept. 21, 2008 London Free Press shown here with my response to the writer below:
POVERTY: The need for the centre is greater than ever Soup kitchen still fuels community 25 years later
By Kelly Pedro
It’s 9:30 a.m. and at least 15 people are lining up on Dundas Street waiting for breakfast.
Inside, volunteers at St. Joseph’s Hospitality Centre are packing cherries into small resealable plastic bags, putting peanut butter and jam in small containers and lining up bowls of cereal.
“We take great pride in putting a meal out there that is as good as any,” says Bill Payne, co-ordinator of the centre run and financed by the Sisters of St. Joseph. “We wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for the Sisters,” says Payne, who has been at the centre 14 years.
“It’s tough out there for a lot of people but there’s also a lot to be thankful for,” says Payne, adding the centre wouldn’t exist without help from the Sisters, donors and volunteers.
The centre has 120 volunteers, including 80-year-old Jean Ward, who has helped at the soup kitchen since its early days.
Ward spends Friday mornings talking and laughing with other volunteers and building relationships with the people who come in for a hot meal.
“You get to know the clients and it’s nice to interact with them,” says Ward, who has a history of volunteerism and spent 35 years donating her time to the Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex.
While the centre has helped those in need, it has also received a helping hand.
In 2005, when an electrical fire caused $100,000 damage, leaving the centre unable to serve food, the soup kitchen received so many offers of help the staff was overwhelmed.
— — —
BY THE NUMBERS
Further to your soup kitchen story (London Free Press Sunday, Sept.21. 2008): While your piece presents an interesting snapshot of their facility and services, little attempt was made to gather comments from others who may not have had such a positive turn on the place. Your article should have sought opinion from: East London residents and neighbours; city planning officials and Board of Control members; area business people; directors of Old East London revitalization groups; the Palace theater; the TD/Canada Trust branch and others who can point to the downfall of the East London Business district directly as a consequence of establishing a soup kitchen entity in such a prominent and incongruous location.
Since it opened its doors the soup kitchen has contributed to the dereliction and blighting of the neighborhood, and a direct increase in crime.
Sure, some might say that these are NIMBY comments (Not in My Back Yard) or that one brings services to the down-and-out where they can be found, but I am sure those in need can find the services no matter what corner of the city or city limits they would be located. How curious that the Sister’s didn’t open up in some of London’s tonier neighborhoods. Or heaven forbid, next to the Mount in North London and their nicely refurbished digs.
East London is in dire need of re-development and revitalization. Business districts are vital to a city and should not be destroyed by ill-conceived and misplaced priorities. Social services such as soup kitchens and methadone clinics along the main business street drive away investment and only encourage further dereliction of an area. Carefully situating such facilities so as to not detract from a best-face-forward to the world is the only way to serve all the residents of London, including the poor, and unemployed.
On this point of redevelopment: What will happen to the facility in your article if the city gives the go-ahead on the massive twin-tower 22-story commercial/residential development (by Sterling companies) proposed for that location?
Orange You Glad A Citizen’s Need to Know Leads Reporter to Story
Originally posted March 31, 2008
Sometimes the principles of investigative journalism are utilized by everyday, ordinary people going about their chores of daily living. Upon encountering a problem, they epitomize the best instincts of tracking down the facts to reveal the whole story.
In this article, in the March 28, 2008 London Free Press story, Woman tracks down the root of a bag of bad oranges by Ian Gillespie, London Free Press columnist, the consumer peels ahead of the reporter. Here’s the story…
Allison Gibson admits nobody died, nobody got sick and she got her money back. So why is the London woman so upset about a bag of bad oranges?
“You should get what you pay for,” she said. “And it should be good.”
I can’t argue with that. (And I’m not going to try with Gibson.)
Gibson’s saga started about one month ago, when she bought two three-pound bags of oranges at the Jerry’s No Frills store in London’s Argyle Mall.
The mesh bags, which were on sale for one dollar each, carried a label identifying them as Sunkist oranges. The oranges themselves, however, were labelled with a sticker that read “Moonlight.”
Later, when she sliced open the oranges, Gibson discovered they were blighted inside by a a black, fungus-like growth.
Gibson says she returned to the store — albeit without a receipt or the inedible fruit — to complain. She said a store manager gave her a free bag of oranges, but that didn’t satisfy her.
“They just tried to dismiss me,” insisted Gibson.
After spending a fair amount of time on the phone with her, I can attest that Gibson is not someone easily dismissed.
So Gibson went to work.
First, she tracked down the Moonlight Packing Corp. in Reedley, Calif. Gibson said a Moonlight spokesperson told her they don’t sell their oranges to Sunkist and had no idea how their oranges got into a Sunkist bag. (But they sent her a free bag of oranges.)
Then Gibson called Sunkist, in Van Nuys, Calif. I did, too, and they told me the same thing they told Gibson.
“Those were definitely not Sunkist oranges,” said Winnie Anthony, a Sunkist consumer response representative. “It could’ve happened anywhere along the chain. And we’re investigating it because we don’t want other people’s fruit in Sunkist bags.”
Gibson also sent Sunkist some digital photos of the oranges; they e-mailed back that they thought the problem was “alternaria,” otherwise known as “black rot,” which can afflict oranges that are too old or improperly stored.
Sunkist also said they’d send Gibson some gift certificates.
Then, Gibson went back to No Frills and snapped more pictures of the oranges, which she says didn’t go over too well with the staff. She said she met with a manager, who refunded her two dollars.
“But to me, it’s not about the two bucks,” she said. “They’re mislabelling a product. Not only that, they’re re-bagging something that should’ve been thrown away.”
Gibson then called the head office of Loblaws, which licences the No Frills stores, who told her they were looking into the problem.
She also posted pictures of the blackened oranges online, and said two people responded with similar tales.
Next, Gibson called the London office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). I called them too, and inspection manager Jennifer Wieleba said they were investigating the matter and that mislabelling occurrences are uncommon.
An agency spokesperson in Ottawa said the penalty for mislabelling food items would depend on the severity of the incident.
“I don’t think this is a big health and safety concern, which is definitely our priority,” said CFIA spokesperson Marc Richard, adding somebody may have simply repackaged the oranges to recycle the bags. “There’s lots of motivations that could be happening here that have nothing to do with intent to defraud people.”
I reached a spokesperson for Loblaws, who confirmed Gibson’s tale and said an authorized local vendor (whom she declined to identify) had, unbeknownst to Loblaws, put non-Sunkist oranges into Sunkist bags and sold them to the grocery chain.
“The vendor is saying it was an employee bagging error,” said Elizabeth Margles, vice-president of public relations with Loblaws, Inc. “We’ve had a relationship with the vendor for 35 years and it’s never happened before so we give him the benefit of the doubt and just chalk it up as an error.”
Margles added the mislabelled oranges have now been removed from all No Frills stores.
The moral? Things aren’t always what they seem.
And if you find yourself up against Allison Gibson, be careful: You don’t know who you’re dealing with.
Here is my feedback to columnist Ian Gillespie:
Dear Ian Gillespie:
Well-done! I thoroughly enjoyed your story of the intrepid woman in your piece, the amazing Allison Gibson, whose talent for getting straight to the facts and her plucky persistence in rigorously pursuing the matter of ‘the falsely labeled oranges,’ I think demonstrates more investigative-reporter-like skill, gumption, and initiative, than one expects from even seasoned news gathering professionals.
Moreover, my advice: someone should quickly hire her to be the new Consumer Affairs Editor for your paper.
Clearly in discovering this important consumer interest story (false labeling, substandard fruit being deceptively, whether intentionally or not, being passed off as a superior quality name-brand fruit) I think she’s proven her uncanny ability to seeking and finding answers, and obviously she knows the value of asking questions in helping wend her way to the truth.
I might suggest giving her another ‘assignment’ of sorts and see that she reports back to you on any other topic or issue that similarly she might consider, that gives her pause or strikes her curiosity. I think she has exquisite instincts for news reporting.
By the way, your piece seems to have omitted mention of certain necessary facts such as:
What is her current and past profession/occupation/education?
What is her age and how many years has she lived in London?
Does she see her assertiveness in this incident as unusual or has she made it a point of always standing up for her consumer rights as such in the past?
Are there any comments from peers, employers, teachers or family members about her efforts, her inquisitive nature, motivation and her forthright style of doing things such as this?
It’s surprising that the London Free Press reporter, missed including much of what I consider to be essential elements. But now, there’s a better picture of the person, certainly making her efforts in this situation a more fascinating and satisfying read.
So here in her own words…Allison Gibson who was featured in the article above contacted me, and rounded out the piece with many wonderful details that make this a terrific story!
Here are her comments:
I am a volunteer photographer as well as a freelance writer. (yes, I’m available) I’ve had past professions ranging from Quality Assurance Supervisor to Public Relations Officer. Secretly, I have always wanted to be a secret shopper. I think I would be excellent for this job for the mere fact I have high expectations from venues in regards to customer service and have a firm grasp of what consumers should get for their bucks.I attended UWO and majored in politics and economics.
I am 37. Born and raised here. I absolutely love living in London.
I’ve always stood up for my rights, be it consumer or personal rights. I’ve always thought it was better to stand up for what is right instead of what is popular. I have found that standing up for the right thing frequently upsets others which are doing the wrong thing but I have found that it definitely helps me sleep well at night. When I was younger, I was awarded the Bishop Townshend Award. I mention this because one of the key factors for this award is that the recipient has the courage to stand up for his/her own convictions and I truly feel it was this trait that led me to win this award.
Well, I can say that when the article was published I received several emails and phone calls from both friends and family. Most of my friends and family chuckled and commented on how Ian Gillespie really pegged me right. I definitely try to get to the bottom of problems and fight strongly to get things resolved. If at first I don’t succeed, I keep trying until I find someone that takes my concerns seriously.
Where’s the News in that News Story?
Originally posted February 26, 2008
The story with the headline Students take car from auto body class on joyride from the Thurs., Jan. 24, 2008 online edition of the London Free Press seems to frame a story but suprisingly there are more questions than answers, leaving lingering doubts as to what really happened—so we took our questions directly to reporter Randy Richmond:
Dear Randy Richmond:
Re: your story: Students take car from autobody class on a joyride London Free Press, Thursday, January 24, 2008
Your readers deserve a better description of the event that covers the fundamental questions such as Who, What, Why, How and When.
How old were these students?
What were their names?
What was the name of their school?
What was the name of the teacher and principal and what did they have to say in reaction to the incident?
What kind of car was it?
What was the name of the street where the car crashed?
Why did they do it?
Have they done this sort of thing before?
How did they accomplish their feat without being detected?
What deterrents and consequences are in place to prevent such an incident from reoccurring?
These are clearly elementary questions that you have neglected to address. Lacking such basic details and information there is precious little in your piece that passes as a news story. With no illumination or examination it serves little community purpose.
To which Randy Richmond replied:
Neither police nor school board officials nor school officials are willing to give any of these details.
- Trust me, I have tried to find out in the few short hours I had to work on this today.
Please don’t assume journalists are not doing their jobs simply because facts are missing in their stories.
- But please, if you hear anything, let me know.
- …well then maybe it wasn’t quite a news story yet. Without a news angle, without facts; then I should say, “No news is no news.”
Western Fair story in London Free Press needs additional reporting
Originally posted February 26, 2008
Here’s a story from the Tues., Sept. 18, 2007 online edition of the London Free Press that misses the Journalism 101 threshold for basic reporting and gives a pass to so many unanswered questions. The London Free Press fails to scrutinize the Western Fair’s latest self-serving, wacky idea.
Western Fair looking skyward By JOE MATYAS, SUN MEDIA
Western Fair visitors could have a bird’s eye view of next year’s event if plans for a new cable car ride become a reality. Although it’s not a done deal, fair officials acknowledged yesterday they’re negotiating with an American company to install a tram that would sit about 13 metres off the ground at the annual 10-day event in September.
“It’s probably premature to be talking about it but we are now actively involved in negotiations to put in a sky ride,” Gary McRae, Western Fair chief executive officer and general manager, said yesterday.
“If the costs and other details work out to our satisfaction we could have the ride in operation for the 2008 fair.“ Plans call for a cable ride that would run from the Rectory Street entrance to the grandstand area and back, McRae said.The tram would give people “a different look at the fair. It would be beautiful at night with all the coloured lights,” he said.Since the Canadian National Exhibition removed its cable car, there’s only one left in Canada at a fair and that’s in Calgary, McRae said.
Dave Taylor, marketing and fair manager, said “There’s a dozen in the United States and they’re all popular attractions.”“We’re involved in due diligence negotiations right now,” Taylor said. “We’re optimistic things will come together soon enough that we’ll be good to go next year.”
Taylor said cable cars would require some “pretty serious ground installations” and support pillars. Vic Soga, Western Fair’s controller and manager responsible for the midway the past 17 years, said the tram would be the first ride owned by the reconfigured fair since it sold its roller- coaster to an amusement park in Rhode Island.“All of our midway rides are owned and operated by independents who bring them in for the fair,” said Soga.
Perennially, the rollercoaster was the top ride at the fair, he said.“People miss it and they still talk to us about it. The roller-coaster was an icon for the fair and that’s what we’re hoping a sky ride will be.”
Western Fair closed Sunday with the best attendance day in years, said Taylor.The fair recorded 38,650 admissions on Sunday, the best day since 2000 “when we let people in for $1.25,” said Taylor. “We were very pleased to end the fair on such a high note.” Total attendance for the 10-day event was 235,613, higher than the last two years but lower than the 10-year average of 254,365
Here are the questions that we put to reporter, Joe Matyas, which we wished were addressed in the story or in follow-up stories (yet to appear in the London Free Press): Dear Joe Matyas:Re: Your story “Western Fair looking skyward” in the London Free Press, Tuesday, September 18, 2007 seems to beg for a few more details.
1) What will be the cost at completion for this new cable car construction and will any city taxpayer funds be tapped?
2) What is the city’s planning and engineering department position on the feasibility of this idea?
3) What approvals and public hearings are needed before foisting this potential eyesore on the adjoining neighborhood?
4) Such an imposing 13-meter cable car structure would present an obvious privacy issue, noise issue and line-of-sight aesthetic issue and safety issue potentially affecting many immediate area residents and other stakeholders. What do they say about this and how has the Western Fair solicited their input, if at all?
It certainly would be helpful to have your reporting include a few more considered perspectives on this proposed project along with a little wider analysis from additional sets of sources.
Gaps in London Free Press story on London Ontario Convention Centre
Originally posted April 27, 2007
I think there are deficits in this April 26, 2007 London Free Press story titled Centre has Reason to Celebrate. This story follows on the heels of an earlier story suffering from the same rather flat boosterism themes as referenced in a previous story on July 25, 2006 Centre has Record Year, A Rise in Business Travel Helps Boost Income to $3.7M by London Free Press Staff Writer Norman Di Bono.
I think a necessary and important element in these pieces would be to include some real business information that could expand on the following points:
How many people work at the Centre? Are they full-time or part-time or contract workers? How is the Centre governed or managed? Have there been labor issues? What is the economic impact as a multiplier effect of revenue coming into the city as a result of the Centre?
Do conventions at the Centre tangibly contribute to the city’s tourism receipts (i.e. hotel rooms and restaurants the result of overnight out-of-town quests) or are most of the Centre’s attendees locals? How about including an actual list of some of the bigger conventions over the time period that were hosted there and make mention of the number of attendees, the names of major companies, and some prominent industry groups represented.Have there been any controversial meetings that were hosted or rejected?
Also, it would be interesting to read about how the Centre attracts, solicits and competes for these conventions. Obviously whatever they’re doing, is effective, and therefore these details would make for a more interesting story.It would also be fascinating to contrast and compare the active days as a ratio to days the Centre is vacant and empty.
In a nutshell: what are the Centre’s attributes on the one hand, and the negatives associated with the Centre as seen by users and by professionals in the convention business, on the other. How do these industry professionals in the corporate meeting and incentive travel business see the Centre and what do they say about how it stacks up to the competition? Clearly this story generates more questions than it answers, and obviously desrves a little more thorough reporting.
Creative Control International Inc. 