Yesterday our journalism class went to the law courts. We met up with CreComm grad, Mike McIntyre, who is also the crime and justice reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. He gave us some leads on stories from the names in the hearings. All of the cases are posted up on a board when one walks in. Some are the Crown vs. a person, or people v.s people, or people vs. an entity like a life insurance company. I saw quite a few cases that involved CIBC and RBC life insurance.
I chose to go to a hearing where allegedly a young gang member shot at another rival drug dealer's vehicle. The case was actually pretty interesting. The two hours I spent in the courtroom flew by. Another interesting thing was that the accused was actually in the room, along with his girlfriend watching with myself and my fellow classmates. From what I've heard, usually those looking to get out on bail appear on a t.v. monitor in the room. I guess this was different because the accused was actually appealing his bail sentencing from before. Although this was an alleged gang member I almost felt bad sitting in on his hearing. I thought it was a weird juxtaposition where we were both in the same room, but he was facing time and I was writing an assignment.
Another thing that I didn't expect was for a witness to be called. The witness had to leave after she gave her testimony because she might be called at a later date to give testimony again. It almost made me anxious, even though I didn't do anything, to watch the witness be questioned. The Crown went through her entire criminal history and then asked her many, many detailed questions. I could see the witness struggling, and could tell that it would be very hard to tell a lie and keep it straight on the stand.
Overall, I liked that I got to write about something interesting. However, I'm not so sure if I'm cut out for crime reporting. I had a hard time getting past that the fact that everyone in these courtrooms were people with families, despite their criminal behaviour.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Journalism Tips
1) Never think you're smarter than the person you are interviewing.
You can know it, but don't think it. This mindset will come off as arrogant and will turn the person you are talking to off, which isn't ideal when trying to get information from them.
2) Use the "Columbo" style of questioning.
This technique of questioning is not exactly "playing dumb," but helps you understand the story you are working on better because the interviewee will start to "pat you on the head" and talk more, which is what you want. Some examples of "Columbo" style questioning are:
"Can you explain that to me?"
"How can that be?"
"I thought ___________. Can you explain that to me?"
(all said in a innocent, questioning tone)
3) When interviewing someone, keep your cool, no matter what.
Even if someone just told your that they wasted hundreds of thousands of tax dollars, which has happened to Freedman, keep your cool in your conversation and body language. If the interviewee thinks there is something wrong, they might stop talking, which isn't good for an interview.
4) Don't fill the pregnant pause.
Did you get a little anxious there? Don't fill the silence when someone is talking. When they get quiet, just stand back and let them be the first ones to talk. When someone is silent, that often means they are thinking, and will have something interesting to say when they do speak.
5) Don't be aggressive, be assertive.
This may seem cliche, and I don't believe Freedman said this exact phrase, but it is what I got from his talk. Intimidating people will usually not garner interviews. However, letting someone know that you're going to do the interview with out without them, showing them that giving an interview would be beneficial to them, is a good way to get someone to speak to you. Freedman also suggested reminding elected officials that it is their duty to talk to you is a good way to secure your interview.
6) Pictures, sounds, and quotes are the heart of your story and your words are just the glue.
Freedman told us about a news story that was only pictures and sound, and explained why it was "gold." People care most about the story you are telling as a journalist, not you. So remember, the words that you write are the least important thing to a story. Make sure you have the right pictures, sounds, and quotes (often filled with human emotion) to tell your story effectively.
Freedman's overall advice was to practice, practice, practice. Whether it be FIPPA requests or interviews, I understood even better after that being a journalist is a craft that needs to be worked on and nurtured, which I am very excited to do.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Providing Questions Up Front
Last week I was published for the first time as a paid journalist. It was very exciting as I received positive feedback from family and friends for getting the front page of the Lance with my election article. Here is the link to the story: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/lance/Housing-services-top-issues-for-newcomers-130653958.html
The article was about what candidates in the upcoming provincial election in the St. Vital riding are going to do to ensure housing and programs for the thousands of newcomers settling in St. Vital every year. I also did a election script and clip radio story last week for 92.9 KICK FM's election night coverage this Tuesday, October 4th.
Doing this election coverage meant that I had to interview politicians. Out of the four candidates that I interviewed, three of them or their campaign managers asked for the questions or topics I would be asking about up front--before the interview.
As a young journalist who hasn't interviewed many politicians I thought this was standard. I thought it would make the answers the candidates gave during the interview better and my story better. However, what I didn't realize at first was that if I did provide the exact questions up front I wouldn't get the opportunity to properly evaluate the candidates' answers unrehearsed and how much they truly know about the issues.
As a I learned from our journalism radio instructor Dan when discussing how our election script and clip assignments went, journalists are not required to provide questions up front. If someone doesn't want to participate in an interview, it's their loss that they don't get to get media coverage, which isn't what most politicians want especially around election time.
Although potentially losing an interview may be scary for a young journalist it is always best to keep in mind that a journalist's job is not to make an interviewee look good or make it easy for them to answer your questions, but to ask questions and fairly report the answers people you interview give.
On another note, there were some facts that weren't able to be included in the article that I thought were quite interesting.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s most recent numbers from April, the
neighbourhood’s vacancy rate was 0.7 per cent.
Of the 20,528 2-bedroom apartments in Winnipeg, only 142 were available in April 2011. Of the 1,060
apartments with 3 or more bedrooms, only 5 were available.
13,518 immigrants landed in Manitoba in 2009.
Here is the article I wrote for the Lance.
The article was about what candidates in the upcoming provincial election in the St. Vital riding are going to do to ensure housing and programs for the thousands of newcomers settling in St. Vital every year. I also did a election script and clip radio story last week for 92.9 KICK FM's election night coverage this Tuesday, October 4th.
Doing this election coverage meant that I had to interview politicians. Out of the four candidates that I interviewed, three of them or their campaign managers asked for the questions or topics I would be asking about up front--before the interview.
As a young journalist who hasn't interviewed many politicians I thought this was standard. I thought it would make the answers the candidates gave during the interview better and my story better. However, what I didn't realize at first was that if I did provide the exact questions up front I wouldn't get the opportunity to properly evaluate the candidates' answers unrehearsed and how much they truly know about the issues.
As a I learned from our journalism radio instructor Dan when discussing how our election script and clip assignments went, journalists are not required to provide questions up front. If someone doesn't want to participate in an interview, it's their loss that they don't get to get media coverage, which isn't what most politicians want especially around election time.
Although potentially losing an interview may be scary for a young journalist it is always best to keep in mind that a journalist's job is not to make an interviewee look good or make it easy for them to answer your questions, but to ask questions and fairly report the answers people you interview give.
On another note, there were some facts that weren't able to be included in the article that I thought were quite interesting.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s most recent numbers from April, the
neighbourhood’s vacancy rate was 0.7 per cent.
Of the 20,528 2-bedroom apartments in Winnipeg, only 142 were available in April 2011. Of the 1,060
apartments with 3 or more bedrooms, only 5 were available.
13,518 immigrants landed in Manitoba in 2009.
Here is the article I wrote for the Lance.
Housing, services top issues for newcomers
.jpg "Catherine Moss, a teacher in the VM EAL program, helps newcomers who have settled in St. Vital learn English at Glenwood School.")
Catherine Moss, a teacher in the VM EAL program, helps newcomers who have settled in St. Vital learn English at Glenwood School.
PHOTO BY KRYSTALLE RAMLAKHAN A local advocate for immigrants wants candidates in the upcoming provincial election to pay attention to the needs of thousands of newcomers settling in St. Vital every year.
"Most newcomers find work in the beginning and find a place to live they’re happy with and their children go to school and fit in," said Audrey Owens, program manager of the St. Vital-based VM EAL program, which helps newcomers learn English.
"However this is not true of every family, some struggle," said Owens, who has been working to help immigrants settle in St. Vital for 15 years.
Owens said newcomers can struggle if they take longer to learn English, which makes it difficult to find jobs.
They may also struggle with finding affordable housing, she said.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s most recent numbers from April, the neighbourhood’s vacancy rate was 0.7%.
"Morrow Avenue, Bonita Avenue, and Beliveau Road are always full," said Owens.
Mike Brown, the Progressive Conservative candidate for the St. Vital riding, acknowledged affordable housing is "always an issue."
"We can’t invite immigrants without housing being available," said Brown, who noted there will be more housing available when a Manitoba Housing complex currently vacated for repairs reopens.
Brown said programming for immigrants also needs to be examined.
"If we are successful in forming government we will be listening to the experts in all fields, including those related to immigration," he said.
"If we find the services wanting we will ensure those services required by new Canadians are adequate to ensure they make a successful transition to life in Manitoba."
Manitoba Liberal Party candidate Harry Wolbert said he heard from people living in Manitoba Housing on Marlene Street that workers were given three minutes to spray each unit for bed bugs, which he said is not enough time.
To prevent future incidents like this, Wolbert said he would like to see Manitoba Housing turned into co-operative housing where people would collectively own the complex and would have "ownership of day-to-day activities and (a) say in how the complex is run."
Wolbert also said he wants "more money to go towards after school programs and programs run by the community centres to keep kids off the streets."
NDP incumbent Nancy Allan said affordable housing will come to St. Vital through a pledge made in March by the NDP provincial government to build 707 affordable housing units over the next two years in Winnipeg.
Allan said she plans to continue to support programs run through the Salvation Army’s newly-renovated Multicultural Family Centre on Morrow Avenue, which was partly funded by the provincial NDP government, and the Victor Mager Job Re-Entry Program, which provides employment training, academic upgrading and life skills.
People can "get stabilized and get settled into the community," and "learn about life in Manitoba and get job placements," Allan said, referring to the Multicultural Family Centre.
Voters across Manitoba will head to the polls on Oct. 4.
Housing, services top issues for newcomers
Catherine Moss, a teacher in the VM EAL program, helps newcomers who have settled in St. Vital learn English at Glenwood School.
PHOTO BY KRYSTALLE RAMLAKHAN
PHOTO BY KRYSTALLE RAMLAKHAN
A local advocate for immigrants wants candidates in the upcoming provincial election to pay attention to the needs of thousands of newcomers settling in St. Vital every year.
"Most newcomers find work in the beginning and find a place to live they’re happy with and their children go to school and fit in," said Audrey Owens, program manager of the St. Vital-based VM EAL program, which helps newcomers learn English.
"However this is not true of every family, some struggle," said Owens, who has been working to help immigrants settle in St. Vital for 15 years.
Owens said newcomers can struggle if they take longer to learn English, which makes it difficult to find jobs.
They may also struggle with finding affordable housing, she said.
According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s most recent numbers from April, the neighbourhood’s vacancy rate was 0.7%.
"Morrow Avenue, Bonita Avenue, and Beliveau Road are always full," said Owens.
Mike Brown, the Progressive Conservative candidate for the St. Vital riding, acknowledged affordable housing is "always an issue."
"We can’t invite immigrants without housing being available," said Brown, who noted there will be more housing available when a Manitoba Housing complex currently vacated for repairs reopens.
Brown said programming for immigrants also needs to be examined.
"If we are successful in forming government we will be listening to the experts in all fields, including those related to immigration," he said.
"If we find the services wanting we will ensure those services required by new Canadians are adequate to ensure they make a successful transition to life in Manitoba."
Manitoba Liberal Party candidate Harry Wolbert said he heard from people living in Manitoba Housing on Marlene Street that workers were given three minutes to spray each unit for bed bugs, which he said is not enough time.
To prevent future incidents like this, Wolbert said he would like to see Manitoba Housing turned into co-operative housing where people would collectively own the complex and would have "ownership of day-to-day activities and (a) say in how the complex is run."
Wolbert also said he wants "more money to go towards after school programs and programs run by the community centres to keep kids off the streets."
NDP incumbent Nancy Allan said affordable housing will come to St. Vital through a pledge made in March by the NDP provincial government to build 707 affordable housing units over the next two years in Winnipeg.
Allan said she plans to continue to support programs run through the Salvation Army’s newly-renovated Multicultural Family Centre on Morrow Avenue, which was partly funded by the provincial NDP government, and the Victor Mager Job Re-Entry Program, which provides employment training, academic upgrading and life skills.
People can "get stabilized and get settled into the community," and "learn about life in Manitoba and get job placements," Allan said, referring to the Multicultural Family Centre.
Voters across Manitoba will head to the polls on Oct. 4.
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