Murray Brewster, defence correspondent for the Canadian Press news wire wrote a book about Canada's involvement in Afghanistan since 2002 called The Savage War. That's the first thing that worked for me about the book, the fact that he wrote it.

I didn't know how involved Canada was in the war in Afghanistan, and I suspect that many other Canadians didn't either. The Savage War opened up my eyes to something I feel was pretty under reported in Canada: that Canadian soldiers were in Afghanistan and they weren't just peacekeeping, they were pretty much involved in a full fledged war.

Canadian bases were targeted by the Taliban. Canadian soldiers had to fear for their lives. They were getting blown up and many of them lost their lives.

Although the book was amazing at telling me things I never knew before, there are some things I would have liked such as a map and a glossary. I'm not super familiar with middle east geography and I think the type of audience that is reading this book isn't either, so a map to all the things referred to in the book would have been very helpful.

Again, as someone who isn't really familiar with the army and ranks, it would have been nice to have a glossary of the all the titles and acronyms Brewster uses such as LAV and FOB. It also would have been nice to have an explanation of the military language often quoted and used in the book.

I didn't like the way Brewster portrayed many of the females in the book. When describing other journalists and media he would say that maybe a male cameraman snored too loud, but when describing female journalists he revealed details such as one didn't close the curtain when she changed and that one claimed she wasn't leaving until she hooked up with a soldier. To me, these are caricatures of women. An example of Brewster stereotyping women is on page 68:

"The fact that Goddard now sat before me in the middle of war zone seemed both remarkable and gently inspiring. It was evident by the conversation that she fussed over them; several times she referred to team as "my crew." 

I don't think he needed to describe her as "gently inspiring." I think if it was a man, he might have been described as just inspiring. Using the word "fussed" seems to devalue he concern for crew as it sounds like a worrying mother. 

Journalists can learn a lot from The Savage War, especially in chapter 20. I learned that reporting on a war can very frustrating, and not just because of what is happening in the war. I thought it was very interesting how much the communications people from the army tried to control the media. The part about a young communications office telling the media that they better write positive stories or else they would lose access to the soldiers was astounding and frustrating. I couldn't imagine being half way across the world, knowing that certain stories need to be told and being threatened not to tell them at the same time. I do think Brewster was very honest about the situation for media in Afghanistan. I learned a lot about war correspondent reporting and I liked those details.

The Savage War made me realize all that I didn't know about the war in Afghanistan and everything that the Canadian army went though. I'm ashamed at my ignorance or something so huge going on with our country. I also felt Brewster's frustration when communications people bullied him such as when they wanted the media to report on reconstruction in the country when he saw there was no plan to.

Recently I've also watched Desert Lions, which is a documentary that was made in Afghanistan during the war. I was skeptical of it since it was paid for the army and made by Mike Vernon, a reservist to the Canadian army. But, I thought the documentary didn't shy away from showing the struggles the Canadians dealt with such as dealing with Afghan culture and even the death of soldiers.

The main difference between the two is obviously visuals. Although I do love the pictures in The Savage War, it's nothing like the shaky video in Desert Lions that really showed what it's like for troops in Afghanistan. The other difference I found was that while Desert Lions based its plots around more personal stories of the stories and their interaction with the Afghan army, the path of the storyline was centered around more politics in The Savage War.

Issues are Issues No Matter Who You Are

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20111214/attawapiskat-abuse-grandstanding-111214/

Click the link above. It's a story on women coming forward about sexual abuse they've faced on reserves. They say it's a prevalent problem across the country.

"Attawapiskat is just a small representation of what's happening at our aboriginal communities across Canada," said one of the women in the story.

After two brave women came out with their story, more women started to come forward.

According to stats on http://www.iamakindman.ca/IAKM/wisdom.html a study by the Ontario Native Women’s Association found:

8 out of 10 Aboriginal women in Ontario had personally experienced family violence. In other words, Aboriginal women are eight times more likely to suffer abuse than women in society at large. Of those women, 87% had been injured physically and 57% had been sexually abused (Health Canada, 1997);

In some northern Aboriginal communities, it is believed that between 75% and 90% of women are battered;

Children witness more than half of the violence that occurs between the adults in the home and are also targeted for abuse, especially sexual crimes, with up to three-quarters of Aboriginal girls under the age of 18 having been sexually assaulted.

In summary, these statistics estimate that, at a minimum, 25% of Aboriginal women experience violence at the hands of an intimate partner; however, in some communities, that figure can be as high as 80-90%. In most instances, this abuse happens repeatedly and involves serious physical harm, as well as psychological and emotional abuse. It is also important to realize that up to half of the men report that a family member has abused them. They are much less likely, however, to experience physical injury at the hands of their spouses than are women.

Match those stats with the fact that sexual and violent abuse among non-aboriginal girls and women the rate is closer to 20 per cent.

Some results of this kind of abuse are are suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, gas sniffing and more violence.


We discussed this issue with Colleen Simard, an aboriginal columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and a CreComm grad. The topic seemed like a natural progression since her adorable new daughter was with with her.

Simard said she did worry about her daughter, since Aboriginal women statistically are more vulnerable. She said she didn't want what happened to her, abusive relationships, to happen to her daughter.

To me, this epidemic makes me feel the way I did when we went to see Where Are the Children, a photo exhibit currently at the University of Manitoba. The exhibit displays photos from mostly  residential schools across the country. As the curator said residential schools are one of Canada's dirty little secrets, I think this issue is too. Aboriginal women are abused at an alarmingly high rate and many people don't know, just like many people didn't know about residential schools in Canada.

This blog post is supposed to be about an Aboriginal issue for an assignment. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable talking and writing about "Aboriginal issues." I personally don't like defining stories or issues as Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. I don't really think about stories in that way. I think when we start to divide stories into Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal we start to make a divide among people, which isn't good.

I think it's also because we've been taught in j school to tell a story about a murder the same way we would a fundraiser, by emphasizing the personal human story attached to the event. Yes, this story is about Aboriginal women being abused on reserves, but I wouldn't identify it as a Aboriginal story. I'd identify it as a Canadian story that we all need to care about and and be aware of.

I understand that it is important to be culturally aware when telling a story that involves or impacts an Aboriginal person, but I think by reporting on the story as one would any other story is the way to go. I think it's important to not be intimidated by "Aboriginal stories" because First Nations, Aboriginal, native, Metis, etc. people are not different from anyone else.

Push...with a Smile

Sometimes great stories just come to you. Sometimes it's just luck. In the words of a reporter I shadowed the other week, "The journalism gods blessed me. This story just fell right into my lap."

But, good stories usually don't fall out of the sky and onto one's paper or into one's camera. What I have learned is that even if an amazing story is easily found, it's always good to push...with a smile of course. Anyone can hear a great story, but what I think a journalist does is push for that extra detail or better shot, which makes the story all that much more compelling.

I've found that it is even more important to push when it seems like there's no more information to be learned while doing a story. I learned this recently when I called the cops for some information on some car accidents and a reported sudden death while interning at a television news station.

I called and the police didn't give me much. With the little information I had I started writing voiceovers. They weren't good. They had no detail and contained nothing for a viewer or person to care about. So, I called back and pushed, with a polite, but firm tone.

I got the information I needed. It was awkward as a young journalist, calling the cops for the first time, surrounded by an experienced news room that could hear my every word. But, by digging a little deeper and taking the time to ask questions I did what I needed to do to make my story better. Not just for me, but for the person watching, which is the whole point of the news.

We've also learned in school that people will often do things if you're firm, but polite. If I need someone to go outside for an interview I know now that I should just ask. There's no harm because the worse they can say is no.

It's often people's jobs to give interviews or give information, so go ahead. Ask questions, in a polite way, and push nicely if you need more.

Keeping it Interesting

I feel like a lot of sports journalists get flak. They get flak from the players when they ask questions. They get flak for the kind of questions they ask from the fans. I can just see the look on player's faces as a microphone or recorder is stuck in their face. They just want to work hard and earn millions of dollars

But I as a journalist in training, I feel for the sports j people. I can see how games can get monotonous. That's why the reporters ask crazy questions because how many questions can you ask about a goal or even worse another loss. Even though I know a lot of people who want to work in sports journalism, it seems like a thankless job.

That's why I think there's a real art to sports journalism. Game after similar game, journalists have to come up with a new and interesting way to tell a story about the game. I think sports journalism takes a person who is passionate and looks at telling stories through sports, not just reporting on the game.

Journalism can't just be words on a page

In the highly visual and interactive world we live in, it's obvious journalism has to move in the same way and interpret information for people visually. A good place to get information that can be a story with a visual component is Stats Canada.

I found some information about travelers to Canada, excluding the United States. I thought it was interesting to see how many people and from what country visit Canada. I think this information could be used as a story about tourism to Canada: what countries visit Canada the most or who is spending their tourism money in Canada. I also thought this information was interesting too because it's pretty recent. It' from 2011, which is up to date compared to some of the information on Stats Canada.

So here is the chart I found:

Country of residence	2011
	July	August	September	October	November
Total travellers from Europe	193,519	191,745	196,759	195,948	199,285
Total travellers from Africa	7,629	8,067	8,129	8,304	8,162
Total travellers from Asia	111,838	112,149	107,879	106,958	109,861
Total travellers from North America, Central America and Caribbean	24,953	26,017	26,758	26,976	27,709
Total travellers from South America	15,683	14,990	15,786	15,576	14,397
Total travellers from Oceania and other Ocean Islands	25,672	24,902	25,816	25,179	23,875

But looking at these numbers in a chart isn't that exciting. So I put the numbers into Google fusion tables and this is what I got:

This one didn't work out so well...

I thought an intensity map would actually work the best for this data, but it didn't seem to be working for me when I put in my data. I think it's because I maybe needed to refine my locations, which just goes to show that visualization is a special skill that takes some knowledge and work.

That's Not a Story

I'm always asking people to tell me their stories. But sometimes people pitch things that really aren't stories. Or sometimes people pitch stories without mentioning what is relevant or news, so I thought I'd give a little list on what I look for in a story:

1) What is new? Sure your organization might be great and do great things, but what have you done lately that is new. You can't spell news without new.

2) How does the story you're pitching affect people? Are you a non-profit who helps people? Where are those people, because they're really the story and who I want to speak with when I do the story.

3) Do you have any sources to back up your story? One can say the government is corrupt and that an elected official is a crook, but where are the goods to back it up? People who won't speak on record and generalized comments about people aren't great sources for stories. And editors really don't like nameless sources.

4) Think about who you're pitching the story to. Right now I freelance for community news outlets. Although I'd love to write every story, sometimes I just don't have an outlet. If you really want your story covered think about which outlet you're pitching it too.

So please keep the pitches coming. I'm always looking for story ideas and I hope that the list above gives an idea of what goes through my head when listening to story ideas.

Bridge in St. Vital still Just an Idea

South Winnipeg residents are already passionately airing their concerns about a proposed footbridge connecting St. Vital to the University of Manitoba.  

Kelsey Cram, a law student at the University of Manitoba, attended a heated community meeting on the issue January 26.

Cram said main concerns were people parking in St. Vital to use the bridge on Bomber game days and the potential loss of community gardens at St. Amant, which is one of the areas identified for a crossing by the MMM Group who is doing consultations for the city.

“I hope people can stay open minded about the benefits to the people in the community and that there are things we can do to reduce any negative impacts,” said Cram.

Justin Swandel, councillor for St. Norbert, proposed a footbridge in 2008.

“The plans are still in the consulting stage,” said Swandel.

The Lance reported there is no money in the budget to build a bridge according to St. Vital Councillor Brian Mayes.

According to the agenda from the meeting, there are five possible locations for a crossing: St. Amant, Minnetonka School, Henteleff Park, across the river from the former Southwood Golf and Country Club and across the river from King’s Park.

Nancy Cooke, the spokesperson for the Minnetonka Residents Association, which held the meeting, said it’s “important to have people be part of the planning process.”

Kayla Cruickshank, a student at the University of Manitoba, thinks a footbridge could improve transportation to the University of Manitoba.

“It will help the people living in the area like me who can see their building across the river in a five minute walk and avoid 20 minutes of unnecessary traffic every morning and spending money on gas and parking. I also think it will actually decongest the traffic that is already going down University Crescent, which is so annoying. It might also help the parking issues the university has,” said Cruickshank.

Public interactive displays will be held February 8 at Dakota Community Centre and February 9 at the University of Manitoba from 4 to 8 p.m. by the MMM Group and the city.

Kenn Rosin, project manager with the City of Winnipeg public works department, said people will have the chance to give their opinions on how south St. Vital can be connected to the University of Manitoba, including the possibility of a closed in gondola that would transport people across the river.

“We want the input of as many people as possible. The idea is still on a very conceptual level,” said Rosin.

Back to Blogging

I haven't been posting lately. That's because I've been on work placement for the last three weeks at Shaw TV. It was such an amazing experience and I learned a lot. And you know how I learned so much? By taking criticism. And not just taking criticism, but seeking it out. Asking for it at every turn, even if I didn't want to hear it sometimes. 

No one likes to take criticism. It's not natural to ask, "what's wrong with what I did?" But I think to become a better journalist it is necessary, so I've trained myself to ask for criticism on my work as much as possible. I know that writing for TV is a new skill for me, so the only way I can learn is to know what I need to improve on is my thought. 

As our broadcast journalism instructor and real life TV reporter, Joanne Kelly, has said to us, "If you think you've done a perfect story you might as well leave the business." I even remember John Lu from TSN telling us that he wasn't satisfied with his stories until a couple years into his career. 

As the perfectionist I am, I have to admit that I almost didn't believe them, but I definitely understand their advice now. If I do think a story is perfect, I can always ask for some feedback to find out why it is most certainly not. 

And I have to admit, I think that's why I love TV writing so much. It can always be better. There can always be a better quote or image or stand up. I think it makes working in TV an exciting career because there's always more to learn and higher to strive. 

So, as uncomfortable as it can feel, I encourage every journalist to ask for critiques on their work. And on the other side, don't forget to recognize your colleagues work too. A little compliment can make someone's day after all the criticism they're asking for all day.