Archive for the ‘Portfolio’ Category
Toronto Standard Clippings
For the second half of the summer, I worked at the Toronto Standard as a city hall reporter. This included covering the all-night deputations protesting the service cuts proposed in the KPMG Core Service Review, or “the citizen filibuster.” Here are some of my favourite pieces from my time there, just in case you missed them.
I also did some work for Spacing Radio and CBC’s As It Happens.
Toronto’s “Citizen Filibuster”
The Marathon City Meeting Explained (in 10.5 points)
Toronto
The Arrival of Kristyn Wong-Tam
James Pasternak, a Ford ally, questions the city’s buyout package
Jarvis: A Street in Four Chapters (including reporting from Rob Mackenzie)
Denzil Minnan-Wong and Dave Meslin: Tandem Troubles
The Bloor Cinema: Rocky Horror is a Documentary, Right?
Semantics or Stigma: Councillor Vincent Crisanti wants to revamp “priority neighbourhoods”
When Buying Local Isn’t Enough
Fixed Market Rents and a Youth Club Under Scrutiny
Urban Invaders: What Can Cities Do When Climate Change and Globalization Invites Pests?
Hole-y Toronto: Paul Ainslie’s pothole proposal
Fallen Ashes: the Emerald Ash Borer takes Toronto
Ontario
Ontario 2011: Where could Liberals fall again? (with infographics by me)
Making the Great Rabbit Ears Movie (Donations Accepted)
Food
Canadian digital TV transition lacks leadership
The Department of Canadian Heritage has been slow to promote the transition to digital over-the-air broadcasting because of dithering and delay over promotional campaigns and reluctance from broadcasters.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has ordered the end of analog broadcasting in major markets by August 31, 2011 and an upgrade to digital over-the-air broadcasting.
The end of analog broadcasting will free up part of the broadcast spectrum so new wireless providers can enter the market. However, if Canadians using rabbit ears don’t buy a digital-to-analog converter box, their TVs will go dark on September 1.
Industry experts have long criticized the government’s promotional efforts. Now the government has less than three* five months to warn more than 850,000 Canadian households it estimates receive TV exclusively by antenna.
Documents obtained through Access to Information show the department in charge of coordinating the switchover, Canadian Heritage, was considering a video contest to promote the upgrade, but worried awarding a prize of $20,000 would look bad and that the contest could spread “misinformation.”
“Monetary prizes would encourage participation in the competition,” the memo proposing the contest says. “However, in times of economic uncertainty and government cutbacks, this could be viewed negatively by Canadians and in the media.”
The memo proposing the contest suggests Canadians may have had difficulty explaining the “technical and specific nature” of the transition.
The potential confusion could have ranged from participants creating videos incorrectly saying over-the-air broadcasting was scheduled to stop entirely or confusing the government-ordered transition with similar digital upgrades from cable or satellite providers.
Canadian Heritage confirmed by email the contest, which would have run from December 2010 to March 2011, never happened, but declined requests for an interview.
Michael Janigan, executive director for the Public Interest Advocacy Council, says Canadian Heritage has been asleep at the switch.
“The amount of lethargy that’s been shown, particularly by Canadian Heritage, is remarkable,” Janigan says. “The Canadian government seems to have ignored the lessons of the United States and Europe in promoting their transitions.”
When Americans and Europeans made the switch, governments and industry ran multimedia campaigns on billboards, websites, radio and TV for more than a year prior to the deadline. The U.S. government even provided vouchers for converter boxes – a measure Canadian Heritage has ruled out.
In Canada, the CRTC’s order to broadcast public service announcement only came down March 18 and it doesn’t take effect until May 1 – only four months before the switch.
Janigan says the broadcast regulator has tried to make changes, but it has lacked support from Canadian Heritage.
CRTC documents obtained through Access to Information show the broadcast regulator could not force broadcasters to promote the transition since many already had their licences renewed past the August 31 transition deadline. University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist says this weakened the CRTC.
“The CRTC’s primary mechanism to influence broadcaster activity is through licence renewal.” Geist says. “Obviously, there are other regulations in there for certain violations. It’s license renewal where it holds the hammer more than any other circumstances.”
Broadcasters were expecting government leadership in the transition. CRTC briefing notes show the majority of broadcasters wanted the government to either lead the promotional campaign or pay for it. Geist says broadcasters haven’t been eager partners.
“This transition was one that the broadcasters had very little interest in from the beginning,” Geist says.
Broadcasters can’t charge advertisers or viewers for the switch, so they will lose money paying for the new technology. However, Geist says switching from analog to digital broadcasting may have broader benefits – it will free up frequencies on the broadcast spectrum for new uses such as wireless broadband.
“This represents our best and – possibly, for the foreseeable future – last opportunity to really inject significant new wireless competition in Canada.”
** UPDATED: I edited the story to reflect the current time for the switch. This was an article I pitched to a large news organization, but it was not picked up. Since I wrote this article some DTV transition ads have started airing on major TV networks, though there are still many outstanding issues.
As It Happens
I just finished my six-week internship at CBC Radio’s As It Happens.
I caught the journalism bug volunteering at CIUT 89.5 FM, the community radio station based at the University of Toronto. For someone who loves radio journalism, there are few higher heights than working on one of CBC Radio’s oldest and most beloved shows. It was a thrill and a great learning experience.
I got to pitch my own stories, prepare greens for Carol Off and edit interviews that were heard across Canada and the United States — and pretty much anywhere an As It Happens listener has subscribed to iTunes.
I had the opportunity to work on some great stories. Some of my favourites:
- learning how the woman in Alabama who started a Facebook page to reunite people with their lost photos after April 27 tornadoes in Tuscaloosa was reunited with her long-lost family members
- learning about the sense of injustice in L’Aquila and the loss from the 2009 earthquake while doing a story about the manslaughter charges against the Italian seismologists who didn’t predict the quake
- talking to the Bayview Secondary School student who may have discovered a cure for cystic fibrosis
- talking to cognitive scientists about the Best Illusion Contest
It was a great adventure in radio.
CJTV News: Patio preparations worry residents
It’s pints and patios versus peace and quiet. Some Centretown residents are concerned about the way the city grants permission to bars for patios near residential areas.
By Carolyn Thompson, Heather Yundt, and Matthew Kupfer
Originally posted on CentretownNewsOnline.ca April 4, 2011.
CJTV News: City bilingualism policy embraces French-speaking community
The City of Ottawa recently marked the 10th anniversary of its bilingualism policy.
By Heather Yundt, Matthew Kupfer, and Carolyn Thompson
Originally posted on CentretownNewsOnline.ca March 28, 2011.
CJTV News: Libyan-Canadians draw hope from intervention
Libyan-Canadians in Ottawa are following the intervention in Libya closely. They’re organizing to support what they call a worthy cause.
By Matthew Kupfer, Carolyn Thompson, Heather Yundt
Originally posted on CentretownNewsOnline.ca March 24, 2011.
CJTV News: Cyclists battle bumpy roads
Spring is here and Ottawa’s potholes are already in full bloom. For cyclists in Centretown, that means dodging and weaving between cars and the curb
By Carolyn Thompson, Matthew Kupfer, Heather Yundt
Originally posted on CentretownNewsOnline.ca March 23, 2011. If you are interested in a peek at how the story was made or learning about Kate Hunt and her bike Mike, click here.
What’s the fate of Ottawa’s U-Pass?
Originally posted to OpenFile.ca on January 28, 2011. Comments? Join the conversation at OpenFile Ottawa.
Interim transit commission chair Diane Deans says the city plans to fund its U-Pass for post-secondary students for another year, but then cut the $3-million dollar subsidy in 2012.
The cuts would be part of a broader program to cut costs at OC Transpo. The draft budget calls for $7.2 million in cuts in 2011, and $23 million in 2012. Deans explained the subsidy is being maintained this year in part so that students can respond.
“The recommendation currently contained in the budget is to extend the discounted pass for another year to give the university campuses the opportunity to hold a referendum,” Deans said after city council met on Jan. 26. “So then in 2012, we would be looking—if we’re going to have a U-Pass at all—to have it on a cost-recovery basis.”
“It’s not that we’d be profiting or anything else from it, it would still be a significant discount over the current student pass rate,” she says. “And it would be a semester pass. But it wouldn’t ask our other taxpayers to subsidize $3 million from cost.”
For the city to recover the cost of a U-Pass, Deans says students would have to pay $175 per semester.
The current fee is $145 a semester, or $290 for one academic year. The fee increase would mean a 20.7 percent jump in transit costs for students. Most students can’t opt out of the current U-Pass program.
If the fee increase is not approved in a referendum on university campuses, the program could be scrapped entirely.
There are pockets of vocal opposition to the U-Pass on both campuses. A small group of University of Ottawa students launched a suit in small claims court against their student union over the U-Pass. Carleton University student and 2010 mayoral candidate Charlie Taylor has also been a vocal opponent of the pass.
The pass may have a defender on council. Rideau-Vanier councillor Mathieu Fleury represents the area that includes the University of Ottawa. He says the goals of having the U-Pass—increasing transit ridership and forming good habits—are more important in the long run.
Fleury says he thinks the U-Pass fees should increase so students cover a fair share of transit costs, but the discount serves an important policy goal. He says the city should not think of revenue foregone as a subsidy, since the U-Pass has attracted so many new riders.
“OC Transpo hasn’t increased service based on this U-Pass project,” Fleury said. “So that means no extra cost on that end. What we’re doing is printing more passes for more users.”
According to the city, the U-Pass has increased transit ridership among university students to an all-time high. Since the pilot project was introduced last September, transit use on both campuses has increased by 35 percent. Overall ridership has increased by 1.35 million.
Prediction Decoding with Dan Gardner
Published January 5, 2011 at EYEWEEKLY.com. Click here for the original article.
In the past week, we’ve all switched gears from reviews of 2010 to previews of 2011. So we figured that, while others gaze into their crystal balls, we’d try to provide some crystal clarity. Dan Gardner, the Ottawa-based author of Future Babble, is a high-profile debunker of predictions of all kinds: his book explains why we can’t trust anyone—especially experts—who claims to be able to see the future. Here, Gardner describes five types of predictors to watch out for.
THE DEDUCER
Economists and bankers at major banks have released their predictions for 2011. Good news: they predict “moderate” economic growth. Before the 2008 recession, however, they said much the same —some even predicted a boom. The problem is that economic predictions work by drawing a straight line out from the status quo, Gardner says. So they can rarely tell when a surprise—like a recession or a recovery—is coming. “They’re most wrong when [it’s] most important and they’re most right when [it’s] least important.”
THE FORGETTER
The former CIBC economist and author of Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller told the Toronto Star that we’ll see triple-digit oil prices in 2011. “At the beginning of 2010, Jeff Rubin said in 2010 oil will rise into triple digits,” Gardner says. “At the beginning of 2009, he said the same. In 2008, he issued a forecast which said by 2010 oil would be up to $200 a barrel. So time after time, he’s wrong. Time after time, he simply forgets what he said in the past.… He’s the perfect example of the kind of expert we should be running away from screaming.”
THE DREAMWEAVER
Toronto’s resident urbanism guru recently wrote, “The good news is that creative-class jobs will continue to grow and provide high-wage, high-skill employment for a large and significant share of the American workforce.” Gardner says: “Richard Florida is a classic example of an expert who is extremely articulate, a wonderful storyteller, and he always has an answer—or at least he thinks so. He uses the same framework; it doesn’t matter if events change. [Experts like Florida] can never be proven wrong. They’ll find some way to rationalize events so they fit their formula.”
THE SPECULATOR
Gardner says, “Next time you see a pollster or columnist make a prediction, look for their track record.” We have to admit, ours isn’t so good. Like most Toronto media, EYE WEEKLY didn’t give Rob Ford a chance until halfway through the recent mayoral race (though we did write about his mayoral ambitions way back in 2006). Remember when George Smitherman was a shoe-in? Political speculation is part of filling the “news hole” in the 24/7 news cycle, Gardner says. And speculation about when the next federal elections will happen? “That’s just lazy punditry.”
THE LUCKY GUESSER
The all-seeing cephalopod, Paul the Octopus, correctly predicted the winner of every one of Germany’s games in the 2010 World Cup, and also that Spain would win the final. Gardner says, “This story underlines the very important point that pure randomness, i.e. luck, can account not only for the occasional correct prediction, but even for a streak of successful predictions. Unless, of course, you argue that octopi have the capacity to predict international sporting events—in which case you’re nuts.”
Knockin’ on Malvern’s Door
View the article as it appeared on EYE WEEKLY’s website. Originally published December 15, 2010.
After Mayor Rob Ford announced Transit City was “over,” a group of activists trying to save the transit plan took to the streets of the central city, at Yonge and Eglinton. A week later, on Dec. 11, the campaign moved to Malvern, an area that would directly benefit from the plan to be axed, and an area that voted for Ford. (Mayor Ford’s proposed subway expansion that would replace Transit City, meanwhile, would leave the Malvern transit situation roughly where it is now, which is the middle of nowhere.) Sixteen volunteers—people who grew up in Malvern, transit advocates from across the city and candidates from the last election—set off in pairs that day, determined to bring the conversation to the people’s doorsteps. We tagged along with two of them to see how the debate is playing out in the inner suburbs.
Where: Horseshoe Crescent and Glanvil Crescent, northeast of Malvern Town Centre (Neilson and Tapscott)
The Canvassers: Patrick Cameron, is a 28-year-old former bike courier from Queen and Ossington. As a “white guy who has downtown written all over him,” he expected to be treated with skepticism. Luke Fraser is a 21-year-old Ryerson University urban- planning student who lives near Davisville and Bayview. “My goal is to get a resident to send an email.”
“Who are we supposed to go to now?”
Angela Edward-Davis (above) was with her kids at home, holiday music playing, when Fraser came knocking. She was looking forward to the Sheppard LRT easing her and her husband’s daily commutes. She works at the McDonald’s at Markham and Progress and he is a chef at a downtown university. “We take the bus every morning at 5:30am,” she said. After voting for both Mayor Ford and Councillor Cho, she was disappointed when she heard her councillor no longer supports Transit City. “Who are we supposed to go to when there’s something like this?”
“There’s never wasted money on a subway”
Michael Sheridan (above right), a TTC driver, debated Cameron for 20 minutes. “For young guys like yourselves, you should be thinking down the line,” Sheridan said, adding that the Scarborough RT is a prime example of a Band-Aid solution that is going to be a problem in the next five years. “If they were as short-sighted 50 years ago, in 1953… where would we be now without that subway?” Cameron responded that the Sheppard line is a massive financial drain on the whole system. A subway, he said, needs dense neighbourhoods and financial support. “We can argue about what mode of transportation would be the best or the fastest, but it’s about what’s doable,” Cameron said.
“The problem is Sunday drivers…”
Cameron found another debate around the corner. The resident was working on his white Audi sedan and had two other cars in his driveway. He said traffic problems come from inept “Sunday drivers” and the solution is building transit underground. He said he didn’t vote in the last election and he thinks unemployment—especially for young guys like Cameron—is a more important issue than transit.
A convert
A smiling man answered the door, eager to sign the petition. “This is ‘Stop Transit City,’” he said, as a young boy poked his head out from behind him. Cameron quickly corrected him: the petition was to save Transit City. “Rob Ford says avoid the traffic,” the man said, still smiling. Cameron said that Ford’s subway would not serve this neighbourhood and Transit City would. He added that work on Transit City has already begun. “The system is already started; that would be a waste,” the man said, nodding. He signed the petition, pushed the boy back in and quickly closed his door.
A Canvass in Numbers
119: Houses on Horseshoe and Glanvil
17: Signatures from Horseshoe and Glanvil
16: Total Volunteers
153: Total Signatures from Saturday’s Canvass
