Blog by John Miller

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When news sucks

July 17th, 2012
"Sucks. No news. What are you people thinking?" That's a pretty devastating initial reaction to the news website just relaunched with much fanfare by Postmedia Network Inc. But you don't know the half of it.When you consider it was supposed to be a key step in what CEO Paul Godfrey called an attempt to "create a new company for a new time,” it's a pretty sad commentary on how newspaper compan ...
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Info blockade

June 1st, 2012
Canada's information commissioner made headlines this week when she handed out low grades to most federal government departments for how they respond to requests for information from members of the public. Of the 18 departments Suzanne Legault rated, four received Cs (average), four received Ds (below average) and three gots Fs (failure). Legault warned that budget cuts could make the situati ...
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End of dailies?

May 25th, 2012
The North American newspaper world came one step closer to its new business model this week -- one that might be described as "Unfit to Print."The New Orleans Times-Picayune, a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily published since 1837, will slash its staff and scale back to three days a week beginning this fall. Although it says it will step up its online presence, at least one-third of its editorial ...
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Hurting our brand

May 10th, 2012
I know of no Canadian journalist who has gotten more blowback on a story than Jan Wong.Nor have many of us paid such a steep price: Prime Minister Harper condemned her publicly as "grossly irresponsible" and "prejudiced," the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion demanding that she apologize to the people of Quebec, she got racist letters and a death threat, her newspaper turned agains ...
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Ford vs. Star

May 3rd, 2012
Somebody -- either the Toronto Star or Mayor Rob Ford, it's not clear who -- declared war on the other some time ago, and now things are getting very, very silly. The latest shot in a campaign that has escalated into farce came when the mayor detected a "trespasser" behind his house after 7 p.m., and ran out to find it was Daniel Dale, one of the Star's city hall reporters. Tempers ran high, ...
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He'll be missed

May 3rd, 2012
I can accept a CBC without Battle of the Blades. I suppose I can even enjoy listening to CBC Radio without Dispatches. But I cannot imagine a CBC without Dan Henry.The latest round of government-ordered budget cuts hit the national network this week, and if J-Source is right, one of them was the bean counters declaring that Henry, CBC's senior legal counsel since 1978, is redundant.Danny Henr ...
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Watchdogs needed

April 15th, 2012
In a new questionnaire about the future of press councils in Canada, we are asked, "In your opinion, how accountable are news organizations to the publics they serve?"I suspect almost no one will answer "very accountable."About the only useful thing you can do if you object to something published in a newspaper these days is (a) write a letter to the editor, or (b) sue them. Success depends o ...
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Plagiarize THIS!

April 6th, 2012
The Anchor Weekly calls itself an "alternative" newspaper, published and distributed for free in the suburban Chestermere area of Calgary. Its motto is "credible news east of the city." More ironically, its website claims that "to reach out to unique people, you need a unique newspaper." For its 10,000 or so readers, the newspaper may or may not be "unique," but its owner, publisher and edit ...
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Bravo, McMaher!

March 5th, 2012
"McMaher," the unlikely team of journalists whose hard work uncovered what might become Canada's Watergate, first met in the Parliamentary Press Gallery’s Hot Room, a large office space for news agencies from across the country on the third floor of Centre Block. They worked for different news organizations. Ottawa Citizen reporter Glen McGregor had been covering Parliament since 1998. Steph ...
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Fun with Ezra

December 30th, 2011
Quick now. Got any plans for the weekend of February 24-26? No? Then you're invited to spend two fun-filled days at an exclusive Muskoka resort. Need we say more? All meals and taxes in, it's yours for just $1,050 per person. But you gotta hurry. Book it after Jan. 16 and the rate shoots up $150. Just think. Instead of staying home and having to shovel your walk, you can spend it poolside m ...
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