Journalism

Open letter to The Muse

/ andyveilleux / Leave a comment

This email was sent out Sunday morning [April 1, 2012] to members of The Muse and the Canadian University Press.

My fellow Musers,

It was with great anger and sadness that I received a phone call from Jessie last night [Saturday, March 31] informing me I would not be given a position with our newspaper next year. While my qualms about the ridiculous nature of our hiring policy have been publicly known all year, I would have never guessed that such a blatant example of their failings would be presented this year. I was unfortunate enough to be interviewed by our current Editor-in-Chief and Business Manager, who seem to be unable to put the events of NASH – which I did nothing wrong at, and represented us proudly at – behind them. For these reasons, I was passed over for not only the Editor-in-Chief job, but for ANY job at the paper next year.
You have all worked with me this year, and you know the passion I have for journalism. You also all know that I am willing to help at any time, and that I am friendly in the news room and outside of it. My commitment to The Muse is unwavering, and I made that clear in both the EIC interview, and the interview for other positions. This hiring process has not selected the best individuals for the job, but the people who got along best with the EIC and Business Manager, and answered their beck and call. This became painfully obvious to me over the past week with this round of hiring.
The reason I was given for not being hired for the EIC job was that JMB took more of a leadership role with the referendum. The referendum had nothing to do with journalism, and was a PR event best left to our Business Manager, but I still helped a little with it. Journalism is not about getting students to vote for us. Journalism is about bringing the information to students, and writing stories geared towards. Journalism is about digging for information students need to know, but are not being given by the institutions that should be transparent. The battle of Paul with both MUNSU and MUN PR are evidence of that. Unfortunately, Paul also had to battle with the “leadership” of the paper on occasion, which is counter-productive. Our pro-MUNSU feature earlier in the year, and having Michael Walsh as part of “The Muse” in his column reek of too close of a relationship with student government. We got far too buddy-buddy with them during our referendum as well, which is something that shocked me.
This paper doesn’t need cheerleaders, it needs grunt who are willing to knock on doors and put their feet to the pavement for stories. I do both of those things, and I love doing them. This email isn’t a missile aimed at the hiring committee. It is however, a statement of how botched the hiring was, and how we did not get the best employees for the job due to politics.
Explain how someone with a year inside a professional newsroom, a year as an assistant editor, two years as Editor-In-Chief, who also freelances for Canadian Press did not get ANY job within our newsroom. Searching for answers? He is my brother.
Also think about how someone who has worked with magazines, newspapers, news wires, online news sources, television, blogs, and every form of publishable media across Canada for three+ years did not get a job – not even his incumbent job as Sports Editor, which was given to his understudy of a few months – in our newsroom. That person was me. My experience did not matter, because the decision was made before I put on my tie and dress clothes, and trudged my way into MUN campus.
If there is one thing journalists should never do, it is stand by quietly and merely be observers. We write about injustice, we seek out injustice. In this case, injustice is in our backyard. That being said, I have fought injustice wherever I could in my life and this is no different. I wanted to make my fight public, because I know some of you will support me, although others may not feel comfortable doing so for political reasons. I am not chastising anyone for choosing a side, and I do not want anyone replying to this thread. I would hope that those supporting me will contact me personally, and I will keep your support private.
I also wanted to make this public, because this fight will probably be a long one. I will be reviewing the constitution (which I am here asking for a digital copy of), discussing the matter with the Board of Directors, and also seeking answers at MUN HR.
I want The Muse to be the best that it can be, and this hiring process has botched that. I will be doing anything in my power to make sure The Muse can improve its reputation next year, and I know most of you feel the same.
Sincerely,
Andy Veilleux
Sports Editor of The Muse

#nash74 sick numbers

/ andyveilleux / 4 Comments

Update: 156 sick from 54 papers+ CUP. Just waiting on NAIT Nugget. (1:12am NST).

Update: 153 sick from 53 papers and CUP. Waiting on NAIT Nugget and The Other Press (12:01pm NST).

Update: 152 sick from 52 papers and CUP, waiting on stats from The Campus, NAIT Nugget and The Other Press. (5:51pm NST)

Update: 151 sick from 51 papers + CUP. Still waiting on four different papers’ sick numbers (NAIT Nugget, Argosy, The Campus, The Other Press). (3:56pm NST)

Update: 150 sick from 50 papers + CUP. Only five more papers to account for. (1:48pm NST)

Update: 147 sick from 46 papers + CUP. (4:00pm NST)

Update: 140 sick from 46 papers + CUP. Just waiting on a few papers still… (1:24pm NST)

Update: 139 sick from 46 papers + CUP staff. Waiting on eight papers only! (4:18am NST)

Update: 138 sick from 43 papers, plus CUP staff. Number is getting massive, and still waiting on eleven papers for numbers. (10:05pm NST)

Update: 114 sick from 38 papers. (1:23pm NST)

Update: 109 sick from 36 papers and CUP staff. I have now contacted every paper and am awaiting responses, the papers that don’t respond in a few days I will call again. If any of you know the papers mentioned, please contact them also and get them to contact me please. Thanks everyone for the help! (8:08am NST)

Update: 101 sick, from 35 papers, including the CUP staff. Still waiting on many papers, the ones with “…” are still not accounted for, and the “x” beside it means i’ve contacted them and am waiting. The rest I am contacting this morning still. Cheers for all the support and patience. Keep it going! (4:47 am NST)

Update: I got rid of some duplicates in my numbers, and have now added every paper that attended the conference, thanks to @godmere (Emma Godmere) for the official paper list. The papers followed by “….” are the ones I don’t yet have any stats for. (2:54 am NST) 84 sick, 33 papers

Here are my current numbers, I will provide updates as consistenly as I can. I’m still trying to track down about 20 papers. That being said, the original estimate I had of 100 students, which seemed incredible at the time, seems like it was underestimated! Stay tuned.
aquinian 7 sick 3 healthy
argosy 1 sick 2 healthy
argus 1 sick 2 health
athenaeum 1 healthy
baron 1 sick
BCIT Link 1 sick
brock press 1 sick 1 healthy
brunswickian 1 sick, 8 healthy
campus 1 sick, 2 healthy
caper times 1 sick, 1 healthy
capilano courier 9 sick, 6 healthy
Carillon 2 sick, 5 healthy
cascade 3 sick 12 healthy
concordian all healthy
cord 13 sick, 10 healthy
crown 1 sick
excalibur 1 sick
eye opener 1 sick
fulcrum 12 sick, 12 healthy
gateway 4 sick, 10 healthy
gauntlet 5 sick, others healthy
gradzette 1 healthy
griff 4 healthy
imprint 3 sick, 7 healthy
interrobang 2 sick 0 healthy
lambda 2 healthy
lance 2 sick 1 healthy
le collectif 4 sick, 1 healthy
le delit 2 sick
link 4 sick, 4 healthy
macmedia 1 sick
manitoban 2 sick, 5 healthy
martlet 6 sick
mcgill daily 2 sick, 2 healthy
meliorist 6 healthy
mike 1 sick
muse 5 sick, 1 healthy
nait nugget ….. x
navigator 2 sick, 1 healthy
nexus 2 sick, 6 healthy
omega 2 sick, 6 healthy
other press 3 sick
overtheedge 2 sick 3 healthy
peak 6 sick, 10 healthy
phoenix news 4 sick, 6 healthy
quill 1 healthy
runner 7 sick 2 healthy
ryerson free press 1 sick 1 healthy
sheaf 7 sick, 5 healthy
silhouette 4 sick 3 healthy
sputnik 1 sick 1 healthy
strand 2 sick 1 healthy
ubyssey 7 sick
weal one sick
xaverian 2 healthy

54 papers accounted for 149 sick
cup 7 sick out of 14

Stories in sports reporting

/ andyveilleux / Leave a comment

It’s easy to go to a game, mark down the score-lines, the significant moments, and how every big play breaks down. It’s time consuming, but easy nonetheless.
It’s also basic to talk to the coach, a few players, and get some quotes to go along with your story.
Granted, there are long days with sports reporting. Some weekends you pound out a few articles a day, attend a handful of games each day, and run around like a chicken with its head cut off.
The difficult part is picking up on the stories behind the action. These are often referred to as human interest.
Now, sports reporting is not the same as it was. I am not beckoning for some past era of sports reporting, when Hunter S. Thomson drove Cadillacs while hopped up on handfuls of drugs, or anything of the sort.
It’s rare to get the true human interest pieces now. Sure, you get the stories about an athlete like Tim Thomas, and his hard road to the NHL, and the Stanley Cup> You stillg et some of it. My issue is that we aren’t getting enough of it. Stories make sports interesting to everybody, not just sports fans.
I believe anyone can read about someone like Thomas, and be interested. Someone can read about the age-defying Teemu Selanne and be inspired, not just because they like hockey.
However, the feature side of reporting seems to be drying up. It is the joy of sports reporting, and it is shrinking. I read a tonne of game summaries, and the hard news of sports; it’s my job, but it’s also my passion. I long for more sports features. Occasionally, one comes across an article, and video, like the BBC produced interview with Joe Cole. This is a short interview, but it reveals a lot about the athlete and the culture around soccer in England and France.

These are the sort of stories we need more of in journalism, and not jut with sports. Last night I had a great conversation with a man who had 17 years of journalism experience before stepping away from the field. He now works as an independent film-maker and makes corporate communication pieces. He enjoys making documentaries, because he gets to dive into a story and swim around awhile. He can wade around the water, dive to the bottom of the pool, or try and climb out wherever he would like.

Story-tellers need the space to tell the story fully and in their own way. Modern-day journalism focuses on quick hits, and hour-by-hour updates, as opposed to the whopping features and deep-digging stories of old. Some people say the audience has changed, and they no longer read the lengthy features. Some say the industry no longer funds journalists to write long stories. I believe complacency plays a role as well. I’ve seen a lot of journalists who are willing to call it in from the office, or get their quick story and get out. I’ve even heard ghastly rumours of template-using sports reporter.

In truth, there is a combination of things. Morale among journalists is low, funding is brutal, and maybe the audience has become less interested. There is no easy solution, but this is a plea for more consistent effort from all my colleagues in sport writing. Keep writing, and I’ll keep reading ladies and gentlemen.

Finding my way as a Newfoundlander

/ andyveilleux / 3 Comments

Many Canadians will read the headline for this post, and instantly think of that six-letter word – newfie – which I have intentionally left out in favour of the politically-correct term.

While the word has always been something I have used in an endearing, affectionate manner, it is not often regarded as such by people hailing from Newfoundland. It isn’t akin to violently-offensive racist descriptions, but it also isn’t welcome. A solid post about the term can be found by Candice, a native Newfoundlander, over at Candice Does the World, so I won’t rant too much about the topic.

Now that we have taken care of that thought-progression, let’s get to the meat of this post – my experiences living in Newfoundland.

To begin, I will establish a timeline.

I moved here to attend MUN’s Humanities program – which drew me in from Sudbury, Ontario – on August 30. 2011. I viewed and selected a condo on September 1, 2001 with my love, Melanie Langlais. Notice the word ‘condo,’ which begs the question of how I am living in a condo as a student.

In terms of work, I accepted the job of Sports Editor with The Muse in the latter stages of the summer. I picked up a second job as a Graduate Assistant for my program shortly after arriving. I kept freelancing for my old paper, The Lambda. I took on a new job as a freelance writer for the Canadian Press covering the St. John’s IceCaps (see an example of that here), which is an entire-season contract, similar to my work for them last year as the Sudbury Wolves’ reporter. Today, I accepted another position that I can not announce yet, but it involves sports writing as well.

So I’m working something like five jobs, although an exact number gets a bit hazy when it comes to freelancing. I manage this along with being a full-time grad student. In a simple statement; I’ve been busy. I have also been saner and more-organized in the past, but some things must be sacrificed in the name of productivity.

I have found the amount of help given to me by certain individuals has been helpful for me, professionally and socially. On a professional level, I would like to thank Neil Davidson of CP, Dr. Jennifer Dyer from MUN’s Humanities program, and Shayne Menecola of MUN’s varsity athletics. Socially, I would like to thank the staff at The Muse, particularly Jessie Small, Marie King, Tim O’Brien and Paul Hussey, who I have become fast friends with. I would like to thank MUN soccer coach Scott Betts, who was the first person I met with upon arrival, and who has provided great conversation about the beautiful game and life. I would like to send a special thanks to my fellow IceCaps reporters, who have made the  job more enjoyable, and especially humorous. I would also like to thank Mike Rossiter of CBC who has been great to talk shop, and life, with.

A careful combination of professional and social life has led to a happy and productive life so far on the Eastern shores of Canada. I have now been here for close to three months, and although I am excited to return home to visit with my family and friends, St. John’s does feel like home  for me.

cowardice and irrelevance in journalism

/ andyveilleux / 2 Comments

Today a speech by Russian journalist Leonid Parfyonov at a Russian media awards ceremony was brought to my attention. He speaks about the state of Russian journalism, and the lack of a free press in Russia. These journalists are risking their lives to perform their public duty, and here in Sudbury, many journalists and editors don't seem to care either way. I quote (at length), from Parfonov:

"I speak with bitterness, having worked for Russian television full-time or freelance for 24 years. I have no right to blame any of my colleagues: not being a hero myself, I cannot demand heroic deeds from others. But the least we can do is call a spade a spade.  Current affairs programmes on television are doubly embarrassing when compared to the obvious successes of big TV shows and our homegrown school of soap opera. Our television is getting increasingly sophisticated at providing thrills, fascination, entertainment and at making us laugh, but it hardly deserves the title of a civic social and political institution. I am convinced that one of the main reasons for a dramatic fall in viewing figures among the most active part of the population is the fact that people from our circles are saying: why should I turn on the box, they’re not doing it for me!

What is even worse is that most people no longer have any need for journalism.  He got beaten up, so what?  All sorts of people get beaten up these days, so why all this fuss just because of a reporter?  Judging by this type of bewildered response millions of people in our country do not understand that a journalist takes professional risks for the sake of his audience. A journalist does not get beaten up because of what he has written, said or filmed. He gets beaten up because it has been read, heard or seen."

I hear about journalists being threatened and beaten, and sometimes even dying, in their attempts to bring people the truth around the world. At the same time, I watch North American journalism, and become sick to my stomach. Much of it is fat, complacent, and irrelevant. Articles about line-ups at Best Buy, a survey saying Sudburians are happy, and a fluff piece about Cambrian cutting programs run as top stories in the local media.(The Cambrian story is important, but the article is such a College-PR perspective that it's impossible to take seriously.)

These types of stories are what our city has come to expect from our print journalists. Could it be a slow news day? Certainly. However, this is not uncommon. I wish it were. I read an article by a sports editor, which contained at least four major grammatical errors a spell-checker would pick up without difficulty. The citizens of this city, and this country, should demand more of their journalists. what happened to being proud of one's work?

Journalism is a public duty, which is now treated as if it were purely entertainment. It's not meant to be all flashing lights and laughs, it is meant to be hard to swallow at times. I'm not saying journalism shouldn't include features pieces, sports, an entertainment section, or anything besides hard news. I am saying that media personnel have a responsibility to their readers to not simply take a squat over newsprint and publish the results. Quality is important, despite the decline in it we've witnessed over the years.

Around the world we watch journalists dying and being beaten to bring the public the truth. At home, we watch some journalists who are too lazy to get out of their desks to find a good story, and are all too happy to eat press releases and spew out articles that even a student journalist should not be proud of. I wonder what it feels like to look in the mirror. At home, we seem too willing to step onto the treadmills provided for us by public relations and communications professionals. We are unwilling to put foot to pavement in order to dig up real stories.

In Mexico, some journalists are getting shot in the head to report the truth. Locally, we have journalists unwilling to ask difficult questions or take the time to balance their articles, even though they are protected by the force of the law. To put it simply, we have become irrelevant cowards, unwilling to stir the pot, most likely due to fear from corporate masters or flat-out laziness. This is unacceptable. We are failing the public, and failing each other.

Who will speak up for those without a voice if we remain impotent?

Sudbury Star’s failure with the 2010 municipal election and what it means

/ andyveilleux / 35 Comments

To say I am disappointed with The Sudbury Star’s unapologetic stance regarding their “City misled public…” article would be an understatement. The article was released on the Saturday before the election, which took place this Monday, and may have affected the results of the election. This is more than a case of poor timing.

The article begins: “One of the first things this council did four years ago was to authorize senior city managers to mislead the public about the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of a former employee, a Sudbury Star investigation reveals.”

By “Sudbury Star investigation,” they mean brown envelope that mysteriously showed up in their office at the beginning of the week, containing information only employees in City Hall knew.

Marianne Matichuk worked  for the city for 17 years. The Star supported Matichuk in an editorial on Friday, even using her buzz-word in their headline (“Change;” her website is realchangenow.ca, and she’s campaigning on the idea of change in council).

The article has NO sources in it that are current, and did not allow any balance whatsoever. I have a serious issue with their “attempts” to contact John Rodriguez, and any other relevant sources for the article:

“Calls to Stephen and Mieto were not returned. E-mails asking for response sent to Mayor John Rodriguez and all city councillors were not returned.

CAO Doug Nadorozny did respond, asking for more time in order to contact Stephen.”

So you can’t pick up the phone and call John Rodriguez, the man whose campaign you just torpedoed? Don’t give me that. No journalist or paper, with integrity, would launch a story like that at a candidate, and then not even make a decent effort to contact them.

Brian MacLeod, The Star’s Managing Editor, was on CBC’s Points North with Jason Turnbull earlier today, and his interview failed to seriously respond to any of these issues. He defended the article’s timing by revealing how the brown envelope showed up in their office at the beginning of the week.

I don’t know why it would take an entire week to write a story, which did not use any sources, or how in one week’s time a city council reporter as seasoned as Mike Whitehouse could not contact John Rodriguez. Whitehouse is a better reporter than that.

MacLeod also defended the paper’s editorial, stating that they always backed a candidate. I understand their practice of backing a candidate in an election, although I personally don’t believe journalists should publicly back any candidate. I will agree to disagree with that issue.

I am not willing to let their other irresponsible behaviour in this election go, however. When you support a candidate on Friday, and then torpedo her main competition on Saturday, without letting the competition respond, that is inexcusable.

Rodriguez responded to the article, after he was defeated in the election, claiming it was something one would typically see in the southern United States. He is right. It was gutless, and to shrug off his comments as the emotional response of a defeated politician is irresponsible, and childish, but that was the Star’s response anyways.

I was pleased to see Turnbull ask some hard questions about the issue, but it’s not enough to have one interview about it and then let it disappear. As journalists, we must police ourselves when it comes to ethics and responsibility. Most importantly, we must watch for bias.

I agree with Hunter S. Thomson that objectivity is impossible, but that does not mean we can absolve ourselves from the pursuit of it. We must be vigilant to watch our biases do not interfere with our coverage of the news, and be sure not to negatively affect matters we should merely observe and report on.

The Sudbury Star has failed the public, and tried to absolve themselves of responsibility for doing so. It will likely be shrugged off by the masses, but I hope people will take notice of how important a failing like this is to democracy. Their poor judgement may have affected the results of a democratic election, and that is a more powerful failure than any ordinary slander.

Maybe shoddy reporting like this has something to do with the public’s distrust of journalists? (the three links included here are from the UK, USA, and Canada, respectively).

The resignation of Sun TV's Kory Teneycke means nothing

/ andyveilleux / 5 Comments

After a tumultous period as vice-president of development for Quebecor, Kory Teneycke has announced his resignation. You should be familiar with him for being the main face promoting Sun TV News AKA 'Fox News North'. I'm not going to go into the battle from Avaaz against Sun TV news, but I would like to take the time to go over what this resignation means, politically speaking.

In a nutshell, this resignation means little to nothing, despite Avaaz' exectuive director and co-founder Ricken Patel's claim that it meant "a battle won in a longer fight against crony-media in Canada." I disagree with this statement. As soon as Teneycke stepped down, Luc Lavoie was appointed to the position. Whereas Teneycke was a former Harper spokesman, Lavoie is the former spokesman of former Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney spokesman. You say to-maht-o I say to-mate-o.

That being said, I do understand the significance of Teneycke being the former director of communications of the current Prime Minister. The political history was too recent for many people to feel comfortable with him heading up a news channel, which was applying for some special permits (such as the status of "must-carry" on cable channels, which means cable companies in Canada would have to carry the channel as part of their broadcasting). It is quite possible he was using some of his political power to lobby for this status, but is that really the important, bigger-picture question? No, it is not.

The important question is: How will this resignation affect the values of Sun TV News, and the Conservative view-point it is bringing? The simple answer is that it won't, which is evidenced by the hiring of Lavoie. At the end of the day, Sun TV News is still coming to Canada, and will likely be granted must-carry status, despite Avaaz' petition against it.

It is worth nothing the way that 'democracy' has been thrown around lately. Some people, such as Patel, claim biased news, such as Fox, or by induction, Sun TV News, "poisons American democracy." This claim is absurd. Democracy is best served by having a full-range of political opinion. While the opinion of the right is well-served in print media in this country, some would argue it is lacking in broadcast (some would argue differently, due to national stations like Global).

To be clear, I am not a fan of Fox News, or a person of right-wing political persuasion. In fact,  I despise Fox, and have done a lot of research into the network, and many of their failings. However, diversification of the Canadian media, and more capital being put into journalism, can only be a positive step for media in this country. In a time where news coverage is shrinking due to under-funding and cost-cutting, journalists and citizens of democracy should welcome new investment in media and new political viewpoints in the media.

G20 protests: what journalism means for democracy

/ andyveilleux / Leave a comment

Recently, I found myself discussing the media coverage of the G20 protest with Hobb. We both found the media coverage to be shameful, and often useless. Not ALL media coverage, but a great majority of it. There was very little discussion of the Black Bloc, aside from stereotypical, recycled words. Read this article about the group by the Toronto Star entitled "Behind the Black Bloc." The article fails to really dive into anything remotely “behind” the group. What exactly is the Black Bloc? The author doesn’t know.

The author refers to the Black Bloc as a group, “many members of the Black Bloc;” and even as a tactic, “They embraced the Black Bloc tactic.” I understand it’s difficult to define, but pick a reference. The title seems to suggest the author understands it as both. Regardless, let’s get into the article more.

I’d like to share a few quotes with you that I found disturbing: “A Communist group set off a flare, distracting the crowd and police alike — and the mob took off across Queen.” The author later concludes the article by quoting a woman, “Violence just brings more violence,” a woman said into a megaphone as an anarchist set fire to a police cruiser. “What you guys are doing, it’s breaking my heart.” In case you missed it, the Black Bloc is both anarchist and communist at the same time. The author is apparently a little behind on his understanding of politics.

I don't mean to unfairly target the Toronto Star. Their newsroom did a decent job IN COMPARISON with many of the other big newspapers in the country. That assertion is not good enough, however. The CBC did a better job than the TorStar (I can hear the hard-Right grumbling about leftists and communists already, praying for the start of Sun TV), but even it was average at best.

It will take the determination of a solid researcher to dig up the true meaning of the G20 protests in historical and cultural context. It saddens me how badly context is missing in today's media. I read mentions of how crucial the G20 protests (and arrests) were, but it was among mostly obscure media sources. Not altogether surprising, as these obscure sources are some of the only ones practicing real journalism [i.e. journalism as a public duty to protect democracy].

Hobb pointed out a couple of important facts regarding the G20 protests. It was the largest mass arrest in Canada’s History (over 1000 arrested). One foreign journalist commented the detention centre was worse than those kept by Palestinian authorities. There were several instances of “cops gone wild” as he puts it (keep in mind he teaches Crime and Punishment). The extortionist cost of $1 billion dollars for security at the event. How often did you hear these facts reported by the media?

Where’s the investigate journalism? How many cops infiltrated the Black Bloc? I’ve spoken with people who knew some personally, and they were arrested multiple times by the uniformed police. How much damage was done by the Black Bloc and other individuals during the protests? Where were the police during the violent part of some of the protest? Who’s being held responsible for the police inventing a new law to arrest anyone within 5 metres of the fence? Who is being, or has been punished for this undemocratic discretion? Were there any human rights violations from police officers? Was any injured while they were in custody? Talk to a few lawyers (not just the solo one I heard on the news, who comes off as a conspiracy theorist from the quotes I heard), find out if the people arrested have a case.

Journalism has a responsibility to the public to be their watch-dog against authority and the “powers that be.” I keep coming back to a quote by Thomas Jefferson: "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." The freedom of the press is being challenged by financial constraints, and a lack of trust from the public. The integrity of journalism has been steadily eroding for some time, and it’s leading to a decrease in trust of journalists. Journalists must restore the peoples’ trust in their work, or else democracy will go out the window. I will write at length about the erosion of trust in a later post.

Sudbury: a case study in foreign ownership

/ andyveilleux / 4 Comments

I came across an interesting article today concerning Canadian management statistics, and the oft-discussed (in Sudbury, and nationally I imagine) debate over foreign ownership. The article is written by economist Stephen Gordon, and is a response to an opinion piece written by Jeffrey Simpson in the Globe and Mail. To summarize the post, let me quote the Stephen’s initial reaction to reading Simpson’s article: “Oh god. Economic nationalism will be an issue. Spare us. #budget2010”

I've been reading Dr. Stephen Gordon's work for many months now, and his blog has always been informative and well-written. Stephen is an economics professor working at Laval University in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. His thinking regarding the failings of economic nationalism would be widely unpopular in a mining town like Sudbury (yes, it is still a mining town, despite claims to the contrary). That being said, his thinking is not wrong on this issue.

In some of my history courses with Dr. Mark Kuhlberg regarding environmental history, and northern Ontario history, I was fortunate enough to learn some of the failings of the xenophobic policy that is economic nationalism. Many a time it was not the foreign companies raping and pillaging the landscape, but our own Canadian companies. It was the foreign companies who often invested capital into repairing damaged eco-systems and re-greening initiatives, especially in the pulp and paper industry. To be certain, Mark is an authority in the field of pulp and paper industry.

All that being said, I do see the local case studies regarding foreign ownership, primarily in the mining industry. Let's take two polarized examples; Xstrata, and Vale. When it came time to negotiate with workers in their Sudbury operations, Xstrata and the CAW agreed upon a new 3-year contract this year without a work stoppage. When it came time for Vale and the USW to negotiate a settlement, there was a long and bitter strike, which ended up lasting about a year. Cries of evil foreign ownership were rampant in the city, and still are, at least among many of the working class individuals in this city I've spoken with [Note: my father is a miner at Xstrata].

It's worth reading Stephen's posting about foreign ownership, for a few reasons. Pay close attention to the opinions of Canadian management regarding education, and their lower education than their American counter-parts. Also, look at the discussion of how foreign-controlled operations are run as compared to domestically-owned operations. There are many arguments on both sides of the coin, so don't just write off foreign-ownership as evil because it's a trendy view in the Nickel City.

An Important Week

/ andyveilleux / Leave a comment

By all standards, this week has been an important one for me. I have put in a lot of work on my articles, re-focused on my course and my future, and also had some great conversations. I had the privilege of speaking to Dr. Denis Rancourt today.
I had followed his struggle versus the University of Ottawa fro some time now, and always found it to be a fascinating example of somebody pushing to reform the flawed education system. I never figured I’d have a chance to speak with the man about his ideas, and what the future holds for him. I had that opportunity today, when him and I talked for close to 40 minutes concerning almost everything education related.
I will be writing an article concerning education for The Shield where I will also be interviewing Professor Robert Beckett (Laurentian University, philosophy, and sociology) and Professor Michael Schwendener (Cambrian College, physics) also, who I had excellent discussions with Friday night, concerning pretty much everything one could imagine.
It had been awhile since I was treated to such a diverse and interesting conversation, and I can not wait for the chance to have another one.
I’m hoping to bring some of the enthusiasm of that into the article I write, to hopefully inspire some people to view education in a whole new light, because it’s clear that the system is broken in some major ways. Stay tuned, the article should be released in a few weeks time.
P.S. I hope you enjoy the new layout/design of the blog.

-Andy