the muse

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

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.

Luke I am your

/ andyveilleux / 3 Comments

Father,
I’ve become so much like you.
Up at 4:20 AM
making bologna sandwiches.
Where did all the time go?
Sitting around in my joggers and wool socks,
wondering where all my sleep goes,
when I am not partaking in it.
Just a few months ago we were together,
and now all I get is your voice
but I can still see your smile
on the other end,
when I hear
pride in your voice.
At the end of the day,
that’s one of the only things that matters to me.
I remember being young and saying
I would never be like you,
the thought of it was appalling.
Now It’s a badge of honour.
I love you dad,
and you always did right by me,
even when you were wrong.