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who employs me
I spend my days working on ctvtoronto.ca. That operation is part of CTV.ca News, which is of course nestled into CTV News, CTV Inc. and CTVglobemedia.

I don't speak for my employer on this blog. I don't comment about the internal affairs of my employer.

Any views expressed here are my own.
View Article  David Carr on death and rebirth in American media

NYT media columnist David Carr on the carnage in the Manhattan media industry and the incubation of the next generation.

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View Article  Why journalists get slaughtered in the Philippines

Yes, Iraq, Afghanistan and Russia are horrible places for journalists, but Terry Gould explains why the Philippines are also a shooting gallery.

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View Article  Did Amanda Lindhout err by going to Somalia?

The Toronto Star's Michelle Sheppard asks whether Amanda Lindhout really knew what she was getting into when she ventured to the lawless country of Somalia -- and ended up being kidnapped and held for 15 months.

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View Article  And will you be talking about the Olympics during your stay?

From the Globe and Mail:

An American author and broadcaster claims Canadian border officials questioned her about whether she would discuss the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games at a speaking engagement Wednesday evening in Vancouver.

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View Article  A Canadian journalist in an Iranian prison

Maziar Bahari, a Canadian journalist employed by Newsweek who was arrested in Iran while covering the election unrest there, spoke with CTV News Channel on Thursday night. You can find the video attached to this CTV.ca story.

He also had a commentary in Thursday's Globe and Mail: Why we have to talk with Tehran.

Here's Bahari's cover story for Newsweek this week: 118 days, 12 hours, 54 minutes

Those were bleak times for Bahari. He was mainly kept in solitary confinement and suffered beatings, interrogations and psychological abuse. He thought seriously about killing himself a few times, but thoughts of his wife and then-unborn daughter pulled him out of it.

The G&M noticed this darkly amusing anecdote in a story, published Monday, based on the Newsweek article:

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View Article  Al-Jazeera English coming to Canada

Al-Jazeera English is coming where Al-Jazeera effectively wasn't allowed -- Canadian TV screens.

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View Article  La Presse gets its final union to bend

From CP via globeandmail.com:

Montreal La Presse took a pair of major steps toward resolving a labour dispute Thursday, which likely ensure the survival of the 125-year-old newspaper.

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View Article  Amanda Lindhout is free!

This CTV.ca story has video attached of Amanda Lindhout being interviewed by CTV News Channel hours after she gained her freedom.

Her release came exactly one month before Christmas (I wrote this on Christmas Eve of last year - Amanda Lindhout still isn't home). This time, she will be home with her family.

But that leaves two cases outstanding:

If you're interested in this topic, check out this post: Alan Johnston says thanks. It links to an interview I conducted with Johnston when he was in T.O. last year. The lede:

For BBC journalist Alan Johnston, his time as a captive in the Gaza Strip reminds him of the adage that freedom is like air -- you only really notice it when it's gone.

View Article  Does the HST idea make sense for Ontario?

I did a story Tuesday about whether there are any positives to Ontario's coming imposition of a harmonized sales tax.

For the TD's Don Drummond, the HST is a better tax that will help business.

The question is whether the benefits of that will outweigh the higher taxes on some consumer items and some modest overall boost in inflation.

Drummond says yes. What do you think?

View Article  What the media pile-on on Sarah Palin means

The always-excellent Matt Taibbi dissects the dissecting of Sarah Palin as she does the hard slogging of flogging Going Rogue -- although what he says about political reporters is not flattering to them.

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View Article  Trial connects Cambodians with their painful past

Cambodians have become slowly become riveted by the trial of Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Comrade Duch, who ran the horrifying Tuol Sleng prison during Khmer Rouge's reign from 1975 to 1979.

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View Article  Toronto Star to contract out copy editing, pagination

From CP via ctvtoronto.ca:

Management at the Toronto Star newspaper has filed formal notice of a plan to contract out newsroom production work and cut 121 jobs in a bid to save more than $4 million a year.

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View Article  'Thousands of editors leaving Wikipedia'

From TheStar.com:

A sharp drop in Wikipedians, the volunteers who write and edit the online encyclopaedia, is a disturbing and inevitable trend, the Toronto man who was once their top contributor said Monday.

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View Article  Why the news media stumbles on telling the climate story

Toronto Star writer Tyler Hamilton apologizes on behalf of his craft. He then explains why an apology is due.

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View Article  Algorithmic Authority

Internet thinker Clay Shirky ruminates on how the Internet conveys authority.

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View Article  Gourmet burger rankings in t-dot

The Star reviewed six cut-above burger joints in Toronto. Top of the list: Oh Boy, which opened recently on Queen W. just slightly east of Portland St. (they started working on the space more than a year ago).

But old favourites like Utopia on College St. W. aren't included in the mix. I guess Dangerous Dan's really doesn't qualify as gourmet.

However, the Roxton (on Harbord, just east of Ossington) is reputed to make a great burger, but it's left off, as is Beer Bistro at King E. and Victoria.

Some like Allen's on the Danforth (south side, block or two east of Broadview, great patio!), but I don't count myself as impressed with theirs.

A commenter on the story reminded me that Epicure on Queen W. near Portland also serves up a good burger. Some other pointers from commenters, although not necessarily to gourmet burgers:

  • Watermark Lounge in the Radisson Admiral Hotel --- 249 Queens Quay West.
  • Sandwich Box on Richmond/Bay
  • Mitzi's Sister for lamb burgers
  • The Burger Shack, Oriole Parkway/Eglinton
  • The Artful Dodger, Isabella/Yonge
  • Hair of the Dog, Church/Carlton
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