War reporting panel this Wednesday
This Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the CUAA Journalism Chapter and the Journalism Student Association will present a panel discussion, “Stories from the front: staying safe while getting the story.” This promises to be an interesting look at war reporting, in spite of the fact that I'll be moderating. I've included all the details below and hope people will show up. But I also have a request.
What questions would you like me to ask the panelists (names below)? What topics should we cover? I want to hear from anyone who has suggestions. We'll make sure to leave plenty of time for questions, but I'd appreciate any input from people out there. Go ahead and leave them in the comments. Then I'll see you on Wednesday.
Event info:
Join us as veteran reporters share their battle stories from Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and Central Asia in an interactive workshop on danger-zone journalism.
Guest speakers:
- Levon Sevunts, freelance journalist, writer and translator
- Martin Patriquin, Montreal correspondent for Maclean’s magazine
- Phil Carpenter, Montreal Gazette photojournalist and former Canadian Forces reservist
- Martin Forgues, Concordia journalism student and Canadian Forces member who served inAfghanistan
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
6:30 p.m.–8:30 p.m.
Irish Embassy Pub & Grill
1234 Bishop, Montreal
$10 for alumni and general public (includes one complimentary drink)
$5 for Concordia Journalism students
Register by March 28, 2008 online or call 514-848-2424, ext. 4397
For further information, please contact Derek Linetsky at 514-848-2424 ext. 5629 or derek.linetsky@concordia.ca
(Cartoon by Fred Serre)
With five games left to play…
I was in a Purolator location today to send my (dead) MacBook off to the warranty company. The guy behind the counter saw my Habs hat and said Stéphane Quintal had recently been in the store.
"He told me we wouldn't beat the Devils," the guy said, relaying Quintal's ill-fated prediction from a couple of weeks before.
Quintal was wrong. The experts were wrong. This team has shocked just about everybody this year. With five games left before the playoffs, this says it all:
Surveillance and screen envy in the office
As an editor noted in an email to me yesterday, Monday's Life section in the Globe And Mail was something of a "Silverman Show." I wrote two features in addition my usual Monday Office column for the paper, which means my name was pretty much splashed on every page. Apologies.
The first feature was about the supposed productivity benefits of giving workers a widescreen monitor. It was awarded the lovely headline, "Hold the bonus - give me 24 inches of pure joy." Ahem. You can read the article here. I recommend checking out the comments on the story, as people are sharing their experiences with big screens and multiple monitors. The piece also quotes from a blog post by entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, a big believer in the monitor-productivity link.
The second feature is about surveillance in the workplace. New technologies are offering employers unprecedented options for monitoring or tracking employees, and this story outlines some of the common ways for checking up on workers. It also details a Microsoft patent filing for a rather unbelievable monitoring system. The story is here, and the comments are once again worth a read.
How do these two stories fit together? Well, it's easier to see what someone is working (or not working) on if they have a gigantic screen. Apart from that, I've got nothing. What a silly question.
Enjoy the Silverman Show.
TELUS is trying to buy my love
I received a pretty little white box in the mail today from TELUS, my cellphone service provider.
"Happy Anniversary," it said on top.
What anniversary?
I could have sworn I'd signed up in August all those years ago. Had I forgotten our special moment? I worried that TELUS would get mad and deny me service if it found out about my thoughtlessness. I didn't want to be in the dog house.
I opened the box. Inside was a letter and a product that enables me to charge my cellphone via the USB port on my computer. It also has a wall plug adapter.
I was pleasantly surprised. They sent it to me for free. I can use this.
TELUS, baby, you're a sweetheart.
But I'm still leaving you when the iPhone comes to Canada.
The Gazette’s new hyperlocal website and the importance of moral rights
Thanks to Roberto Rocha, I just learned that The Gazette will soon be launching a hyperlocal website for the West Island of Montreal. Steve Faguy also has a post up about it.
The site is in "late beta testing" and anyone can visit and sign-up. In general, I think this is a step in the right direction for the paper. The West Island represents a core audience for The Gazette, and the site is potentially a way to forge a stronger bond with the community.
User generated content is at the core of Westislandgazette.com. People can create an account and begin contributing news, photos and event information. A major bonus is the fact that the site is not under the auspices of Canada.com, the national network of CanWest web properties that is, to put it bluntly, horrible and borderline unusable.
The paper’s best web success to date is its excellent Habs Inside/Out blog. Like the new hyperlocal site, it’s free from the bonds of Canada.com. The Habs blog has managed to attract a very loyal and vocal following, which is not a complete surprise. Habs fans are passionate about hockey; a blog fed by The Gazette’s writers and editors would seem to be a can't miss idea.
But that doesn’t mean it’s an easy thing to execute. The paper deserves credit for building H I/O into a solid property. Some of the posts generate hundreds of comments, and users have even organized an outing to a game. It’s a community that works. (I’d like to see more daily content and analysis on the site, but that’s one fan’s opinion.)
Westislandgazette.com shares some of the same potential, yet it has one key difference: a reliance on user generated content. The paper needs to get a critical mass of people signed up and contributing to the site in order to make it a success. The Gazette will also be uploading content from staffers, but that’s not enough to make the new site a true hyperlocal community.
The idea of building hyperlocal sites fed by citizen journalists is becoming more popular, but the concept itself is no guarantee of success. I’m sure The Gazette is well aware of the challenges. The oft-quoted line “if you build it, they will come” does not apply. How you build it is important, and people need to see the value of contributing. This value could come in the form of a financial reward (we pay you if we use your story/photo); a reputational benefit (you can become a valued and recognized contributor, a so-called "super-contributor"); or a specific value in terms of exposure (get your event, writing or photo published by The Gazette).
The paper isn’t offering any financial reward for potential contributors, so the first incentive doesn’t apply. Here’s the value proposition on the site:
If you are organizing an event, we have a space for you to tell everyone else in the region. Did your child score a goal at his or her hockey game? Do you have a photo of that triumphant moment? Send it to us. We'll make sure everyone sees it. Are you a mom who wants to touch base with other moms in the area? Is the family dog not feeling well? Perhaps you would like to ask our resident veterinarian a question on her blog?
In the end, according to the paper, “This is going to be the place where West Islanders and off-islanders to the west will come together. You will be able to comment on each other's contributions, communicate with one and other, and connect in a way that will add a new dimension to life in the West Island.”
The promise is publicity, participation, reputation and community. Not bad things. My main concern at this point is that anyone thinking of contributing should pay very close attention to the site’s Terms & Conditions for users. These Terms & Conditions are not written in the spirit of delivering reputational or community value. In fact, they undercut these ideas.
By signing up, you’re giving CanWest a bundle of rights and licenses to your contributions. Everything that goes on the site can be used in any form by any CanWest entity “in perpetuity, throughout the world, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised.” That's to be expected. One positive aspect is that the company is only asking for a “non-exclusive” right and license, meaning a person could republish their photos or writing somewhere else.
The troubling part is that CanWest is demanding every contributor waive his or her “moral rights.” The relevant section:
4. You hereby expressly waive, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any so-called "moral rights" which may now or may hereafter be recognized by legislative enactment or otherwise at law or in equity with respect to the Content.
Here’s how the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, a government agency, describes moral rights:
Even if you sell your copyright to someone else, you still retain what are called "moral rights." This means that no one, including the person who owns the copyright, is allowed to distort, mutilate or otherwise modify your work in a way that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation. Your name must also be associated with the work as its author, if reasonable in the circumstances. In addition, your work may not be used in association with a product, service, cause or institution in a way that is prejudicial to your honour or reputation without your permission.
By asking people to waive their moral rights, CanWest is in effect removing itself of any responsibility to credit them for their contribution. That’s not a very community-minded thing to do. The company could, for example, use a photo you took of someone fleeing the scene of a crime and run it in papers across the country without having to give you credit. It could also remove your byline from a written contribution.
I’m not saying this is what the paper plans to do. In fact, I’m certain The Gazette sees the value of crediting its citizen contributors. But then why demand people waive their moral rights? Why take away their right to be credited for their contribution? There’s no justification for it.
The moral rights clause is in bad faith. It’s contrary to the spirit of community that the paper is trying to foster. It in effect says, “we value your contribution and want you to help build this site, but we reserve the right to deny you credit and recognition.”
My goal isn’t to criticize The Gazette before it even gets the site underway. I think westislandgazette.com has a lot of potential, and I imagine people at the paper are excited to be able to strike out and create something new. It’s a good initiative.
The issue I raise is not simply about a byline or photo credit. It’s about the nature of the relationship between the paper and its citizen contributors. There needs to be a foundation of trust and mutual benefit in order for the site to succeed. By taking moral rights, the paper is beginning the relationship on a decidedly unfair note. It's missing out on an opportunity to forge a closer bond with its would-be contributors.
In contrast, NowPublic.com, one of the most successful citizen journalism networks going, uses a Creative Commons license. Its terms of use are relatively easy to understand. It doesn't demand people waive their moral rights. NowPublic.com also offers the potential for payment. It gives and takes. Fair exchange is the essence of any community.
I imagine a lot of people will sign up to westislandgazette.com and not pay attention to the Terms & Conditions, but that doesn’t make it okay for CanWest to make a wholesale rights grab. The paper should take another look at the T&C and create an agreement that better reflects its goals for the site, and better serves citizen contributors. Step one is getting rid of that nasty moral rights clause.
CBC Documentary Airing This Week
A few years ago, I began working on a story about people who enter and win contests at a surprising rate. I eventually sold an article to Saturday Night magazine, but the publication folded before the piece appeared. Fortunately, I soon met Montreal film producer Alan Handel and pitched him the idea of turning the concept into a documentary film. Alan and I worked on the idea and he eventually sold it to CBC.
The end result is that the film, produced by Alan and directed by the excellent Nadine Pequeneza, is airing on CBC this Thursday at 9 p.m. I worked as the associate producer and had the pleasure of collaborating with Alan, Nadine, and the great team at Handel Productions. The film, Winning For A Living, is funny, fascinating and quirky. It reveals interesting information about the big business of contests and the subculture of "contestors" -- the people who spend an inordinate amount of time entering and winning contests.
Below is the press release for the film. Tune in to CBC this Thursday at 9 p.m., or check it out on CBC Newsworld on Saturday at 10 p.m. You can read more about the film and watch a clip on the CBC website.
WINNING FOR A LIVING
Meet 'The Contesters':
Passionate People Hooked on Contests
World Premiere on CBC Television 'Doc Zone', Thursday March 6 at 9:00 P.M. (9:30 P.M. NT)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Toronto, February 18, 2008)
Contests! We've all filled out a form, mailed in a ballot, or rolled up a rim. The temptation is irresistible: after all, who doesn't like to win something? But for some people, as we see in the new Handel Productions Inc. documentary WINNING FOR A LIVING, airing Thursday, March 6, at 9:00 pm (9:30 pm NT) on CBC Television's Doc Zone, the lure of big prizes turns into a marathon dance with Lady Luck. These dedicated - some might call obsessed - individuals are known as "contesters".
Contesters are loyal citizens of the land of big dreams. For them, hope springs eternal. Long odds and slim chances don't deter these eternal optimists in their quest to win everything from free oven mitts, to cars, TVs, homes and vacations, all given away by companies hoping to attract more customers, higher sales, and a bigger slice of their product's pie.
And it's a big pie. Canadian companies spend over $200 million a year on contests and promotions. After all, from a marketing company's point of view, contests aren't about winning; they're about selling. In their continuing search for ways to get consumers to notice their brand, marketers know that giveaways boost sales. That's why two-thirds of brands used contests last year as part of their marketing plans. In the brave new world of cyberspace, a whopping 61% of internet users enter contests every two weeks, making 'cybermarketing', with its emphasis on creativity and interactive participation, the New World of opportunity for contest promoters.
WINNING FOR A LIVING profiles several Canadian contesters to find out what drives them to devote much of their time, sometimes at the expense of their personal and family lives, to entering dozens of contests hundreds, or even thousands, of times. Is it the prizes themselves, the fact that the objects are free, or just the thrill of winning that attracts these contest junkies?
In fact, each contester in the film has his or her own reasons for entering, and strategies that will lead them to El Dorado:
- Carolyn Wilman of Oshawa got into contesting when she was pregnant and unemployed. These days she calls herself 'The Contest Queen'. Thanks to contest wins, she's cuddled with Sting and sat in Dumbledore's chair on the set of the Harry Potter movies. Carolyn has parlayed her hobby into a thriving new business: writing a tell-all book about contesting ("You Can't Win If You Don't Enter"); running her own contesting website (www.contestqueen.com); and organizing the first Canadian contesters convention. She firmly believes you'll be lucky if you feel lucky, and is now on the prowl for a really big win.
- Mike Smith of Toronto has been contesting for over 30 years, winning an estimated $250,000 in free stuff, including seven TVs! He spent all of one weekend filling out 2,000 ballots in hopes of winning TV #8! He even fills in ballots in his car while waiting at red lights. But there are serious costs, and his marriage has suffered from his contest addiction.
- Rosemary Chui of Newmarket, Ontario, is a doggedly determined lifelong contester who's raised her three sons on barcodes and ballots. She's earned, on average, $1,000 a month in winnings, though she bagged $44,000 in her best year. She's focused on winning specific prizes, including a new car for her eldest son, and believes that if you really want or, more importantly, need something, you will receive it. Rosemary calls these her '11th hour wins'.
- Fern Corraini of Calgary is the newbie, a retired teacher and closet contester for years till she finally went public with her friends and relatives. She's just won her first $1,000 prize. As a result, she's now an addict to what Carolyn Wilman calls 'contest crack: one win and you're hooked!' Fern thinks you need to feel 'worthy' of winning. Once you do, she believes you'll start winning.
WINNING FOR A LIVING reveals some of the winning strategies of these 'professional' contest enterers, tricks of the trade aimed at increasing the odds of winning – everything from ballot box stuffing, to new computer software programs like RoboForm that allow contesters to accelerate filling out multiple contest ballots, to more arcane theories of seducing Lady Luck through prayer, feng shui, or the sage advice of self-help books on the power of positive thinking.
The marketing companies fight back against these hard-core contesters, searching for ways to foil ballot box stuffing and block RoboForm, so that the pros don't win everything and the one-time contest entrant gets a fighting chance to nab a prize.
WINNING FOR A LIVING also takes viewers behind-the-scenes to get the skinny from experts who actually create the contests. Top marketing and communications gurus Ira Baptiste of Cossette Communication Group and Tony Chapman of Capital C explain the marketing strategies behind contents, including new approaches prompted by the internet that encourage interactivity. Chapman describes the thinking behind Capital C's phenomenally successful Bring Home the Cup campaign for Pepsi, which asked Canadians to make a video proving their community had the country's most fanatic hockey fans, with a personal visit from Mark Messier and the Stanley Cup as the winner's prize. That campaign perfectly merged national pride and product placement. It was a marketing home run.
In WINNING FOR A LIVING, director Nadine Pequeneza and producer Alan Handel have created a fascinating portrait of the passionate people who get hooked on contesting and, on the flip side, the marketers, equally determined to find news ways to keep the hard-core contesters from winning everything!
WINNING FOR A LIVING director/co-writer Nadine Pequeneza has won numerous international awards for her work, and is a three-time Gemini Award nominee in both writing and directing categories for her films Exhibit A: The Secrets of Forensic Science "Bare Bones"; and Turning Points in History "Aristide's Haiti" and "A Coup: Made In America". The Toronto-based filmmaker's other writing/directing credits include Lives That Changed The World "Nelson Mandela"; Final 24 "Marvin Gaye"; Iran Betrayed; Raising Cassidy; Who Killed Patrice Lumumba?; My Beat: The Life & Times of Bruce Cockburn; and Argentina's Dirty War. As a series producer, her credits include Psychic Investigators, Almost Legal, Women Behind the Badge and At the Post.
WINNING FOR A LIVING is directed by Nadine Pequeneza, written by Nadine Pequeneza, Alan Handel and Allen J. Abel, and produced/executive produced by Alan Handel. Narrator is Ann-Marie MacDonald. The Film Editor is Glenn Berman. The DOPs are Renald Bellemare, Michael Boland, Russell Gienapp and Harald Bachman. Original Music by Mathieu Vanasse and Claude Milot. Location Sound is by Paul Adlaf, Glenn Hodgins and Tim St-Pierre. Associate producer is Craig Silverman. For Handel Productions, Leon G. Arcand is Head of Production. For CBC, Senior Producer is Linda Laughlin, Michael Claydon is Area Executive Producer, Independent Documentaries and Mark Starowicz is Executive Director, Documentary Programming.
WINNING FOR A LIVING is produced by Handel Productions Inc. in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by the Government of Canada and the Canadian cable industry, CTF: License Fee Program, the Québec Film and Television Tax Credit administered by SODEC, and with the assistance of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit. Developed in association with CTV.
Handel Productions Inc., founded and run by Alan Handel, is one of Canada's leading documentary production companies. The Montreal-based company's films have been broadcast on CBC, Radio-Canada, CTV, Discovery Channel, Global Television, Bravo US, The History Channel US, PBS, NBC, ARTE, BBC, Channel Five UK, ZDF, and many other networks around the world. Handel Productions Inc. was recently nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for How William Shatner Changed The World, and has won a number of other international awards. For further information, please go to www.handelproductions.ca
Repeat Showing – WINNING FOR A LIVING will be repeated on CBC Newsworld Saturday, March 8 at 10:00 P.M. ET/PT.
Welcome
Hey there. Thanks for stopping by. I'm a freelance journalist and author in Montreal, Canada. I serve as an associate editor for PBS MediaShift, a website that reports on trends in new media and journalism. I edit RegretTheError.com and wrote a book of the same name. I'm also the co-author, with Michael Calce, of Mafiaboy: How I Cracked The Internet and Why It's Still Broken. Both books are listed to the right.
I write weekly columns for Hour and Columbia Journalism Review online, and am a former columnist and blogger for The Globe And Mail. Read my bio by clicking on the "About Me" link above, or check out the "Writing Samples" page to read some of my work. If you're interested in speaking with me about an assignment or project, email me at the address listed below.
Recent Writing/Work