Tag: news

Edmonton Notes for 3/2/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Precious Treasure
Cool shot titled ‘Precious Treasure’ by Dave Sutherland

Upcoming Events

Edmonton Light
Edmonton Light by Jeff Wallace

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #101

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

Ellie!
We met Ellie in July at the Avenue Goes to the Dogs event!

  • I can’t remember where I saw this link, but I’m looking forward to reading the Verification Handbook: A definitive guide to verifying digital content for emergency content.
  • Have you noticed the new paging that the Journal has added to its website? It looks like this:

paging

  • How annoying! First of all, it’s rare that an article is long enough to warrant that functionality (there’s usually only a paragraph or two on the second page). But worse than that, when I click either “2” or “View as one page”, it jumps back to the top of the screen (I’m using IE11). I have no idea why they introduced this. It doesn’t even do a page load, so it can’t be for page views.
  • While I am complaining about the Journal, I think the ads have gotten worse. I want the ads to be there so that they can make some money, but they’re so intrusive and they slow the page so much that I’m tempted to use an ad-blocker just to make the site usable. This is what the front page looked like for me tonight:

edmonton journal

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 2/23/2014

The Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic Games wrapped up today, and like most of you I was up by 5am to watch the Canadian men’s hockey team defeat Sweden 3-0 to take the gold medal. In case you missed it, ATB Financial lit up its new building downtown every time Canada scored:

Canada finished 3rd in the medal standings with 10 gold and 25 medals total, one less than our haul in Vancouver four years ago. Edmonton-born athletes did well too. Now attention turns to the Paralympic games, with the opening ceremonies taking place on March 7.

And if you’re like me, you’re now counting down to World Cup 2014 – just 108 days to go!

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Upcoming Events

Parka Patio Party
Sharon getting a drink from the vodka ice luge at Latitude 53’s Parka Patio Party on Saturday night. More photos here.

Media Monday Edmonton: Twitter Statistics

Though numbers are only one part of the story of how local media are using tools like Twitter, I find them interesting nonetheless. I have posted Facebook statistics for the local media a couple times, but never Twitter! In this post, I have taken a snapshot of the local media’s Twitter stats.

The following numbers were all gathered today using Twitter Counter and are sorted by followers.

Organization Followers Following Tweets
Edmonton Journal 47,389 122 76,503
CTV Edmonton 43,933 658 54,336
Global Edmonton 41,037 93 22,409
CBC Edmonton 30,205 407 28,912
Edmonton Sun 20,001 4,294 41,855
SONiC 102.9 15,992 301 29,289
91.7 The Bounce 15,068 15,540 18,596
Avenue Edmonton 13,264 641 5,847
Metro Edmonton 13,125 1,196 27,204
102.3 Now! Radio 13,107 14,386 46,021
Vue Weekly 13,006 420 4,223
CISN Country 103.9 12,617 12,108 23,874
HOT 107 Edmonton 11,306 2,277 24,829
CityNews Edmonton 10,872 158 4,402
BT Edmonton 10,271 2,932 13,913
100.3 The Bear 9,531 5,376 17,506
CKUA Radio 9,049 948 6,323
iNews880 7,517 1,615 40,046
TSN 1260 7,138 746 10,768
630 CHED 6,569 424 21,509
96.3 Capital FM 6,548 571 6,115
104.9 Virgin Edmonton 6,277 306 25,396
K-97 Edmonton 6,199 3,785 11,528
Alberta Primetime 6,155 416 5,365
CJSR 88.5 FM 4,094 733 1,925
up! 99.3 FM 2,224 998 5,980
105.9 Shine FM 1,486 878 4,755
92.5 Fresh FM 1,318 542 14,085
95.7 CRUZ FM 1,292 997 11,533

You can see some other Twitter stats in my State of the Edmonton Twittersphere for 2013. Based on that data, the ten most retweeted local media accounts are:

  1. edmontonjournal
  2. ctvedmonton
  3. globaledmonton
  4. cbcedmonton
  5. metroedmonton
  6. edmontonsun
  7. 925freshfm
  8. cisncountry
  9. inews880
  10. 1049virginyeg

What do you think? Do the numbers make sense given what you know of these organizations on Twitter?

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 2/16/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Here’s a different way to see Edmonton: from above!

Upcoming Events

Left or Right?
Great long exposure of the skyline from Jeff Wallace

Green light given for Rogers Place, Edmonton’s new downtown arena

Construction on Rogers Place, the future home of the Edmonton Oilers, will begin in March now that the $480 million guaranteed maximum price has been met. The announcement was made at a press conference today at City Hall that featured a rare public appearance by Daryl Katz.

Downtown Arena Press Conference

The new downtown arena will seat 18,641 for hockey games, and is being described as “the most technologically enabled sport facility in all of North America” (details on what that means are still to come, I presume). The arena is part of a $606.5 million package that includes a community rink, LRT connection, pedway, and the Winter Garden.

The stage today was backed with hockey boards while a face-off circle emblazoned with the Oilers logo sat in front. Giant renderings of the new building flanked each side. Mayor Don Iveson, City Manager Simon Farbrother, Daryl Katz, and Ian O’Donnell from the Downtown Community League (DECL) were the speakers.

Downtown Arena Press Conference

I have to say the press conference seemed a bit over the top for what was announced. It was very unlikely that the guaranteed maximum price wouldn’t be met, and even if it hadn’t been met, that would have been little more than a speed bump. Council would have voted, and construction would have gone ahead one way or another.

Very little that was announced today was new (would it have killed them to talk about the building, even just a little?). Most of the speeches consisted of the various parties involved thanking one another, and extolling how great the new arena will be for Edmonton. And we heard the same old arguments once again. City Manager Simon Farbrother said:

“With this announcement, we are able to announce two very significant goals for this city. The first one this does is helps us on that continued journey of building a great downtown. The second one it does is it supports NHL hockey in Edmonton for the very foreseeable future.”

Nevermind that downtown has been on the upswing for years and that the threat of losing the Oilers was misleading at best.

But those arguments are over and done with – today was about the future, as Daryl Katz said. I suppose his attendance was meant to suggest a sense of finality, but I’m not sure that came across. He certainly didn’t look like he wanted to be there. Sure, he expressed his relief at getting to this point and his thanks to all involved, but he looked and sounded to be going through the motions more than anything else.

Downtown Arena Press Conference

Why was DECL invited to participate? Maybe it was just to play the role of “downtown supporter” in the story. I hope it wasn’t to represent the members of the public that were apparently involved in the decision, because just two or three people on the board were involved. As someone who both lives and works downtown, I don’t feel that DECL represented me in the process (this is a great example of how community leagues are setup to promote “tick the box” public engagement).

But I guess that was the point of today’s event – the process is done, the arena will be built. I’m happy that we’ve reached this point and I do think the arena will have a positive impact on downtown. I have great respect for everyone who has gotten involved, whether it was to support to the project or whether it was to ask hard questions. There are still questions remaining too. Will the remaining government funding be confirmed? What will happen to Rexall Place?

One thing that’s clear is that the arena won’t succeed on its own. It needs a district surrounding it. In his remarks today, Daryl Katz made mention of that development, saying that we can expect to learn more this spring. I have heard the project described as a series of dominoes, with the new City tower following the arena, and more still to fall. I sure hope that’s the case.

Downtown Arena Press Conference

There were a couple of other interesting tidbits of news shared today:

  • Katz Group Executive VP John Karvellas confirmed that the Oilers have an agreement in place to continue playing at Rexall Place until the new facility opens in time for the 2016 season.
  • MacEwan University has come to the table and will be contributing $2 million to the community rink to “increase capacity and improve functionality”.

You can see more photos of the press conference here. The Oilers have audio and video of the press conference available here. The City has made renderings of Rogers Place available here.

Media Monday Edmonton: Update #100

Today’s post is a milestone for me. I started my Media Monday Edmonton series almost exactly three years ago, with this introduction:

Like many others, I’m interested in the continual evolution of journalism and media. And given my passion for Edmonton, I’m particularly interested in that evolution at a local level. Where have we been, and where are we going? What’s next?

Today’s post is #120 in the series, and #100 of my weekly updates (the first few were called “Week in Review”). I had no idea how long my experiment would last, but here we are, still going strong. The media landscape in Edmonton continues to evolve, meaning there’s no shortage of new things to write about!

I know how disappointing it would be to read a milestone post and not see a word cloud (heh) so here you go – each of my weekly updates visualized:

media monday word cloud

I’m both surprised and happy to see that Media Monday has become so popular. Thanks for correcting my mistakes, sending in tips, and for reading week after week.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Edmonton Notes for 2/9/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

Headlines

Waiting for Green
Beautiful shot of the historic McLeod Building by Jeff Wallace

Upcoming Events

Portal
Looks like the Flying Canoe Adventure was fun! Photo by Chris Gusen.

Media Monday Edmonton: Editorials & Endorsements

Should news organizations write editorials? Should they endorse political candidates? I think the answer to both questions is yes. Perhaps they should do it differently than newspapers have historically written editorials and endorsements, but I think both are important activities for news organizations today, and even more so for news organizations of the future.

To understand my point-of-view, I think there are three key things to consider. First, I believe the view from nowhere is harmful. Second, I believe that technology is dramatically changing the opportunities we have to seek out varied opinions and perspectives for the better. Third, I believe that news organizations need to be part of the communities they wish to inform.

The View from Nowhere is harmful

I firmly believe that the view from nowhere does more harm than good. The idea that journalists are unbiased and impartial strikes me as wrong, and the idea that keeping their biases hidden because it earns them more authority is even worse. As Jay Rosen wrote:

“In journalism, real authority starts with reporting. Knowing your stuff, mastering your beat, being right on the facts, digging under the surface of things, calling around to find out what happened, verifying what you heard. “I’m there, you’re not, let me tell you about it.” Illuminating a murky situation because you understand it better than almost anyone. Doing the work! Having a track record, a reputation for reliability is part of it, too. But that comes from doing the work.”

If you’re going to do all of that work, you’re going to form an opinion. Why not share that work? Why not share the facts and an opinion? I do not think that facts and an opinion are mutually exclusive. I would much rather read an opinion from a journalist who has invested a great deal of time and effort into understanding and forming that opinion, than a so-called impartial piece that belies the journalist’s true feelings and knowledge of the story.

Increased access to varied perspectives is a good thing

The democratization of publishing ushered forth by the web has provided us with a lot of crap, but also with more intelligent, well-researched, and thoughtful perspectives than we’ve ever had access to before. Gone are the days when reading one newspaper article would provide you with everything you could possibly know about a story. These days, that article is just the tip of the iceberg. Venture below the surface, and you’ll find a myriad of voices, perspectives, facts, and other information. It can take a bit of work to avoid getting lost in the sea of sources, but in exchange for an ounce of effort you’re rewarded with a ton of insight.

Who wants to do all that work, you ask? Increasingly you don’t have to. Searching the web today is less like finding a needle in a haystack and more like asking a question and getting an answer, and search remains a focus of major investment for the key players. New software that aggregates sources together appears almost daily, and with every new tool the algorithms get better and better. Curators are blossoming alongside both search and aggregation, offering yet another way to cut through the clutter.

I reject the notion that the explosion of perspectives makes it too easy to get trapped into the so-called echo chamber. At the end of the day, I don’t think human beings are satisfied reading only things they agree with and ignoring everything else, if for no other reason than we crave connection. As strongly as you might feel about something, keeping it to yourself is nearly impossible. Nothing compares to the experience of telling another person.

News organizations need to be part of the community

I agree 100% with Edmonton Journal editor Margo Goodhand when she wrote, “I still believe editorials can inform and challenge a community.”

The Edmonton Journal’s mission remains unchanged from the early days: “to provide relevant and reliable news and information to the Edmonton community.” In order to do that, the Journal needs to be part of the community, otherwise what credibility would it have? You can talk about a community without being part of it, but you can’t talk with a community unless you’re a member.

But how can a company be a part of the community? I think the answer is through its people. Journalists are the Edmontonians that can talk with the Edmonton community, not the organization itself. It is those journalists that will have gained knowledge and insight into something that is important to the community, such as an election.

Ignore tradition

The one line in Margo’s piece that still troubles me is this: “I would hate to be the first in the Journal’s 110-year history to abandon a venerated newspaper tradition.” (How will she lead the organization into the future of media if she is unwilling to break with tradition?) Even though I think editorials and endorsements have a place in the news, I think news organizations need to be willing to make some changes.

I don’t think unsigned editorials have a place in the future of media. Margo identifies the Journal’s editorial board in her piece, so why not identify the writer of each editorial on a regular basis? Is it solely to maintain the artificial separation between the editorial board and columnists? I would like to see editorials with a byline. The journalists who wrote the editorial will of course have sought insight from others, done some research, and perhaps even consulted the archives, but that doesn’t change the fact that they wrote it.

Likewise I don’t think political endorsements should carry the name of the news organization, but rather the name of the journalist(s) making the call. Maybe an editorial board as a whole can’t agree – why does there need to be only one endorsement, or lack thereof? ‘The decision is yours’ offered absolutely nothing of value. I would much rather have seen two or more strong, opposing opinions. That would have given me additional perspectives to consider.

To the future!

From my viewpoint in 2014, the future looks a lot more complicated and a lot more interesting than it is now. I’ll need to work harder to truly understand the world around me and my place in it, and I don’t and won’t rely on any single source of information. I’ll continue to consult sources with perspectives that match my own as well as sources that offer a different point-of-view. I’ll make up my own mind.

I think editorials and endorsements, created by journalists who know enough to have formed an opinion and who are clearly identified, are a healthy and important part of that future.

Edmonton Notes for 2/2/2014

Here are my weekly Edmonton notes:

No more bike lanes for you!

When it comes to bike lanes, enough Edmontonians have screamed “not in my backyard” that the City is now looking to delay further bike lane construction. This just after Council asked for more proof that shifting our city’s transportation modes is actually happening. Don’t hold your breath Councillors!

You know what other cities are doing? Building bike infrastructure. Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles were among the large American cities that pushed ahead with bicycle-related initiatives in 2013.

Headlines

Child Intervention Roundtable. Jan. 29, 2014
“A child intervention roundtable held at the University of Alberta in Edmonton January 28 and 29 brought experts, policy makers and stakeholders together to discuss the best practices in reviewing all child deaths in Alberta, and striking a balance between transparency and privacy.”

Upcoming Events

Waiting for Night
Waiting for Night by Jeff Wallace