Donald Trump ditched by NBC

NBC is cutting ties with Donald Trump over "recent derogatory statements" that the veteran businessman made about immigrants, the BBC reports.

NBC said the company would now not be airing the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants that are co-owned by Mr Trump.
Responding to the announcement, Mr Trump said he would consider suing NBC.
Earlier this month, he accused Mexicans of adding drugs and crime to the US as he announced he was seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
"They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people, but I speak to border guards, and they tell us what we are getting," he said in his speech on 16 June.

He also pledged to build a "great wall" on the US border with Mexico and insisted it would be paid for by Mexicans.
He later insisted he was criticising US lawmakers, not Mexican people.

High profile Radio Canada journalist Isabelle Richer seriously injured in bike accident

Isabelle Richer

The popular Radio Canada journalist Isabelle Richer was seriously injured on Saturday when she collided with a truck in in the town of Rougemont. Doctors are optimistic about her recovery. A post about the story says she was saved by wearing a helmet.
Richer joined Radio Canada in 1998. She covers courts in Montreal and has reported on many high profile trials.

Link to the Radio Canada story (in French)

Kathleen Wynne says she’ll sign waivers to allow documentary’s release

The Star's Jacques Gallant writes:

"Premier Kathleen Wynne said Thursday she expects to soon sign release forms that will enable some version of a controversial documentary about her to be broadcast.

“We have wanted this documentary to be released,” she said, adding her 'motivation' for participating was that she wanted to show Ontarians the inner working of their government and that she is not trying to exert editorial control over the project.

"She said she expects to sign the waivers as early as next week, saying she has not seen the footage.

"The original documentary that was set to air on TVOntario was to offer a behind-the-scenes look at "Wynne and her government in the lead-up to the 2015 provincial budget. It hit a roadblock last month after director Roxana Spicer quit the project in protest after Wynne’s office refused to sign release forms."

 Full story

TVO issues statement regarding Wynne documentary

In a release via Canada News Wire, TVO said:
In its notification to White Pine Pictures, TVO noted that:

• A completed documentary with a director attached to the project was not delivered. Director Roxana Spicer formally resigned in writing from the White Pine Pictures' project. The lack of a director is a fundamental deficiency for a documentary production;
• A documentary consistent with TVO's journalistic standards for editorial integrity, independence and quality, as required by the Agreement, was not delivered;
• A documentary fully cleared as required by the Agreement was not delivered. As White Pine Pictures informed TVO, signed access agreements and accompanying releases for several figures who participated were not obtained;
• A documentary with Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance as required by the Agreement was not delivered. White Pine Pictures informed TVO that it would not be seeking E&O insurance without the signed access agreements and accompanying releases, and;
• A finished documentary which met the terms of our Agreement in a timely manner to allow for our scheduled air date as agreed was not delivered. 

White Pine Pictures continues to be the owner of the content of the project. TVO does not have copies of the project in our possession.
As part of TVO's broadcast license, TVO is required to operate independently and at arm's length from government and to exercise full editorial independence. This requirement is strictly adhered to in all cases.
Link to full text of TVO statement

The Star's Robert Benzie views and reports on Wynne documentary

The Star's Robert Benzie viewed the one-hour film on which the Premier won't sign off and, therefore, can't be shown on TVOntario.
He writes:
"It is a one-hour documentary ‎entitled, Premier: The Unscripted Kathleen Wynne‎, that was supposed to air on TVOntario earlier this month — before it was yanked. . . .
"She also dispenses campaign advice to a wide-eyed federal Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and, with help from spouse Jane Rounthwaite, artfully smacks down a Progressive Conservative MPP for homophobic comments.
"Indeed, some of the film’s most illuminating moments are of Wynne and Rounthwaite in their Toronto home.
"Their marriage is one of loving, equal partners who share a puckish sense of humour, a passion for politics, and a quaint affinity for the 1950s sit-com I Love Lucy."
The whole story and clip

New round of buyouts coming for Postmedia Network

More cuts could be coming at Postmedia Network Canada Corp. as the company has offered voluntary buyouts to staff at the Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun newspapers, citing “persistent challenges” in the business, the Globe and Mail reports.

The buyout package is open to any employee, including managers, at the Pacific Newspaper Group, which is comprised of the print and digital operations at the two Vancouver papers. The severance plan will be implemented over “the next two and a half months,” according to a letter to staff obtained by The Globe and Mail.

MORE/

Streaming wars: How disruptors are shaking up the TV business

The Globe's media reporter James Bradshaw writes:
"The new six-part television drama Between chronicles a town besieged by a disease that spares only the young, leaving teenagers in charge. But watch closely when it premieres next month and you might catch a glimpse of a TV world in similar turmoil.

In Canada, where it was conceived, the show will make its debut May 21 on the City network, then later on the streaming service Shomi. But American viewers can watch it the same day on Netflix, thanks to an unusual production deal.

"Between straddles two worlds: The traditional TV business and the new frontier of online, on-demand video. Much of the money that made the show possible flowed through TV’s Canadian content system. But data and funding from Netflix Inc. helped shape it with tweaks to content and casting. Actor Jennette McCurdy has a huge following from the Nickelodeon shows iCarly and Sam & Cat, and Netflix helped nudge her into Between’s starring role."
The whole story

Excerpt from Les Whittington's book on how Harper froze out the Ottawa Press Gallery

"Touring the Vimy Ridge battlefield in France one day, Stephen Harper went down into one of the First World War trenches that have been preserved to give visitors a sense of what it was like there in 1917. Coming out later, the prime minister glanced at two TV photographers with their cameras pointing at him and quipped,
“In those days, the enemy had guns.” Sometimes Harper’s disdain for the Ottawa-based media — which he saw as part of the eastern establishment that had at one time helped solidify a Liberal stranglehold on Canadian politics — seemed half-serious, somewhat in the vein of the partisan posturing on display daily in the House of Commons. But for the most part, it was clear Harper saw the national reporting corps as self-important upstarts who amounted to little more than an obstacle to the Conservatives’ all-encompassing effort to shape and frame public attitudes toward their government.
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New journalistic policy at BCE in wake of Kevin Crull scandal

BCE Inc. has introduced a new journalistic independence policy to strengthen autonomy at its flagship news broadcaster after the company’s head of media was dismissed in April over his attempts to intervene in coverage, the Globe and Mail reports.

The new six-page policy was shared with CTV News staff on Thursday morning, and is designed to reinforce “independence and non-interference between BCE and CTV News,” according to a copy obtained by The Globe and Mail. The policy formally took effect on June 1.

 It also boosts the authority of the president of CTV News, Wendy Freeman, clearly stating her “absolute editorial privilege” and giving her a direct line to BCE CEO George Cope to address any concerns about the broadcaster’s independence in future.

The full story

Laura Robinson persisted in attack on John Furlong after story ran, lawyer says

A freelance journalist continued to attack former Vancouver Olympics CEO John Furlong even after her initial article was published, pressuring organizations he was involved with to sever ties and writing a paper that contained untrue allegations, Mr. Furlong’s lawyer argued Thursday.

Laura Robinson wrote an article for the Georgia Straight, a weekly newspaper based in Vancouver, in September, 2012, in which eight people alleged Mr. Furlong physically abused his former students. The allegations stemmed from Mr. Furlong’s previously undisclosed time as a physical-education instructor at Immaculata Roman Catholic Elementary School in Burns Lake, B.C., from 1969-70. Ms. Robinson is suing Mr. Furlong over comments he made at a news conference the day the story was published. Mr. Furlong vehemently denied any wrongdoing and criticized Ms. Robinson’s reporting, saying she had a vendetta against him.

More from the Globe and Mail

The Star's Robert Cribb presented with Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Journalism Education

The Toronto Star’s investigative journalist Robert Cribb was presented Thursday with the 2015 Michener-Deacon Fellowship for Journalism Education on Thursday. Cribb was presented the award by Governor-General David Johnston at the ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Cribb, a lecturer at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto, has in the past started investigative projects in classrooms and published the stories in major media outlets.

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Brian Williams to become MSNBC anchor; Lester Holt to host Nightly News

NBC News has found a new role for evening news anchor Brian Williams following his suspension for embellishing his portrayal of his reporting in Iraq in 2003.

Williams will become MSNBC anchor of breaking news and special reports, the network said. His temporary replacement, Lester Holt, will get the permanent anchor chair for NBC Nightly News.

More from Bloomberg

All four main national party leaders agree to mid-summer Maclean’s debate

The Canadian Press reports that the first debate of the federal election  will take place on August 6 and will be sponsored by Maclean's magazine. All four national party leaders will take part --Prime Minister Stephen Harper, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, Green party Leader Elizabeth May and — after some initial reluctance — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau. The debate is sponsored by Maclean's magazine which is owned by Rogers.

Liberals had wanted the debate to include a live audience or questions from ordinary Canadians, but multiple sources told CP that idea was shot down by the Conservatives and NDP.

The debate will be broadcast live on Toronto-based Citytv, CPAC and the multicultural Omni 1 and Omni 2 channels, as well as on each broadcaster’s website, Facebook, YouTube and on Rogers Radio news stations. Omni’s coverage will be translated into Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese and Punjabi; CPAC’s coverage will be in both French and English.

The debate is to be moderated by Maclean’s political editor Paul Wells.

New ad campaign touts the value of professional journalism

A new advertising campaign is asking Canadians to consider the value of professional journalism.
The JournalismIs campaign, initiated by a coalition of journalists and media stakeholders, is behind a series of print, digital and video ads that will start appearing in news media across Canada Saturday.
‘‘News is the lifeblood of our democracy,’’ Mary Agnes Welch, a Winnipeg Free Press reporter and former president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, said Friday at a launch of the campaign at Ryerson University in Toronto.
‘‘As the volume of information and the range of opinion available to media consumers increase, the contribution of professional journalism has become more important than ever.’’

The ads display one of 10 principles that represent what journalism means to Canadians, for example, ‘‘relentless,’’  ‘‘telling the whole story’’ and ‘‘a watchdog over the powerful.’’
Welch says the campaign was born out of the concern journalists were not doing enough to communicate with the public about what they expect from the news media. (National Post)
Full story
(Editor's note: the comments on the story are much more entertaining than the story itself. Here is one:)

• everybody's doormat 

  I almost burst out laughing. The ad should be directed at journalists themselves, not the general public.
  A few years ago I found a weekend paper from the the mid-80's in the attic and the decline in the quality of reporting and volume of news is pretty obvious.

RCMP charge man in kidnapping of journalist Amanda Lindhout

The Mounties have charged a Somali man in connection with the 2008 hostage-taking of Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout. the Star reports..

Ali Omar Ader was arrested Thursday in Ottawa and charged with the unlawful confinement of Lindhout, who was taken hostage with Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan while travelling in Somalia.

Ader, a Somali national who does not live in Canada, was due to appear in an Ottawa courthouse Friday.

Lindhout and Brennan were taken hostage near Mogadishu, Somalia, on Aug. 23, 2008 and held until their release on Nov. 25, 2009.

Lindhout would later tell of her ordeal while in captivity, where she was locked in an animal shed, chained around her ankles and routinely beaten.

On Friday, the RCMP alleged that Ader was one of the main negotiators for the group that had snatched the pair.

Ader was formally arrested in Ottawa but RCMP Assistant Commissioner James Malizia

refused to provide details of how he got there or whether he had been taken out of Somalia by Canadian officials.

The full story

Excellent summary of the Evan Solomon issue by Globe columnist

Konrad Yakabuski writes in the Globe and Mail:
"How could Mr. Solomon not recognize the ethical red flags those relationships raised? And wouldn’t the CBC be the first to take down a politician in a similar conflict?"
The full column

CMG on Evan Solomon: : "Excessively harsh judgement"

Canadian Media Guild statement on Evan Solomon

Excerpt:
"As a union, we are concerned that there may have been a rush to judgment here and a disproportionate response to what at worse may have been an unintentional breach of corporate policy that had no impact whatsoever on how Evan conducted himself as a host and journalist. - See more at: http://www.cmg.ca/en/2015/06/10/excessively-harsh-judgement."

The CBC can sue Evan Solomon, but he can’t sue the CBC -- Howard Levitt

Interesting column by Howard Levitt in the Financial post:
"The CBC has another avenue available to it, if it really wants to send a message. It can sue Solomon for all the profits he’s made as result of trading on his CBC position. That profit is said to amount to several hundred thousand dollars.
"Will the CBC attempt to obtain this money back for the taxpayers? Somehow I doubt it. Still reeling from Ghomeshi and with the public increasingly upset at tax dollars being further mismanaged by our public broadcaster, I’d be surprised if it didn’t try to sweep this under the rug as quickly — and forgettably — as possible."

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CBC host Evan Solomon fired after Toronto Star investigation finds he took secret cut of art deals

Evan Solomon

The Star's Kevin Donovan reports that the CBC has fired marquee host Evan Solomon after the Star reported that he was taking secret commission payments related to art sales involving people he dealt with as a host.
“'I regret to inform you that CBC News has ended its relationship with Evan Solomon,' executive Jennifer McGuire said in a brief statement issued late Tuesday, a day after the Star presented the findings of its investigation to the network.
"Solomon, 47, is the Ottawa-based host of Power and Politics on television and The House on CBC radio, and had been one of the people touted to replace Peter Mansbridge on The National when the veteran newsman retires.
"The Star found Solomon has been brokering the sale of paintings and masks owned by a flamboyant Toronto-area art collector to rich and famous buyers. Solomon, in at least one case, took commissions in excess of $300,000 for several pieces of art and did not disclose to the buyer that he was being paid fees for introducing buyer and seller.
"The CBC had taken Solomon off the air Monday pending an investigation “over the next couple of days.
” That move came after the Star presented the CBC with the results of its probe of Solomon.
"The network severed its relationship with Solomon on Tuesday without further explanation.
The full story

Bernard St-Laurent to retire from CBC

The Montreal  Gazette's Brendan Kelly writes:
"It’s hard to imagine a world where you can’t turn on the radio and hear Bernard St-Laurent giving us the inside scoop on the often-wild ups and downs of Quebec politics. He has been taking us behind the scenes — and behind the headlines — for four decades, mostly at CBC Radio and CBC TV.
On Monday, St-Laurent announced he is retiring from the public broadcaster. His last day on the air will be June 26.
"Most recently, he’s been doing political columns twice a week on CBC Radio One’s Montreal morning show Daybreak and CBC’s Montreal supper-hour newscast. In addition, he has still been hosting C’est la vie, a national CBC Radio show he co-created in 1998. He says C’est la vie is one of the things he’s most proud of, and with good reason: it’s one of the only places in the national media that provides regular coverage of franco Quebec culture. (C’est la vie will continue next season with a new host.)
"With his distinctive voice and point of view, St-Laurent has been a near-constant presence on CBC since the early 1980s. He has hosted Radio Noon and Homerun on CBC Radio, been a news assignment editor for what was then called Newswatch, and toiled for years as a national reporter in Quebec City for CBC Radio. He has also filled in as host for a slew of CBC Radio shows, notably The Current, Sounds Like Canada, As It Happens, The House and Cross Country Checkup.+
The whole story

RTNDA, CAJ awards - everyone toots their own horn

CBC story
CTV story

How a curmudgeonly old reporter exposed the FIFA scandal that toppled Sepp Blatter

The Washington Post on how journalist Andrew Jennings brought down FIFDA execs. Excerpt:
"For the past 15 years, Jennings has focused on the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), international soccer’s governing body. As other journalists were ball watching — reporting scorelines or writing player profiles — Jennings was digging into the dirty deals underpinning the world’s most popular game.
“'Credit in this saga should go to the dogged obsession of a single reporter, Andrew Jennings,' the Guardian’s Simon Jenkins wrote last week, citing in particular Jennings’s BBC Panorama film called “The Beautiful Bung: Corruption and the World Cup.” 

The story

Judge at Mike Duffy trial allows critical Senate report into evidence

CP reports that the judge presiding over the trial of Sen. Mike Duffy has allowed a key Senate committee report to be entered into evidence. Justice Charles Vaillancourt had been considering whether a 2010 report of the internal economy committee should be regarded as factual when hearing the arguments of the case. The report was based heavily on three audits of the Senate's administrative practices, undertaken by the firm Ernst and Young. It found that there was a lack of clear guidelines and criteria establishing what constitutes official business when senators file travel expenses. Those conclusions are important for Duffy's defence, which is largely focused on the argument that he was operating within the Senate's confusing and lax rules.

The GnM on the Rogers hockey expansion; reader comments skeptical

The Globe's James Bradshaw and Christine Dobby write:
"Ever since Rogers Communications Inc. sealed a deal to grab a near-monopoly on hockey broadcasting in Canada for 12 years, questions have lingered about whether it could squeeze enough value from the precious NHL rights to make its $5.2-billion gamble pay off.
Now, as the deal’s first season enters its final games, the company’s chief executive officer says it made money on the inaugural campaign, and expects a reasonable return over the life of the contract despite the hefty price tag. . . .
"But there is still much work to do to boost audiences and attract new hockey fans to the fold. Advertising partners who were promised a whole new game see room for improvement on viewership. A dismal year for the country’s biggest draw, the Toronto Maple Leafs, dragged audiences on some Saturdays down 15 to 20 per cent, which in turn sapped ratings for late-night games on the West Coast."
The full story
(Check out reader comments)