According to the Polemic and Paradox blog, former journalist, editor and federal NDP candidate, Ryan Cleary, can now add former talk show host to his resume. He and radio station, VOCM, have parted ways ...as they say. After a failed bid to become the NDP MP for St. John's South during the last election Cleary turned up as the host of VOCM's NightLine talk radio show replacing long time host Linda Swain for no apparent reason.

Cleary has worked at The Telegram, The Herald and The Independent in St. John's. After the failure of The Independent he decided to run for the NDP in the 2008 general election with Independent staffer and NDP party organizer, Ivan Morgan helping with the career change. Never mind that the NDP was a party he and and the Independents contributors regularly criticised and whose members  where insulted in his publications editorials and columns.

While the St. John's media community is itching to see where Mr. Cleary will pop up next one should not discount politics  which seem to require no professiional qualifications what-so-ever to get a job interview. All you have to do is talk a good line.

Pollster Nik Nanos says Canadian still trust TV news more than any other news sources. Internet news sites are last!
THAT doesn't bode well for the online news media and kind of does in the business plan.
But maybe, traditional business plans just don't apply in the new online world. They certainly don't seem to be working for "traditional" newspapers. 

I guess this means newspapers AND the internet are dead when it comes to news delivery. I don't think so.

According to a Nanos/Policy Options poll completed this week, television is still the number one source of news for Canadians, by a wide margin over newspapers, radio and the Internet. TV is also, again by comfortable margins, the most trusted source of news.

The research suggests that traditional media still have a significant credibility advantage over the Internet as a conduit for news information but that newspaper content providers have been comparatively hit harder than TV news providers.

Thinking of the power of the Internet as a vehicle for enriched long form news content and interaction, it's not surprising that newspapers have taken a hit. Conversely, it could quite well be that short and punchy TV news content may be comparatively less vulnerable, at this point, to the Internet.

The full analysis with tables are posted on our website at: http://www.nanosresearch.com.

Primary News Source Question: Which of the following would be your primary source of news? [Rotate]

Television 48%
Newspapers 21%
Radio 15%
Internet 14%
Unsure 3%

Most Trusted News Source Question: Which of the following news sources do you trust the most? [Rotate]

Television 42%
Newspapers 23%
Radio 16%
Internet 11%
Unsure 9%

Newspapers - Paper vs. Online Question: Thinking about newspapers, what percentage of content would you read in paper form and what percentage would you read online?

Paper 67%
Online 33%

Television News - TV vs. Online Question: Thinking about television news, what percentage of content would you watch on TV and what percentage would you watch online?

TV 78%
Online 22%

Comments?

Here & Now, the CBC supper hour news program in Newfoundland and Labrador, has won the best newscast of its kind in Canada.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) named the show winner of the best local TV newscast in a medium-sized market, during a weekend awards ceremony in Moncton.

The program collected several awards at the ceremony, including recognition as the best newscast of its size in Atlantic Canada.

"You are the best in the country," news director Janice Stein said in a note sent to staff on Sunday. "You can be absolutely proud of all the hard work you have done to make this possible. It is well deserved."

In the regional awards, Deanne Fleet won for best in-depth or investigative reporting in television, for her series of reports on controversial real estate developer Bill Clarke.

In radio, two CBC reporters from St. John's also were recognized for excellence in reporting. Rod Etheridge won an award for his continuing coverage in 2008 of the Cameron inquiry into flawed laboratory tests involving breast cancer patients.

Chris O'Neill-Yates won best in-depth or investigative reporting in radio, for her series on mental health services for teenagers.

The awards come on the heels of substantial ratings increases for Here & Now over the last year, as well as a series of honours at the Atlantic Journalism Awards earlier this month.

Here and Now, once the top rated TV news show in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been fighting in recent years to recover lost viewers from NTV is St. John's after cut backs and format / programming changes in 2000 that were a disaster the local market costing them significant ratings shares.

Stacking the numbers up against the awards it becomes clear that ratings and quality journalism do not always go hand in hand. Good reporters produce good journalism when given the resources to do so. The sad part, and sometimes discouraging for journalists, is that it is not always rewarded with the bigger numbers in ratings, readers or viewers.

(newsroom@nlpress.ca)

Over on Peter Whittle's blog he raises the question of liability, responsibility and protection for journalists, bloggers and commentators in the new world order of online media, journalism and general mayhem.

Peter is posting links to a story about a judge who ordered the newspaper, Alton Telegraph, in Alton, Illinois, USA, to turn over the names of anonymous posters in the papers comments section for a controversial child murder. The paper had claimed protection under the state's journalist shield law which allows journalists to protect the names of their sources.
Also see Richard Koman blog on ZD NET. Richard is a lawyer and technology writer.

This, of course, is very relevant to Canadian and Newfoundland media websites where there is a deluge of unhealthy commentary that more often than not ventures into the area of anonymous abuse, hate, ignorance, racism and political and religious propaganda or misinformation. If you can stomach a descent into the bowels of the asylum just spend some time cruising the comments sections on the websites of any of the major media outlets in Canada or even the Newfoundland media websites. ...but don't even think of visiting the more extremist political blogs. 

There are lots of people who think this is all good. Public discourse and discussion only brings good and a part of democracy. Yes, it truly is but, sadly, most of what is in the comments sections of media websites is not discussion and "good" is not a word I would choose. It is just ignorant yelling at someone who doesn't agree with your world view. Media websites and discussion forums that allow this do not care about discussion or democracy. They are only using it as free content and its entertainment value in hopes of driving their numbers up.

While there are laws protecting freedom of speech there are also laws for liable, slander and hate "literature." There are no shield laws for journalists, or anyone else, in Canada or any of its provinces.

Professional journalists and credible news organization that claim a public responsibility also have a responsibility for what they allow on their websites be it from their staff, professional contributing journalists or public and unsolicited comments.  Most of what they allow on their websites they would never allow in their traditional publications or broadcasts. For some reason they think its fine for their websites.

Which is why NL PRESS does not have comments sections on its website. This may change as we find the time and technology to effectively moderate public contributions and feel that is does actually contribute to the community and our customers in a meaningful way.

Until that time we still welcome signed and verified letters to the editor, your opinion and commentary. We will publish them in our Opinion section if we can authenticate the sender and the content is within Canadian libel, slander and hate laws. Simple and civilized, eh?  You can email us at newsroom@nlpress.ca

Here is a link to a Canadian story where a private Quebec company, Le Group Polygon, and The Globe and Mail are in the Supreme Court of Canada to make a Globe and Mail reporter, Daniel LeBlanc, reveal his sources from when he broke the "ad-scam" scandal involving the company and the Liberal Party of Canada over government advertising in Quebec.

Think about what THIS will mean for journalism if they win?  Any private company can go to court and order a journalist to turn over his sources, contacts and notes for use in civil action. No journalist's information will be considered private.

Have a Smurfy Day!