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West Island newspaper editors give up on former jobs

February 4, 2010 – 4:04 am| Posted in Media, West Island

A month after their positions were eliminated, and after surprising their bosses by saying they would not accept demotions, the editors of the West Island Chronicle and Cités Nouvelles have both confirmed that they're not going back to their jobs. Negotiations between their union and Transcontinental Media general manager Serge Lemieux did not result in a decision favourable to them, and they're leaving their newspapers.

For reasons that are still unclear, Lemieux apparently agreed to consider reinstating the editor position at Cités Nouvelles, but not the Chronicle. Both newspapers previously had one editor and one reporter. Even then, Marie-Claude Simard said she wouldn't be interested in returning to her job at Cités Nouvelles.

So all that's left for her and Albert Kramberger is to discuss their severance packages.

Of the four journalists at the two newspapers, only Olivier Laniel of Cités Nouvelles is still there. His reporting has been the only news in either paper since the beginning of January (his Cités Nouvelles articles are translated for the Chronicle). Raffy Boudjikanian, his former counterpart at the Chronicle, has already moved on and has been getting some work at the CBC.

One journalist covering the entire West Island for two newspapers.

It's possible Transcontinental might choose to hire someone new, at least for the Chronicle. Maybe they'll pick some eager kid straight out of university. And that kid will jump into a job with a lot of responsibility and little pay, and wonder: How did I get so lucky to land this job?

It's amazing how much history can be erased with a simple turnover.

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Chronicle, Cités Nouvelles editors refuse demotions

January 9, 2010 – 11:54 pm| Posted in Media, Opinion, West Island

On Friday, the West Island Chronicle and Cités Nouvelles, the two Transcontinental-owned weeklies covering the West Island, each had two full-time editorial employees - an editor and a reporter.

On Monday, they may have none.

Layoffs announced just before Christmas of the papers' reporters (Raffy Boudjikanian for the Chronicle, Olivier Laniel for Cités Nouvelles) took effect on Friday. Technically they're not permanent, but for an indeterminant period. But Boudjikanian doesn't expect to return to the job and is now unemployed. Laniel was a temporary worker, replacing a reporter on maternity leave.

Albert Kramberger

Hearing about the job cuts and their own demotions from editor to sole reporter (and sole journalist), Chronicle editor Albert Kramberger and Cités Nouvelles editor Marie-Claude Simard told their employer on Christmas Eve that they would refuse their demotions and wouldn't work for their papers if they were expected to do so solo.

Their superiors "seemed shocked to get the news", Simard said, and they have been holding meetings this week with the union to discuss the matter.

Whether those meetings will go anywhere is another matter. A decision could be weeks away, and the demotions take effect on Monday.

As far as Kramberger is concerned, unless some stunning reversal on the employer's part takes place, he's already worked his last shift at the Chronicle, and he's looking for another job.

Wayne Larsen, who was also demoted from editor of the Westmount Examiner, saw the positive side of his new role and is expected to stay on.

The emptying of the Chronicle is particularly distressing. Only five years ago, I spent a week there as an intern, and it had a skeleton staff, but still a staff. News reporters, a sports reporter, an editor and a photographer. The Chronicle was a perennial winner at the Quebec Community Newspaper Association awards, mostly because they had more resources than the other papers.

Now they're all gone.

Transcontinental might choose to hire a new reporter at each paper, perhaps some kid straight out of university or a laid-off journalist who's desperate to make ends meet. But the loss of institutional memory would be huge. They would end up as shadows of the shadows they once were.

With the Chronicle and Cités Nouvelles on their last legs, a void opens up for West Island community coverage. The best of what's left is the weekly West Island section of The Gazette, which has four full-time editorial employees and relies on the resources of the larger paper. Beyond that, there's little. Unlike Westmount or NDG, there's no mom-and-pop paper running out of someone's basement trying to compete with the big guys. Even The Suburban hasn't really reached out to the West Island yet.

Transcontinental may have seen this as just two layoffs, but they've essentially abdicated their responsibilities to the West Island.

Now, who will fill that void?

Other coverage from CTV Montreal and The Suburban

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Merry Christmas from Transcontinental (P.S.: You’re fired)

December 23, 2009 – 3:29 pm| Posted in Media, Montreal

When was the last time you read a community weekly from Transcontinenal Media? When was the last time you learned anything interesting from it about your neighbourhood that you couldn't get from the borough newsletter?

Most of the on-island community papers are pathetic - many don't even have a full-time journalist - but others have been giving it the ol' college try despite their tiny budgets.

Those budgets, though, are about to get smaller.

On the Friday before Christmas, just days after the latest earnings report showed good news for the parent company, journalists at Transcontinental-owned weeklies across town got the news that their services would no longer be required starting Jan. 8. Among them are two on the West Island: Raffy Boudjikanian of the West Island Chronicle and Olivier Laniel of Cités Nouvelles. It's unclear at the moment (even to them) if these are temporary or permanent layoffs.

Normally, the downsizing of two journalists wouldn't be a big deal, but these newspapers are running on a skeleton staff as it is. What was once a newsroom of three now becomes a newsroom of two.

One of those is the editor, who will now become a reporter. Albert Kramberger at the Chronicle, Marie-Claude Simard at Cités Nouvelles and Wayne Larsen at the Westmount Examiner. This appears to also be the case chain-wide. Their salaries will remain essentially the same or have slight reductions, depending.

Montreal regional manager Stéphane Vinet

The exact nature of the measures taken by Transcontinental is not absolutely clear. According to Benoit Leblanc, president of the Syndicat de l'information de Transcontinental, they affect a dozen employees, three of whom have definitely lost their jobs. Another vacant position is being eliminated.

As for Transcontinental, it's not talking to the media. Stéphane Vinet, the Montreal regional manager for Transcontinental Media who is responsible for weekly papers on the island, did not respond to a request for information.

His name, meanwhile, is being spoken along with unkind words by some of the journalists involved.

Those who spoke to me asked me to not to name them for fear of reprisals. So I offer them anonymity even though the entire pool of editorial staff at the three newspapers mentioned above is less than a dozen. One journalist was angry, saying Transcon "declares journalists are obsolete for their ad rags" and that this was a retaliation for union grievances. Two others shrugged and accepted the cost-cutting as a fact of life, and that they'll just find other sources of income.

It's easy to say (as I did above) that these newspapers are garbage and this is just the continuation of their suicidal death spirals. Looking back just a decade, many of these newspapers looked a lot different, they were well connected with their communities, they didn't just copy-paste press releases or use the same stories as their neighbours.

But there's still just a little bit of journalism coming out of these papers, and that's where they're cutting. Laniel last week compiled a list of salaries for West Island mayors. Boudjikanian has been following the case against a snow plow company that hasn't delivered on its promises. Neither of these can be replaced by a press release.

The cuts also mean an end to paid freelance work, what little is left of it anyway. Unpaid contributors, of which there are unfortunately many, will not be affected. Since, you know, they're unpaid.

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AMT fares for 2010

December 9, 2009 – 4:44 am| Posted in Montreal, Public transit

The AMT on Tuesday finally released its fare table for 2010 to the public, becoming the first major transit agency to do so. Neither the RTL, STL or STM have released a table, though they are all expected to increase slightly (the STM board was expected to vote on an increase at their meeting Tuesday night, but apparently that's going to happen at another meeting, possibly next week).

The AMT fares are going up by 1.5 to 2%, which is much less than the 3-4% they went up at the beginning of 2009. So a $100 pass would go up by $2 on Jan. 1, 2010, when it went up by $3.50 on Jan. 1, 2009.

Here's the skinny by zone and type:

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8
Areas in this zone Downtown Montreal North end, St. Laurent, eastern West Island, between Pie IX and Highway 25 Longueuil, Laval, eastern and western tips of the island La Prairie, Île Perrot Vaudreuil, Deux Montagnes, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Sainte Julie, St. Bruno, Chambly, Candiac, St. Constant, Kahnawake, Châteauguay and Mercier Saint Lazare, Hudson*, Rigaud*, Blainville, Mascouche, Verchères, Beloeil, Marieville, Beauharnois Les Cèdres, Oka, Mirabel, L'Assomption, St. Sulpice Valleyfield, Laurentides, St. Jerome, Sorel, St. Hyacinthe,
Train stations in this zone Central Station to Montpellier, Lucien L'Allier to Lachine, LaSalle and Chabanel Du Ruisseau to Roxboro, Dorval to Cedar Park, Bois de Boulogne Beaconsfield to Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Île Bigras, St. Lambert, St. Hubert, plus all stations in Laval Île Perrot, Pincourt Grand Moulin, Deux Montagnes, Dorion, Vaudreuil, Rosemère, Ste. Thérèse, St. Bruno, St. Basile le Grand, Ste. Catherine, St. Constant, Delson, Candiac, Hudson*, Rigaud* Hudson, Rigaud, Blainville, McMasterville, St. Hilaire St. Jérôme None
TRAM (regular fare) $81 (79.50 + 1.9%) $94.50 ($93 +1.6%) $111 ($109  +1.8%) $121 ($119 +1.7%) $140 ($138 +1.4%) $168 ($165  +1.8%) $194 ($191 +1.6%) $222 ($218 +1.8%)
TRAM (intermediate fare) $65 ($63.50 +2.4%) $75.50 ($74.50 +1.3%) $89 ($87 +2.3%) $97 ($95 +2.1%) $112 ($110 +1.8%) $134 ($132 +1.5%) $155 ($153 +1.3%) $178 ($174 +2.3%)
TRAM (reduced fare) $48.50 ($47.50 +2.1%) $56.50 ($55.50 +1.8%) $66.50 ($65.50 +1.5%) $72.50 ($71.50 +1.4%) $84 ($83 +1.2%) $101 ($99 +2.0%) $116 ($115 +0.9%) $133 ($131 +1.5%)
TRAIN only (regular) N/A N/A N/A $111 ($109 +1.8%) $119 ($117 +1.7%) $143 ($140 +2.1%) $165 ($162 +1.9%) N/A
TRAIN only (intermediate) N/A N/A N/A $89 ($87 +2.3%) $95 ($93.50 +1.6%) $114 ($112 +1.8%) $132 ($130 +1.5%) N/A
TRAIN only (reduced) N/A N/A N/A $66.50 ($65.50 +1.5%) $71.50 ($70 +2.1%) $86 ($84 +2.4%) $99 ($97 +2.1%) N/A
Six tickets (regular) $16 (no change) $19 ($18.50 +2.7%) $22 (no change) $24 (no change) $28 ($27.50 +1.8%) $33.50 ($33 +1.5%) $39 ($38 +2.6%) N/A
Six tickets (reduced) $9.50 (no change) $11.50 ($11 + 4.5%) $13 (no change) $14.50 (no change) $17 ($16.50 +3.0%) $20 (no change) $23.50 ($23 +2.2%) N/A

*Hudson and Rigaud are technically in Zone 6, but the AMT is extending its "reduction tarifiaire" so people who use those stations need only a Zone 5 pass.

The released table doesn't list prices for single fares, I guess because there won't be any of those anymore. Which is a shame.

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Photos: Behind the scenes at the Grey Cup party

December 3, 2009 – 4:29 am| Posted in Media, Montreal, photos

The local media came out in force to cover the Alouettes' Grey Cup parade, especially on TV, which really surprised me.

I was stuck in the crowd, but here are some photos I got of the TV media covering the party afterward.

The CTV tent

The CTV tent

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Rob Braide, Hall of Famer

November 28, 2009 – 2:51 am| Posted in Media, Radio

On Monday, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters will be inducting new members into its hall of fame. (Wait, there's a Canadian association of broadcasters? And it has a hall of fame?)

Rob Braide

Rob Braide

Among the inductees is Rob Braide, who was a long-time manager at CJAD (and, under Standard Radio and Astral Media, for CJFM and CHOM as well) until he was canned in January. He now works as a consultant, mainly for Astral. According to his biography on the hall of fame site, which is literally copy-pasted from the bio on his own website (giving you an indication of how thorough the selection process is here) he's a proud life-long Montrealer.

Others from around here being inducted are Michel Chamberland, who has worked all over the Quebec broadcasting industry in various management jobs, and Sidney Margles, who began his career at CJAD in 1957.

The inductees, which also include Terry Coles, Charles Dalfen (posthumously), Lyndon Friesen, Tony Parsons and Sandy Sanderson, have a party in their honour at the Château Laurier on Monday in Ottawa.

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Intern season is over

October 14, 2009 – 10:13 pm| Posted in Media

Fall is a sad time around the office. Not only is everyone dealing with the fact that summer is turning to fall, the days are getting colder, vacation season is over and the kids are going back to school, but it's when the interns leave and go back to that naive hope that they might someday secure a permanent job as an investigative reporter once they graduate from journalism school.

One by one, the four reporter interns, two editor interns and one photography intern finished their final shifts and went their merry ways.

Half of them are now back in school, getting degrees in fields that might actually earn them a living. The rest were recently spotted on highways across Canada holding cardboard signs reading: "Will profile your grandmother for food"

While a large amount of the reporters' time was spent on the night desk, obsessively checking with the police department for news and sharing inappropriate jokes with the copy editors, they also managed to write a few articles longer than 20 words. Here's a few examples of what they churned out this summer:

Megan Martin

Terrine Friday

Andrew Halfnight

Monique Muise

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Go fuck yourself Eric Amber (UPDATED)

July 18, 2009 – 3:41 pm| Posted in Montreal, Opinion, Slow News Day 
      The shows listed were in english and therefore so is the message.
      You obviously can't read in english because you are an
      uneducated bigot.

      estce que vous comprenez l'expression anglophone: Go Fuck Yourself?

On behalf of the local news industry, I'd like to offer my thanks to Eric Amber of Théâtre Ste. Catherine, which despite its name is an anglo venue.

You see, despite the people in space, the huge investment scandals and the giant rocks falling on people's heads, it's kind of a slow news period right now. Hockey is in the offseason, politicians are on vacation, and most of the people who would make serious news are instead outside enjoying the summer.

Perhaps subconsciously sensing this, Amber decided to do the following things to ensure coverage in the local media:

  • Be an asshole
  • Be an asshole on a language issue
  • Be an asshole on a language issue in writing
  • Be an asshole to someone who didn't provoke him
  • Create a PR crisis for one of the city's biggest festivals right in the middle of it
  • React childishly when called on about his behaviour
  • Refuse to apologize

For those who haven't seen the news in La Presse, the Journal, Le Devoir, The Gazette and elsewhere, francophone group Les Sages Fous was receiving English-only messages on TSC's mailing list about Zoofest shows related to the Just for Laughs festival. They sent a rather matter-of-fact email asking that they be removed from that list unless the messages are sent in French. A bit snarky, but not unreasonable. Amber responded by calling the guy an uneducated bigot and telling him to "go fuck yourself".

Louis Préfontaine was the first to break the email on Wednesday, and it spread from there (including the requisite Facebook group). Préfontaine also has a follow-up and the raw text of the back-and-forth.

It's happened to everyone. Maybe you've just been dumped, fired or made to wait on the phone with Bell to fix a billing issue. You're frustrated and tired, and someone sends you an email that sounds snarky. It's the last straw and you let them have it. Realizing your mistake, you later apologize.

Amber, unfortunately, didn't do this. Instead, he told Le Devoir and the Journal about other emails he got from francophones which relentlessly attacked him. The emails weren't from Les Sages Fous, but Amber made the mistake that far too many make in this unending language debate and painted everyone on the other solitude with the same brush, as if one is responsible for the actions of everyone who speaks the same language.

Which brings me to this: On behalf of the anglo community, go fuck yourself Eric Amber. You're the last thing we need right now. Because those idiots who comment on Patrick Lagacé and Richard Martineau's blogs will start painting all of us with the same brush, and that makes us responsible for your behaviour.

To bring this drama to an even higher level of absurd assholity, Amber has been sending the following message to those emailing him to condemn his comments or ask what the hell he was thinking:

Due to the overwhelming racism and bigotry in French society toward minorities and non-french cultures, Theatre Ste-Catherine will be closing in protest. Effective immediately TSC will no longer be accepting bookings and will closed permanently Dec. 21, 2009.

I'll assume you mean francophone Quebec society and not the society of France (though you could make such an argument about racism in the motherland). But let me get this straight: you're going to shut down the venue over this? Either TSC has been on the financial ropes for some time (which is certainly plausible) or you have the thinnest skin on the planet.

I don't agree with some who say that TSC should be sending emails in French. I don't see why, any more than I would see why The Gazette would advertise in French (except when it wants to, like it's been doing the past few Sundays). But that's irrelevant now, because you had to be an asshole.

No matter how long this goes, it's going to end eventually by you eating a truck full of crow. Better start now before more has to be shovelled onto your plate.

Somewhat sincerely,

Fagstein

P.S. Fuck you.

UPDATE: Just when you thought this ridiculousness couldn't get any worse, it seems the Jeunes Patriotes and their ilk are doing their best to prove Amber right about bigotry in Quebec. Amber says he has been receiving death threats, and the JPQ are organizing had a protest at 4pm Sunday - 30 people showed up. Josée Legault also turns this into a language issue, painting all anglos with the Eric Amber brush.

And apparently someone has setup a Twitter account for the sole purpose of calling me an asswipe fascist.

Patrick Lagacé has a follow-up on his blog. Hour complains how this is unworthy of newspaper coverage ... with an article in its newspaper.

UPDATE (July 22): Crow special, Table 1! Amber also speaks to The Gazette's Pat Donnelly where he takes great pains to prove he's not a bigot. He also does an interview with Radio-Canada where he says he never expected to start up such a shitstorm.

His apology (also on Donnelly's blog), which you'll note is in both languages:

To whom it concerns,

There has been much media activity in recent days that began with an email that I sent to the theatre's mailing list. Les Sages Fous were upset after receiving an all-english message regarding Zoofest programming as part of the Just For Laughs festival.

I reacted inappropriately to their request to receive emails only in French and for this I would like to apologize. However, I would like to explain that I did so not simply due to this one response, but rather because I often receive a disproportionate amount of negative feedback whenever I promote English events that are hosted at Theatre Ste Catherine.

Although it is true that I lost my temper, it must be said that it was in no way an attack on Quebec or French-speaking Canadians as was implied by some of the media covering this story. As I myself am French Canadian and a francophone from La Beauce region of southern Quebec, to hate French culture would be to hate myself.

I truly regret offending any of my French brothers and sisters, however I do not believe this would have become an issue if certain media had not sought to create discontent. As such, this situation has been blown out of proportion to the point where it now stands. Unfortunately, not only has this resulted in negative publicity for both Theatre Ste-Catherine, Zoofest and the Just For Laughs Festival, but as my personal information has since been released, I have received hundreds of hate letters including several death threats.

Due to the actions of certain individuals who fanned the flames of hate within a community of extremists, a great hurt was inflicted upon me personally that I fear could threaten the harmony of Montreal. I am upset with the intolerance that I receive on a daily basis as displayed by the many hateful emails that have been written. I also believe that the French language and culture is alive and strong, and need not be afraid of others.

When I first opened the theatre five years ago, which I myself built in what was a very troubled neighbourhood, my intention was to create a venue for people of every culture to come together for the celebration of art and unity. It would be regretful to have to shut the doors to those who have come to make Theatre Ste-Catherine their home and meeting place.

Again, I would like to sincerely apologize to Les Sages Fous, The Just For Laughs Festival, Zoofest, all of Theatre Ste Catherine's company members as well as anyone who has been affected by this situation.

I wish I had addressed this issue sooner because of the hurt it has caused.

Sincerely,

Eric Amber

Theatre Ste. Catherine

À qui de droit,

Depuis quelques jours, bien des médias et sites Internet s’attardent sur un courriel envoyé récemment par moi-même à un inscrit de la liste d’envois électronique générale du Théâtre Ste Catherine. Je répondais alors à un message provenant de la troupe Les Sages Fous, qui protestait avoir reçu un courriel en anglais concernant la programmation anglophone du Zoofest dans le câdre du Festival Juste Pour Rire.

Ma réaction face à leur demande, de recevoir une version française de ce même courriel, fut inflammatoire et non justifiée et pour cela je voudrais sincèrement m’excuser. Ma réplique très agressive s’explique en partie par le fait que Le Théâtre Sainte Catherine est toujours ciblé par des messages francophones très négatifs et diffamatoires concernant nos évènements anglophones et ce, tout au long de l’année.

Malgré l’important manque de jugement dont j’ai fait preuve, il se doit aussi d’être clarifié qu’en aucune façon, mes remarques visaient le Québec ou la Francophonie, tel que certains médias l’ont laissés entendre cette semaine. Étant moi-même francophone ayant grandit et provenant de la région de La Beauce, dans le sud du Québec, d’émettre de pareilles insultes envers la Francophonie serait contradictoire et impensable.

Je regrette sincèrement avoir offensé mes propres frères et soeurs Francophones, mais suis tout à fait convaincu qu’une couverture médiatique alarmiste et sensationnaliste n’a fait qu’aggraver la situation. Cette réaction incroyable de la part des médias provoque non seulement une publicité extrêmement négative pour Le Théâtre Ste-Catherine, mais engendre également une campagne négative envers le Zoofest et le festival Juste Pour Rire. Il est aussi important de noter que je fais personnellement maintenant face à des menaces de mort et insultes personnelles très inquiétantes.

Il m’attriste donc de constater que suite aux actions marquées de quelques individus qui avaient pour but précis d’encourager la haine et l’extrémisme, l’harmonie culturelle de notre ville de Montréal est affectée. Je suis déçu par le niveau d’intolérance présent dans les centaines de courriels et de lettres que nous avons reçus cette semaine, surtout parce que je suis profondément convaincu que malgré ces incidents isolés, la culture Française est essentiellement forte et inclusive au Québec.

Lorsque le Théâtre Ste Catherine a ouvert ses portes, il y a cinq ans, un théâtre que j’ai moi-même fondé et bâti dans un quartier très désavoué de Montréal, mon rêve était de créer une scène, un endroit où tout le monde pourrait se réunir, quelle que soit leur culture, pour célébrer l’art et la communauté. Aujourd’hui, ce théâtre est bel et bien vibrant et il serait dommage de devoir fermer ses portes au public et aux artistes qui le fréquentent maintenant en si grand nombre.

Je souligne donc à nouveau mes excuses sincères envers Les Sages Fous, Le festival Juste Pour Rire, Zoofest ainsi qu’envers tous les membres de la communauté du Théâtre Ste Catherine et tous ceux et celles qui sont affectés par cette situation.

En regrettant de ne pas m’être prononcé plus tôt sur ces évènements importants,

Sincèrement,

Eric Amber

Théâtre Ste. Catherine

UPDATE (July 23): Amber just couldn't keep his bloody mouth shut. He sends another email to Les Sages Fous taunting them.

UPDATE (Aug. 4): The Mirror weighs in.

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Dobbin’s dead

July 9, 2009 – 12:42 pm| Posted in Radio

Len Dobbin, the host of the Dobbin's Den jazz show Sundays on CKUT Radio, died Wednesday night after suffering a stroke at the Upstairs jazz bar ... in the middle of the jazz festival.

Dobbin, who also photographed jazz artists and wrote about jazz, was a fixture of CKUT. His show had gone 736 episodes (he would count them), or about 14 years.

He was 74, and he is already being missed by many in the jazz community, his death coming at either the worst or best possible time, depending on your perspective.

You can listen to archives of Dobbin's Den here. Next Sunday's show, which Dobbin was scheduled to host, will instead become a special tribute show hosted by Mike Chamberlain. Details are still being figured out. It runs 11am to 1pm on CKUT 90.3FM.

UPDATE: La Presse has a short obit, as does The Gazette, with some thoughts from Bernie Perusse and James Hale. Hour and Mirror also chip in.

UPDATE (July 14): A memorial is planned for August 9.

CKUT has audio of the Len Dobbin memorial show online in MP3 format: Hour 1-2, Hour 3, Hour 4-5.

UPDATE (Sept. 29): A piece in This Magazine.

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The block that time forgot

February 20, 2009 – 10:30 am| Posted in Montreal, Navel-gazing

Funny story: I was walking along Ste. Catherine St. W. with a friend from out of town yesterday after having seen this Slumdog Millionnaire movie that everyone's talking about (and now I know why). As we walked by the boarded one-block slum between Lambert-Closse and Chomedey, I described the old Seville Theatre as "the block that time forgot" and how the fact that it's dead space has put an economic damper on the block and its surroundings.

As we get to the corner of Chomedey, I spot Gazette reporter Jan Ravensbergen and photographer Pierre Obendrauf. Turns out they're doing a story about how the Seville Theatre building is going to be torn down for a development project.

This actually got turned into two stories for today's paper: one about the development project itself and another about local reaction to it.

The project would require the tearing down of a once architecturally significant building façade. But even the architects and heritage activists admit there's nothing worth saving anymore.

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Butter! Living Montreal stays inside this week

January 31, 2009 – 11:25 pm| Posted in Montreal, Navel-gazing, Radio, TV, Video, Web design
Sue Smith and Catherine Cullen

Catherine Cullen (right) totally not flirting with Living Montreal's Sue Smith

Sue Smith, the host of Living Montreal (perhaps the only English television program left that's produced for a local Montreal audience) apparently ran out of ideas this week and did five shows themed on CBC Montreal and the Maison Radio-Canada.

Above is some little-known nerd reporter from CBC Radio who on Thursday's show did a chocolate-chip cookie recipe she got off the Internet. (Actually, it's my former classmate Catherine Cullen, whose career has now officially outperformed mine, allowing me to make fun of her with the photo below.) They're actually shown on a set in the basement made by the production department specifically for this segment, which is kind of cute (did it have running water?).

Catherine Cullen on TV

Catherine Cullen is just happy to be on TV

Sadly, too little of the 115 minutes over the week involved actually exploring the iconic CBC building (and too much on graphical segues and plugs for the website). The trips through various offices act more as a backdrop for various food/style/shopping/other chick stuff.

Still, if you're a junkie for inside journalism like me, take a peek at these:

And while you're exploring the Living Montreal site, you can take a peek at segments from the Flab Gab column which stars The Gazette's June Thompson, who was brought on board in December.

P.S. To Living Montreal (or whoever is responsible for its website): Your Flash-based video system looks cool and seems to work OK (except for the minor issue that if I pause a video I can't restart it ...  actually that's a pretty serious issue), but this post would have been made a lot easier if you had some simple way to copy a link to individual videos. I had to get the ones above through the "Send to a friend" feature, sending myself half a dozen unnecessary emails.

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AMT (finally) releases 2009 fare table

December 17, 2008 – 3:23 am| Posted in Montreal, Public transit

The AMT today finally released its fare table for 2009 (PDF), after previously announcing that rates would go up about 3.5%. (You'll notice their release last week put the increased service and parking in ALL CAPS, but left the fare increases in lowercase.)

The 3.5% figure had actually been leaked through La Presse's Bruno Bisson in October (he had said in September the AMT was considering a 4.3% fare increase). While they kept to that 3.5% for most of the monthly passes, the cash fares have gone up much higher (if only to keep to round numbers).

The biggest change to the fare structure is that "intermediate" will mean not just students 18-21, but now 18-25, bringing it in line with the STM's "Carte Privilège" and similar systems at other transit networks.

Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 6 Zone 7 Zone 8
Areas in this zone Downtown Montreal North end, St. Laurent, eastern West Island, between Pie IX and Highway 25 Longueuil, Laval, eastern and western tips of the island La Prairie, Île Perrot Vaudreuil, Deux Montagnes, Terrebonne, Repentigny, Sainte Julie, St. Bruno, Chambly, Candiac, St. Constant, Kahnawake, Châteauguay and Mercier Saint Lazare, Hudson, Rigaud, Blainville, Mascouche, Verchères, Beloeil, Marieville, Beauharnois Les Cèdres, Oka, Mirabel, L'Assomption, St. Sulpice Valleyfield, Laurentides, St. Jerome, Sorel, St. Hyacinthe,
Train stations in this zone Central Station to Montpellier, Lucien L'Allier to Lachine, LaSalle and Chabanel Du Ruisseau to Roxboro, Dorval to Cedar Park, Bois de Boulogne Beaconsfield to Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Île Bigras, St. Lambert, St. Hubert, plus all stations in Laval Île Perrot, Pincourt Grand Moulin, Deux Montagnes, Dorion, Vaudreuil, Rosemère, Ste. Thérèse, St. Bruno, St. Basile le Grand, Ste. Catherine, St. Constant, Delson, Candiac Hudson*, Rigaud*, Blainville, McMasterville, St. Hilaire St. Jérôme None
TRAM (regular fare) $79.50 ($77 +3.2%) $93 ($90 +3.3%) $109 ($105 +3.8%) $119 ($115 +3.5%) $138 ($133 +3.8%) $165 ($159 +3.8%) $191 ($185 +3.2%) $218 ($211 +3.3%)
TRAM (intermediate fare) $63.50 ($61.50 +3.2%) $74.50 ($72 +3.5%) $87 ($84 +3.6%) $95 ($92 +3.3%) $110 ($106 +3.8%) $132 ($127 +3.9%) $153 ($148 +3.4%) $174 ($169 +3.0%)
TRAM (reduced fare) $47.50 ($46 +3.3%) $56 ($54 +3.7%) $65.50 ($63 +4.0%) $71.50 ($69 +3.6%) $83 ($80 +3.8%) $99 ($95.50 +3.7%) $115 ($111 +3.6%) $131 ($127 +3.1%)
TRAIN only (regular) N/A N/A N/A $109 ($105 +3.8%) $117 ($113 +3.5%) $140 ($135 +3.7%) $162 ($157 +3.2%) N/A
TRAIN only (intermediate) N/A N/A N/A $87 ($84 +3.6%) $93.50 ($90.50 +3.3%) $112 ($108 +3.7%) $130 ($126 +3.2%) N/A
TRAIN only (reduced) N/A N/A N/A $65.50 ($63 +4.0%) $70 ($68 +2.9%) $84 ($81 +3.7%) $97 ($94 +3.2%) N/A
Six tickets (regular) $16 ($15.50 +3.2%) $18.50 ($18 +2.8%) $22 ($21 +4.8%) $24 ($23 +4.3%) $27.50 ($26.50 +3.8%) $33 ($32 +3.1%) $38 ($37 +2.7%) N/A
Six tickets (reduced) $9.50 (no change) $11 (no change) $13 ($12.50 +4.0%) $14.50 ($14 +3.6%) $16.50 ($16 +3.1%) $20 ($19 +5.3%) $23 ($22 +4.5%) N/A
Single regular fare $4 ($3.75 +6.7%) $4.75 ($4.50 +5.6%) $5.50 ($5.25 +4.8%) $6 ($5.75 +4.3%) $7 ($6.75 +3.7%) $8.25 ($8 +3.1%) $9.50 ($9.25 +2.7%) N/A
Single reduced fare $2.50 ($2.25 +11.1%) $2.75 (no change) $3.25 (no change) $3.50 (no change) $4.25 ($4 +6.3%) $5 ($4.75 +5.3%) $5.75 ($5.50 +4.5%) N/A

*The "promotion" that allows Zone 5 passes at Hudson and Rigaud stations continues in the new year.

For those who missed them, the fare tables for STM, STL and RTL were released earlier.

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Journalist unions win big in Journal de Québec decision

December 16, 2008 – 5:57 am| Posted in Business, Media

In a decision handed down Monday by the Commission des relations du travail, Quebecor Media and the Journal de Québec were found to have illegally used scab labour to replace locked-out and striking workers during the 15 months they were on the picket lines.

The decision is a huge victory not only for the Journal de Québec workers' union, but for journalist and other unions in general. It sets a precedent for what qualifies as "workplace" in Quebec law, extending its definition beyond the physical building where offices are located.

For those unfamiliar with the story, editorial workers at the Journal were locked out in April 2007 after negotiations on a new contract were stalled over the issue of convergence (having journalists do multimedia jobs). Immediately, press workers went on strike, and the Journal was left with just over a dozen managers to put out a daily newspaper.

Shortly after the labour conflict began, we started hearing about news content providers that appeared out of nowhere: Keystone Press, a photography agency, and Agence Nomade, a wire service. In addition, reports that news conferences in Quebec City started seeing reporters from "Canoë", which is Quebecor's web portal and shares content with its newspapers.

The union complained that this was essentially scab work. The decision finally got resolved after the conflict ended, even though the issue had become moot by then (the Journal fought to get the issue dismissed after the labour conflict ended, but the union pushed to get a judgment).

The details

Among the findings in the judgment (50-page PDF) concerning the scab labour:

  • Keystone Press, dubbed a scab company by the union, tried unsuccessfully to pitch its freelance services to the newspaper until the day after the lockout, when it was contacted by the president of Sun Media. Up to that point, the photography company had no office in Quebec, but had three photographers in the region the next day, taking photos of news events. The Journal would ask Keystone to cover specific events, and would then have exclusivity over the photos for a 36-hour period. Keystone in turn signed agreements with its photographers (in English) which paid them a set rate per hour of work. The commission singled out Geneviève Larivière, Antoine Leclaire and Pierre Gauthier as scabs.
  • Ferron Communications, a PR company, was hired by the Journal to provide news articles. It hired two journalists, Bernard Plante and Dominic Salgado, to cover news for the Journal. This continued until about June when the Journal found this method of operation too expensive.
  • Canoë, Sun Media's web portal, had no journalists in the Quebec City region before the labour conflict (for that matter, it didn't have much of a news operation at all - it was an aggregator of Quebecor's newspaper and TV content which it would throw online). A few weeks after the lockout began, they put out ads looking to hire journalists in the region on a temporary basis. The group of journalists inluded Plante and Salgado, as well as Geneviève Riel-Roberge, Hubert Lapointe, Marc-André Boivin, Reine May Crescence and Mélanie Tremblay.
  • In August 2007, all these journalists were told they were working not for Canoë, but for a company called Agence Nomade. This company, a wire service, was actually an idea by Quebecor CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau. It was ostensibly setup by Sylvain Chamberland, one of PKP's friends, to compete against Presse Canadienne (Canadian Press's French equivalent). It offered its content exclusively to Quebecor Media (including TVA, 24 heures, Journal de Montréal, etc.). Because Nomade retained no rights to its content, Canoë and Quebecor could pretend it was theirs. Again, the Journal would "ask" that certain events be covered, and Nomade would "decide" what it would cover based on that. Journalists would file to Nomade, who would forward texts to Canoë and the Journal.
  • Despite these changes, the journalist scabs would always present themselves as being journalists for Canoë.
  • The journalists, who had to work exclusively for Nomade (and hence, Quebecor and hence, the Journal de Québec) as scabs on repeating short-term contracts got a salary equivalent to $40,000 a year for their troubles.

The issues

In the end, the judgment came down to three questions:

  1. Were these journalists working for the Journal? The commission ruled that no, they were not. They weren't being paid by the Journal, and were not taking orders directly from the Journal.
  2. Was the Journal using the services of these workers to replace locked-out workers? The commission ruled that yes, the Journal was actively making use of these workers' services to replace their own. They assigned stories and photos which were then filed directly to them for use in the newspaper. Though technically the scabs were working for Agence Nomade, which in turn worked for Quebecor Media, the work they were doing was mainly for the benefit of the Journal.
  3. Were the journalists at the workplace of locked-out workers? This one was where the commission broke new ground. The idea of workplace wasn't an issue in the days of factories with big pieces of equipment. You couldn't work as a scab unless you were on the premises. But journalists with the Journal did most of their work outside the building, and so the commission ruled that wherever they did their work, either at the courthouse or at news conferences or at the National Assembly, these scabs were at their workplace.

What this means

Two unions are going to be very happy with this news: the union representing journalists at the Journal de Montréal (who will hold a press conference Tuesday to discuss its own contract negotiations as its current one expires Dec. 31) and the union representing journalists at The Gazette (their contract expired June 1 and they're back at the negotiating table in January).

Had Quebecor won this case, it would have been a manual for other companies on how to get around Quebec's liberal anti-scab laws. Have the journalists be freelancers, working for a separate company, and filing mainly for the website. But the commission threw a wrench in that setup, and that puts the unions in a much better bargaining position.

There's still some room to maneuvre if someone wants to try this again. A lot of the focus was over the fact that the Journal asked for specific news events to be covered. Not to mention the fact that all of this was setup after the labour disruption started. Had those things been different, the decision might have been a little more murky.

But it'll be much harder for a media company to get around a labour disruption in Quebec by outsourcing work to a third party. And that creates a huge shift in the balance of power away from newspaper owners and toward newspaper unions.

In case you're interested, there are press releases from the union and from Sun Media.

Coverage elsewhere

UPDATE (Jan. 7): The Journal is appealing. The union says it's not surprised.

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Journalism, politics sink together to a new low

October 11, 2008 – 1:04 am| Posted in Opinion, Slow News Day, TV, Video

I was busy dealing with real news tonight, so I completely missed the broohaha over this incident with Stéphane Dion and ATV News.

For those who haven't heard of it, you're lucky to have limited exposure to the echo chamber of political gossip reporting. Here's the deal: ATV (an Atlantic TV network owned by CTV and rebranded CTV Atlantic) had Stéphane Dion on for an on-camera but pre-taped interview. Host Steve Murphy asked Dion a question about what he'd do about the economy if he was prime minister today, and Dion started answering before realizing he didn't quite understand the question. It was an awkward exchange with a few false starts.

Dion asked if they could re-start the interview, and Murphy agreed. Murphy also, according to CTV, "indicated" that the bad part of the interview would not be aired.

Except later, after the interview, people at the network huddled and decided to go back on their word and air the outtakes, deeming them to have some news value.

Thanks to Stephen Harper's decision to devote a whole press conference to this "gaffe," it's been analyzed from all angles:

I don't have much to add, so I'll keep it brief:

  • CTV's transgression was not a breach of journalistic ethics. There was no promise of confidentiality, no pre-agreement, and no information was gained through deception. Murphy did, however, go back on his word by airing the outtakes after he "indicated" he wouldn't.
  • Dion's campaign is right when they say the purpose of airing this was to embarrass Dion. It's a secret every journalist keeps, even to the point of deceiving ourselves. Political campaigns so ruthlessly control the narrative, that latching on to something they don't want you to talk about gives us a thrill. It's not that CTV is biased against Dion. It's simply biased against politicians and in favour of scandal.
  • CTV wasted minutes of airtime putting this interview out there. This time could have been spent on news, and the interview outtakes posted to a blog somewhere. Had that happened, we would not be discussing journalistic ethics here, but the clip would have gotten just as much traction online.
  • The clip has little news value. It shows that Dion is a logical thinker, perhaps to a fault, in trying to wrap himself around the exact hypothetical situation. But that's not why CTV chose to air it. The fact that they did not specify what news value it contained is a good indication that there was none.
  • Some have mentioned that Dion has a hearing problem and that may be related. It's not. The question was clear and the room was quiet. It was a logical comprehension question, mixed in with some grammar issues.

Conclusion: Steve Murphy and his cohorts at ATV are douches, and Stéphane Dion a human francophone who can be annoyingly professorial at times. And it's just a matter of time before someone unearths an interview outtake of Stephen Harper that makes him look bad.

Now can we get back to the issues?

UPDATE (Oct. 24): J-Source looks back on this story with some interesting background on what happened at ATV and CTV News offices.

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The by-election campaign has begun

July 26, 2008 – 4:47 am| Posted in In the news, Montreal, On the Net
From Shatnerian

From Shatnerian

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made it official Friday, announcing that three federal by-elections would be held on Sept. 8 in Westmount-Ville-Marie, St. Lambert and Guelph, Ontario.

Westmount-Ville-Marie features the big race for us Montrealers, as the Liberals and NDP both have star candidates. Perhaps coincidentally, they are the only ones with campaign posters or websites as of this writing.

The candidates are (essentially in order of the likelihood of them getting the seat):

  • LIB: Marc Garneau, former astronaut, who failed in a bid for the Vaudreuil riding in the last election. His biggest advantage here is not so much his star quality, but the fact that Westmount used to be a Liberal stronghold.
  • NDP: Anne Lagacé Dowson, CBC radio host. I'm not sure if Jack Layton has a CBC Radio fetish he wants to play out or something, as two of the NDP's three candidates come from the Mother Corp. (Tom King in Guelph is the other). She has some name recognition, but those who recognize her are people who listen religiously to the CBC and are likely to vote NDP anyway. And a lot of people who do listen to her don't seem to like her. She has a way of presenting herself that makes her seem a tad pretentious and patronizing. Her political credentials are also pretty weak. (Full disclosure: I worked with Anne for about two weeks at CBC Radio - not long enough to develop an opinion, but long enough for her to have paid me off, theoretically)
  • CON: Guy Dufort, a lawyer with Heenan Blaikie specializing in labour law. No website. Website still hasn't been indexed by Google, so a search for "Guy Dufort" won't get you information about the candidate.
  • BQ: Charles Larivée, a former (current?) president of the McGill Political Science Students Association. No website, and no hope. (Top Google hit for the name is my previous post about this race)
  • GRN: Claude Genest, deputy Green Party leader and former cast member on TV's Sirens.
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AMT ponders trains to Beauharnois, Marieville, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu

June 1, 2008 – 4:32 am| Posted in Montreal, Public transit

LCN has a video report this week, and the Journal de Chambly had an article in April, about the AMT's dream plans for new commuter trains. The agency is deep in the planning process for the "Train de l'Est" which would run to Repentigny and Mascouche. But they're also thinking of trains to Beauharnois (through Chateauguay), St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (via the existing Delson/Candiac line) and Marieville (through St-Lambert on the St-Hilaire line).

These other routes are still in the "I have a dream" stage, but they provide some insight into the minds of planners at the AMT.

The matter was also brought up at the National Assembly in April during a meeting of its transportation and environment committee.

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Andrew Phillips in the Tommy hotseat

April 5, 2008 – 4:52 pm| Posted in Media, Montreal

I don't envy Andrew Phillips's job. As editor-in-chief of the Gazette, his involves lots of paperwork, employee management and dealing with various crises. More importantly, though, he's a public face of the paper, which means he has to respond to everyone's complaints. And those complaints can get very heated.

On Friday, Andrew (yeah, we call him by his first name, he's cool like that) stepped into the ultimate torture chamber for a Gazette editor: Tommy Shnurm... Schumra... Tommy's morning show on CJAD. If you've never listened to that station, just imagine all the grumpy old people you know. They've all lived here for decades, read the Gazette every day, want those kids off their lawn and think everything was better before. And Andrew Phillips took their questions.

Here's a quick summary of what was said:

Part 1

  • Andrew talks about the new Viewpoints page which launched on Monday
  • Susan says she's frustrated that The Gazette is "forcing" its readers to go online (extended stock pages are no longer printed on Saturdays but only available online). Andrew responds that it's the people, not the media, who are demanding these changes and moving online to get their news. Andrew also says the paper gets most of its revenue from the print edition, and there are no plans to cancel that as Susan fears might happen.

Part 2

  • Arlene says the font should be bigger and the print is too light. Andrew responds that the print quality is on par with that of other papers and the body type hasn't been reduced in years.
  • Tommy asks what the Gazette is doing to attract younger readers, and Andrew mentions the paper's music coverage on Thursdays, its Tuesday Youth Zone page aimed at high school students, and its focus on online.
  • Seymour says ads have increased so much there's little editorial content left, and he only spends 45 minutes reading the paper cover to cover instead of hours he spent before. Andrew says 45 minutes is a long time to spend with the paper and he doesn't think there's enough advertising (in absolute terms).

Part 3

  • Tommy asks what percentage of the paper is local coverage, and Andrew says according to his calculations about 80-85 per cent of the paper is written locally.
  • Chris says he disagrees, says it seems he's reading a "Canwest" paper and not a "Gazette" paper, especially in movie reviews for example. Andrew says he doesn't think that it's crucial for a local reviewer to review every movie, because the review won't be that different whether it's Canwest or the Gazette.
  • Stan says the Gazette is a tabloid masquerading as a broadsheet and declining in quality. There's no hard news on the front page on Saturdays, and he's fed up with those annoying wrap-around ads. Andrew says newspapers who sell for 55 cents a copy must make hard decisions about coverage, and he doesn't see anything wrong with a serious newspaper having a splashy cover page on Saturdays.

Part 4

  • Andrew talks about westislandgazette.com
  • Christopher asks why he should stay with the Gazette instead of the Globe and Mail (which doesn't use as much wire copy to supplement its coverage) and La Presse (which has more local reporters). Andrew says The Gazette is the way to go if you want Montreal news in English.
  • Oliver says The Gazette is fantastic, especially in arts and lifestyle sections.
  • Tommy asks what comic strip is the most popular, but Andrew says none particularly stands out in the surveys they've done.
  • Tommy asks what sections of the paper are most popular. Andrew says in terms of the type of information people want, their surveys always show a high priority for local news.
  • George says he's frustrated at why obits are always in a different section every day. Andrew says it's all about putting the jigsaw puzzle together and you can check the index at the bottom of A1 to find out where the obits are each day. (It's really complicated juggling ads, comics, puzzles, obits, weekly special pages and doing so in a way that ensures every section has an even number of pages (and usually a number divisible by four as well. That means the obits will move depending on the day -- but Monday to Saturday it's usually at the back of the business section)

Part 5

  • John says quality of writing and reporting has gone downhill since mid-90s, and he objects to the firing of Bill Johnson (even though that was over a decade ago). Andrew says he doesn't know how to answer that.
  • Charles says there's not enough coverage of amateur sport, at least compared to the Journal de Montréal. Andrew says the paper can't do everything, and can't cover all amateur sports (especially when readers want pro sports, especially hockey), but online ventures like WestIslandGazette.com provide an opportunity for people to spread the world about amateur sport. (I should also add that Dave Yates has a weekly column on Fridays about amateur sport, but there is so much going on it would be impossible to cover it all)
  • Jerry says newsprint comes onto his hands from the paper. Andrew says it's the nature of newsprint and his hands get even dirtier because he reads six papers a day.

Part 6

  • Heather says the quality is still superb even if the paper is condensed
  • Tommy asks why there are fewer columnists than there used to be. Andrew says he doesn't think there are fewer columnists and the paper has dozens of people writing for it.
  • Carol says she's sad to see the nutritional information in recipes being removed. Andrew says it was a lot of work to put together and the interest didn't justify the work
  • Mike wants to know who selects the quote of the day. Andrew says it's people on the news desk who do it, selecting from various sources and usually trying to keep it tied to the main stories. He says he's always impressed by the quote selections, and the copy editors at the paper are awesome, especially that Steve Faguy guy.

The summary of that last part might not be word-for-word accurate, but it's the gist of the conversation.

More questions? Ask Andrew directly on his blog.

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Schools closed today

March 10, 2008 – 2:09 am| Posted in Montreal

Here's the lowdown:

(Decisions apply to all schools and head office unless otherwise indicated)

English CEGEPs:

All open (or at least none say they're closed)

Universities are usually open through all but the most crippling of snowstorms. Check individual class websites or student portals for details.

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Montreal wins Montreal-bagel war

March 4, 2008 – 2:22 am| Posted in Media, Montreal, Opinion, Slow News Day

The Journal de Montréal's Benoît Aubin took a shot at my dear Gazette last week for its big feature taste test between Hamilton and Montreal bagels. (Via Steve Proulx)

The Gazette, you'll recall, had taken the Journal to task for its "exposé" on businesses that dare to hire anglophones, calling it bad journalism. (I still think the fast food thing was worse.)

Needless to say, the dual-blind taste tests (which involved flying bagels from one city to the other to maintain freshness) ended in Montreal's favour, and the city is now 3-0 in Gazette bagel taste tests. Hamilton is licking its wounds, or at least it will be once its Chamber of Commerce CEO realizes that coming in second in a two-man race isn't "like getting the silver medal in the Olympics."

Of course, I might point out that this had nothing to do with taste and everything to do with naming. But trademark lawyer battles aren't as interesting as blind taste tests I guess.

So now you can sleep tight, confident in the fact that the best place to get a Montreal-style bagel is Montreal.

Now what about this "Montreal-style" steak spice mix?

Oh, and if you're captivated by pointless newspaper gimmicks like I am, be sure to check out the most boring video ever made, featuring the Hamilton Spectator's taste test and some bad pronunciations of "assuage" and "St. Viateur".

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Just ask Huey

February 26, 2008 – 3:53 am| Posted in Humour, Video

You know, when I first heard of Jimmy Kimmel's response to I'm f**king Matt Damon, I figured it would be your classic sequel: A slightly more refined copy of the original, trying desperately to recapture that spark but coming just short.

I've clearly underestimated Mr. Kimmel. Though some of the lyrics are a bit lame, the video is still epic.

My only complaint: Why not put an unbleeped version online, like NBC did when Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg's Dick in a Box went uber-popular online?

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