Christmas arrived early for our intern. University of Regina journalism student Denise O’Byrne has reported for us for the past three months. This is her last week here. Reporters, editors and other staff members dug deep into their desks for parting mementoes. Some of their most ‘valued’ possessions oddly resembled “things in our desks we’re […] Read more
Stories by Elaine Shein
For the record
You’re a farmer who has never been interviewed by the press before. Suddenly your phone rings. A reporter introduces himself to you and states the name of his publication. After a short friendly chat, the reporter says what he’s working on and asks a few questions. You respond. After you hang up, concern hits you: […] Read more
Staff changes
It’s with mixed feelings we warmly welcome or say fond farewells to our changing staff in Regina and Winnipeg. Regina correspondent Karen Briere has left on maternity leave for the next few months. Congratulations to Karen and her husband on their son born Dec. 4. Enjoy your next few months at home. Temporarily replacing Karen […] Read more
Better writing
Five things contribute to the writing of a good story, the writing coach of the Ottawa Citizen said recently in Halifax. The advice given by Lynn McAuley is useful to our staff, but also to freelancers for our paper and Western People magazine. McAuley summarized a good story should have: 1. News: What happened. 2. […] Read more
Rural officials exclude reporters
Elaine Shein is Managing Editor of The Western Producer. Should the news media be allowed into all meetings of publicly-elected officials? Many people argue reporters should be able to report what is being said, to hold politicians responsible for their decisions and perhaps even conduct. News reports can give insight into the background, the process […] Read more
Story-telling
How can stories be more interesting for readers? The Ottawa Citizen’s writing coach, Lynn McAuley, shared some tips recently at a Women in the Media conference in Halifax. She criticized the styles adopted by many papers such as the popular “inverted pyramid.” This is where the most important facts are at the top, and the […] Read more
Longer or shorter?
Do readers like shorter or longer stories? Editors continually ponder that question, and various surveys have influenced papers to try different approaches to keep the interest of their readers. The success of USA Today led newspapers all over North America to adopt the shorter-story approach and redesign their pages to have colorful graphics, fact boxes […] Read more
Stories about advertisers
Occasionally we receive calls from advertisers who suggest we write news stories about them or their companies. Sometimes they express the desire to run these stories at the same time, or on the same page, as their ads are booked to run in our paper. The editorial department has serious concerns about doing this. The […] Read more
Fine-tuning design
Just as a mechanic who loves his or her car will continue to fine-tune it even if it’s running fine, designers like to fine-tune newspapers. Recently our layout editor, Catherine Rumancik, attended a Society of Newspaper Design seminar in Kansas City, Mo. During a panel discussion, she heard: “Design is not to make a page […] Read more
Unique silent auction a blooming success
BURNABY, B.C. – Imagine a silent auction where buyers sit silently at desks, no auctioneer banters, and the produce is mechanically wheeled in front of the buyers for a few seconds and then quickly whisked away. Also imagine the bidding going down, instead of up, all bids punched into a keypad on individual desks, and […] Read more
