idown96

[idown96]

March 13

Unexpectedly, today was the last day of my internship, thanks to the coronavirus finally hitting close to home. Aside from some nervous murmuring in the office about the pandemic, everything started off fairly normally — I was tasked with investigating a crane that had fallen onto a residential building in Villeray. This proved to be more difficult than expected since the SPVM insisted they had no details to offer, despite having sent a police cruiser to investigate. After some more phone calls, as well as web searches to find any details I could, I eventually got through to the fire department, who were much more cooperative and gave me all the details I needed.

With this over, there was a brief lull in activity due to a visit from a health professional to discuss COVID-19 safety with the team. Afterwards, I was asked to reach out to hospitals across the city to see if they were updating their rules for visits, which took little time and only a few emails and phone calls.

Finally, just as I was ready to leave for the day, Peter Johnson, the newsroom’s executive producer, took me aside and told me that, due to the virus, the newsroom was forced to reduce the number of people in the office. This meant that I would not be returning for the last week of my internship, and my story would not be getting published.

This was, of course, not how I had wanted my internship to end. However, there was a bright side to these events: I got to experience life in a newsroom as one of the defining stories of the century unfolded before our eyes. This was arguably a more valuable learning experience than any story I could publish.

[idown96]

March 11

After having to reschedule on her last week, I finally had the chance to interview Esther Fukuyama of the NDG Community Council. My cameraman and I met her at their current office space, which, just as described, was a mid-sized apartment meant for a family. We interviewed her for about 20 minutes on camera, then spent an extra 20 minutes filming her around the apartment for b-roll. She turned out to be a valuable source, since she was also active in a number of other community organizations and could speak to the borough’s support (or lack thereof) of those initiatives.

The rest of my day was spent editing all of my interviews and isolating the relevant clips. By now, I was familiar enough with the audio and video software that it was second nature. Although I didn’t have anyone from the city on video, the comments I received from Annalisa Harris were enough for a report, and so I finally had all the necessary voices for my story.

[idown96]

March 6

Today was another challenging day for my NDG housing story. I was supposed to interview Esther Fukuyama on camera this morning, but upon arriving, my assignment editor told me there were no cameras available, and that Friday mornings are usually a difficult time to book cameras at the last minute. Until now, I had always had a camera booked for me hours before an event or interview, so I was surprised that I needed to book one so far in advance this time. I wished I had known in advance what the protocol was for booking cameras, but given that it was too late to amend my mistake, I had to call Esther to reschedule for next week.

On top of this, the press conference that was supposed to take place next Wednesday actually took place today, and the colleague of mine who was there wasn’t able to ask my questions to anyone from city hall. This means that I have only the few general comments from Annalisa Harris to use in my report, and nothing from the borough on video.

Although I had hoped to continue work on my story for the rest of the day, I was assigned to chase a lead regarding event cancellations at Palais des congrès due to the coronavirus. When I first reached out to their spokesperson, I was told that some minor events had been cancelled, but he would not disclose what those events were, or any other relevant details. When I told this to my assignment editor, she told me that I had to call him back again, since we didn’t have enough information to publish. For the next couple of hours, I alternated between calling him and emailing him back trying to schedule a second interview, and searching the internet to try to identify the cancelled events. The latter was fruitless, but I did succeed in getting him on the phone again, and he was able to provide a few more details than he had previously.

[idown96]

March 4

Yesterday, I hit a snag in my story that almost brought it to an end: Habitations Communautaires NDG, the housing nonprofit at the centre of my story, found a new office space. When I first told my assignment editor about this, he told me there was no story left to pursue, since the central conflict had already been resolved. However, I had discovered in the course of my research that a lack of community space was a chronic problem in NDG, and I could reframe my story with this in mind. This convinced him to let me continue pursuing this story.

With my story approved, it was time to set up interviews: I had notified my colleagues about the press conference on March 11, and they were prepared to send a reporter and a cameraman. Although Sharon was no longer available for an interview, she suggested another contact at Habitations Communautaires NDG, Esther Fukuyama, who agreed to be interviewed on camera this Friday. I also secured an interview with Halah Al-Ubaidi, executive director of the NDG Community Council, which used to oversee Habitations Communautaires NDG In emails and phone calls, she confirmed that a lack of community space was a chronic problem in NDG, and could speak to the ways in which the borough needs to improve its support for these groups.

That afternoon, we visited Halah at her office, in the community centre above Wesley United Church. Immediately, it was clear this space was too small for its occupants: In addition to the N.D.G. Community Council, there was a housing rights organization and a youth advocacy group operating out of just a few small rooms, with a daycare across the hall. Halah, who was responsible for coordinating space between the various groups that use the community centre, gave a very insightful interview on the challenges of having so many groups operating in each others’ space, and the need for more community centres in the borough. We also managed to get an interview with an intern from the housing rights group, LogisAction, about the particular challenges facing their organization. Visuals were the biggest challenge, but my cameraman and I managed to get some footage that showed how cramped the office was.

[idown96]

February 28

Today, after conducting some more research, I submitted my official outline for my NDG housing story. In it, I emphasized the precarious housing and rental market in NDG, and explained how this situation connects to a larger problem of rising housing prices across the city. I had already confirmed Sharon Sweeney as an interviewee; another potential source, the housing rights advocate Arnold Bennett, declined an interview since he wasn’t familiar enough with the situation. 

At this point, I still needed an official voice to respond to the allegations of a lack of support for housing in the borough. Upon reaching out to Mayor Sue Montgomery’s office, I got a response from her chief of staff, Annalisa Harris, who offered some general comments and suggested we attend a press conference the following week where community space would be discussed. Although there was another housing nonprofit in the Sud-Ouest borough that had recently found itself in similar circumstances, I decided to limit my story to just NDG, with occasional references to the broader situation in Montreal to add some perspective.

[idown96]

February 26

Today I finally had the chance to pitch the original story I had been researching for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, my story about the Black Lion had long ago been picked up by another news outlet. However, a while back, I came across a post on an NDG community Facebook group by a woman who worked for a local housing nonprofit that was in need of a new office space. They had been operating out of an apartment for some time, a space that should ideally be occupied by a family. Given the current state of housing and rental prices in Montreal, and the irony of a housing nonprofit being without a home, I thought this would make an interesting and timely story. After speaking to the original poster, Sharon Sweeney, I learned this was part of a larger pattern of the borough failing to support housing nonprofits, adding to the relevance of the story.

When I pitched this story at the morning meeting, I was relieved at the positive reception it received. However, my colleagues felt that opening my report with a personal story from a resident, as I had planned, distracted from the larger story of the borough’s lack of support. I disagreed with this perspective, but agreed to follow their suggestion anyways. They also asked that I keep print, radio and television open as options for formats, which added a layer of complexity to the report. Luckily, I had most of the rest of the day to research my story and start looking for sources.

[idown96]

February 21

The day started with a call to the Mont-Sainte-Anne ski resort near Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. We had just received reports of an accident involving a ski lift, but details were scarce. Just like with the story of the driver being injured by flying ice, the biggest challenge was to be exhaustive in my questioning, including the time and cause of the accident and the number of injured and dead. Although the incident was still recent, and even the officials at the resort were unsure exactly what happened, I was able to determine that the ski lift malfunctioned, and that riders were currently being evacuated, although it was unclear if there were any injuries.

That afternoon, I had the chance to attend my first media scrum: Jean-François Roberge, the provincial education minister, had just disinvited a prominent McGill philosopher from a public forum on religious education for allegedly advocating for female circumcision. The alleged comments from this professor, Daniel Weinstock, proved to be false. I was sent to this event with two pre-written questions about this controversy. After sitting through part of the event and connecting with a Radio-Canada journalist who had a camera, I was ushered into a bare room with no seating with a group of journalists from all the major local news outlets. The questions began as soon as Roberge entered the room, and I was struck immediately by the hostile and confrontational tone of the briefing. At my first opportunity I shouted out my questions, which proved to be a smart move, since Roberge ended the scrum abruptly after only a few minutes. Given the fact that it was my first media scrum, and I had little training or preparation, I was relieved that I was able to get my questions in with so many other experienced journalists competing for space.

[idown96]

February 19

When I arrived in the newsroom today, the leading story in Montreal was the City’s announcement that they would be banning e-scooters sometime in 2020. Evidently, too many users were ignoring the rules and causing a nuisance for everyone else. I was tasked with helping my colleague Jay Turnbull identify both a source in favour of this decision and a source opposed to it. An opposing voice was easy to find, since many companies, including Lime, Bird and Uber, had a stake in the decision and were eager to share their statements. I even got through to Saint-Laurent borough mayor Alan DeSousa, who was very cooperative but out of town and unavailable for an interview. Finding a voice opposed to the decision was more difficult, since the scooters are widely viewed as a nuisance. In the end, we decided to settle with the statements from the scooter companies.

Although I was used to chasing leads at this point, this assignment still served as a lesson: I was told that I had not shared the statements I received quickly enough with the entire team. For a collaborative story like this, all leads are meant to be shared with a newsroom email address the whole team has access to. This was a valuable lesson in the collaborative nature of a daily newsroom, and the need to share updates immediately and effectively.

[idown96]

February 14

Today I had my first chance to contribute to the evolving story of the cross-Canada, Indigenous-led rail blockades. With looming job losses all across the country, my colleague Shawn Lyons had me reach out to both Teamsters Canada and Manufacturiers et Exportateurs du Québec (M&EQ) to assess the potential impact of these demonstrations on their workers. Luckily, a spokesperson for M&EQ was already in the building to speak with Radio-Canada, and I was able to arrange an interview with her fairly easily, although one of my colleagues actually conducted the interview.

That afternoon, I had the chance to contribute to another major story: Bombardier’s decision to exit the commercial aircraft industry. This started with an unsuccessful cold call to Aéro Montréal, a Quebec aerospace conglomerate, to identify potential sources. After struggling to identify Bombardier’s manufacturers and unsuccessfully cold-calling those I could identify, I finally got through to a spokesperson for Pratt & Whitney, who said only that they would remain on as engine suppliers for Bombardier.

Although my contributions to each of these reports were minimal, I appreciated having the opportunity to take part in two stories worthy of international attention.

[idown96]

February 12

Today was spent chasing leads for several different stories. The first was an email from a woman whose husband was injured by a chunk of ice falling off a truck on the highway. Although the victim was still in the hospital, I was able to conduct a short telephone interview with his wife. The biggest challenge of this interview was to be exhaustive in asking for details about the accident, including time, place, the make and model of each vehicle, and the severity of her husband’s injuries.

The second lead came from two sources from a previous story, a man who is visually impaired and his wife, who is in a wheelchair. I was asked to call them to discuss winter accessibility. Although they were not expecting my call, they were very receptive to me and openly shared how Lachine’s unplowed sidewalks and lack of mobility services keep them nearly housebound every year.

Finally, I was asked to investigate the impact of the coronavirus on the cruise ship industry. My first call to the Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec was unsuccessful, since they were unwilling to speculate on such an impact. Looking through our archive of sources, I found the names of several travel agents who had spoken to us in the past. This proved much more successful, since one of them emphatically confirmed that clients were cancelling cruise ship bookings left and right.

Overall, today was a lesson in the many different ways one can find a story lead, including previous sources, mail from our listeners, and cold calling. In the case of the cruise ship story, it also taught me the importance of going straight to a source who is closest to your story — in this case, the travel agents booking the cruises.

[idown96]

February 7

Today was my first real opportunity to report on the evolving coronavirus pandemic. Assisting Shawn Lyons, I contacted Health Canada to learn about their screening protocols were airports, in particular Montréal–Trudeau International Airport. Although I didn’t land an interview, I was sent a statement with all the information we needed.

Later this afternoon, I was sent to tour the CHU Sainte-Justine and report on their preparations for the virus. I first interviewed Caroline Quach, medical lead for the hospital’s Infection Prevention and Control Unit. I then visited the hallway reserved for COVID-19 patients, which was a set of isolation rooms grouped together to avoid spreading the disease to other patients. For me, this was more nerve-wracking than the interview: I had been told only to tour the facilities and take relevant notes, but I wasn’t sure what details were the most important. This was made more difficult by the fact that we weren’t allowed inside any of the isolation rooms. In the end I took photos of these facilities and noted their number, location in the hospital, and whatever basic equipment I could see.

Finally, it was instructive watching my camera man work around the restrictions on filming peoples’ faces in the hospital; He had to get creative to find signs, artwork, or other interesting visuals suitable for a TV broadcast.

[idown96]

February 5

My assignment today was to help Antoni Nerestant chase leads related to the banning of plastic bags in Montreal. The Plante administration just announced it would modify its existing bylaws to ban commercial plastic bags of all kinds, including the thicker variety that quickly replaced the older, thinner kind. Our first choice for a subject was Karel Ménard, executive director of the Quebec Coalition of Ecological Waste Management, but he was out of town.

After many more phone calls, we landed an interview with Colleen Thorpe, director-general of the environmental advocacy group Équiterre. This was my first chance to conduct my own interview at the CBC, including writing my own questions. Luckily, I was sent with a camera man, and didn’t have to worry about setting up equipment or filming b-roll. Since this interview was about general responses and reactions, I could afford to ask mostly general questions, and her responses were exactly what we wanted to hear: That this was a step in the right direction, but more action was needed. For example, the ban doesn’t apply to any of the independent towns and cities in the Greater Montreal Area. Overall, it was a fairly straightforward and stress-free first interview.

[idown96]

January 31

Today I attended a demonstration with my colleague Elias Aboud in support of the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. Aside from holding the mic during interviews, my main task was to take pictures during the demonstration. I was surprised that CBC Montreal only expected me to take pictures on my phone, whereas most video was shot by a dedicated cameraman. Luckily, I had plenty of experience photographing demonstrations, and even had one of my photos published as part of the web story.

To my surprise, even once the demonstration was underway, my reporting colleague didn’t know whether or not he was going to do a live radio hit. This was my first indication of how flexible the newsroom is in planning their broadcasts, which gives them until the very last minute to choose the most significant stories to air.

In the afternoon, I had my first chance to prepare a clip for radio. The weekend of the Super Bowl was coming up, and a Quebecker, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, was playing for the Kansas City Chiefs. My job was to find and isolate an audio clip of the Premiere’s comments on Duvernay-Tardif from a recent press conference and write a brief intro. This was a valuable exercise in writing a proper radio script, including the use of simple, accessible language and an active voice.

[idown96]

January 29

Today I shadowed Ainslie MacLellan as she reported on Urgences-santé’s emergency protocols for the coronavirus. I first reached out to Urgences-santé to ask some basic interview questions. Their spokesperson, Stéphane Gascon, assured us that they were treating the situation as they would any flu season, with the exception of some extra personal protective equipment (PPE) and a few screening questions specific to the virus.

Soon after, I reached out again to arrange an interview for that afternoon. We drove to their headquarters in Saint-Leonard, where we interviewed Stéphane in-depth and on camera. This time, I had no responsibilities other than to watch and learn. Since this report was intended for TV, I was impressed by how much time and thought went into the visuals: After the interview was done, my colleagues asked another paramedic to show us around the ambulance and demonstrate putting on the PPE. I had hoped to participate in this story in some capacity, but it was a valuable learning experience nonetheless.

[idown96]

January 22

Today I shadowed my colleague Valeria Cori-Manocchio as she reported on the closing BMO branch in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. My job was to take pictures with my phone, since CBC Montreal does not have a dedicated team of photographers.

We first visited some local businesses to discuss the impact of the closing with their owners, finally landing an interview with a local hair stylist. He and others were concerned that the closing of the bank would discourage customers from stopping in the area. We then set up outside the bank to speak with Richard, our main source at the time, and any other passing clients who would consent to an interview. It was here that we met Donald Farmer, a long-time customer of the bank who was severely visually impaired and depended heavily on this branch. Although our interview with Richard went well, we realized Donald was the ideal subject for this story, and his interview became the opening to Valeria’s report.

Afterwards, we visited Shannon Hebblethwaite, director of Concordia’s engAGE Centre for Research on Aging, at her house to discuss the challenges elderly people face in accessing online banking solutions. Although she offered some valuable insights, Valeria wasn’t able to fit her comments into her final report.

At the encouragement of my colleague, I advocated for the chance to write a print story to accompany Valeria’s radio pak. Unfortunately, whether it was a lack of interest or a lack of confidence in my abilities as a new intern, my other colleagues decided against it.

[idown96]

January 22

Today was my final training session, which focused on the Dalet audio editing software. As with Media Composer, I found that many of the basic audio editing skills we had learned in class were useful here, even if the software was unfamiliar.

In the second half of the day, I had my first chance to pursue a lead: A BMO branch in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue was closing, leaving residents with mobility issues without a brick-and-mortar bank. The closest alternative was across the bridge in Île-Perrot, accessible only by an infrequent bus to those without a car. I had to find a resident who had used this bank for years and had no accessible banking alternatives.

It was then that I learned one of the most valuable modern news gathering techniques: Local community Facebook groups. We discovered this story through one such group dedicated to the Sainte-Anne community, and my job was to reach out to the residents who had posted about the closing of the bank. Through one of these contacts, I was able to get in touch with an elderly resident named Richard who agreed to meet with us on Friday.

[idown96]

January 17

Today, I was supposed to shadow my colleague Lauren McCallum on a story about calèche horses. We were to visit an old stable in the Sud-Ouest borough where the horses used to be housed, which a local community group was fighting to preserve. However, her sources failed to respond, and the story fell through. Although I didn’t shadow her for her second story idea, I was impressed by her ability to file something by the end of the day even with all of that lost time.

The second half of my day was devoted to a tour of the CBC/Radio Canada building. Two things struck me most about this tour: The first was the size of Radio-Canada’s facilities compared to those of CBC Montreal. Radio-Canada took up much more space because its central office is located in the Rad-Can building, whereas CBC’s headquarters are in Toronto. The second thing that struck me were the stories of how much the newsroom had shrunk when the journalism business hit hard economic times. We visited a department dedicated to international news and translation, where we spoke with translators of Arabic and Russian. We learned that many other languages that used to be represented in this department had long ago been canned due to a lack of funding. It was both an inspiring reminder of the places journalism can take you and a grim sign of a troubled time for the business.

(Also, we got to visit Radio-Canada’s dressing room, where I got to take pictures of some of the locals.)