TOP TEN USES FOR NEWSPAPERS IN A DIGITAL WORLD
Let’s face it in this day and age the most convenient way to get your news is online. With every story available instantly on a computer screen, who besides print journalists can see the benefits of ink and paper?
After pondering this question I came up with the ten most practical reasons why people do need newspapers.
1) To save your eyes from the constant glare of a computer screen.
Even with small font sizes, reading the paper can probably save you from annual increases in your glasses prescription.
2) Kindling to start a fire.
3) A cheap substitute for wrapping paper.
Also useful as a packing material.
4) A cheap substitute for a fly-swatter. And much easier to find.
5) Cleaning windows, for a streak-free shine that wipes away spots left by the bugs you kill.
6) Employment opportunities for enthusiastic young people. I’m not talking about journalists, I mean kids with paper routes. How else are they supposed to make money to buy iPhones?
7) House training puppies. Newsprint soaks up those yellow puddles perfectly.
8) As a prop for a play set in the past.
9) For seniors to cut clippings of their grandchildren. While said grandchildren use newspapers to make paper-mache.
10) Finally, the most obvious reason to keep newspapers around… to draw moustaches on pictures of people who don’t have moustaches.
About Me
- Musing Journalism Student
- I grew up in a small town, dreaming of becoming a professional writer. Today in my final year as a journalism student at the University of Regina I am living on the edge of realizing this dream. After working in a weekly and daily newsroom I have faced the tough realities of life as a reporter. In this blog I will try to offer insight into the state of media today and how it impacts the world as we know it. My philosophy as a writer is to tell stories for the purpose of bridging the gap of understanding between people.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
What is the Public's Right to Know?
Who knew that the last week in September is Right to Know week across Canada?
Until this year I had no clue that there is an international day designated to raise awareness about freedom of information laws, let alone that it is celebrated for a week in my own country.
While interviewing Saskatchewan's Information and Privacy Commissioner Gary Dickson, I heard a lot about the ideals of government transparency. He said the laws giving all citizens access to documents are an important tool to keep governments accountable for their actions. Naturally this job often falls to journalists to reveal issues the public has a right to know.
I talked to Dan Zakreski ,an investigative journalist with CBC Saskatchewan to get a clearer picture of access to information legislation.
He told me that accessing information is a lot more complicated than it used to be. For example, reports on workplace fatalities used to be a phone call away, but now he has to submit a request form. This process can take a long time - a short commodity for journalists working on a deadline.
Describing a worst-case scenario, Zakreski said he has been waiting for two years to get the results of an Environment Canada report on a sewage spill in Saskatoon.
He thinks the tighter regulations are meant to give government officials tighter control over the release of information.
"No one ever got fired for NOT talking to a journalist," Zakreski noted.
Releasing information works the same way, every document must be approved.
This is something to consider the next time you wonder why a news article seems to be missing information. Journalists can always ask a question, but that doesn't mean the person they are talking to will give a complete answer.
To read my complete story, check out the online version of INK newspaper at www.jschool.ca.
Until this year I had no clue that there is an international day designated to raise awareness about freedom of information laws, let alone that it is celebrated for a week in my own country.
While interviewing Saskatchewan's Information and Privacy Commissioner Gary Dickson, I heard a lot about the ideals of government transparency. He said the laws giving all citizens access to documents are an important tool to keep governments accountable for their actions. Naturally this job often falls to journalists to reveal issues the public has a right to know.
I talked to Dan Zakreski ,an investigative journalist with CBC Saskatchewan to get a clearer picture of access to information legislation.
He told me that accessing information is a lot more complicated than it used to be. For example, reports on workplace fatalities used to be a phone call away, but now he has to submit a request form. This process can take a long time - a short commodity for journalists working on a deadline.
Describing a worst-case scenario, Zakreski said he has been waiting for two years to get the results of an Environment Canada report on a sewage spill in Saskatoon.
He thinks the tighter regulations are meant to give government officials tighter control over the release of information.
"No one ever got fired for NOT talking to a journalist," Zakreski noted.
Releasing information works the same way, every document must be approved.
This is something to consider the next time you wonder why a news article seems to be missing information. Journalists can always ask a question, but that doesn't mean the person they are talking to will give a complete answer.
To read my complete story, check out the online version of INK newspaper at www.jschool.ca.
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