On October 31, 2011, I had to go to the Law Courts again to find a story and write it. This time, I had to do it on my own. I have a contact who I volunteer on the University of Winnipeg Alumni Council with. His name is Mike Cook and he is a defence lawyer. I emailed him last week to see if he was going to be at the Law Courts today and as luck had it, he was. He invited me to come and see him in action. I met up with Mike in the hallway in front of room 403. From working at Osborne House, I remembered that the councilors would meet their clients at court to provide assistance and I thought to myself, this is probably where they came to. So, it was nice to be able to see this.
Mike was very gracious and helpful. He is such a humble man with almost a boyish charm to him. He has brown hair and was wearing a charcoal greyish suit with a blue shirt. He looked very proper and professional. He guided me over to the couches to sit down before the preliminary inquiry started. Mike explained to me that in this particular case, his client was a woman and normally he represents men so this was a bit out of the ordinary for him.
After the inquiry was over, I asked Mike if he ever found it difficult to be a defence lawyer.
He said not at all. He said he liked his job. He did also say that 98% of his clients are guilty but he usually is able to give them second chances by creating some sort of reasonable doubt.
Mike told me about a story when he first started practicing law. He phoned his mom to tell her about his day and what the end result was of a court case he was in. He was representing someone who had a sexual assault charge. His mom yelled at him and said “Michael, don’t be representing garbage like that. I didn’t bring you up that way.” He had a cute smile on his face sharing this story with me. He said that he never forgets his mom saying this to him. He also believes however that people deserve second chances and everyone is innocent until proven guilty.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
My Cathartic Law Courts Experience
Today, I had to visit the Law Courts for a journalism assignment. Our goal was to find a story and have it handed in on our teacher's desk by 6:00pm. I have been to the Law Courts twice before in my life. Once was to watch a friend of mine go through a sentencing because he was charged with drug trafficking and the other time was when I eloped and married my husband. My husband and I have been married for almost 12 years now so that is a pleasant memory! I have heard of the Law Courts most of my life because my father practiced law for a living. He was a corporate lawyer and used to call the Law Courts his old stomping ground and visited it frequently.
I decided to settle in to the court room 210 where there was a drug trafficking case being heard. Govinda Toorie pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges. I sat in the court room and listened to the court proceedings. It was difficult at first to capture all the factual information as the lawyers were speaking very quickly and there was a bit of an echo in the room. I was able to capture most of the information required for the assignment though. The Crown Attorney asked that Toorie receive 3.5 years and Toorie’s defence lawyer requested that Toorie receive two years less a day and hoped for house arrest as he did not have a prior record. Both parties agreed to a pre-sentencing report that will examine Toorie’s background and help the court make a proper sentencing decision.
I noticed that Toorie was soft spoken and kept his head down most of the time. His parents were there as well to support him. I can appreciate that this would be a stressful time for Toorie and his family. It was nice to see his parents there during this difficult time.
That leads me to discuss what happened after the court proceedings were done. I went to talk to the defence lawyer, J. Prober to inquire more about the case and to clarify some factual information. During our conversation, I asked him if he knew my father. Winnipeg is a small city so I thought what the heck, you never know. Well, it turns out Prober did know my father. We chatted for a little while. He said he knew my father well and that he was over at our house a few times for social gatherings. He said he remembered my father being a vibrant man. He said he also remembered my mother because my mother used to work for the Variety Club of Manitoba and organized their telethons and she got him to answer phones on television.
The emotional part of this for me was my father’s health is failing him now. He has diabetes and is in a nursing home at 75 years of age. My father is not a vibrant man anymore. His mind is there but his body isn’t what it used to be. Remembering my dad how Prober knew him brought back several emotions for me. I ended up becoming very emotional with Prober about my father unexpectedly. I began to cry to be honest. I was so embarrassed I felt terrible. I had no idea that being at the Law Courts today would be such an emotional experience for me. What was nice though is that Prober was very kind and compassionate and took the time to comfort me about my father.
The next thing that happened was even lovelier. The court recorder that took the notes at the hearing asked if I wanted some Kleenex. She and I were now in the court room alone together. She told me her sister had passed away recently and she began to cry as well. She asked me if I would like to have the court room door closed for a bit and said if I needed a moment it was alright. So, the two of us shared our stories about our loved ones. We cried together and comforted each other. I know that must sound crazy to do this with someone that you have only met. However it was so simple and natural with her. It was wonderfully therapeutic. We ended up helping each other at the end of our meeting she actually said to me that she was glad she met me. I said that I was very grateful to her as well for being there for me when she certainly didn't have to be. There are some amazing people that work at the Law Courts.
What I learned from this experience is that if you are on a reporting assignment, you may never know when your emotions may be impacted by the story you are covering. I certainly did not have the intention today of becoming emotional at the Law Courts. However, I did. It wasn’t looked down upon by the professionals around me. My emotions were actually accepted and respected immediately by complete strangers. It was really amazing. It reminded me that I am human. Journalists are human too with their own feelings, and challenges.
I guess I just had an eye opener in the fact that you are not immune to your emotions and your surroundings no matter how hard you try to be. Perhaps that can even make a story more authentic. It also allows you to develop real relationships with people along the way and to know that you are not alone even though you might feel that way sometimes.
I decided to settle in to the court room 210 where there was a drug trafficking case being heard. Govinda Toorie pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges. I sat in the court room and listened to the court proceedings. It was difficult at first to capture all the factual information as the lawyers were speaking very quickly and there was a bit of an echo in the room. I was able to capture most of the information required for the assignment though. The Crown Attorney asked that Toorie receive 3.5 years and Toorie’s defence lawyer requested that Toorie receive two years less a day and hoped for house arrest as he did not have a prior record. Both parties agreed to a pre-sentencing report that will examine Toorie’s background and help the court make a proper sentencing decision.
I noticed that Toorie was soft spoken and kept his head down most of the time. His parents were there as well to support him. I can appreciate that this would be a stressful time for Toorie and his family. It was nice to see his parents there during this difficult time.
That leads me to discuss what happened after the court proceedings were done. I went to talk to the defence lawyer, J. Prober to inquire more about the case and to clarify some factual information. During our conversation, I asked him if he knew my father. Winnipeg is a small city so I thought what the heck, you never know. Well, it turns out Prober did know my father. We chatted for a little while. He said he knew my father well and that he was over at our house a few times for social gatherings. He said he remembered my father being a vibrant man. He said he also remembered my mother because my mother used to work for the Variety Club of Manitoba and organized their telethons and she got him to answer phones on television.
The emotional part of this for me was my father’s health is failing him now. He has diabetes and is in a nursing home at 75 years of age. My father is not a vibrant man anymore. His mind is there but his body isn’t what it used to be. Remembering my dad how Prober knew him brought back several emotions for me. I ended up becoming very emotional with Prober about my father unexpectedly. I began to cry to be honest. I was so embarrassed I felt terrible. I had no idea that being at the Law Courts today would be such an emotional experience for me. What was nice though is that Prober was very kind and compassionate and took the time to comfort me about my father.
The next thing that happened was even lovelier. The court recorder that took the notes at the hearing asked if I wanted some Kleenex. She and I were now in the court room alone together. She told me her sister had passed away recently and she began to cry as well. She asked me if I would like to have the court room door closed for a bit and said if I needed a moment it was alright. So, the two of us shared our stories about our loved ones. We cried together and comforted each other. I know that must sound crazy to do this with someone that you have only met. However it was so simple and natural with her. It was wonderfully therapeutic. We ended up helping each other at the end of our meeting she actually said to me that she was glad she met me. I said that I was very grateful to her as well for being there for me when she certainly didn't have to be. There are some amazing people that work at the Law Courts.
What I learned from this experience is that if you are on a reporting assignment, you may never know when your emotions may be impacted by the story you are covering. I certainly did not have the intention today of becoming emotional at the Law Courts. However, I did. It wasn’t looked down upon by the professionals around me. My emotions were actually accepted and respected immediately by complete strangers. It was really amazing. It reminded me that I am human. Journalists are human too with their own feelings, and challenges.
I guess I just had an eye opener in the fact that you are not immune to your emotions and your surroundings no matter how hard you try to be. Perhaps that can even make a story more authentic. It also allows you to develop real relationships with people along the way and to know that you are not alone even though you might feel that way sometimes.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Learning Experiences
Writing for the Headliner has been an interesting experience for me over the past several weeks. My first article was about an author who lives in Oak Bluff Manitoba. Her name is Shawnda Muir and the book she published is called Cancer Scores-a Hat Trick. Muir’s story is inspiring because her family had three cancer scares in six months. She and her husband were both diagnosed as well as her father all in six months. Her father unfortunately didn’t survive.
Muir has written a really inspirational book detailing how she stayed positive through her cancer journey. I was able to go to Muir’s book launch and take photos of her and it was super great to interview such a positive person. This was my first article I wrote for the Headliner. It was also great learning how to use the fabulous cameras at the library and actually take great photos as well as get them on my computer and send them out with cut lines. That was a learning experience in itself for me!
My second article was about a lady that lives in Headingly Manitoba who is a water conservation activist. She works for Waterlution that is a national nonprofit organization that promotes water awareness and conservation issues. Her name is Renne Bennett. Bennett tried the Water Conservation Challenge that required her to live on 30 liters of water a day for one month.
Bennett did this challenge in March 2011 to coincide with Water Awareness Month. It was really awesome listening to her stories about her experiences. Bennett lives in an apartment and didn’t have much control over what type of toilet she used. She found out that her toilet used 13 liters of water each time she flushed it. This really limited her water usage for other things! She was able to convince her landlord to put in a more water friendly toilet and now her toilet uses 6 liters of water each flush rather than 13 liters which she is very happy about. The water challenge also made her think about how long it took for her tap water to turn from cold water to hot water. She just boiled water for things after that. Plus, I was able to meet Kevin Freedman who was running in the election for Fort Gary/Riverview. He is the creator of the Water Challenge and he was super inspiring as he really cares about water conservation issues.
My third article that I am presently working on is about domestic violence. I pitched the idea of a domestic violence story to Prescott and he thought it was a great idea but had no idea how to find someone to interview. Prescott told me that the only way I could write about this topic would be if I could find someone from the RM’s that the Headliner went to that would be willing to open up and share his or her story. He basically said to me, happy hunting at the end of the email. So, I was determined and began my hunting process. I used to work at Osborne House before Crecomm so I knew there were ways in which I could connect with domestic violence survivors. The only thing is, I haven’t spoken to anyone there in a long time and my ex boss doesn’t work there anymore so I wasn’t sure if I should call again or not. So, I called anyway but I didn’t hear back for a little while and I had to keep on digging. I called everywhere from Klinic to the women shelters in Portage La Prairie and Selkirk. It was tricky because I wasn’t completely familiar with all the RM’s that the Headliner covered and all the shelters I was calling were out of those RM’s.
So, I came to a few dead ends but finally, I was able to connect with someone I used to work with at Osborne House that remembered me. She works with the clients after they leave Osborne House. She said that she had the perfect person in mind from an RM that the Headliner covered. I was so excited about this breakthrough. I really wanted to write the domestic violence article because I think the challenges to leave are different for rural rather than city women. I wanted to investigate this further. The individual I was able to interview said that rural women do have different challenges than city women. She said feelings of isolation and not being able to talk to anyone about your problems are more prevalent in smaller towns.
My contact told me she didn’t have a driver’s license either or any money so she was completely dependent on her husband for everything. She had to ask someone for a ride into the city when she was going to Osborne House and said that this was one of the hardest moments for her cause she had to tell someone for the first time.
I also was able to receive quotes from the Rural Farm Stress Line that really made my article show what rural women go through when they experience domestic violence. What I didn’t expect from writing this article would be managing the relationship of my source regarding her safety and the safety of her children with the needs of the news paper.
I was told that my article had legs and that they were thinking of placing the article on the front page of the newspaper. Here I am super excited that one of my articles may be on the front page but realizing, it might not make my subject feel safe. I thought I should ask her how she would feel about this as she just left her husband seven months ago. I am relieved I did because she wasn’t comfortable with the article being on the first page. I had to email my editor and let him know that she wasn’t comfortable about it. I was also worried because I didn’t want to upset my editor in doing this either. I had to respect my source and put myself in her shoes. She was willing to go out on a limb to tell her story and open up when she still had some reservations. I didn’t want her to feel concerned or regretful about doing this in anyway. It was such a learning experience for me to be in that position. I wanted to please the paper and my source all at the same time. I realized through this process that telling people's stories makes you more than a writer, it makes you a relationship manager too!
Muir has written a really inspirational book detailing how she stayed positive through her cancer journey. I was able to go to Muir’s book launch and take photos of her and it was super great to interview such a positive person. This was my first article I wrote for the Headliner. It was also great learning how to use the fabulous cameras at the library and actually take great photos as well as get them on my computer and send them out with cut lines. That was a learning experience in itself for me!
My second article was about a lady that lives in Headingly Manitoba who is a water conservation activist. She works for Waterlution that is a national nonprofit organization that promotes water awareness and conservation issues. Her name is Renne Bennett. Bennett tried the Water Conservation Challenge that required her to live on 30 liters of water a day for one month.
Bennett did this challenge in March 2011 to coincide with Water Awareness Month. It was really awesome listening to her stories about her experiences. Bennett lives in an apartment and didn’t have much control over what type of toilet she used. She found out that her toilet used 13 liters of water each time she flushed it. This really limited her water usage for other things! She was able to convince her landlord to put in a more water friendly toilet and now her toilet uses 6 liters of water each flush rather than 13 liters which she is very happy about. The water challenge also made her think about how long it took for her tap water to turn from cold water to hot water. She just boiled water for things after that. Plus, I was able to meet Kevin Freedman who was running in the election for Fort Gary/Riverview. He is the creator of the Water Challenge and he was super inspiring as he really cares about water conservation issues.
My third article that I am presently working on is about domestic violence. I pitched the idea of a domestic violence story to Prescott and he thought it was a great idea but had no idea how to find someone to interview. Prescott told me that the only way I could write about this topic would be if I could find someone from the RM’s that the Headliner went to that would be willing to open up and share his or her story. He basically said to me, happy hunting at the end of the email. So, I was determined and began my hunting process. I used to work at Osborne House before Crecomm so I knew there were ways in which I could connect with domestic violence survivors. The only thing is, I haven’t spoken to anyone there in a long time and my ex boss doesn’t work there anymore so I wasn’t sure if I should call again or not. So, I called anyway but I didn’t hear back for a little while and I had to keep on digging. I called everywhere from Klinic to the women shelters in Portage La Prairie and Selkirk. It was tricky because I wasn’t completely familiar with all the RM’s that the Headliner covered and all the shelters I was calling were out of those RM’s.
So, I came to a few dead ends but finally, I was able to connect with someone I used to work with at Osborne House that remembered me. She works with the clients after they leave Osborne House. She said that she had the perfect person in mind from an RM that the Headliner covered. I was so excited about this breakthrough. I really wanted to write the domestic violence article because I think the challenges to leave are different for rural rather than city women. I wanted to investigate this further. The individual I was able to interview said that rural women do have different challenges than city women. She said feelings of isolation and not being able to talk to anyone about your problems are more prevalent in smaller towns.
My contact told me she didn’t have a driver’s license either or any money so she was completely dependent on her husband for everything. She had to ask someone for a ride into the city when she was going to Osborne House and said that this was one of the hardest moments for her cause she had to tell someone for the first time.
I also was able to receive quotes from the Rural Farm Stress Line that really made my article show what rural women go through when they experience domestic violence. What I didn’t expect from writing this article would be managing the relationship of my source regarding her safety and the safety of her children with the needs of the news paper.
I was told that my article had legs and that they were thinking of placing the article on the front page of the newspaper. Here I am super excited that one of my articles may be on the front page but realizing, it might not make my subject feel safe. I thought I should ask her how she would feel about this as she just left her husband seven months ago. I am relieved I did because she wasn’t comfortable with the article being on the first page. I had to email my editor and let him know that she wasn’t comfortable about it. I was also worried because I didn’t want to upset my editor in doing this either. I had to respect my source and put myself in her shoes. She was willing to go out on a limb to tell her story and open up when she still had some reservations. I didn’t want her to feel concerned or regretful about doing this in anyway. It was such a learning experience for me to be in that position. I wanted to please the paper and my source all at the same time. I realized through this process that telling people's stories makes you more than a writer, it makes you a relationship manager too!
Monday, October 10, 2011
My Fabulous Election Night Assignment
On election night October 4th, 2011, I went to The Winnipeg Sun. I was told to arrive at The Winnipeg Sun for 5:00pm. I arrived a bit early because I wasn’t too sure how to get there. When I arrived in the parking lot I got a bit confused about where to park but I finally figured it out.
I entered the doors and had to sign in. I was greeted by the receptionist who was very nice and taken up a large staircase. I had never been inside the Winnipeg Sun building before so this was quite exciting for me.
I was then led to a room where other students were waiting patiently. We all had to sign in and were given two sheets that had the stories that were being assigned that night. Originally, I had hoped to go to the Liberal Party headquarters and speak to Kevin Freedman and Jon Gerrard.
However, we were not given the option to pitch any ideas. We were assigned where we had to go. I was a bit nervous at this point because I just wasn’t sure what the evening would hold.
I ended up getting the story of Susan Auch and Jim Rondeau running for the Assiniboia seat. Auch was running for the PC’s and Rondeau, for the NDP’s. I was also assigned a reporter and her name was Jillian Austin.
While I was at The Winnipeg Sun office, I was told to keep my story focused on Susan Auch. Austin and I went over to see her co-worker who she called “Mr. Opinion” and we had a brief little chat about who he thought was going to win. If I am not mistaken he did think that Auch would win because of her Olympic background and name recognition. He felt that Rondeau was a bit boring to compete with that. So after we discussed this, I was told to get as close to Susan Auch as I could even if she won or lost. They both agreed there was more of a story with Auch even though Rondeau won this seat three times previously.
After this, I had to get on the internet and telephone to find out where candidates were going to be that night. The computer I had was so slow. It took me forever to find this information. This was really frustrating. I wasn’t expecting this from The Winnipeg Sun. At first, I thought it was something I was doing wrong with the computer but when I asked my contact, she said that she often heard the person sitting at that computer complaining about how slow the computer is.
When I was on the phone to the campaign headquarters, it felt so strange to say I was calling from the Winnipeg Sun. That was so neat to experience. At first, it felt like I was a fraud you know? Like I wasn’t actually working for the Sun. I had to say to myself, it is ok, and you can say this for one night anyway so enjoy it! So I did!
I made sure to introduce myself to all of the Campaign Managers and took down their phone numbers. I am not very familiar with the Assiniboia area and I knew that by the time I would head out there, it would be dark outside. I certainly didn’t want to get lost tonight. I found people much more receptive when I would say I am calling from The Winnipeg Sun rather than I am a student from Red River College…
Well, I am a nervous driver too so driving from all over the city wasn’t something I was going to take lithely. I made sure to fill up on gas before I left thankfully. It was my last little bit of money until payday but I spent it wisely. I had to go from one end of the city to another. So, off in my Malibu I went.
I was trucking along when I arrived to the area of town I was supposed to get to, it was dark outside. I could barely find the addresses. Luckily, I found Susan Auch’s headquarters. I was the first one there besides the Manitoba Pork lady who was grilling up the pork patties for the evening. I was able to confirm with her that I was at the right location and could breathe a sigh of relief.
Since I was the first one there I was able to chat with a few people including Auch’s Office Manager. What I found so inspiring about Auch’s team was how dedicated they were to her. They really believed in her and would stand behind her without question. I remember one of them saying:
“You don’t become and Olympic athlete without working hard.”
I just thought that was so cool and so true. The more I talked to people, the more I realized how much they supported Susan and the PC party as a whole. It was amazing to me to see people so passionate about politics and so involved in the political process. It was contagious. It made me feel excited to be there and to be part of something greater than ourselves. When Susan Auch finally arrived, she came to tell her supporters bad news. The room was quiet except for Auch’s deep breath and her volunteers that were crying in the background. Here is what Susan Auch said:
“I am pissed!”
That was her first reaction to her loss. I couldn’t believe it. It was so heartfelt but not very articulate.
I started frantically writing this down on my pad. “We tried, she said. “ The last six months, we did everything we could. Thank you to all volunteers, Thank you to everyone.”
Auch went on to comment on the NDP’s strong foot-hold. “They ran super- hard and not entirely sportsman-like either,” she said. Auch said she “is here to stay” and is committed to Manitoba.
“We need change in the province badly. We need to be vocal continually. We can do it,” she said.
The deadline to get my quotes in to my reporter was by 10:00pm. I was worried that I was too late in calling my quotes in because I didn’t get on the phone until about 9:55pm. My reporter was really nice when I called it in and she said that I did a great job at getting some good quotes.
When I checked the paper on page six the next day, there were my quotes and my name in bold saying with files from Anrea Zaslov. I just thought this was so much fun and an awesome experience. I told the Sun that I would be happy to volunteer for them in the future. It was a great experience and a super assignment. I had a blast.
I entered the doors and had to sign in. I was greeted by the receptionist who was very nice and taken up a large staircase. I had never been inside the Winnipeg Sun building before so this was quite exciting for me.
I was then led to a room where other students were waiting patiently. We all had to sign in and were given two sheets that had the stories that were being assigned that night. Originally, I had hoped to go to the Liberal Party headquarters and speak to Kevin Freedman and Jon Gerrard.
However, we were not given the option to pitch any ideas. We were assigned where we had to go. I was a bit nervous at this point because I just wasn’t sure what the evening would hold.
I ended up getting the story of Susan Auch and Jim Rondeau running for the Assiniboia seat. Auch was running for the PC’s and Rondeau, for the NDP’s. I was also assigned a reporter and her name was Jillian Austin.
While I was at The Winnipeg Sun office, I was told to keep my story focused on Susan Auch. Austin and I went over to see her co-worker who she called “Mr. Opinion” and we had a brief little chat about who he thought was going to win. If I am not mistaken he did think that Auch would win because of her Olympic background and name recognition. He felt that Rondeau was a bit boring to compete with that. So after we discussed this, I was told to get as close to Susan Auch as I could even if she won or lost. They both agreed there was more of a story with Auch even though Rondeau won this seat three times previously.
After this, I had to get on the internet and telephone to find out where candidates were going to be that night. The computer I had was so slow. It took me forever to find this information. This was really frustrating. I wasn’t expecting this from The Winnipeg Sun. At first, I thought it was something I was doing wrong with the computer but when I asked my contact, she said that she often heard the person sitting at that computer complaining about how slow the computer is.
When I was on the phone to the campaign headquarters, it felt so strange to say I was calling from the Winnipeg Sun. That was so neat to experience. At first, it felt like I was a fraud you know? Like I wasn’t actually working for the Sun. I had to say to myself, it is ok, and you can say this for one night anyway so enjoy it! So I did!
I made sure to introduce myself to all of the Campaign Managers and took down their phone numbers. I am not very familiar with the Assiniboia area and I knew that by the time I would head out there, it would be dark outside. I certainly didn’t want to get lost tonight. I found people much more receptive when I would say I am calling from The Winnipeg Sun rather than I am a student from Red River College…
Well, I am a nervous driver too so driving from all over the city wasn’t something I was going to take lithely. I made sure to fill up on gas before I left thankfully. It was my last little bit of money until payday but I spent it wisely. I had to go from one end of the city to another. So, off in my Malibu I went.
I was trucking along when I arrived to the area of town I was supposed to get to, it was dark outside. I could barely find the addresses. Luckily, I found Susan Auch’s headquarters. I was the first one there besides the Manitoba Pork lady who was grilling up the pork patties for the evening. I was able to confirm with her that I was at the right location and could breathe a sigh of relief.
Since I was the first one there I was able to chat with a few people including Auch’s Office Manager. What I found so inspiring about Auch’s team was how dedicated they were to her. They really believed in her and would stand behind her without question. I remember one of them saying:
“You don’t become and Olympic athlete without working hard.”
I just thought that was so cool and so true. The more I talked to people, the more I realized how much they supported Susan and the PC party as a whole. It was amazing to me to see people so passionate about politics and so involved in the political process. It was contagious. It made me feel excited to be there and to be part of something greater than ourselves. When Susan Auch finally arrived, she came to tell her supporters bad news. The room was quiet except for Auch’s deep breath and her volunteers that were crying in the background. Here is what Susan Auch said:
“I am pissed!”
That was her first reaction to her loss. I couldn’t believe it. It was so heartfelt but not very articulate.
I started frantically writing this down on my pad. “We tried, she said. “ The last six months, we did everything we could. Thank you to all volunteers, Thank you to everyone.”
Auch went on to comment on the NDP’s strong foot-hold. “They ran super- hard and not entirely sportsman-like either,” she said. Auch said she “is here to stay” and is committed to Manitoba.
“We need change in the province badly. We need to be vocal continually. We can do it,” she said.
The deadline to get my quotes in to my reporter was by 10:00pm. I was worried that I was too late in calling my quotes in because I didn’t get on the phone until about 9:55pm. My reporter was really nice when I called it in and she said that I did a great job at getting some good quotes.
When I checked the paper on page six the next day, there were my quotes and my name in bold saying with files from Anrea Zaslov. I just thought this was so much fun and an awesome experience. I told the Sun that I would be happy to volunteer for them in the future. It was a great experience and a super assignment. I had a blast.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Advanced Voting: Do People Care?
Each week I must blog about something related to journalism. This week I chose the topic advanced voting. Before this election, I never really gave this topic much thought. If I did think about it, I thought it was a good thing because it provided convenience to voters, it promoted democracy etc.
For a journalism assignment, I had to write a 400 word article about advanced voting. I went to a couple of the advanced voting stations in the city and started talking to people about it. I also called Elections Manitoba and spoke with the Communications Officer there who was also able to provide a bit of insight on the issue.
I started thinking about advanced voting more and since I had to find something newsy to write about it,I started thinking, who pays for advanced voting. Then I started asking myself if it is the taxpayer, would they know they are paying for these costs? If they knew they were paying for these costs, would they be more inclined not to like these extra costs that advanced voting adds to the cost of running an election at the end of the day? These were the type of questions I asked people and It seems that most of the people are in favour of advanced voting but a few people were certainly not. Most of them did not know that the polls were open an extra day this year and some knew the tax payer covered the costs and some didn't. To investigate this further I thought of contacting Elections Manitoba. They were very friendly and helpful.
I spoke to Alison Mitchell, Manager of Communications and Public Information for Elections Manitoba. She was able to provide me with clarification about the changes to advance voting polls this election.
“Advance polls start from September 24 to Saturday October 1 and are open one extra day this election with 100 poll stations across the province,” she said.
When I asked people if they knew about the extra day of advanced voting this year, many said they were not aware of this. Abby Nicholls for example is 45 and self employed, she had no idea.
“I thought the advanced voting polls were good until I heard that I might have to pay for it. I don’t want to have to pay for other people’s convenience. That is just ridiculous. Plus, I wasn’t even made aware of the extra day this year and if I am covering the costs of that, I want to know about it,” she said.
When I continued to ask Mitchell about who pays for the election costs, she was able to explain it to me like this:
“The administration of the election is paid for through public funds. So, yes, taxpayers pay for advance voting, as well as election day voting and all associated costs. The way it was tracked in 2007, the costs of advance voting were not separated from election day voting, so we don’t have a number to provide for advance voting costs but the total cost of the election in 2007 was $7.54 million,” Mitchell said.
I also asked if she had any information about any statistics for advanced voting. This is what she was able to provide me.
“We have found through our post-election survey in 2007 that only half of the respondents who voted in advance said they would have been very likely to vote in the election if they could not vote in advance. Further, over 1 in 3 said that they would have been very unlikely to vote if they could not vote in advance. We are close to 44,000 voters voting in advanced polls this election and that surpasses the total number of advanced voters from 2007,” she said.
So, from these stats, I do feel that advanced voting is a good thing. However, I can see how people would get upset by it as Nicholls expressed above.
I spoke to some other people that day including Gale Fisher who is 70 years old and a retired secretary. Fisher advanced voted at Grant Park Shopping Centre while she was on her way to see a movie. She really likes the convenience of advanced voting but was not aware of the polls being open an extra day this year. She also wasn't aware that tax payers paid for this.
“I like the convenience of advanced voting. I can go anytime during the week. This location is great. I didn’t know about the advanced polls being open an extra day during this election,” Fisher said.
Guy Coughlin is another individual I spoke to and he is a retired insurance salesman who is 80 years old. He thought advanced voting is great.
“All I needed was my driver’s license. I like that if I was in Brandon I could have voted there too. I did not know it was for one extra day this year,” he said.
For a journalism assignment, I had to write a 400 word article about advanced voting. I went to a couple of the advanced voting stations in the city and started talking to people about it. I also called Elections Manitoba and spoke with the Communications Officer there who was also able to provide a bit of insight on the issue.
I started thinking about advanced voting more and since I had to find something newsy to write about it,I started thinking, who pays for advanced voting. Then I started asking myself if it is the taxpayer, would they know they are paying for these costs? If they knew they were paying for these costs, would they be more inclined not to like these extra costs that advanced voting adds to the cost of running an election at the end of the day? These were the type of questions I asked people and It seems that most of the people are in favour of advanced voting but a few people were certainly not. Most of them did not know that the polls were open an extra day this year and some knew the tax payer covered the costs and some didn't. To investigate this further I thought of contacting Elections Manitoba. They were very friendly and helpful.
I spoke to Alison Mitchell, Manager of Communications and Public Information for Elections Manitoba. She was able to provide me with clarification about the changes to advance voting polls this election.
“Advance polls start from September 24 to Saturday October 1 and are open one extra day this election with 100 poll stations across the province,” she said.
When I asked people if they knew about the extra day of advanced voting this year, many said they were not aware of this. Abby Nicholls for example is 45 and self employed, she had no idea.
“I thought the advanced voting polls were good until I heard that I might have to pay for it. I don’t want to have to pay for other people’s convenience. That is just ridiculous. Plus, I wasn’t even made aware of the extra day this year and if I am covering the costs of that, I want to know about it,” she said.
When I continued to ask Mitchell about who pays for the election costs, she was able to explain it to me like this:
“The administration of the election is paid for through public funds. So, yes, taxpayers pay for advance voting, as well as election day voting and all associated costs. The way it was tracked in 2007, the costs of advance voting were not separated from election day voting, so we don’t have a number to provide for advance voting costs but the total cost of the election in 2007 was $7.54 million,” Mitchell said.
I also asked if she had any information about any statistics for advanced voting. This is what she was able to provide me.
“We have found through our post-election survey in 2007 that only half of the respondents who voted in advance said they would have been very likely to vote in the election if they could not vote in advance. Further, over 1 in 3 said that they would have been very unlikely to vote if they could not vote in advance. We are close to 44,000 voters voting in advanced polls this election and that surpasses the total number of advanced voters from 2007,” she said.
So, from these stats, I do feel that advanced voting is a good thing. However, I can see how people would get upset by it as Nicholls expressed above.
I spoke to some other people that day including Gale Fisher who is 70 years old and a retired secretary. Fisher advanced voted at Grant Park Shopping Centre while she was on her way to see a movie. She really likes the convenience of advanced voting but was not aware of the polls being open an extra day this year. She also wasn't aware that tax payers paid for this.
“I like the convenience of advanced voting. I can go anytime during the week. This location is great. I didn’t know about the advanced polls being open an extra day during this election,” Fisher said.
Guy Coughlin is another individual I spoke to and he is a retired insurance salesman who is 80 years old. He thought advanced voting is great.
“All I needed was my driver’s license. I like that if I was in Brandon I could have voted there too. I did not know it was for one extra day this year,” he said.
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