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How do I interview cops and lawyers?
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May 18, 2010 - Posted by Dana Lacey
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Q: I am a crime & court reporter in a small community. I am also new to this beat. I was hoping for some interviewing tips when it comes to police officers (details of new charges and incidents) and lawyers in court (information about their clients and trials). Answer by Rob Tripp, who has been writing about bad guys, courts and prisons for more than 20 years.
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How do I access government information?
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May 11, 2010 - Posted by Dana Lacey
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Q: What are some tips on using freedom of information to access government data and what specific kinds of records should I be asking for? Answer by investigative reporter Fred Vallance-Jones.
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Cops won't talk to me because I'm a reporter
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May 5, 2010 - Posted by Dana Lacey
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I'm a fairly new court reporter out in Jasper, Alberta. I tried talking to the police to get arrest details, and the RCMP stated, "We’re not obliged to release information unless it's in the public safety to do so." So, what are the police's obligations to share info in Alberta and if they aren't obliged to share that info, how could I get it -- aside from just waiting for it to come up in court? Answer by Robyn Doolittle, who covered the police beat at the Toronto Star before moving to the city hall bureau.
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Where's the (freelance) sports coverage?
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April 14, 2010 - Posted by Dana Lacey
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QUESTION: I am a sports columnist and member of the CAJ, my work has been published in smaller newspapers and online for the past three years. I am quite aware that the daily newspaper business is in a state of flux but when I approach any daily newspapers with my work, hoping to reach a new level with my writing, I run into one dead end after another. I would love to get paid but being published is more important at this point in my career. Even without being paid, editors have told me if they use a freelance writer, the union gets angry. How do I overcome this hurdle and get published and, hopefully, paid one day? Answer by Chronicle Herald sports editor Andrew Waugh.
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Stay clear of my camera
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November 17, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: I'm a freelance photojournalist and I take photos of people on the town. Almost all of the photos I take are posted publicly. From time to time people ask me to take photos down and I typically ignore or refuse to remove the photos. I don't believe as journalists we have the right to selectively remove content when a member of the public doesn't like what they see. What are best practices in this situation? Answer by Andy Clark, senior photographer for Reuters News Agency based in Vancouver.
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Is my editor making me a plagiarist?
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November 10, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: My editor removed quotation marks from a direct quote I took from an online statement from a press conference. She says journalists have free reign to use any info presented by news release, public statement or interview, without accreditation. I disagree. Please advise. Answer by Winnipeg Sun columnist Kevin Engstrom.
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Know what your story is really about
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November 3, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: I cover a lot of court. A man pleaded guilty to contravening the National Parks Act for not having a licence for his rafting company. A quick search showed he'd been convicted of three counts of sexual exploitation and sentenced to 14 months in jail a couple of years earlier. Is this relevant to my story? Should it be in the lead, at the end or not in the story at all? Answer by Edmonton Journal reporter Karen Kleiss.
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Always question sources' motives
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September 22, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: In All the President's Men, I heard about the two-source rule on information that comes from an anonymous source. But I don't hear about it much anymore and have even forgotten what it is, exactly! What is the "rule", and is it actually followed by journalists today? Answer by Esther Enkin, executive editor of CBC News.
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Politics junkies in journalism?
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September 15, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: I worked as a political advisor to two cabinet ministers and ran as a candidate in a federal election. I know and understand politics inside and out, but have not been a member of a political party for at least four years. Is it true that news directors will not hire me to become a political journalist? Answer by Toronto Star Ottawa bureau chief Bruce Campion-Smith.
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The higher the stakes, the more verification is required
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June 30, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: I know I'm supposed to get outside verification for things told to me by anonymous sources. But how about named sources? When is a reporter expected to get independent verification for information that's properly attributed? Answer by Cecil Rosner, managing editor for CBC Manitoba and author of Behind the Headlines: A History of Investigative Journalism in Canada.
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Senior editors differ on value of j-school in mid-career
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May 26, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: Do you have any advice on which program I should take and do I stand any chance of finding employment when I graduate? I'm 43-year-old freelance photographer and writer. In spite of strong writing and photography skills, my feeling is I need to acquire skills in layout and website management to compete against more recent computer savvy graduates. Answer: Roger Gillespie, senior editor, training and development at the Toronto Star asked five senior-level newspaper editors.
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There are no dull assignments, only dull stories
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May 22, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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 QUESTION: What advice do you have for making tired assignments like weather stories and pet shows interesting for readers and reporters? Answer by Tom Hawthorn, Victoria freelance reporter and presenter at the recent CAJ conference in Vancouver.
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Access to Information blind to geography: be persistent
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April 20, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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QUESTION: I phoned the Elections Canada media line and was informed that as per the Canadian Elections Act a person must come in person to the office in Ottawa to make photocopies of invoices because the department does not have the capacity to fulfill requests from journalists outside Ottawa. I live in Alberta and it was suggested I find an Ottawa j-school student to get the documents I want. Is this true? Can this department refuse me this information unless I appear in person to get it? Can I fight this and how can this rule be changed? Answer by Dean Beeby, deputy bureau chief in Ottawa for The Canadian Press.
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Transparency online: don’t make invisible edits
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February 17, 2009 - Posted by Regan Ray
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 QUESTION: I am responsible for a small community newspaper's web site. My boss, the editor, and I have been arguing about protocols for correcting web versions of stories. What are the conventions for editing the web version of the story if the print version was (a) corrected and (b) if the error or omission wasn't deemed worthy of a correction? Answer by Marissa Nelson, senior editor, digital news, for The Toronto Star and thestar.com.
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edited by Robert Cribb
 Ask a Mentor provides answers to practical questions about the craft. Our mentors will steadily expand this fount of tips, traps and shortcuts on the trail to truth. Submit your question and we'll pass it on to a mentor for answering. Robert Cribb is an investigative reporter and deputy investigations editor at the Toronto Star, past president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and current president of the CAJ Educational Foundation. He is also a lecturer at Ryerson University and co-author of Digging Deeper: A Canadian Reporter's Research Guide.
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QUESTION: