Multimedia
Audio: “Ontario cancels Special Diet Allowance” (originally broadcast March 31, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
I report in a tape-talk that the province of Ontario has cancelled a program for people on social assistance with extra food costs. I spoke with Ontario’s minister of community and social services and a local community dietitian.
Audio: “Lord Stanley at Lansdowne” (originally broadcast March 17, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
I report about a proposal to build a Lord Stanley statue at Lansdowne Park. The city advisory meeting wrapped up on Tuesday evening, and I prepared a news voicer for the next day’s broadcast.
Audio: “Prorogation regulation” (originally broadcast March 17, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
I interview Peter Russel, professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, to talk about the history of prorogation and NDP leader Jack Layton’s proposal to change it.
Audio: “Pie for Pi Day” (originally broadcast March 10, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
With international Pi Day coming up (March 14), we go inside the kitchen of Kerry Duffy, the owner of the Life of Pi bakery, to find out how to make the perfect pie and if math has anything to do with it.
Audio: “Improv in Ottawa” (originally broadcast Feb. 10, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
This short, no-narration radio documentary profiles local improvisational comedy troupe Insensitivity Training and looks at Ottawa’s improv scene. (Also broadcast on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning on March 11, 2010)
Audio: “Carleton professors purify water” (originally broadcast Feb. 10, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
In this short radio doc, I go inside a Carleton lab and look at new research for purifying water at sewage treatment plants.
(Read a story I wrote about this research in Carleton’s student newspaper.)
Audio: “RCMP funeral” (originally broadcast Jan. 27, 2010, on the Midweek radio show on CKCU FM)
I reported live from the scene of the Ottawa funeral procession for Chief Superintendent Douglas Coates, one of the RCMP officers tragically killed during the Haiti earthquake.
Video: “The wheel and the damage done” (Capital News Online, Oct. 23, 2009)
A fun report on Ontario’s debut of distracted-driver legislation, including an opening skit and interviews. I wrote and appeared in this story.
Video: “Ottawa cracks down on illegal graffiti” (Carleton Journalism Television, March 24, 2008)
A news report on new measures by the City of Ottawa to combat graffiti. I presented, wrote and edited this story (assisted by classmate Kristine Gariepy).
Also available for RealPlayer on the CJTV website.
Video: “Out of Afghanistan: The Process, The Politics, The People” (Capital News Online, Nov. 20, 2009)
A short, three-part documentary about how Canada will end its combat role in Afghanistan. I acted as general producer for the documentary, and contributed writing, camera work and video editing.
News and feature writing
“Carleton profs purify water” (The Charlatan, Jan. 23, 2010)
Your drinking water might get a little safer in the future, thanks to two Carleton researchers.
Chemistry professor Edward Lai and engineering professor Banu Ormeci won a $159,000 grant last week from the Canadian Water Network, a federally funded centre, to further their research into a new type of water purification.
“Who’s that in the back?” (Capital News Online, Dec. 4, 2009)
The House of Commons is like a hockey rink at times, with two sides — government and opposition — delivering verbal checks to each other, and a starting line of ministers facing off against their critic opponents. Past the big guns and the second and third lines, there’s the backbench. These Members of Parliament often don’t get a chance to shine in the national spotlight, with just the occasional memorable play — or private member’s bill — ever making it to the highlights.
“U of T boots up Canada’s most powerful computer” (The Charlatan, Aug. 1, 2009)
Imagine if you gave every single student, professor, lecturer, administrator and support staff member at Carleton University a new MacBook.Then imagine what would happen if you asked them to hook all the computers up together and start furiously doing calculations.That’s nearly 30,000 people working in concert with computers faster than most of us need on a day-to-day basis.But that’s still not as powerful as the University of Toronto’s new supercomputer system.
photo by Assad Khan (The Charlatan)
” ‘Canada opened their door a little bit wider for me’ ” (The Charlatan, Mar. 22, 2007)
John Eke breathed a sigh of relief last summer along with thousands of other international students when the government introduced a new program allowing them to work off-campus.
Opinion and Analysis
“Stop politicizing climate science” (The Charlatan, April 1-7, 2010)
Yes, a conservative and a Republican are two of the most environmentally friendly leaders we’ve had in North America.
But that was years ago now. Since then, their successors on the right wing of the political spectrum have abandoned most climate issues. Some even outright scorn the possibility that humankind is influencing climate change or that global warming is happening at all. The current political debate puts environmental issues squarely in the domain of the left wing.
But climate science is not a “left” or “right” issue.
“London losing vital young minds” (London Free Press, April 30, 2005)
Part of “Next London – Visions for the future of a city” opinion piece series by the London Free Press, the major daily newspaper in London, Ont.
Series won Best Series (2005) award from the Association of Opinion Page Editors.
Also available in .pdf
“Your Newsroom” (The Charlatan, Oct. 2008 to April 2009)
A series of blog posts chronicling the behind-the-scences at The Charlatan, Carleton’s student newspaper.
1. Introduction and the story behind the Carleton hacker story
2. Voicebox and censorship
3. Advertising declines at student papers
4. The Canadian University Press
5. Carleton’s Shinerama drama
6. Updates at Charlatan.ca
7. The origin of the Charlatan name
8. Volunteering at the Charlatan
9. Defending our dignity and our name
10. Beating around the bias bush
Design
Cover of The Charlatan, vol. 38 issue 24, Feb. 26 – Mar. 4, 2009.
The cover story concerned the disqualification of the winning candidate for president of Carleton’s student government. I created a concept for the cover, got photographer Chris Roussakis to take a picture of the candidate as per my directions, then designed the cover and typography in InDesign.
“Eating well and cheap: A student food survival guide” (The Charlatan, Sept. 20, 2007)
A feature about food timed for new university students coming into Carleton. The three main stories were about eating healthily while not spending too much money, making cooking fun and cheap vegetarianism.
The centre spread had the stories on the boxes and cans to directly link the content of the stories with the visual design – it both is about food and looks like food.
(That was my lunch on the right.)
“Banking for success, or at least paying off your loans” (The Charlatan, Jan. 17, 2008)
A feature about managing money for students. One story discussed dealing with student loans and debt (with a sidebar about OSAP), and the other story was about investing your money (with a sidebar explaining investing terms, and a chart showing investment value over time). The design was inspired by the Economist.
A slightly different headline was originally published.