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Some pundits have taken Peter MacKay's less-than-subtle signals that he was unhappy with the decision made by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and others in cabinet to deny landing rights airlines from the United Arab Emirates and, in doing so, forego the free use of the Camp Mirage staging base near Dubai, as a sign that he is preparing to leave the cabinet and perhaps even quit politics. My sources close to MacKay say he's going nowhere but who knows? Stranger things have happened.

In any event, here at the NATO summit in Lisbon, if there is a rift between MacKay and Harper over the UAE decision, the two are putting on a first-class job of hiding it. The body language between the two men — at four photo ops I saw today as well as the opening of the NATO summit — told me those two are getting along like gangbusters. I couldn't hear what they were saying in the summit room but whatever it was, they were making each other laugh and smile a lot. And, as you can see in the picture above, MacKay was Harper's wingman all day while Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon had the backseat.

 

When leaders — and it doesn't matter the country — attend international summits like the one going on here in Lisbon, they tend to have a lot of meetings. Some are full-on “bi-lats”, short for bilateral meetings. That's a kind of one-on-one meeting between two leaders usually held at a hotel or meeting room away from the official summit meeting. They tend to be 20-25 minute meetings. The meetings are not open to the public though journalists are allowed in for a quick photo off the top of these meetings. More on that in a minute.

Today in Lisbon, before the official beginning of the NATO summit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has four bilats: with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh; with RasIveta Radicova, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia; with Mikheil Saakashvili, President of the Democratic Republic of Georgia; and with George Papandreou, Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic (Greece).

Leaders can also have what is known in diplomacy-speak as “pull-asides” at summits. These are shorter meetings between two leaders that can literally be off to the side of a the main meeting room and might last five or 10 minutes. Sometimes journalists get to take a snap of these meetings.

The photo opportunities — known in the trade as the photo-op — can sometimes be for journalists covering these things the only time to see a leader during a day of summitry. Some journalists see these as a bit of a waste of time but sometimes the chit-chat between the two leaders as they pose for pictures can help inform a story. For example, at La Francophonie in Montreux, Switzerland last month, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon spent a few seconds discussing Canada's failed bid to win a UN Security Council seat. In Korea last week, Harper told leaders of south Asian countries that he wanted to talk to them about human smuggling. These are the direct quotes from the PM we needed for stories we filed on those issues.

These photo-ops, though, can be mighty brief affairs. Let me show one such example: The photo-op this morning at Lisbon between Harper and Rasmussen. This is the raw video, all 54 seconds of it, from the time PMO staff let us in to the time PMO staff usher us out. This is pretty typical both for its brevity and its (lack of) content so far as Canadian PM photo ops go. They're just as brief when its a leader like the US President or leaders from China but there are about three times as many photographers.

After the photo op ends, the leader's communications staff generally issue a “read-out” in which they tell us what happened. Here's the read-out issued by Harper's communications staff about the Rasmussen-Harper meeting. It, too, is fairly typical for its length and content:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on the first day of the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. The Prime Minister expressed Canada's support for the reform and transformation agenda which will ensure the Alliance becomes even more effective. The Secretary General expressed NATO's appreciation for Canada's post 2011 engagement to provide aid, development and military training after the combat mission ends next July. Prime Minister Stephen Harper noted Canada's support for NATO's Strategic Concept. On Afghanistan, the Prime Minister also noted the desire for an effective and sustainable transfer of security to Afghan authorities.

Journalists at these summits have the exciting challenge of using these series of photo-ops and readouts as the kernels around which to build the day's reporting.

 

From: Ken Auletta. “Non-Stop News.” The New Yorker 25 Jan. 2010: 38

The media is under “pressure to entertain or perish, which has fed the press's dominant bias: not pro-liberal or pro-conservative but pro-conflict.”

Tend to agree with that.

“Forty per cent of Americans, according to a Pew poll last July, now get their national and international news from cable; with the collapse of mass audiences for broadcast television, networks like Fox News and MSNBC have sought niche markets, in the process shedding all but the pretense of impartiality. Data collected by TiVo, Inc., from thirty-five thousand viewers, show that for each Democrat who watches Fox News there are eighteen Republicans, and for every Republican who watches MSNBC there are six Democrats. (Democrats outnumber Republicans on CNN by a lesser two and a half to one.)”

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A1 Headlines and Political Daybook

Cyber-jerks, Ontario's rising power rates, Mrs. Harper's safe-texting: Get a four-minute audio summary of what's topping the front pages of Friday's papers across the country by clicking on the “AudioBoo” link (left).

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Look in the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Technorati Tags: news, headlines, canada

 

This morning in our papers, I wade in to the debate about Louis Riel's place in our history. I must confess I'm a bit conflicted about his legacy:

“He did, at the end of the day, take up arms against an elected government. There were battles. People died. That kind of tactic, it seems to me, can never be endorsed.

And yet, he ought to be remembered for struggling to defend the Metis, who had been betrayed by the government in Ottawa.

And we certainly ought to study, understand, and reflect on why and how the actions of an unjust government might propel an otherwise good man to lead a bloody rebellion.”

[Read the whole column]

The government of Canada this week announced that Canada's military will keep 950 personnel in Afghanistan from 2011-2014 to help train the Afghan army. This decision is entirely consistent with the 2008 motion adopted by the House of Commons which has been widely misunderstood this week (particularly by the NDP) that the motion called for troops to leave Afghanistan when the combat mission ends in 2011.

In fact, the motion, which passed the House on March 13, 2008 by a vote of 198-77, says nothing about pulling Canadians out of Afghanistan but does say, quite specifically, that by 2011, Canadian troops will be pulled out of Kandahar.

And that, of course, is just what the government is doing: Pulling its troops out of Kandahar and setting up at a training facility in Kabul.

The full text of the motion is here [scroll down to the Government Orders section]. This excerpt seems clear to me that the motion directs the government to pull troops out of Kandahar but not out of Afghanistan:

Therefore, it is the opinion of this House that Canada should continue a military presence in Kandahar beyond February 2009, to July 2011, in a manner fully consistent with the UN mandate on Afghanistan …

And it is the opinion of this House that, consistent with this mandate, this extension of Canada's military presence in Afghanistan is approved by this House expressly on the condition that: …

(c) the government of Canada notify NATO that Canada will end its presence in Kandahar as of July 2011, and, as of that date, the redeployment of Canadian Forces troops out of Kandahar and their replacement by Afghan forces start as soon as possible, so that it will have been completed by December 2011;

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A1 Headlines and Political Daybook

William and Kate – everywhere; Ottawa cops rapped; rocker fined for strip club melee: Get a four-minute audio summary of what's topping the front pages of Wednesday's papers across the country by clicking on the “AudioBoo” link (left).

You can also get these audio summaries automatically every day via podcast from iTunes or via an RSS feed by subscribing to my AudioBoo stream. Both the iTunes link and the RSS link are at my profile at AudioBoo.fm. Look in the top right corner of the “Boos” box.

Technorati Tags: news, headlines, canada

 

We're busy building the team that will take the new national news and current affairs cable channel SunTV to air early in the new year and our team has just posted up the following positions.

——————-

Senior Talk Show Producer

Sun News has an immediate position available in Toronto for an inspiring senior producer who thrives in a live control room environment and who craves the world of political and social debate.  Reporting directly to the Managing Editor of opinion programming and ultimately to the National News Director, you will be primarily responsible for the editorial direction, content and daily delivery of an hour long national talk/opinion program.

Responsibilities:

·         Approach opinion programming from alternative and interesting angles

·         Lead your team of hosts and production staff in developing and delivering daily national programming

·         Inspire and motivate colleagues to produce the highest quality product for our viewers

·         Demonstrate flexibility and quick-thinking in breaking news situations

·         Develop potential special projects (i.e. election coverage) for future broadcasts

·         Work cooperatively with other programs and departments to populate multimedia platforms

·         Produce from within a live control room setting

Other duties as  assigned.

Qualifications:

·         Minimum 5 years experience in a senior broadcast or management role

·         University/College degree in Journalism or related field required

·         Excellent production and control room skills

·         Ability to lead detailed pre-production discussions on hot topic political and social policy issues

·         Widespread knowledge of national and international issues

·         Talk radio production, political blog or columnist experience is desirable

·         Knowledge of a wide range of experts/specialists and familiarity with media law are all considered assets to this position.

·         Superior editorial judgment and strong writing abilities

·         Attention to detail in a fast paced environment

·         Strong time management skills

·         Flexibility to work early mornings, nights and weekends

·         Position may require travel

Experience using  Avid and iNEWS a plus

Sun News is a  continuous operation and work on days, evenings, weekends and statutory  holidays may be required

We thank all applicants but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please submit your resume no later than Friday November 26th to:

Human Resources
SUN TV
25 Ontario Street
Toronto, ON
M5A 4L6
resumes@suntv.canoe.ca

=========================

National Assignment Editor

Sun News has an immediate opening in Toronto for a National Assignment Editor to help shape, develop and coordinate daily content delivery for a continuous news operation.  Reporting directly to the Managing Editor of news programming and ultimately to the National News Director, and working alongside and in close cooperation with other existing Quebecor Media news operations the National Assignment Editor will help deploy a wide range of multimedia journalists and assets to the mutual benefit of all news gathering platforms.

Responsibilities:

·         Assign and supervise multimedia journalists, ENG and SNG crews across the country

·         Direct assignment and editorial staff in the delivery of breaking and planned news feeds

·         Co-ordinate with other Quebecor Media agencies to efficiently and continuously deliver content

·         Generate rolling story lists and prepare hourly briefings for anchors and editorial staff

·         Demonstrate flexibility and quick-thinking in breaking news situations

·         Participate in short term, long term and special event planning

·         Inspire and motivate colleagues to produce the highest quality product for our viewers

·         Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

·         Minimum 10 years experience in a senior broadcast news role

·         University/College degree in Journalism or related field required

·         Widespread knowledge of national and international issues

·         Superior editorial judgment and strong organizational abilities

·         Attention to detail in a fast paced environment

·         Strong time management skills

·         Flexibility to work early mornings, nights and weekends

·         Experience using Avid and iNEWS a plus

·         A flexible disposition, proven decision making abilities and outstanding organizational and leadership skills are all required

·         A solid understanding of existing and emerging video delivery methods is also a must.

·         Experience with print news gathering operations and multimedia reporting requirements would be considered assets to this position.

·         Sun News continuous operation and work on days, evenings, weekends and statutory holidays may be required.

We thank all applicants but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please submit your resume no later than Friday November 26th to:

Human Resources
SUN TV
25 Ontario Street
Toronto, ON
M5A 4L6
resumes@suntv.canoe.ca

=================

Senior News Producer

The successful candidate will oversee news content for daytime programming on Sun News.  They will demonstrate superior editorial judgment, strong technical abilities and excellent leadership skills in the newsroom.

Responsibilities:

·         Generate daily story ideas and segments for daytime news programming

·         Produce from within a live control room setting

·         Collaborate with anchors and editorial staff in developing hourly line-ups

·         Call newsmakers, conduct interviews and book guests on a regular basis

·         Demonstrate flexibility and quick-thinking in breaking news situations

·         Approach news from alternative and interesting angles

·         Develop potential news specials (i.e. election coverage) for future broadcasts

·         Work cooperatively with Sun Media staff in producing daily web content

·         Inspire and motivate colleagues to produce the highest quality product for our viewer

Qualifications:

·         Minimum 5 years’ experience in producing live-news in a senior role

·         University/College degree in Journalism or related field required

·         Excellent production and control room skills

·         Widespread knowledge of national and international issues

·         Superior editorial judgment and strong writing abilities

·         Attention to detail in a fast paced environment

·         Strong time management skills

·         Willingness to appear on camera periodically a plus

·         Flexibility to work early mornings, nights and weekends

·         Position may require travel

·         Experience using Avid and iNEWS a plus.

We thank all applicants but only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Please submit your resume no later than Friday November 26th to:

Human Resources
SUN TV
25 Ontario Street
Toronto, ON
M5A 4L6
resumes@suntv.canoe.ca

 

 

 

 

Much was made, of course, of the so-called “fake lake” in the media centre at the Toronto G20 summit facility.

The Japanese, though, have gone one better here at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) leaders summit. In the room where the leaders are meeting, the Japanese not only have a fake lake, filled with koi and Japanese carp, there also appears to be a fake bamboo forest where wallpaper and paint ought to be. (The fake lake is an all digital creation)

As per summit rules, the only media are not allowed in that room are the host broadcasters and host photographers. But, thanks to a top secret source with the Canadian delegation, we have this fuzzy pic of the lake, the forest and a rather bemused Prime Minister Stephen Harper: