Nostalgia

As I teach a unit on media and the messages presented by media to a grade 8 class in Beijing, I can't help but be reminded of my first real gig as a journalist.

I was partway through my third year at St. Thomas University when I got my first crack at an assignment at an actual newspaper. It led to my first full time job the following summer and to what I thought, at the time, would be a long and fruitful career.

This was incorrect.

About a year after the paper opened, it shut its doors.

I'm thinking about it a lot because I've been using stories from my portfolio as exemplars for my students. They are writing interviews and I am giving them my professional writing as examples of format and style.

I have come a long way. My writing and editing has improved ten-fold and I am picking out errors in stories from 2008 that make me groan in 2012.

I am certainly still proud with this work, especially stories like this one where I spoke with Curt Wetmore about his three-week trip to Thailand among others (links will be at the end...in case you would like to peruse my old words -- I have touched them up a tad).

It's interesting to look back and be reminded of something I once felt very strongly about -- and discovering that it may mean just as much now.

Re-reading my long form final piece from journalism school The Death of the Carleton FreePress I recognize some things that I could have done better with it. I should have spoken to Rob Perkins (the former editor from before I arrived) and I should have fought to speak with someone from Brunswick News, and especially Ken Langdon.

Langdon was too busy at the time I was trying to put the story together. He never answered his phone. Perkins probably could have been reached and maybe if I pressed harder I could have gotten someone at BNI to give me his or her perspective on the happenings.

I made a judgment call to write a profile on the staff and how our relationships formed and how it appeared to us as the paper reached its nadir. I am incredibly proud with how it turned out but it could have been more; it could have been something special.

The Carleton FreePress is mostly forgotten now; a distant memory. It's a casual conversation piece that starts with "remember when." I'm not entirely bitter, I swear I'm not...I'm just disappointed in myself that I didn't fight harder for that career.

I've dabbled in it since, and even had a full time gig at the Bugle-Observer in Woodstock and a freelance one at the Daily Gleaner in Fredericton. Something didn't click. It wasn't the staff, they were incredible. Jim Dumville is the best boss I've ever had in my life. Bryan Tait, Jeffrey Bento-Carrier, Peter MacIntosh, Devon Judge, and fellow FreePress alumnus Allison Adair were joys to work with in the editorial side of things. In fact, everyone at the paper with whom I had regular contact helped make it a great working environment.

Before being offered the full time job, and while I was freelancing for the Gleaner, I applied to education school at St. Thomas University...my alma mater. Ultimately, a few months into my job at the Bugle, I got accepted to school and worked my way through the summer looking ahead to change. It was difficult to keep my head in the journalism game as I thought about the impending finish. I still worked hard but had grown to dislike court reporting (which I did every week) and I'll admit my attitude suffered down the stretch.

I hope it doesn't seem like sour grapes, it's just that I am recognizing my own shortcomings at a job where I still have so much to give. Before moving to Beijing, I had started freelancing again at the Bugle-Observer and I wrote one of my favourite articles yet (hopefully I can grab a copy and post it).

Then I was whisked away to a new, mysterious place half a world away. How could I pass up this opportunity? Easy answer: I couldn't...so I didn't.

As I teach this course, my heart swells with nostalgia. I think of the Carleton FreePress and the incredible feeling it gave me at the time. I think of journalism school, which nearly broke my love of the job but prepared me for it in ways I was possibly unaware of until now. I think of my colleagues who have moved on to God knows where (I can't track down Bob Rupert, my FreePress editor). I think of how I was the first (other than Gleaner reporter Adam Bowie) to get a full time job while in j-school and how many never continued in the business.

I'll return to journalism, I know this. The best part is that pursuing my bachelor of education and teaching english and journalism has helped make me a better writer and editor.

For now I'll bask in the glow of nostalgic feelings as I read old work and shudder at rookie mistakes. It was the time of my life.

STORIES:
Devil's Brigade Commando
Traveling Doc
Vinyl 
Fred Eaglesmith
The Adventures of Josh Gabriel
A Book to Find Solace

The Death of the Carleton FreePress

It's been a while since I've posted. I have finished university and have been relaxing, reading and writing other things. I would like to share with you my final piece for my degree in journalism.

Check it out here.

#174: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (1998)
Written and Directed by Terry Gilliam
Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson
Starring Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Christina Ricci, Gary Busey, Tobey Maguire, a trunk full of narcotics.

As a student journalist it's no surprise that I am a follower and fan of Hunter S. Thompson. His fame is almost stereotypical among twenty-somethings who have a vested interest in writing, especially journalism. He represents the ideals of both creativity and telling a true-to-life story. His work is also very self-indulgent by traditional journalistic standards but that's the point. Dr. Gonzo and his specific brand of writing (GONZO!) ignores tradition and no one has or ever will do it better.

Even if the good doctor hadn't blown his brain out with a shotgun, he wouldn't be the same guy or writer as he was in the past. In fact, his columns for Page 2 on ESPN -- while amusing -- didn't quite meet the standards of his old writing.

I don't want to be an elitist. I hate it when fans of a musician or a director or a writer arbitrarily dismiss new material. The line "I liked [insert artist name here] before he/she/they were famous" is the most arrogant and self-serving line that can be uttered, especially because it is rarely followed up with any concrete argument. I was never a fan of Sugar Ray, but I'll tell you one thing, the song Fly prevented them from ever being respectable. Every single they released from there on out was exactly the same light and fluffy style. Considering Sugar Ray started with songs like Mean Machine, this change makes sense when you don't like how they progressed. Back up your arguments.

Thompson's downfall in his writing isn't as easily pinpointed and I don't even really dislike his Hey Rube columns. I discovered Thompson after his glory years because I wasn't exactly alive when he was pounding back every drug known to man. Like Mr. Lahey was the liquor, Thompson was the drugs (oversimplified...well aware).

No, I'm not a historian of his legacy and I haven't read all his work but I recognize what he represents in the world of journalism and in a way he has hurt it as well as helped. He is a cartoon character as characterized in Gilliam's film. He was a drug-addled freak who could have paved the way for a new style of writing. Instead, anyone who tries to write a stream of consciousness style is dubbed a Hunter Thompson wannabe.

Especially in school.

STU has taught us the fundamentals of writing for a newspaper. From writing leads to nut-graphs to pyramid style, etc. we have learned it. One thing the school never encouraged and likely never will is breaking convention. Or if we tried to break convention our professors cringed or started to tell us to try to write the story by the formula we had been trained with. Creativity has very little place in the news medium, or so our professors would have us believe.

But what gets attention? What is praised? Take a look at This American Life from NPR. These stories are long format, one per hour-long episode in fact. Compare that with a network newscast where every story is around the standard length of two minutes or less and you have differences. Sure, most people have wavering attention spans but the more time you have to tell a story the more in depth you can go with it.

Hunter S. Thompson wasn't quite the print equivalent to This American Life but he wasn't a run of the mill reporter either. He broke boundaries, supposedly but how many journalists have applied his style?

Robin Esrock writes a column called Gonzo Travel for Brave New Traveler. It's pretty decent especially if you like reading about adventure. It's not quite the same and I think using the word gonzo in the title is a cheap contrivance to draw in Hunter Thompson enthusiasts. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to bring in readers, so I don't really hold that against him. (His website is called modern gonzo as well...so hey, he loves HST as well. Glad the legacy didn't go to waste)

Stream of consciousness journalism is definitely a valid form of reporting but it can't be called gonzo if it's going to exist in mainstream publications (which it likely won't anyway, so it may be silly to even throw this out there). The connotations with prolific drug use and the word gonzo prevents it from being taken seriously.

And whether you agree with recreational drug use or you abhor it, Hunter S. Thompson told some amazing stories and wrote with a tenacity and enthusiasm that isn't present in the world of journalism today. Now that is something we do need more of. Stop trying to fit the mould and write the way that feels right to you. It will only help the global journalistic community.

If anyone has a link to an archive of all his work that would be great. Also if you have examples of writers that do take the unconventional approach and do it well...let me know, I would greatly appreciate it.

* Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is playing in Fredericton, NB at Empire Theatres on Friday January 23 at midnight.
** I recommend the following: The Rum Diary, Great Shark Hunt, Screwjack and Hell's Angels.

#175: Say Anything...

Say Anything... (1989)
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney, Lili Taylor


John Cusack is the man. This is an indisputable fact. He is a legend in 80's culture and not only from Cameron Crowe's directorial debut either. Sure, his Lloyd Dobler singlehandedly made every woman under 30 swoon in 1989 -- and most men too, though most won't admit it. He continued through the 90s and while his awesomeness has somewhat cooled in the last couple years, don't be surprised if Cusack happened to rebound.

While he had already developed a reputation from films like Better Off Dead, The Sure Thing and Eight Men Out it was Say Anything that cemented his status as not only a hearthrob but something more than a one-dimensional character in a film. Women wanted him, men wanted to be him and whatever other cliche about lust and envy you can think of. Lloyd Dobler was a unique character.

Dobler represents the best and worst of us at all times. He's a hopeless romantic and he breaks convention -- kickboxing is his biggest ambition -- and yet he's a bit too much at times. Why he works so well is because he isn't perfect, he's trying to find his way just as we all are both romantically and in our own individual life's purpose. He's almost like Ferris Bueller only less cartoony and less Broderick.

I didn't grow up in the 1980's so my hyperbole about the Dobler effect stems mostly from contact with women in more recent years. It's a popular choice of a film among the circle of female friends I have obtained in solely platonic fashion over the years. Like Dobler, I have a vague idea of what I want to accomplish in life but I can't quite figure it out 100 per cent.

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that. "

Admirable, but what does that really say? Is it a stance against capitalism in general or is it just the infantile musings of an immature and naive man? My own opinion changes by the day. Some days I don't think pursuing any kind of career is in my best interest. Who wants to be bogged down to do one thing every day or every week for the rest of his or her days? Obviously there are few days where every day is exactly the same but the mundane nature of office work isn't my cup of tea. In a sea of bureaucratic jobs, this way of thinking limits one in terms of financial stability.

My friend CT says he has seen the light. He has done the anti-establishment thing for years. He grew the mohawk, spiked it in the air, wore torn clothes and wrapped a dog collar around his neck. He was what many would refer to as a freak, he broke the mold.

Now he wants to sell out. His words, not mine.

In his point of view, the life he's led hasn't been the most comfortable. Living from paycheck to paycheck and taking the jobs that will hire someone who would scare most everyone above the age of 40 not named Iggy Pop just got tiring.

He hasn't quite discovered where he wants to go, but he knows he doesn't want to be broke for the rest of his life and compromise seems to be his only choice. But at the same time his goal and my own is vague, just like Dobler's.

I don't need the biggest television possible and I don't need a fancy car. I don't need a big house or a house of any kind. All I need is a method to pay for food, pay off my student loan debt and have fun with my friends. That shouldn't be too much to ask.

Sadly, most jobs starting out of university don't exactly light up the old bank account. I'd be shocked if any journalist fresh out of university is making any more than $15/hour. That might seem like a lot, but it would be difficult to pay off debt, eat properly and still have a social life on those wages while paying rent. I don't know about most of you but living with my parents until I'm 30 is not an option.

So as a journalist I might be forced to either freelance or take an internship to work my way up in the writing world. I understand climbing the ladder but starving yourself to do that is unreasonable. You likely have to work a second job and even then it might not be enough.

No, money doesn't buy happiness but it's not quite the root of all evil either. Falling in love would be wonderful and so would having enough money to live happily ever after. To cap it all off is it all that selfish to want to like what I end up doing to make ends meet? Is that just too much of a pipe dream? I sure hope not.

I might have no choice but to sell out...problem is, like the affable Lloyd Dobler and my friend CT I have no idea who to sell out to.

AQ REDUX: Thirst is nothing, image is everything.

Going to St. Thomas University has been a mixed bag. Through a strike and some course requirements (fine arts credit) and lackadaisacal professors (not all) there have been some bumps in the road.

Rarely, I have contributed actual pieces of journalism to the school newspaper, the Aquinian -- or AQ as it is known in hipster circles and the cover of the paper itself. Luckily I have been able to weasel my way into the position of columnist.

Arts editors have for whatever reason given me a forum to ramble on about whatever pops into my head. I am in the process of finding copies of each of the columns I've written over the last few years and will be posting them here for your reading pleasure. I think there's one that was never published, but it will also make the grade.

Since this is the last semester at the great school of St. Thomas, it seems fitting to make this my requiem of my time spent there.


Thirst is nothing, image is everything...
by Jason Wilson

I am not cool.

The reason I am not cool is not because I lack certain qualities that create "cool." Instead, I see cool as nothing more than an abstract concept, unattainable by everyone...even the cool.

High school is a time where the segregations of social cliques hits a peak. You join the group that most closely resembles who you are on the exterior. If you have long dark hair, listen to Marilyn Manson (so 90s) and wear eyeliner...you're a "goth". If you play sports, wear polo shirts with an alligator on them (I give Lacoste a hard time), you're a "jock." If you wear vans or airwalks with baggy pants you're a "skater" even if you don't own a skateboard or have the dexterity and balance to operate one.

In each group (several go unmentioned, including sub-groups of the aforementioned) a different definition of "cool" is created and interpreted. If you don't belong, well you're uncool.

University and alternately, the working world does it in a different fashion. You strive to meet like-minded individuals you relate to on a conversational basis, but only if they wear something tasteful and to your liking.

When you meet someone, what do you talk about? The conversations tend to be simplistic and open because no one wants to be alienated and you don't want to alienate everyone you meet. Most, maybe...but not all. Simplistic equals common and common equals accessible and accessible equals popular.

What movies do you like?

What bands do you listen to?

What sports do you watch?

Books, television, celebrities, video games and products of the like all work as ice breakers and if you agree with the people you meet, the idea that that particular person you just met is cool sticks with you. If you disagree, you have no reason to extend the relationship.

Sprite lied. Their old slogan was "image is nothing, thirst is everything" and it had to be a conscious lie. It would have professional athletes like Kobe Bryant making mad dunks and cooling down with a bottle of Sprite with the label pointed perfectly at the camera. Kobe drinks Sprite and shoots threes, you can too if you buy our product!

Yes, it constantly said the opposite of what the images said and that's probably why the campaign succeeded as much as it did. It tricked people into buying the product by acknowledging the truth that Sprite would no sooner make you the next Kobe Bryant than consuming enough LSD to kill an elephant would make you the next Hunter S. Thompson or Aldous Huxley.

The pictures, however, give that glimmer of hope that maybe...just maybe you could be the exception to the rule. If you drink -- and buy -- just the right amount of Sprite then you will make the NBA and come up short for the MVP just like Kobe does every year (note: this column originally ran in spring 2007. Kobe won the NBA MVP in 2008). I wouldn't know. I've always preferred 7Up.

The image you portray, whether you do it by drinking carbonated sugar-water or if you dress like a hipster will directly and indirectly determine your social status. It doesn't matter if you're nice or a huge prick but what you look like and say.

Are you cool? Probably not because cool is not tangible. It is broad and abstract. A party girl once told me that I seemed like the kind of guy who would rather sit at home on a Friday night and read a book instead of heading out to one of the many trashy bars in Fredericton. I know she wanted to make a cutting jab at what she thought to be my lifestyle but instead I took it as a compliment.

When Lester Bangs says "I'm always home, I'm uncool" to William Miller in Almost Famous, I see myself. Granted, I am not the publisher of my own music magazine (SOMEDAY!) but I can relate to that aspect of the character.

Whether we want to admit it or not, we are all influenced by advertising and the ethos of image. We all portray an image and many will label you as "cool" of "uncool." Ask those people to define what they mean and a common response will be "cool" and "uncool." They are self-defining words, so how can they represent anything real?

"Oh, you just know cool when you see it" is bullshit or maybe I just haven't seen it, especially when I look in the mirror. That's not a bad thing.

Now excuse me, I need to take my Tommy's out of the dryer.


*I took the liberty to re-write this instead of copy and paste directly. It's mostly the same with some of the tense cleaned up. It turns out my schooling actually has taught me a thing or two.

This American Life...listen to it!

As my university career comes to an end I have been wondering exactly why I had chosen journalism as the major of my eight-year BA. After several false starts I enrolled at St. Thomas University in Fredericton in a pursuit to be a professional writer, or in a more exciting title, a professional storyteller.

While in recent months my desire to be a journalist has waned a bit, my desire to tell stories is as strong as it has ever been. My first year class with Michael Camp focused on great storytellers and the eras of strong journalism specifically. From the war years to the civil rights movement to Watergate, etc. Writers like Tom Wolfe, Ernie Pyle, Hunter S. Thompson inspired me and caused my general exuberance regarding writing.

The biggest problem is it seemed like we were studying history as opposed to current events, which are the core of journalism. My detachment is understandable considering my feeling that my colleagues and I were entering a world where we would be stuck reporting on procedural happenings like the courts and council meetings.

Until recently, this still seemed like the most likely way of achieving my goal and it wasn't very appealing. Philip Lee showed us a documentary from The Wire detailing the death of newspapers.

"Great," I thought. "I have chosen the hindenburg equivalent of a career."

Then a couple weeks later -- yesterday -- he showed us a brief clip from the television version of This American Life. My friend Veda Stelmanis had told me about the show and its host Ira Glass. She told me it was the best show or one of the best -- I really should avoid hyperbole as much as I use it.

The clip he showed was about inner city kids in North Philadelphia who owned and trained horses. They rode horses throughout Philadelphia. It was beautiful and deliberate. The clip wasn't put together with quick cuts, it was picturesque.

I went online. This American Life has radio podcasts available for free download and I have placed links at the bottom of this page. Check it out for humour, information and even just a way to kill an hour in a semi-productive way.

Also, in case you didn't notice, I have a pod-list of Definitely Not the Opera there as well from CBC. Another good way to kill some time through entertainment and information. Shows like this have rejuvenated my desire to tell stories, but not necessarily in a journalistic forum although it is no longer ruled out either.

Enjoy.

Myths of journalism

"Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism."
- Hunter S. Thompson


I'm quickly learning that journalists are not exactly the revered and respected societal group that I once thought.

The reason I became interested in the vocation was to pursue the truth, an honourable goal. Sadly, it all seems to be about the quick hits of pseudo-information that passes as news.

Because of the value placed on ad revenue and getting the story first instead of getting it right, the news industry is in shambles...and that is not news. As someone in the business, albeit on the entry level, I am becoming more disenchanted with it every day.

Myth: The truth matters above all else.
Fact: The truth only matters if you get it first, and even then getting a story expediently, right or not is always preferred. A retraction, while messy, can always be printed and in most cases will go unnoticed anyway.

Myth: Balance is required.
Truth: The story is only as good as its sources. If one side of a story doesn't talk or is late getting back to a reporter, chances are the story will run as is. Who's fault is this? The reporter is working on a deadline and needs to file but the story will read like a one-sided editorial. In a medical story for instance, if you interview a patient who claims to be cured of an incurable disease from a naturopathic doctor, the reporter should ideally have a response from the medical community.

It's still a human interest story regardless, but since naturopathy isn't exactly recognized my the majority of M.D.'s it could be interpreted as 100% fact.

I wrote a story like this and couldn't get an M.D. on the line, not even a specialist until after the story went to print. I even pushed the story off a week to try further to get someone on the phone. When my call was finally returned it was the day the paper ran with the story. I was pleased with it, but it could have been better and more balanced


Myth: Journalists are noble creatures
Truth: Reporting in many cases is just a job

This is the worst realization I have ever come to and it's why I'm not as excited about my career path as I was a year ago. Much of what I write is mundane and of little interest to me but I tough it out anyway so I can collect a paycheck. I am ashamed to say that money is part of my motivation, or even on some days my primary motivation.

Investigative journalism is a dirty job, and if you're going to go that route in a community newspaper, chances are you'll piss off someone you care about. My values and my dedication align more with my friends and relationships than my job. I will not sacrifice friendships to get a story. If that means I end up writing fluffy feature pieces almost exclusively, so be it.

There seems to be little trust of journalists or newspapers now. With characters like Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass, why should the everyman trust what's written? Well I don't think the writer should be given carte blanche, but the cold shoulder is not the answer either. Question everything, but understand that the journalist has a job to do and when the whole story isn't there, try to ask why that is. Some blame should land on the writer, but not all...in some cases anyway.

Like with anything, you can find both good and bad in the world of professional journalism, you just need to dig. The worst part about it now is that there are very few in the mainstream that break convention, bend the rules and keep it interesting. Did Gonzo die with Hunter S. Thompson?

I'll rant on the news aesthetic a different time.