Chronicle Herald publisher Sarah Dennis was contrite. Under the headline, “We Have Listened And Will Learn From This,” she wrote about her newspaper’s mis-handling of the infamously viral story that “should not have been released.” She seemed forthright: “apologize,” “failure of foresight,” “acknowledge our mistakes,” “accept and try to learn from criticism…” But nowhere in […]
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
- 04/19/2016
- StephenKimber
- 3 Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
To hear him spin it, you’d think Stephen McNeil lived inside the fantasy bubble of film and television instead of outside, systematically decimating the real-world industry that creates screen magic. In January, two of Nova Scotia’s most successful production companies became the latest to announce they were shuttering their businesses here. Since 2001, Special Effects […]
- 04/12/2016
- StephenKimber
- 1 Comment
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
It was early February. The first “new-ferry-system-has-not-been-confirmed… we-must-unfortunately-cancel-the-space” emails from skittish U.S. tour operators had begun landing on reservations desks at Nova Scotia hotels and resorts. Local tourism operators desperately needed to know if there would — as the government had promised — actually be a ferry service this summer between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine. […]
- 04/05/2016
- StephenKimber
- 3 Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
The courts need another option. On Thursday, Ontario Justice William Horkins found former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi “not guilty” of five sexual-assault-related charges involving three different women. Legally, it was the right decision. But it isn’t the right conclusion. As Judge Horkins acknowledged, not guilty “is not the same as deciding in any positive way […]
- 03/28/2016
- StephenKimber
- 1 Comment
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Cody Glode had everything to live for. He was a handsome 20 year old, the youngest firefighter — and first Mi’kmaw — in Truro’s fire service. “The boys at the fire department welcomed [him] with open arms,” his mother says, but Cody’s “true passion” remained mixed martial arts. He was a featherweight fighter. His […]
- 03/21/2016
- StephenKimber
- 2 Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
How do you fairly determine how much elected officials should be paid? The short answer — as evidenced by last week’s emotional, confrontational, personal three-hour city council debate — is you can’t. In November 2014, councillors asked the auditor general to convene an outside committee to devise a new salary formula. Under the existing scheme […]
- 03/14/2016
- StephenKimber
- 1 Comment
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Cast your mind back to October 9, 2013. The morning after the night before. Nova Scotia’s first ever NDP government had just morphed into Nova Scotia’s first one-term government in more than 130 years. The party that began its re-election campaign with 31 of 52 legislature seats hobbled across the finish line with seven shell-shocked […]
- 03/07/2016
- StephenKimber
- No Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
The news two Chronicle Herald journalists have taken other jobs would not be news, except for what it says about the ongoing impasse between journalists and management at that newspaper, and what it may say about the future of the newspaper — and journalism — in this city. Last week, David Jackson, the newspaper’s former […]
- 02/29/2016
- StephenKimber
- 2 Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
I woke up one recent morning and flipped on the radio. “Nova Scotia Power is reporting its first outage of the morning,” the newscaster began. It was not a storm day. Or the day after. Or even the day after that. We were in the middle of a brief winter storm interregnum. Skies were clear. […]
- 02/22/2016
- StephenKimber
- 2 Comments
Stephen Kimber’s freelance journalism appears in local, regional, national and international publications.
Did he do it? Of course. Did the crown prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Jian Ghomeshi sexually assaulted three women? That’s more complicated. Let’s start with what we know. Three women went to police alleging Ghomeshi sexually assaulted them, each story strikingly similar: Ghomeshi punched and choked them without consent, without warning, and with no […]
- 02/15/2016
- StephenKimber
- 1 Comment
STEPHEN KIMBER, a Professor of Journalism at the University of King's College in Halifax and co-founder of its MFA in Creative Nonfiction Program, is an award-winning writer, editor and broadcaster. He is the author of two novels and eight non-fiction books. Buy his books
THE LATEST COMMENTS