A letter from the publishers
Here’s some background about the start of a second weekly print edition of The Hill Times. When the word got out that this would happen there was a fair amount of media attention, mostly positive. Maybe the news was well received because our decision to increase our publishing frequency seemed counterintuitive in a time of […]
Liberals pack Sir John A., others flock to the Métropolitain for budget night
New traditions were formed last Tuesday evening. Red is the new black and post-budget soirées have a new home, or two. Just a few hours after Finance Minister Bill Morneau tabled the 2016 budget in the House, Liberal MPs and Hill staffers who weren’t on the media circuit made their way into the Sir John A. […]
Organizing budget day ‘like a campaign war room inside the minister’s office’
PARLIAMENT HILL—On Parliament Hill and in the Hill neighbourhood, eight different budget day lockups took place for journalists, MPs and Senators, lobbyists, stakeholders, and federal officials, with around 2,000 participants. Logistically speaking, it’s the biggest annual event for the Parliamentary Press Gallery, which has been coordinating with Finance Canada officials for the last three weeks […]
RCMP incident creates stir in downtown Ottawa
Ever since Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s shooting rampage on Parliament Hill and at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Oct. 22, 2014 that left reservist Cpl. Nathan Cirillo dead and most of the city in lockdown, those of us working near the Hill get a little nervous whenever we see scores of police officers, police cars and […]
Politics This Morning: Is there a future for ‘serious journalism’?
In an age of social and digital media, declining advertising revenues and easily accessible information, the fate of “serious journalism” has been “turned on its head,” says a new report published by the Public Policy Forum. “News organizations in financial trouble rarely devote resources to costly investigations or the kind of deep dive into an […]
Ailing Grit MP Bélanger gets turn in House Speaker’s chair, MPs cry
Liberal MP Mauril Bélanger got the chance last week to temporarily do the job he wanted before dropping out of the running last year after learning he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrigh’s disease. His House colleagues gave him the chance to be acting Speaker for about 30 minutes on Wednesday […]
Jolly good fellow Kennedy bids farewell to Ottawa Citizen
It was like a march of parliamentary reporters across Elgin Street and down Rideau Street into the Métropolitain Brasserie last Tuesday night as Hill journalists filed into the familiar bar to bid outgoing Ottawa Citizen Hill bureau chief Mark Kennedy farewell. Mr. Kennedy was one of a dozen Ottawa Citizen journalists who took a buyout in […]
Chronicle-Herald Hill bureau still going despite newsroom strike
The Halifax Chronicle Herald‘s Parliament Hill reporter is still filing stories because she’s not part of the union that includes 61 newsroom workers who have been on strike since late January. The Ottawa bureau consists of reporter Andrea Gunn. Because she is out of province, she is not included in the union or the contract negotiations, said Frank Campbell, […]
Media, MPs mingle at Maclean’s, Parliamentary Press Gallery receptions
To kick off last week’s social rotation around the Parliamentary Precinct, Party Central stopped by Maclean’s and L’Actualité’s “Welcome to the Hill” reception in the Château Laurier Ballroom on Tuesday, Feb. 23. As dozens of new MPs and veterans filled the room, there was some musing over what the invite-only party was all about. Typically, Maclean’s hosts an annual shindig to […]
‘Storm clouds coming’ for Postmedia, feds should ‘stop perpetuation of revenue model that does not serve journalism’
The House Heritage Committee’s study on Canadian media should include whether Postmedia Network’s debt-laden U.S. hedge fund-backed conglomerate is hurting the journalism industry with its cuts and newsroom mergers that don’t serve democracy, say MPs. MacEwan University communications professor Brian Gorman said the convergence of media ownership and the treatment of news properties as business […]
