“Lame-stream student media”

Photo Corey Pool

Last week, Montreal’s  activist-in-residence Jaggi Singh started a bit of a twitter-fight bonanza with about a dozen of the city’s student journalists.

He tweeted praise for Concordia University Television for their tireless work in covering the Quebec student strike but finished the compliment with a bit of a backhand to other student media outlets.

His contention seemed to be that no matter how hard they work or what kind of critical material they produce, members of the campus media are really just wannabe corporate hacks shilling for a job at The Gazette or QMI.

While we can debate the merits of a 40-year-old man taking family-sized dumps on teenagers learning a vocation, Jaggi’s criticisms of mainstream media are usually pretty fair. The corporate press often misses important stories and fails to live up to its obligation in keeping “the man” in check. Fair enough.

I have no problem with these criticisms because they’re an essential part of living in a democracy and because I know Jaggi’s heart is in the right place. But it makes me cringe when the debate turns into name-calling and specific personal attacks as it did last week.

To begin with, I don’t think Mr. Singh understands the realities a student journalist faces on a daily basis. For one thing, we’re just about always broke or in debt and we rarely get a moment to breathe. I remember working in construction all summer and into the fall as I was putting in 60 hours a week at my college paper and attending classes at Concordia University. My situation wasn’t exceptional, it’s a kind of rite of passage most of us have to go through to get our degrees and to earn our stripes.

No matter how broke and tired we all were it was thrilling to be able to produce a newspaper that was critical of the university’s administration and that addressed other kinds of stories that may not have made it in a mainstream paper. These so-called “wannabe  lame-streamers” were shaping the coverage of the province’s student movement long before the mainstream press ever caught wind of what a GND or a #ggi was.

But everyone has to leave the circus one day. College ends and once the first of the month starts to roll around, you can’t afford to snub your nose at work because it won’t start a revolution or cause the ghost of Richard Nixon to posthumously be impeached from office. Sometimes it means writing a story about LED Lights on St. Laurent Blvd. (which admittedly didn’t make me feel like Bob Woodward or Robert Redford). Sometimes it means being one of the lucky ones that gets a job at The Montreal Gazette or the Toronto Star.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here because Jaggi isn’t even giving these students a chance to prove that they can effect change once they land a job at a corporate paper. He’s happy to assume we’re all wannabes and lazy hacks. That none of us have hearts or think critically. That we don’t have to pay rent or sink deeper into debt just to get by for another month.

He’s not there when we have to see the look on our loved ones’ faces when we tell them we haven’t found work in weeks.

But god forbid any one of us has an off day or publishes something that won’t rage against the machine. Because when that happens, trust me, Jaggi will be there pointing and laughing. Publically calling you out in an attempt to demean and humiliate you for not living up to his standards of journalism.

To his credit, plenty of us will end up being shitty reporters and crummy people. I’m not entirely sure I’m any good at this but I’ve seen so much potential and so much new, young talent during the student strike that it gives me hope. I’m sure some of these kids will end up in the corporate newsrooms of Canada where they’ll make some noise and rattle a few cages.

Last year at The Gazette, I wrote plenty of shitty intern pieces but I was also given the freedom to write about First Nations issues, racial profiling, poverty and many of my fellow students wrote about homophobia, trans rights and a swath of issues that don’t usually make it in a daily newspaper.

I respect the work Jaggi Singh does. He obviously cares deeply about the afflicted and wants to make the world a better place. I agree with many of his views on corporate media and have a great appreciation for the work of alternative media like The Dominion, Rabble.ca or CUTV (If you haven’t already, check out the work of Tim McSorely, Stefan Christoff, Dru Oja Jay because they’re all great indie journalists).

But for now, lets give the kids a chance to screw up before kicking them in the teeth whenever the opportunity presents itself. Painting us all with the same brush is hurtful and it’s the exact kind of lazy, stereotype that Mr. Singh fights every day through his work as an activist.

Busted

Last night I skipped work to grab a beer with my friend Parker at Grumpy’s and within a few minutes we spoke to two different people who’ve been arrested during demonstrations.

The Canadian Press is reporting that at least 2,500 have been rounded up since the beginning of the 102-day-old crisis. Henry Gass (who was arrested alongside 517 others two nights ago) wrote that the Montreal Police have detained 1,589 people so far.

I remember walking home the other night around 2 a.m. and all I could hear was the SQ Helicopter and the echo of a thousand clanging pots and pans from miles away. That night, a handful of reporters were arrested alongside more than 500 others on the corner of Sherbrooke and St. Denis. It’s crazy how banal its become to see hundreds riot police whizzing through the city or to hear the explosion of stun grenades echoing into the night.

Surreal, man… f**king surreal.

SSDD

“To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.”

Since the controversial Bill 78 came into effect Saturday, four out of Montreal’s five night marches have ended in violence and mass arrests. Privately, most officers will tell you the new law (which more or less forbids spontaneous protests) is uninforceable and renders their work even more difficult.

And, truth be told, it can’t be too easy being a cop in Montreal these days. They’re constantly on the job, the nights are getting warmer and they’re clearly sweating bullets under all those layers of armour and weapons. Plus more and more people are pouring onto the city’s streets every day and night.

To make matters worse for the boys in blue, protesters are getting tougher, more organized and less afraid of the chemical irritants and plastic bullets their are coming into more frequent use these days.

For awhile that didn’t seem to change policing strategies so much: crowds were still heavily dosed with tear gas, flash bangs and the gamut of riot control weapons. But people keep showing in the streets by the thousands and challenging the province’s strict new demo laws, they march for miles on end and some of them still throw things at police.

Last night, however, felt like the beginning of a new and far more arbitrary strategy on behalf of the Montreal police. Not one chemical irritant was used. It was just old fashioned head busting.

Over 500 were arrested after a handful of projectiles were thrown at riot cops, according to police sources. Now there are rumours that the demos will be shut down before they even begin.

I doubt this is the solution Jean Charest had in mind when he drafted Bill 78 but it seems clear that this is the new reality on Montreal’s streets.

Electric Youth!

Montreal burns, by Erin Sparks

Can’t help but feel like this student strike has had a generational undertone to it from day one.

So, in the spirit of pitting old vs. young, I’ve compiled a list of youthful reporters who’ve really carved out a name for themselves in the midst of this #ggi madness.

Mainstream Media (they’re not all bad you know)

@monique_muise : This Montreal Gazette reporter’s been out in the streets since the beginning. She was in Victoriaville when the city turned into a war zone, she’s been in the middle of her fair share of riots and only sat out for one major protest after spraining an ankle. Read her stuff online, it’s fair and gets right to the point.

@GDuchaine : La Presse reporter that tweeted the hell out of what become the most chaotic night of protesting Sunday, when 300 were arrested and 20 injured.

@Gvaliente: He works for Sun News and yet, somehow, no horns… go figure. Giuseppe’s coverage has been exceptional thus far, he’s got a great grasp on the city and the realities students face out on the streets.

@justincgio : CTV, Openfile Montreal

My former boss and mentor, Justin’s mind is a steel trap, he’s a twitter machine and was covering this thing way before the big news agencies got a hold of it. Follow his tweets or check him out on Openfile.

The flying sparks twins

@sparksriley : The Link, Openfile Montreal

Riley Sparks started this whole tweeting yourself out of jail nonsense. He’s been out there almost every night, putting himself in the thick of things to get you the tweets, photos and articles you need. I still remember covering riots with in back in 2010, when chemical weapons and mass violence was still new and exciting.

@sparkserin : The Link

Apparently the Sparks twins were raised not to fear plastic bullets, flying rocks or tear gas because Erin has snapped some pretty amazing photos herself. Check out Erin’s twitter feed as well, always seems to be out when the streets are on fire.

The Link’s brat pack

Photo Corey Pool

@Laurabeeston : The Link, CJAD Radio, Winnipeg Free Press, Montreal Gazette

While Beeston was in charge, The Link became the city’s most consistent source for updates on the student strike but also dove into issues like Concordia University’s chronic mismanagement of funds, which play a huge role in the frustrations students feel about tuition increases.

@juruwolfe : The Link, CJAD Radio

Julia Wolfe’s taken over the reigns from Beeston without missing a beat. The paper’s coverage is still top notch andongoing despite the end of the school year.

@juliatjones : The Link, CJAD radio, Montreal Gazette

Headed up The Link’s online division masterfully during the strike. Also produced radio segments for CJAD during the now infamous and occasionally riotous night marches in Montreal.

@AdamjKovac & @julianhward : The Link, Openfile Montreal, Montreal Gazette, Forgetthebox

These co-news editors at Cocordia University’s The Link were keeping tabs on the strike when it was still just a bunch of crazy CEGEP kids occupying the education minister’s office in 2011. Great work.

@coreyriver : The Link

The Link’s new news editor works for cheap, never complains and puts himself in the middle of this madness every other night.

@pierrechauvin : The Link

Funny story: when Pierre was about to be arrested during a protest last week, the cops let him go because they thought he was a little boy. Seriously though, Pierre’s always got his camera and tape recorder handy and had some great footage of a Molotov cocktail exploding during a demo that he somehow never posted online.

@Sam_Slotnick : The Link

He’s been arrested more times than I care to count but if you need someone to snap shots in the thick of it, he’s your guy.

Other Great Campus media

@CUTVMontreal : CUTV (Concordia)

Whether or not you agree with their politics or their overuse of the term “lame-stream media,” the station has been the only broadcaster to consistently shoot from the front lines during the strike. They’ve been arrested, busted up, stepped on a few toes and jumped into a few stories but you have to admire that kind of access.

Erin Hudon & Queen Ardsen-O’Malley : The McGill Daily

The Daily’s been a beast this year: covering a controversial clash between students on riot police on campus in November, a nearly week-long occupation of the James Administration Building and venturing out into Victoriaville to follow this strike to the far ends of the earth. Great job Daily!

Sarah Deshaies : The Concordian, Canadian University Press, CJAD Radio

Sarah’s been out there on the twitter and the radio pretty consistently during the strike. She’s also headed up the Canadian University Press’ coverage of the conflict.

@heraschan : The McGill Daily

Photo editor at the daily, knows how to shoot a riot.

@mylesdolphin: The Concordian, Canadian Press

Intern at Canadian Press, always on the streets.

Firebombs in the City

In the middle of a skirmish between protesters and riot police last night, this happened (skip to 1:45 ish)

That’s right, a Molotov Cocktail. I have a feeling “special law #78” will not give the city’s overworked police an easy summer.

We’re all criminals now

Couldn’t find Jerry’s mask. He’ll be law abiding for now.

We’re all criminals now.

You might as well just embrace it. Put on a mask, roam the streets of Montreal in groups of 10 or more while carrying pillowcases. Because, from now on, every day is Halloween in this city.

A protest isn’t a parade, it’s civil disobedience. The police are the police, not the fashion police. I’m pretty sure those are unwritten rules or maybe they’re written down somewhere. Who knows? Not me.

I’m not an activist, I’m barely a functional adult. But I wonder why let a few misguided kids who cover their faces to smash windows should ruin civil rights for the other 99.87% of people who want to be heard.

Bill 78. Read it. Maybe you agree or maybe you think it doesn’t look like democracy.

But from now on, every day is Halloween and we’re all criminals. You heard it here first.

Trick-or-treat

Lockdown

The problem with successfully pitching a feature idea is that eventually you’re going to have to sit down and write it.

For the past month I’ve been travelling, setting up interviews and doing research for this piece about First Nations education. It’s a really interesting issue but since it’s so complicated and delicate, I wanted to do it justice. So I stocked up on some takeout food, Kraft Dinner and Twizzlers and holed up in the apartment for a few days to bang this thing out.

On Monday I sat down to start writing and didn’t leave the house until late Tuesday evening (at which point, the outside world seemed way too stimulating). I only finished the first draft about an hour ago before sending it to my editor. It’s more than likely I smell like death and should take five, maybe six showers to rinse off the grease from a few days of hermit living.

Handing the piece off is a bittersweet feeling because while it’s nice to have the heavy lifting out of the way, I’m pretty sure there are major re-writes to do. Also, it looks like a tornado tore through the apartment.

Apparently there’s been plenty of ruckus surrounding the student strike. Haven’t seen anything because I’ve been in lockdown so I’ll have to take these rumours at face value. For now, it’s time to get out of these stinky writing clothes and grab something to eat.

Later today, another lockdown feature writing fest. Joy!

Living along the CP tracks

 

I love that my backyard is a set of railroad tracks and the Ville Marie Expressway. It gets noisy during rush hour but I feel like it gives my apartment some serious edge in the grit department. Also one of my cats is fascinated with trains now.

Last year it wasn’t uncommon to see a family of red foxes running along the tracks but I haven’t heard of any sightings lately.

If you need to be alone or go for a walk, there’s really nothing like the thick gravel path along the tracks to clear your mind. Sure there’s plenty of garbage and the occasional whiff of diesel fumes but there’s also trees as far as the eye can see.

You also get this feeling like you’re getting a peak behind the curtain, seeing a side of the city you’re not supposed to. It’s almost like cutting through the city’s ribcage and taking a look inside.

 

A view from the ground up

This morning a man was gunned down by Montreal police during a domestic dispute, which is the kind of thing that normally shapes my opinions about law enforcement. The others, like dodging tear gas canisters during a demonstration or reading about systematic racial profiling, aren’t exactly complimentary to Montreal’s finest either.

But yesterday I got to see a side of the police that we’re rarely privy to. For about eight hours I tagged along with the EMRI squad, a group of police that keep tabs on the city’s homeless. During that time, I saw a level of compassion and kindness that I rarely get to see in people.

The five officers who run with EMRI basically check up on a group of 83 homeless men and women and try to help them however they can. This can be something as simple as getting someone a dry pair of jeans, a blanket and a sandwich from the squad car. But it can also mean doing the ground work to get a mentally-ill man a medicare card and then making sure he gets treatment or taking the steps to find someone an apartment or social housing.

When I would ask about one of the homeless people they interact with, the police would usually have a really detailed history on the guy. It wasn’t just clinical stuff either, they knew little details about him that you wouldn’t bother remembering if you didn’t really care.

Also, every interaction usually started with a friendly ‘How’s it going (person’s name)? Have you had anything to eat today?’ There wasn’t a hint of judgement either, the officers didn’t scold anyone for drinking too much or using drugs. They would just offer to take the person to treatment or find them a place to take a shower and sleep in a bed for a few hours.

I’m going to work on this a little harder and actually organize these thoughts but I’m still kind of shaken up by how amazing yesterday was. My cynical bastardness occasionally takes a rest to be hopeful about something. Here’s to hoping that lasts.

Ride-along with the Montreal Police

Gotta love the shorts.

VICTORY!

After years of badgering the Montreal Police to let me join them on a ride-along, the coppers have agreed to let me follow them around for a few hours tomorrow.

I’ll be writing a feature on the police’s EMRI squad, which has paired up with street workers to find better solutions to keeping homeless men and women safe. The old technique was to ticket the hell out of poor people but in 2009, Montreal Police decided to be a little more pro active using compassion instead of constant punishment.

The new system is far from perfect but I’m anxious to get a look at the police’s work from an on-the-ground perspective. I’m often the first to complain about our boys in blue but I can’t imagine they have the easiest job. In any case, I’ll see tomorrow.

What makes this ride-along a bit of a score for me is the fact that the Quebec government (and most of it’s subordinate bodies) are so notoriously secretive. I’m glad to be getting a little peak behind the curtain.