The 2009 Canadian Blog Awards feature a legion of great writers singled out for their contributions to the national conversation.
Please vote for your favourites here.
I’m very surprised and honoured to be nominated for Best Blog Overall and Best Blog by a Journalist.
My surprise at Best Blog Overall is because I have no business being compared to Yarn Harlot, the Torontoist, the Girl Who Learned to Kneel and others.
My surprise at Best Blog by a Journalist is because I’m not a journalist - as well as I have no business be compared to Kady O’Malley (nominated for her work at Maclean's), Susan Delacourt or others.
I’ve asked the Canadian Blog Awards to remove me as a nominee from the Best Blog by a Journalist category before the second round of voting begins.
While my blog is hosted by the Globe and Mail, I make no claims to journalist status.
The Globe's politics portal is unique because past and current political activists contribute a practical analysis of current events through the lens of their own experiences. But my column in the online forum does not qualify me as a journalist any more than a dog running with horses should be a candidate for a saddle.
I am not an employee of CTVglobemedia by any definition. I am not paid by The Globe, and in fact receive no compensation at all for my efforts. My profession is government relations consulting, although I never write about my work or my clients.
But professionalism is more than a paycheque. It is adhering to code.
In the Elements of Journalism, Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel set out the nine tenets of the trade:
1. Journalism's first obligation is to the truth.
2. Its first loyalty is to the citizens.
3. Its essence is discipline of verification.
4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.
5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.
6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.
7. It must strive to make the significant interesting, and relevant.
8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.
9. Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience.
I believe I fall short on the third element due to time obligations to my actual employer and my family. I strive to be as factual as possible given time constraints, but acknowledge there are very real limits on a hobbyist’s time. Journalists are paid so they can take the time to ensure accuracy in every claim; I have to give it my best shot from memory between meetings while writing on a Blackberry in a taxi. The weight of expectation on anyone with the title of journalist is two verified sources for every fact, and I cannot maintain that standard as a volunteer.
Also, my independence from those I cover is complicated by my enduring involvement in active politics, limiting items four and five. It's not that I get daily talking points from party headquarters; more that I have an emotional horse in the race.
That said, I do exercise my personal conscience, and write only those things I believe to be true. Readers can rest assured that my assertions are the best attempt at the truth I can muster.
If you do feel compelled to vote for my site, please do so under the “Best Overall” category as it is sufficient broad to catch an amateur like me.
But please don’t confuse me for a journalist.
