Nunavut’s Jordin Tootoo: Nashville Predators Forward a Role Model for Overcoming Adversity

Via Scoop.it – Nunavut

The year 2011 has seen a lot of tragedies in the hockey world, as Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak have all lost their lives after battling tragic circumstances such as drug addiction or depression… [excerpt] However, through all of the mourning and debating how the NHL can prevent such problems in the future, a bright spot has emerged in Nashville Predators forward Jordin Tootoo. In December of 2010, Tootoo voluntarily entered the NHL Player’s Association Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program, looking to overcome a strong opponent in alcoholism. He first developed the disease in 2002 when his brother, Terence, committed suicide in the wake of a drunk-driving arrest. According to a CBC interview with his mother, Rose, last year, Tootoo had been unable to deal with his problem and could not talk about it with his family. However, voluntarily entering rehab was a brave step for Tootoo, and it only solidified his status as a role model in his Nunavut community. Rose Tootoo said: “I’m not worried at all, I’m so happy that he’s decided to do what he’s done, and on his own. We’re extremely proud of him…everybody’s telling us he’s an inspiration.” Jordin Tootoo stayed in rehab for a month and was released in January of 2011. He was allowed to practice with the Predators while undergoing outpatient treatment. Upon re-joining the team, he also earned the support of Nashville general manager David Poile, who told Fox Sports: Nobody’s perfect. We all have different issues in our life. I think that it just reached you know a situation where he was becoming more difficult and obviously a distraction to others in our organization. The point is, this is the important point, is that Jordin got it and Jordin did it and he knows he’s better off for it today. […] While Tootoo’s hockey brothers who could not beat their demons will always be missed, it is comforting to know that he is one of the ones who overcame what was keeping him down. His commitment to staying clean and his community involvement should make him a role model to NHL fans young and old. To learn more about Team Tootoo or to make a donation, visit the website of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. http://cfmt.org/give/funds/teamtootoofund/
Via bleacherreport.com

Out in the cold: the struggle of Inuit film

Via Scoop.it – Nunavut

A National Film Board collection of landmark films about the North underlines the enormous challenges facing indigenous creators…   [excerpt]   There’s a point in the 1944 short film Eskimo Summer that will irk contemporary viewers. The officious British narrator of the National Film Board of Canada educational film describes the population of aboriginal Northern Canadians as being the same as “a small English town.” It’s a ridiculous comparison and not the only anachronistic scene in some of the older films in Unikkausivut: Sharing Our Stories, a two-volume box set of some of the NFB’s landmark films about the North. The collection traces the arc of filmmaking in the North, from the anthropological and often patronizing films of the 1940s to the current work of Inuit filmmakers. Thanks to self-government in the 1990s and funding made available with the creation of Nunavut, those actually making the films now tend to be Northerners, documenting their lives as others can’t. The increased government attention and funding has produced results, most notably in the films of Zacharias Kunuk, whose celebrated 2001 drama Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) won multiple awards, including the Camera d’or at Cannes. Unfortunately, despite the acclaim and international recognition, production funds for indigenous filmmaking remain very hard to come by. “It is definitely more difficult to fund dramas here,” said Iqaluit-based filmmaker Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, whose animated short, Lumaajuuq, is in the collection. “I wouldn’t say it’s not because people aren’t interested in it, it’s just not feasible.” Jeremy Torrie, a Winnipeg-based native filmmaker, says he thought things would change after Fast Runner. “We thought the floodgates would open, as far as Canadian broadcasters and distributors wanting to embrace another perspective,” he said. “But it just hasn’t happened. Here we are 10 years later, and things aren’t any better yet.” […] By the numbers Nunavut Film Development Corporation is a first stop for filmmakers seeking funding. It was incorporated as a non-governmental organization after lobbying by the artists collective known as Ajjiit, the Nunavut Media Association, in 2002-2003. 1 The number of people running Nunavut Film. The office in Iqaluit normally has a staff of two; but chief executive Derek Mazur is currently looking for an assistant. $1.3-million Nunavut Film’s annual budget, of which $600,000 goes directly to filmmakers. Most of the rest goes to connecting with producers from the South and overseas, and to training programs for filmmakers in the region. $6-million It can be hard to measure the film money spent in the North, since permits generally aren’t needed. In general, Mazur estimates, about $6-to $8-million a year is spent on production. 6 The number of active film production companies in the region, with the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation (now mainly a production company) and the Aboriginal People’s Television Network as the two biggest producers.
Via www.theglobeandmail.com

A discussion paper by Melanie Sill, Executive in Residence, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, December 2011. | The Case for Open Journalism Now

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor
A discussion paper by Melanie Sill, Executive in Residence, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, December 2011. Overview “The Case for Open Journalism Now” is a hopeful yet pragmatic argument for journalism’s future as a public good. It addresses a basic question of the digital age: with information flowing everywhere, how does journalism provide value? The answers lie in a new orienting idea for journalism that is transparent, responsive and enriched through vibrant two-way connections with a networked universe. Happily, open journalism is more than a notion. It is a set of practices fast gaining traction and earning notice. Some advances focus on social media interaction, in-person convening and contributed content. Others are making news work more transparent and responsive. These experiments point the way to greater trust and accountability for news providers, who after all seek to hold others accountable. Yet, to bring real change, we must reorder the fundamental processes of journalism toward the goal of serving communities—readers, viewers, listeners and customers. We must focus first on service and only then on platform or product. Open practices can also increase journalism capacity. For instance, the collaborative and problem-solving mentality of open-source software has connected with the established knowledge-sharing of investigative reporting specialists, extending the reporting’s reach. Collaboration is being embraced by small enterprises serving communities in valuable new ways and by large organizations that once ignored each other’s work. News providers are taking tiny steps toward networking with non-journalism organizations that see information as part of their public mission. These practices must move to the core of journalism thinking. We must seize this moment of opportunity and enrich the two-way connection that improves journalism for everyone. By focusing on the service that excellent journalism can provide, news providers and communities can build common cause for this work as a public good. With help from the Annenberg Innovation Lab I’ve posted this paper as a discussion document accompanied by a compendium of 100 arguments, ideas and illustrations for open journalism. I hope you’ll post a response, cross-post to your own blog or web site and share links or input. Thank you. Melanie Sill   Go to the Article http://www.annenberginnovationlab.org/OpenJournalism/part1   Download PDF version http://www.annenberginnovationlab.org/OpenJournalism/SillOpenJournalismDiscussion.pdf
Via www.annenberginnovationlab.org

Video: Incredible Inuit hunt mussels under sea ice – Race against the tide, risking death under huge blocks of ice

Via Scoop.it – Nunavut

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/humanplanet  The people of Kangiqsujuaq in Canada go to great lengths to add variety to their diet of seal meat, venturing under the sea ice during the extreme low tides of the spring equinox to gather mussels. It’s a race against time. They have less than half an hour to search these temporary caverns before the tide rushes back in. A look-out keeps watch for the returning tide, but warning shouts can’t be too loud in case the echoes bring down the ice.   See also http://www.greenfudge.org/2011/11/28/video-incredible-inuit-hunt-mussels-under-sea-ice/ and even more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12241053
Via www.youtube.com

@thisissethsblog: The new lazy journalism

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

The new lazy journalism [excerpt] When journalism was local, the math of reporting was pretty simple: you found a trend, an event or an issue that was important and you wrote about it. After all, you were the voice to your readers. Being in sync with a hundred or a thousand print journalists around the world was important, otherwise your readers woul’d be left out of a story everyone else knew about. And being in sync let a reporter know she was working on the right stories. It wasn’t lazy. It was smart. Your job was to report to the people in your town first, and to report what would be important tomorrow, which was the same thing everyone in every other town was doing. But it led to events like this one: […] The hard part of professional journalism going forward is writing about what hasn’t been written about, directing attention where it hasn’t been, and saying something new.
Via sethgodin.typepad.com

Reporters Without Borders: Internet Enemies (2011)

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

The year 2010 firmly established the role of social networks and the Internet as mobilisation and news transmission tools, especially during the Arab spring. New and traditional media have proven to be increasingly complementary. Meanwhile, repressive regimes have intensified censorship, propaganda and repression, keeping 119 netizens in jail. Issues such as national security – linked to the WikiLeaks publications – and intellectual property – are challenging democratic countries’ support to online free speech. Publisher Reporters Without Borders, March 2011
103 pages introduction (HTML)
http://en.rsf.org/the-new-media-between-revolution-11-03-2011,39764.html publisher http://12mars.rsf.org/en/#ccenemies Direct download (2011)
http://12mars.rsf.org/i/Internet_Enemies.pdf Direct download (2010)  http://en.rsf.org/IMG/pdf/Internet_enemies.pdf
Via burundi.sk

The Ten Worst (mostly US of course) Video Media Disasters of 2011

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

The 10 worst on-camera media gaffes of 2011 include a politician who lost his place, a country singer who lost his job, and a celebrity who lost his show.   The Ten Worst Media Disasters Of 2011Written by Brad Phillips @MrMediaTraining on December 14, 2011 – 6:02 am   The Mr. Media Training Blog is pleased to announce the ten worst on-camera media gaffes of 2011! This year’s winners include a politician who lost his place, a country singer who lost his job, and a celebrity who lost his show. The media spokespersons were selected based on the impact of their gaffes. All ten people reinforced an existing narrative about their lack of preparedness for office, their lack of discipline, or their lack of compassion. Here, without further ado, are the ten worst video media disasters of 2011!
Via www.mrmediatraining.com

Bandes Originales Des Films De Jean-Luc Godard

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

Tracks 1-4 from “À Bout De Souffle”
Tracks 5-10 from “Pierrot Le Fou”
Tracks 11-15 from “Alphaville”
Tracks 16-19 from “Le Mépris” 1. Martial Solal – Duo 2:23
2 Martial Solal – La Mort 2:08
3 Martial Solal – Poursuite 2:21
4 Martial Solal – Dixieland 2:43
5 Anna Karina – Ma Ligne De Chance 2:40
6 Anna Karina – Jamais Je Ne T’ai Dit Que Je T’aimerai Toujours 2:52
7 Cyrus Bassiak / Antoine Duhamel – Ferdinand 7:48
8 Cyrus Bassiak / Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot 5:53
9 Cyrus Bassiak / Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot Nº2 4:54
10 Cyrus Bassiak / Antoine Duhamel – Pierrot Nº3 3:58
11 Paul Misraki – La Ville Inhumaine 2:22
12 Paul Misraki – Valse Triste 2:05
13 Paul Misraki – Theme D’amour 1:37
14 Paul Misraki – La Ville Detraquee 1:36
15 Paul Misraki – Final Reprise Du Theme D’amour 2:15
16 Georges Delerue – Theme De Camille 2:31
17 Georges Delerue – Generique 2:10
18 Georges Delerue – La Rupture Chez Prokoch 2:57
19 Georges Delerue – Capri 1:46
Via c-d.tumblr.com

Harper Street Publishing – Yukon, North of Ordinary

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

Harper St Publishing @yukonmagazine Carcross, Yukon Yukon, North of Ordinary, a quarterly magazine about the people, places and culture of the Yukon. http://www.yukonmagazine.com Welcome to North of Ordinary online! The online home of Harper Street Publishing’s, North of Ordinary (Yukon, Road Trip, Abenteuer & Arts) suite of magazines and the Yukon Mining & Exploration Directory. Please take a moment to register for free with us or Subscribe for access to our current issue as well as other exclusive members-only features, found in our Extraordinary Online section.
Via northofordinary.ca

Reginald Fessenden – Dec 23 1900: First transmission of the human voice via radio

Via Scoop.it – MediaMentor

Dec 23 1900: First transmission of the human voice via radio by the Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden (1866 – 1932) / 23 décembre 1900 : Première transmission de la voix humaine à la radio par l’inventeur canadien Reginald Fessenden (1866 – 1932). [excerpt] US Weather Bureau contract and the first audio radio transmission In 1900 Fessenden left the University of Pittsburgh to work for the United States Weather Bureau, with the objective of proving the practicality of using a network of coastal radio stations to transmit weather information, thus avoiding the need to use the existing telegraph lines. The contract gave the Weather Bureau access to any devices Fessenden invented, but he would retain ownership of his inventions. Fessenden quickly made major advances, especially in receiver design, as he worked to develop audio reception of signals. His initial success came from a barretter detector, which was followed by the electrolytic detector that consisted of a fine wire dipped in nitric acid, and for the next few years this later device would set the standard for sensitivity in radio reception. As his work progressed, Fessenden also evolved the heterodyne principle, which combined two signals to produce a third audible tone. However, heterodyne reception was not fully practical for a decade after it was invented, since it required a means for producing a stable local signal, which awaited the development of the oscillating vacuum-tube. Cobb Island on the Potomac River, scene of the first successful radio transmission of speech on December 23, 1900. The initial work took place at Cobb Island, Maryland, located about 80 kilometers (50 mi) downstream from Washington, DC. While there, Fessenden, experimenting with a high-frequency spark transmitter, successfully transmitted speech on December 23, 1900 over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (one mile), which appears to have been the first audio radio transmission. At this time the sound quality was too distorted to be commercially practical, but as a test this did show that with further technical refinements it would become possible to transmit audio using radio signals. As the experimentation expanded, additional stations were built along the Atlantic Coast in both North Carolina and Virginia. However, in the midst of promising advances, Fessenden became embroiled in disputes with his sponsor. In particular, he charged that Bureau Chief Willis Moore had attempted to gain a half-share of the patents — Fessenden refused to sign over the rights, and his work for the Weather Bureau ended in August, 1902. (This incident recalled F. O. J. Smith, a member of the House of Representatives from Maine, who had managed to gain a one-quarter interest in the Morse telegraph.)
Via en.wikipedia.org