Naomi Szeben

Canadian editors, writers, and communications specialists, did you know about the "Plain Words" chapter in Canadian Press Caps and Spelling? If you subscribe to CP, you can add your own notes. #PlainLanguage #Canada #editing #writing #communications #EditorsCanada

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One of my favourite resources (Canadian nonprofit comms teams, you will get a ton of use from this): Make sure you’re getting the names of government departments right, consistently. This page is on the Canada dot ca website. It lists: 🔘 the legal title 🔘 the applied title 🔘 and the preferred abbreviation —in English AND French— of every federal department, program, and activity. It’s so helpful. I use it whenever I need to remember whether it’s “Canadian Institutes OF Health Research” or “Canadian Institutes FOR Health Research.” (Answer: it’s “of,” but I still have to check every time. And yes, “Institutes” is plural.) I have this page bookmarked and so should you! (Link in comments.) PS. Is there a US version of this? I should probably know where it is too 🙂 #editing #communications #nonprofits

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Statement on My Kind of Journalism What I write is for the people, not the corporate journalism that has effectively become a branch plant subsidiary of government. Particularly since the Canadian government’s $600 million bailout of the media, news now mostly represents official propaganda rather than balanced reporting. What I write is not the copy-and-paste-government-press-releases corporate journalism so prevalent now. I see journalism as a branch of public service, not a mouthpiece for power interests.   What I do write probably has more in common with the Gonzo journalism pioneered by the late Hunter S. Thompson—passionately dedicated to unearthing Big Picture truths, very much of and for the people and not for the power elites, and heavily research-based. It was largely thanks to Thompson’s work that Rolling Stone became something more than just an entertainment rag. Investigative journalists like Matt Taibbi, James Corbett, Whitney Webb and Chris Hedges have carried on in this tradition, even if lacking Thompson’s outsized personality.   What I see more and more in media is a default position of gaslighting the public, a kind of psychological operation (“psy-op”) aimed at grooming the public for obedience to authority: “Trust us. We’re the experts. You’re not really seeing what you see. We’ll tell you what the reality is.” I can never support that and will always default to the peoples’ perspective even if at times under duress and crisis like the Slocan Valley wildfires this means making mistakes. I work very, very hard at it, and have banked thousands of unpaid hours in research in my career. My books are heavily supported by research. When was the last time you saw deep historical context in a media story?   If all this fails to meet with your approval, then look somewhere else! Don’t waste everyone’s time trolling me. I get emails and messages every day from readers thanking me and supporting my work. I’ve had 14,000 readers of my Slocan Valley wildfire stories and only three trolls so far. I’d say those are pretty damn good odds. My motives are pure and I stand on my integrity. If I was doing this for money or fame I made a bad choice

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I don’t often comment on municipal politics here but as an avid public transit user in Toronto, my home of more than twenty years, I can’t help but notice the absymal state of the TTC - which seems to have greatly deteriorated over the two years I was away. And we are now garnering some global attention for it. Singapore’s subway - or MRT - is safe, clean, on-time, accessible, affordable, and expansive. In a city-state with the same population as the GTA, It features 3x as many lines, and glass safety doors at every station, preventing uncessary death and injury. I have also spent time in Bogota, a city the author mentions, which not only has a world class transit system that anyone would want to travel on, it has also invested in a cable car that reaches high up into the city slums so that residents from all walks of life can get where they need to efficiently, at a low cost. And yes, I rode the cable with my son, and it was safe, clean and had friendly, helpful service. A world class city like Toronto - which I truly believe it is - deserves a public transit-first investment approach. Eliminating bike lanes is certainly a step backwards, as is any investment that isn’t putting mass transit needs front and centre. But public transit needs public support and I know far too many of us are those single passengers complaining to oursleves alone behind the wheel. What has long been a private family joke amongst cousin 416’ers and 905’ers is now being globally broadcast by celebrities - maybe it’s exactly the public shaming we need to finally put aside our individual desires and support, vote and behave in ways that are truly good for our city, economy and planet.✌🏼🚴 🚇 🌏

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There are only two correct uses for the much-misunderstood semicolon (;): 1. If your sentence has two independent but related clauses, you can join them with a semicolon; for example, ‘Henry likes big dogs; he owns a Newfoundland.’ Each clause should be written as if it were a sentence in its own right (as here). 2. If you have a complex list where one or more of the list items includes a comma in itself, separate the list items with semicolons; for example, ‘There are three types of widget: gold, which are the strongest; silver, which are suitable for most instances; and bronze, which are for light use only.’ A conjunction (e.g. ‘and’ or ‘or’) is still needed before the last list item.

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There are only two correct uses for the much-misunderstood semicolon (;): 1. If your sentence has two independent but related clauses, you can join them with a semicolon; for example, ‘Henry likes big dogs; he owns a Newfoundland.’ Each clause should be written as if it were a sentence in its own right (as here). 2. If you have a complex list where one or more of the list items includes a comma in itself, separate the list items with semicolons; for example, ‘There are three types of widget: gold, which are the strongest; silver, which are suitable for most instances; and bronze, which are for light use only.’ A conjunction (e.g. ‘and’ or ‘or’) is still needed before the last list item.

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MAKING TREATIES - Truthful history of treaty making in Canada - documentary - On the making of our modern Indian treaties - presenting an emotional and personal approach to the outcomes of the modern treaty process in Canada. Profiles on First Nations blend with input from resource developers and governments as the program weaves our tale of land ownership and forecasts our economic future. By presenting a balanced perspective, native and non-native alike, and by educating a concerned public, we may begin to build the very needed bridges and the dialogue that must exist for all societies to coexist in Canada. The program is a must-see for all audiences. Broadcast: Global Television. (Info - [email protected]) https://lnkd.in/g__hDbh

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Wherever you are, it is likely to be un-ceded (as in, taken) Indigenous land. On Indigenous Peoples Day, here's a handy resource. I happen to be on the un-ceded land of the Kumeyaay people. https://native-land.ca/

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Does having a joint account with your partner make you less of a feminist? No. This week in Toronto Star I'm dealing up tips to set up your banking in a way that works for you. #womenandmoney #feministfinance #bankingtrends #personalfinance

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Have a complex mental health conversation in your community, that you'd like to break down into more manageable chunks? Join us for an in-depth session that creates space for you to put the clues together...

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It is beyond stupid that both CTV and CBC led their nightly newscasts last night with the recovery of an old photograph of Churchill stolen from the Chateau Laurier. Judy Trinh did a far better version of the story, noting how the poor worker was first put under suspicion, and her own delight at uncovering certain details was charming. In contrast, CBC decided to take a victory lap over one of its own reporters' relatives connected to the issue, but... COME ON. Are you kidding us? This is a kicker. You are supposed to bring Canadians the most important stories of the day that affect them. Do you REALLY think a photo hung in an Ottawa hotel is top of mind for folks in Halifax, Vancouver, Weyburn, Brandon, etc.? Good gawd. Canadian news is dying not only because of the parent corporate entities -- the easy bad guy -- but because YOU the producers have mindsets that are interchangeable. Both networks recycled the cynical Tory baiting of the NDP, which is already old news, both regurgitated coverage of the U.S. prez debate we could get on any U.S. network. It took about 10 to 15 minutes for the CBC to get to a story that should have led the broadcast; its finding that the Liberals' assault rifle buy-back program was a dud. Why wasn't this CBC's lead? A well done investigative report on the appalling situation of water at Six Nations was parked in the second half of The National's broadcast. Someone on camera said people beyond the reserve "don't give a damn." Way to help that apathy by burying the piece in your lineup. Why couldn't you have edited a short version to run at the top of the hour? This was great reporting... pushed to where viewership would rapidly drop off. Why? It is bad enough that right-wing idiots misunderstand the whole point of public broadcasting, claiming wrongly it's "gov't propaganda" when that is NOT what a public broadcaster does (nor do such critics last long in the debate when you point out that the BBC exports quality informational programming around the world). But by offering a pale imitation of what your competitor does, you undermine the very purpose of the CBC in the first place. It's a mentality still stuck in the 1970s approach to news gathering. But news watchers today are often people who get their information from multiple outlets. I don't tune into you to see the flooding in New Orleans I can catch in CNN clips and on X, I tune into you to tell me what the hell is going on IN MY OWN COUNTRY. It would be nice if Canadian news networks remembered they are not supposed to be an American echo or do stories that are easy because they can take a ten minute walk up the street in Ottawa. You're supposed to tell us about significant events that affect Canadians. Could you please do your jobs and come up with nightly lineups we all want to watch?

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🗳 Election Day in New Brunswick! Today, voters across New Brunswick will go to the polls in all 49 provincial electoral districts to elect (or re-elect) Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. The polls are open today from 10:00AM – 8:00PM (ADT). The leaders seeking to form government or win re-election are: 🔵Blaine Higgs (Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick) 🔴Susan Holt (New Brunswick Liberal Party | Parti libéral du Nouveau-Brunswick) 🟢David Coon (New Brunswick Green Party / Parti vert NB) According to the New Brunswick polling dashboard from Mainstreet Research, the party standings are: 🔴 Liberal Party: 47.7% (⬆13.5%) 🔵 PC Party: 38.1% (⬇1.1%) 🟢 Greens: 9.9% (⬇5.3%) (% change from 2020 provincial election results) The election writ was dropped on September 19th, following four years of a PC majority government under Premier Higgs. The campaign has focused on several central issues, including healthcare, education, housing, and affordability. 📌 Stay tuned for a summary of the results from the team at Iris Communications tomorrow. #nbpoli #cdnpoli #newbrunswick #election #politics

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Okay, it's nice that some CTV staffers check out my profile and post (while making sure I can't see them), but it would be even more useful if CTV actually CHANGED its embarrassing national newscast at 5:30 pm. Seriously? Genevieve Beauchemin having to do a story on the Paris Seine from Montreal and your Regina reporter twisting the flimsiest piffle about Taylor Swift concerts into the most strained regional relevance, all thanks to a Swift Current publicity effort....? What are you guys DOING? You literally had poor Sandie Rinaldo say the words, "It's a dog eat dog world" just before your commercial break (face palm). Did the intern phone that in or did you guys just decide you'll give up completely? Yes, we get it, and we all feel for you: Your greedy corporate parent has made it so that you have less money, less staff. But it's the same for your competition. You have great reporters, and this is beneath them. Instead of making them weave pitiful narrations according to your American network footage (again why should I watch your narrations on int'l news when I can go to int'l sources?), how about you TRY to make an effort to report CANADIAN NEWS and do it while not sounding like a first-year journalism students' F-grade TV script.

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Paying for shortcuts only leaves you shortchanged.. This story bothers me on so many levels. As a public affairs consultant to many Ontario municipalities - and yes - that includes lobbying for them - both the consultant and the municipality are mistaken. As lobbyist, if you are selling your "connections", you do a disservice to your clients. Effective government relations is never about "getting a meeting". It's about aligning your client's needs with both those of elected and unelected officials. As my colleagues and and practice it, it's about the strategy. And, it's hard work that takes time. As a municipal politician, you've had enough face time with provincial government leaders to know that doesn't often work either. You need more than 15 minutes you get at AMO or ROMA. You need a minister's political and civil service advisors understanding what the UNIQUE needs of your municipality are, and why it support is right thing to do. That's how my colleagues and I created new legislation that gave municipalities the right to approve new landfills, and how we lowered the cost of policing for Sioux Lookout and Kenora. That's how we convinced the federal government to provide over $250 million for the living victims of Thalidomide. Selling connections is lazy (that's what Michael Cohen did when Trump was first elected). It also casts a pall on our profession. And, for municipal leaders, it's not about getting a meeting. It's about being truly heard, understood, and creating a decision making environment that leans in your favour. Paying for shortcuts will only leave you being short changed. If that's what you are being sold, move on.

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Following Paper's mass termination of Canadian tutors, chapters of SEPB-Québec and COPE Ontario have told me they're looking into legal options. More in the updated story below 👇

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We honour the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation by recognizing professional communicators' role in fostering reconciliation. As professional communicators, we are uniquely positioned to shape narratives, share crucial information, and influence perceptions. Our active involvement is vital in promoting understanding and healing. So, how can communicators contribute? Here's a comprehensive guide to understanding and implementing the 94 Calls, which aim to foster a spirit of reconciliation through informed and impactful communication. Read the full article on the PR & Lattes website: https://lnkd.in/gqyw4SSn #PRAndLattes #TruthAndReconciliation #94CallsToAction #PublicRelations #Communications

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Hey leaders, how's our CQ - cultural intelligence? According to my guest this week, it's "wildly lacking". But she provides some amazing insights on how we can improve. Check out this conversation with author, mayor and lawyer Ukeme Awakessien Jeter on the importance and benefit of immigrant leadership.

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