by Philip Jacobson

The Sunday Times, June 1, 2008

[Link: here]

The write – up for Jacobson’s award for 2009 Feature Writer of the Year on the Press Gazette website goes like this:

The winner: “Combined top class journalism with a compulsive, colourful writing style that made it impossible to stop reading. Beautifully crafted, compellingly written he tackles difficult subject matter with ease. His Bloody Sunday article was a stand out piece of features journalism.”

After that, how could I not check it out?

I must say, the award was well – deserved. His piece on the Bloody Sunday inquiry is beautiful; it starts and finishes with a chilling anecdote set in the Museum of Free Derry, a touch which humanizes an almost – forgotten public inquiry now mired in bureaucratic red tape.

The body of the article is largely factual, but Jacobson manages to put a face on even the driest information. He even finds a spark of good in the seemingly-endless expenditure of public funds on the inquiry – the revitalization of Derry, a community whose local economy had been floundering before the influx of wealthy London legal types.

It’s a feature article that really takes you straight to the heart of an immense, murky, emotional issue, without preaching or sensationalizing. In my opinion, that definitely makes it worth a read.

by Brendan O’Connor

The Irish Independent, April 13, 2008

[Link here]

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern was involved in a financial scandal, which had him smeared by both the foreign and domestic press. He was forced to resign. According to this opinion piece by Brendan O’Connor, as soon as Ahern resigned, there was a wave of pro-Bertie sentiment in the (previously hostile) press, which ended almost as soon as it began, turning into a celebration of his replacement, Brian Cowen.

O’Connor seems fairly pro-Bertie, but this doesn’t weaken his central point: that when a great leader is torn down by the public, an examination of what happened is needed. It’s an interesting way of looking at an issue like this. When a public official loses public trust or is ousted from office because public opinion has changed, do we ever stop to look at the reasons for the change?

No, we don’t. And because of that, we tend to make our mistakes more than once. We also tend to vilify our officials based on one bad/unethical/misguided decision they’ve made. Yes, we trust them to manage our money and our affairs, but politicians are people too — people who have to muddle through seas of intrigue and concealed motives every day. It’s almost impossible not to slip up, and every politician does it at least once. Whether it’s a career-ender or not just depends on how the cards fall.

O’Connor’s article stands out because of how thoughtful it is. You just don’t expect to hear wisdom like this from a comedian. He’s not attacking the people who helped force Ahern’s resignation, he’s just pointing out how quickly their attitudes have changed, and giving reasons for that change. He’s exploring, as it were, and personalizing. It’s a huge, complicated, divisive issue, and yet he manages to bring it home by comparing witnessing Ahern’s political demise to the way he felt at his first funeral. It makes for an enjoyable read, even if you know nothing about Irish politics.

by Bob McClay

RS13 (July 6, 1968)

Bob McClay discusses Stanley Kubrick’s legendary film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This review is unlike any film review I’ve ever read. In fact, it’s less a review and more a discussion of the film. It’s an interesting approach.

McClay opens with an anecdote about a young man who, while watching the movie, sprung to his feet yelling “It’s God. It’s God,” and ran through the movie screen. It’s a nice touch which brings a bit of humanity to the reviewer. Whether or not the perception is true, it makes it seem like McClay was in the theatre with the young man. Often, critics seem somewhat removed from society, a special class of VIPs who are not called upon to interact with the huddled masses.

The review moves from this anecdote into a bit of background with author Arthur C. Clarke, and from there into a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the plot. This is where it falls a bit short, to me. There’s too much description. It’s not so detailed that it reveals every plot twist and turn, but it’s enough of a spoiler to be somewhat annoying.

McClay then comes back to his anecdote about the young man and the movie screen, explaining that he ran screaming at the end of the film in response to a certain scene.

What’s good about the piece is that it’s very informative. There’s some solid background about the way the movie came to be, who was involved and the special effects used to create it. It’s detail-rich, though arguably too rich, and avoids the discussion of awards shows and celebrity gossip that more recent reviews are prone to, which makes it a pleasure to read.

McClay is obviously very aware of his audience. He peppers the piece with references to psychedelia and music metaphors and writes in a straightforward, engaging manner.

In fact, stylistically, the only thing that really detracts from the piece is his overuse of quote marks. Every mention of science fiction is set off in quotes, which instantly becomes tiresome. Thankfully, McClay stops mentioning Sci-fi after the first few paragraphs, or this article would not be nearly so enjoyable.

by Dana Priest

[Link here]

Dana Priest was assigned by the Washington Post to cover the activities of the CIA, with a specific focus on prisoner treatment. She wrote a series of articles from 2005-2006 on the subject, including “CIA Holds Terror Suspects.” In this article, she explores the evolution of so-called “black sites,” secret, offshore prisons run by the CIA.

Priest has a difficult subject on her hands for a couple of reasons, the first being that she’s investigating a topic nobody in government at the time wanted investigated. The second, of course, is that intelligence operatives never want their identities revealed, and it’s hard to write a persuasive, believable article based on the testimony of a bunch of nameless, faceless individuals. There is not a single name in this article. But it works. She offers some background information, then changes tacks, adopting the CIA’s point of view, to discuss the evolution of the black sites. This method puts the reader in the story, making it more believable.

She tells both sides of the story, describing the conditions of the captives in vivid detail, but also letting the CIA have a (nameless) voice. This works well for the exploratory tone of the piece. So the lessons that can be derived from Priest’s piece are: tell fair and balanced stories and investigate thoroughly. And the biggest lesson–it’s possible to compensate for detrimental factors such as nameless sources by writing well.

“There needs to be more money available, more programs available. It’s terrible,” said Victim Services worker Marnie Neal in a Nov. 9 interview, adding that if people need free counselling, there’s only one place in Surrey they can go.

“You get one session, and it’s first come first serve on a Tuesday night, and that’s it. If you have no money and you don’t get Crime Victims Assistance you don’t get any counselling,” she said. “There’s big lapses in that.”

Surrey also needs to improve access to mental health services, according to Neal. “People will be in a mental health crisis, and they’ll phone Surrey Mental Health, and they’ll say yeah, can you come in in February?” she said.

Free or low-cost programs for families of people who have attempted or committed suicide and for survivors of suicide are also lacking, she says. Although there are a few youth programs in place, nothing is available for adults.

Added to this, past and present funding cuts by the B.C. government have affected support services for seniors in the Surrey area. According to the B.C. NDP website, funding cuts have affected some 5,600 seniors. Programs that have had their funding cut include social housing and the Ministry of Community Development.

When community support funding is cut, “the people who don’t have friends and neighbours [end up] eating cat food,” Neal said.

She’s pragmatic when asked what effect the lack of support services has on the community.

“What do the people do? They do without.”

By Lane DeGregory

The St. Petersburg Times, July 31, 2008

[Link here]

Dani was once a feral child, utterly neglected by her birth mother to the point where she couldn’t even feed herself, let alone speak. After seven years of this treatment, she was rescued by the police and social services, and her rehabilitation began. At the age of eight, she was adopted by the Lierow family. Times reporter Lane DeGregory won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2009 for her chronicle of Dani’s life.

It’s hard to control your emotions when reading this article—DeGregory tells Dani’s story that vividly. Her description of the conditions in which the girl was found is so detailed that it leaves the reader nauseous and outraged. The social workers’ worries that Dani may never find a home, her adoptive family’s struggle to find the right child and Dani’s difficulties fitting in are meticulously, sympathetically explained. DeGregory even attempts to give fair hearing to Dani’s birth mother, though the woman doesn’t garner herself any sympathy. It’s a serious story–no, a horrible story–and DeGregory treats it with the respect it is due.

by Russell Baker

The New York Times, 1975

[Link here]

Craig Claiborn, New York Times food critic, won an all-expenses-paid dinner in any restaurant, anywhere in the world in 1975. He chose a Parisian restaurant, and he and his companion ate and drank their cheque to a total of $4000. Claiborn later wrote about the experience for the Times. Baker satirizes Claiborn’s piece in “Francs and Beans.”

“Francs and Beans” mocks the pretentious style of critics such as Claiborn. He renames simple dishes, such as peanut butter and graham crackers with banana, “pâté de fruites de nuts of Georgia,” and for every course of his meal he provides a beverage pairing, in the case of the pâté de fruites, a glass of cold milk. Baker even specifies the method which each beverage should be served.

Also in keeping with the style of a food column, he describes in detail the cooking method for each of the dishes he prepares, often to the point of grotesqueness. It’s very thoroughly done, which is what makes it so funny.

“Francs and Beans” is a good lesson for journalists, too. You need to write for the Everyman, not Mr. and Mrs. Park Avenue.  Unless, of course, you want to alienate your readers completely, which doesn’t make for very effective journalism.

By I.F. Stone

I.F. Stone’s Weekly, July 25, 1953

[Link here]

I.F. Stone demonstrates his disdain for McCarthyism in this issue of his now-legendary self-published I.F. Stone’s Weekly. Stone quickly became famous for the depth of his investigative reporting. According to Wikipedia, Stone’s work hinged on his willingness to sift through congressional documents in search of a scoop, something other journalists were not so eager to do. I.F. Stone’s Weekly ran from 1953-1971.

The genius of the McCarthy’s Bluff lies in Stone’s style. Though technically speaking he is editorializing, his writing never comes off as an opinion; it’s very subtly done. Every detail is meticulously well-supported. So well, in fact, that even McCarthy’s staunchest supporters could not deny that he was acting outside his committee’s mandate in investigating journalists, because Stone actually included the text of the mandate as an appendix to the article. It’s bulletproof.

None of the evidence that goes into McCarthy’s Bluff, it seems, goes in without being incontrovertible. Stone’s familiarity with his subject gives the piece the ring of believability, and even truth. It’s a scrupulously crafted investigative editorial.

And it only got better from there. The awards show for sci-fi, fantasy, comics and horror had hordes of costumed fans screaming for their favourite actors, actresses, movies and comic books.

The show did not have a host, which helped speed things along nicely. Acceptance speeches were short, sweet and often quite funny.

For example, Megan Fox, who won Best Sci-Fi actress, tried rather tearfully to assure the crowd that the rumours that she hated Transformers and everything to do with it were completely untrue. Sure, honey, we believe you.

A definite highlight was Tarantino’s introduction of George A. Romero, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement award. “The A stands for A f**king genius,” he announced, adding that Romero “is not an evil mastermind, but a movie mastermind.” Romero walked onstage to a zombie pianist playing the Creepshow theme on a frozen piano. He was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation, which Tarantino did his utmost to prolong.

Another high point was cast of the Big Bang Theory saying farewell to  Battlestar Galactica. They lead the crowd in a chant of “BSG, BSG!” while the cast of Battlestar took to the stage. BSG’s cast thanked their fans effusively, prompting more screams from the audience.

Keith Richards was honoured as this year’s Immortal Rock Icon. Johnny Depp introduced his friend and Pirates of the Caribbean father, saying “long after humanity incinerates itself in nuclear war, the only things left are cockroaches and Keith Richards.” Richards took the stage for about 30 seconds, mumbling something into the mic and smiling at the crowd before disappearing again.

Despite a few detours for zombies and sci-fi, awards were dominated by vampires. Between them, Twilight and True Blood took six awards, and the casts of the Vampire Diaries and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant were on hand to present awards.  Twilight star Taylor Lautner appeared to be the only cast member at the awards, which was probably for the best, given that Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson aren’t great in social situations. Lautner was a breath of fresh air. He was graceful and natural, and most of all, grateful for the support of his fans.

Zombieland star Woody Harrelson apologized to the zombie-loving crowd for his part in his movie’s zombie killings during his acceptance speech for Breakout Movie of the Year. “I want to let you know that my attitude toward zombies has softened of late,” he said, to enthusiastic applause.

Star Trek won the Ultimate Scream award, but J.J. Abrams was prevented from accepting the award by William Shatner, who was beamed onto the stage. He accepted the award “on behalf of the entire cast and crew of Star Trek 5, a critically overlooked film that I directed and starred in,” and seemed to forget that he wasn’t in this incarnation of Star Trek. “Imagine how big it could have been with me in it,” he told a laughing Abrams.

The night ended with Tobey Maguire presenting the Comicon Icon award to Stan Lee, who was borne over the heads of the crowd on a giant red spider platform. Maguire and Lee were effusive about each other for several minutes, until Lee told Maguire to stop hogging his act. The crowd ate it up.

All in all, Scream ’09 was one of the most enjoyable awards shows I’ve ever watched, and it seemed that everyone involved was having a great time. I can’t wait for next year!

For a complete list of last night’s award winners, go to:

http://punchlinepresents.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/scream-09-winners-and-losers/



Most Anticipated Fantasy Film:

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, New Moon, Alice in Wonderland

Best Sci-Fi Actress:

Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Megan Fox (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Katee Sackoff (Battlestar Galactica), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek)

Breakout Performance, Female:

Malin Akerman (Watchmen), Isabelle Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Lorna Raver (Drag Me To Hell), Anna Torv (Fringe)

Best Villain:

Alexander Skarsgård (Eric Northman, True Blood), Cam Gigandet (James, Twilight), Eric Bana (Nero, Star Trek), Lorna Raver (Mrs. Ganush, Drag Me to Hell)

Breakout Performance, Male:

Sam Trammel (Sam, True Blood), Taylor Kitsch (Gambit, Xmen Origins: Wolverine), Taylor Lautner (Jacob, Twilight), Chris Pine (James Kirk, Star Trek)

Best Comic Book Writer:

Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spiderman, New Avengers), Joe Hill (Locke&Key), Geoff Johns (The Flash, Action Comics), Mark Millar (Marvel Knights: Spiderman, Ultimate Fantastic Four), Brian K. Vaughan (Ex Machina, Runaways)

Best Horror Actress:

Jennifer Carpenter (Quarantine), Jaime King (My Bloody Valentine: 3D), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Monica Potter (The Last House on the Left)

Best Director:

J.J. Abrams (Star Trek), Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell), Michael Bay (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen), Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In)

Best Horror Actor:

Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Justin Long (Drag Me to Hell), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Bruce Campbell (My Name is Bruce)

Most Memorable Mutliation:

Nuked Alive (Last House on the Left), Head Ripped Apart by Nazi Zombies (Dead Snow), Arm Removal Surgery (Splinter), the Pendulum Trap (Saw V)

Best Horror Movie:

Drag Me to Hell, Friday 13^th, Let the Right One In, My Bloody Valentine: 3D,  Splinter

Best TV Show:

Dexter, Lost, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, True Blood

Best Fantasy Film:

Twilight, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Watchmen, X-men Origins: Wolverine

Ultimate Scream:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Drag Me to Hell, Twilight, Star Trek, Let the Right One In

ComicCon Icon:

Stan Lee

Lifetime Achievement:

George A. Romero

Best Comic Book:

Green Lantern

Best Superhero:

Hugh Jackman (Wolverine, X-men Origins: Wolverine)

Best Screenplay:

Drag Me to Hell

Immortal Rock Icon:

Keith Richards

Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)

Breakout Movie of the Year:

Zombieland

Farewell to:

Battlestar Galactica

World Premiers of Clips from:

Twilight

V

Shutter Island

Star Trek (from the outtakes)