Social media and the election

In doing a federal election assignment for journalism class today I discovered a nifty new social media tool called PoliTwitter.

With over 22,000 tweets tagged as being related to Canadian politics or the election being sent since Saturday morning, social media is already proving it will be a critical campaign tool in this spring's federal election.

PoliTwitter gathers and lists politicians on Twitter and hash tags so people can keep track of what politicians are saying and how people are responding during the campaign.

The website is fairly cluttered and difficult to navigate, but once you know where to look it's very useful to see what your local MPs are saying.

PoliTwitter has also introduced me to Klout--a web-based program that measures a politician's influence on Twitter. It's not just a matter of how many followers someone has, but assesses how people use the tweets and how often their mentioned in other tweets.

Current MP for Winnipeg South Centre, Anita Neville has 515 Twitter followers and a Klout rating of 36 whereas Steven Fletcher, who has over 3,000 followers, only has a Klout rating of 28.

Twitter is a hugely successful and convenient way to converse and interact with voters, so I'm always slightly surprised when politicians don't utilize it.

St. Boniface MP Shelly Glover openly criticized Neville's age today, saying someone with new and fresh ideas should be elected. Neville has been on Twitter for a while now, however Glover is not. In fact, I couldn't find Glover on any social media sites. Hmm...

Public Transit: Then vs. Now

In Winnipeg’s Great War: A City Comes of Age, author Jim Blanchard discusses how the First World War affected the Winnipeg Electric Railway system. Specifically, he explored how the introduction of the Jitney “steadily eroded the company’s monopoly of public transport and its profits during the war.”

The Jitney’s, which were more perceived as more convenient and responsive than street railways, were described by newspapers as “the next stage in natural evolution of urban transportation.”

On April 19, 1918 city council passed bylaw 9750, making it “unlawful” to operate a Jitney in Winnipeg. The Jitney was no longer and the Winnipeg Electric Railway was once again running the streets of the city.

Winnipeg's Public Transit

Nearly a century later, Winnipeg transit continues to evolve and face new threats.

While it’s been a slow process, the first $138-million phase of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is set to be completed later this year; however, the second proposed phase is no longer a priority for city council.

The end of the First World War marked the introduction of the private car and street railway systems across the country never recovered their dominant transportation position. This holds particularly true for the low-density city of Winnipeg, where most people travel by car and the perception of public transportation is that it’s reserved for the elderly, the poor or the university student.

“Public transit has evolved from being a priority to not being one,” local blogger Robert Galston explained. Galston’s blog, Winnipeg Rise and Sprawl, discusses current urban issues while often referencing the city's history.

1929 Streetcar routes from the Henderson Directory.

“Transit was run by a private company until 1953 and since 1953 it has been run by the city and has become less of a priority,” said Galston.

The Jitney was the biggest threat to public transit during the Great War and the car became a competitor of public transit soon after the First World War and continues to be a major competitor to Winnipeg Transit. However, Galston doesn’t believe it’s the biggest threat.

“I think the biggest threat is the underinvestment in it. The city is not responding to the growing demand, especially on busy, major routes. They have the same amount of buses as they did 15 years ago but have more routes so it’s stretching more thin.”

Streetcar 356

Built in 1909 and released from the Osborne Street Fort Rouge shop. Streetcar 356 was one of four 'standard 10 window Winnipeg cars' and was unique in that it incorporated narrow front vestibules, similar in design to the earlier 'nine window cars'.

When the streetcar era ended, the city sold most of the streetcars’ metal parts for scrap and the wooden bodies were bought and turned into cabins or chicken coops.

Streetcar 680, left derelict in a farmers' field in Manitoba.

Streetcar 356 was in operation until 1955 when it was sold for $100 dollars. In 1980 it was found in a farmer’s field in Manitoba and was acquired by Heritage Winnipeg who took on the responsibility of its preservation.

Although it’s currently covered in a tarp at the Winnipeg Railway Museum’s train shed at the Via Rail Canada Union Station on Main Street.

Streetcar 356 in its current location and state and the Winnipeg Railway Museum.

Steven Stothers, co-chair of Streetcar 356 Restoration Committee says the vehicle was originally supposed to be displayed in Old Market Square but ran into numerous security and preservation issues.

Stothers says there is no blueprint for Streetcar 356 and they are working to restore it by looking at pictures and consulting with carpentry experts.

“Basically, we’re starting from ground zero. We’re looking at the original frame and using that as a template,” said Stothers. “The goal is to keep it as close to original as possible and restore it to its 1955 condition.”

Funding for the project has also been a major obstacle and is ultimately what is keeping it unrestored and hidden in a shed at the museum.

“The project came to a halt in 2000 and it stalled for several years. So the challenges have always been the resources and getting people to raise funds.”

The goal is to eventually put the refurbished streetcar in a public location for people to enjoy and learn the history of Winnipeg's transit system. There have been talks to put it at Assiniboine Park or in Bonnycastle Park just off Main Street (where the streetcar barn used to sit decades ago), said Stothers.

“It’s important in this modern age that we remember things we used a century ago. There’s a gentleman who is 82 who used to drive the streetcars in the early 50s. There’s a personal connection with him and what it was like to be a streetcar driver. So, it’s also a generational thing.”

Winnipeg's Great War

While the First World War was being fought overseas in Europe, Winnipeg was transforming politically and economically. Jim Blanchard’s Winnipeg’s Great War: A City Comes of Age explores the contributions made by Winnipeggers and the effects the war had on the city and the people within it.

We had to read the book as part of our journalism class and while it isn't a book I would generally pick up in my own time, I ended up really enjoying the book. Blanchard wrote an informative and interesting book, which provides a local perspective of the events that occurred during the First World War and shows how the war ultimately changed the course of the city’s history. As a reader I was able to identify with the places, the names, the dates and felt a personal connection to the story.

There is a lot of information—dates, names and quotes—in Blanchard’s book. While it makes for a detailed account of the war from Winnipeg’s perspective, the details sometimes felt excessive. At certain points I would question why the name of a specific person or a list of numbers was important to. I do, however, understand that Winnipeg’s Great War is a historical account and names and numbers are crucial.

Certain parts of the book had a greater effect than others, particularly the personal stories of soldiers who lost their lives. The story of the Waugh family, which is weaved throughout Winnipeg's Great War and eventually concludes the book, offered a personal story to the greater issue and put a face to the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the war.

The most obvious thing journalists can learn from this book is the importance of collecting information, facts, dates and names and being able to piece these together to not only make a cohesive, but engaging book. I found it inspiring when Blanchard said he really didn't know much about the First World War when he began his research for the book.

I also learnt that if I had graduated CreComm in 1914, there would have been many more publications and job opportunities for me.

In a lot of ways, Blanchard's book is similar to Hiroshima by John Hersey that we read recently in class. Both explore the effects war had on two different cities, however Blanchard takes a more academic and factual approach than Hersey. Hiroshima is told entirely through people's first-hand account and the details and facts are made known through these stories. Winnipeg's Great War has personal stories too, but they are weaved through lengthy historical accounts of events that happened in the city.

Being able to talk to Blanchard after reading his work and listening to the process he went through to complete it somewhat changes my perspective of the book. It's interesting to know where people started. In Blanchard's case, he really knew very little about the Great War and it goes to show that if anyone puts the time and effort into the research writing a history book is possible.

Photos

Here's some pictures from Exercise Northern Bison. I took about 900 pictures, so these are just a few of my favourites!

Troops arriving by snowmobile in Arviat, Nunavut

The oldest women in Arviat selling handmade dolls to the troops.

Arviat, Nunavut.

FOB Braun

At the 60th parallel

Canadian Rangers

2 PPCLI travelling from Churchill to Nunalla, Man.

The Military and the Media.

When the temperatures hit below -40 at the Forward Operating Base (basically a makeshift camp with dozens of tents and a ton of snowmobiles), soldiers were quite willing to step inside my heated tent and chat with me.

I’ve had some mixed reactions while travelling with the troops. Most have been willing and open to talking to me but many have their reservations about the media. And I was curious to know why. So, I asked.

“I dealt with a number of journalists in Afghanistan,” one Corporal told me after I introduced myself.

“Really?” I replied.

“Yeah. I F***ing babysat them the entire time," he said.

One Warrant told me firmly he’d never talk to the media after the Somalia Affair. When I asked why he jokingly said he’d tell me later in life when I become a “big time” reporter, which, now that I think about it, probably means never.

I asked a Master Corporal what she thought of journalists and she told me the last time she did a lengthy interview with a newspaper about being a female in the Forces, the paper only published one off-hand remark about her not having to shower with the boys.

Honestly, I didn’t know how to respond to their distrust of the media. They have valid points.

I’ve learnt first-hand that the Canadian military is wary of journalists. I don't know why or when the disconnect happened, but I do know that I’ve had to earn a lot of people’s trust on this trip and I think it’s been a positive experience for both the soldiers and myself.

One of the Warrant Officer I had spent a lot of time with sat down with me and talked about him renaming the Forward Operating Base to "FOB Braun" after fellow soldier, David Braun, who was killed while on tour in Afghanistan. When the other media came out for the day and wanted to talk to him, he refused.

It’s a great story and we’re both glad it’s being told.

Aloha from the Arctic

So I was dropped off in the middle of the tundra the other day with 200 men that I didn't know. It was slightly frightening.

But since travelling up to Churchill with hundreds of troops over a week ago, I've discovered that the army has its own peculiar way of making you feel right at home.

Within an hour of being dropped off at the army's Forward Operating Base in Nunalla, Man. I found myself being thrust onto the shooting range with a heavy gun in my hand.

I didn’t ask for a chance to shoot, in fact, I told the boys I was afraid of weapons and even the sight of guns in police holsters makes me feel uneasy.

Every part of me wanted to stand back and watch, get some quotes from the troops and then head back to my tent to write a story.

I've also learned that standing behind the scenes doesn’t fly, so before I could think of an excuse a C-7 Rifle was in my skittish, civilian hands.

It was awesome. More to come!

It's cold in Churchill.

Just a quick update from my arctic adventure!

Today I took my very first helicopter ride. It was a blast. No polar bear sightings yet, though.

We flew out to capture photos of the 2 PPCLI (that's right, I'm learning army acronyms) as they trek up to Nunalla, Manitoba. I'm going to be joining them in a few days for the final trip up to Arviat, Nunavut.

More to come!