Good news, everyone!

Yes, it's a Futurama reference.

But there is, indeed good news! Some bad news too... let's hit that first.

I applied for the 2009 Foreign Correspondents Programme organized by the government of Finland. It looks like a great, all (mostly) expense paid trip to the country I long to visit: an amazing experience with (probably) amazing people discovering the amazing sights, sounds, and corporations that are so inbred in Finnish culture. The annual program takes place in August, which is great, because Finland is kinda like Montreal in terms of weather (minus the humidity).

However, I wasn't selected for this opportunity.

No hard feelings, though, because there are so many sporting events happening in Montreal in August that it would have been a shame to have to refuse potential work and not be able to build contacts for more potential work because I was on the trip of a lifetime.

Hey, there's always next year, right?

Meanwhile, the job scene seems to be opening up for me. Just as I was posting one of many Facebook surveys I've filled over the years - stating that my wish for 2009 was to establish a better flow of work - I get a call from Dome about a work opportunity.

And here comes the good news, folks!

I've got my first Dome gig! I'm booked to work boxing at the Bell Centre in Montreal this weekend... and I can't wait!! It'll definitely be different than the usual hockey, which has become pretty straight forward after 3 years of doing the job. Boxing, however, is a whole different world. And it'll be interesting to work for a broadcaster other than CBC.

Just when I thought I was done being thankful for this chance to prove my worth on the TV tech production scene - ie, a day later, I get asked, booked, and confirmed to work the UFC event in Montreal in mid-April.

Two days, two gigs. Pretty awesome track record, huh?

I'm not expecting any calls tomorrow, but you never know ;)

I'm honestly really glad that things are kinda starting to fall into place. I love this industry and the people who work in it, and as much as I feel that I'm intellectual enough to do something more journalistic, this is where I want to be right now. Things change, though, and I'm keeping all my options open because I am interested in journalism and current affairs and documentaries and new media and social media and so much more...

... and one day, I'll probably switch gears and settle down with a nice full-time permanent job. Meanwhile, I'm going to keep playing the freelance game and hope work continues to pile up.

To TPTB: Thank you.

On #IN09

Wow.

What a whirlwind couple of days IN09 was! I really should have blogged about it earlier, but when I came home to Montreal, I also came home to a pile of work. Not that I'm complaining...

But I digress.

Last week, I flew to Toronto for The Interactive Exchange, formerly known as ICE, which took place from March 17 to 19, 2009.

It was amazing. I met so many interesting people with so many interesting thoughts, working on so many interesting projects. These people are truly innovative. They have experience being successful in our tumultuous times. They have great ideas about where the industry should be headed.

Sure most of the creative ideas came from social media types while traditional media emphasized that they wouldn't work as a business model... (Check out #IN09 on Twitter for all the fun.)

Still, an amalgamation of points from both sides might lead to sustainable platforms, both in terms of business and content. Don't ask me which points though... I'm not that smart!

Some highlights?

• The huge use of Twitter. Including the Twitter wall and panelist David Crow tweeting while on stage for "Future of the Medium (2): The New Rules".
• Meeting people I only knew online and making new contact who have become online friends.
• Discovering the variety of opportunities in interactive media, from news to gaming to social networking.
  
• Seeing what everyone else is planning, implementing, raving about, working on...
  
• Realizing that ethnography, aka the socio-anthropological impact of anything online is what really interests me.

And most importantly...

Finding out that there IS hope for the industry. Even though a lot of the news-related panels were a bit defeatists, I'm actually more optimistic now than before because I know the depth of creativity and the willpower of all those involved in helping the industry survive... no matter how different it will look and feel once it emerges from the turmoil.

Every panel I attended, whether I was there by choice or because I was assigned to it - via my super sneaky plan to get into IN09 by volunteering - gave me a wealth of knowledge and helped me grow as an online media content producer and enthusiast. Some filled me with wonder and others with so much information that I'll probably take another couple of weeks to finish processing it all.

And so, while this post was meant to be super insightful and full of goodies you may have missed if you didn't attend IN09, I'm just gonna leave it at this. And maybe I'll revisit the topic in a few weeks.

Meanwhile, check out the Twitter stream. It's worth it.

More Thoughts on #Obamawa

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who retweeted/linked to my blog on Watching #Obamawa. I'm looking at you, @mathewi. The extra traffic was amazing - and that's great for my ego!

//Silly economic downturn destroying media jobs... *grumble grumble*

Also, I'd like to thank @josephlavoie for pointing out that #Obamawa was most likely a hybrid between Obama and Ottawa. Duh! I totally should have figured that one out!!

And now that I'm done with housekeeping stuff, I just wanted to share a few more thoughts on the whole experience.

What worked with CBC's coverage of Obama's visit to Canada? What made it compelling enough to watch for hours, even as Peter Mansbridge himself laughed at the incredulity of the whole media waiting game?

It wasn't the coverage, per se, or the super cool camera angles (robo cam on microwave truck, anyone?), or having reporters actually stationed at various locations key to Obama's visit agenda. It was the personableness of the whole experience.

It was Mansbridge, really. (And his team of producers, directors, camera operators, audio and lighting techs, switchers, etc)

Seriously, though, it was the way Mansbridge included the audience and involved them in HIS experience of covering Obama. When he mentioned to Keith Boag that he couldn't hear him because the producers were talking in his ear. Or when he laughed at himself for filling time by reading the lunch menu. Or explaining why that microwave truck robo cam shot was so shaky, or how they listened to the tape of the GG/Obama photo op again to clarify what had been said.

It was his references to the whole team working behind the scenes to make the show fit for air, to provide content so we don't get bored and switch channels, and most importantly, to keep us caring about what Obama is up to at this very second.

Mansbridge, with his demeanor and openness, effectively invited the audience into his living room, into the studio, into his life. He shared a bit of the magic with viewers across the country and across the world at cbc.ca, and that's what kept us hooked.

Even for someone like myself who has been in studios and control rooms and worked on live productions, getting that extra bit of information is gold. Maybe it's even better for me, because I can actually hear the control room conversations and almost feel the stress of the live environment. But bringing the show to life by revealing little secrets about how much work actually goes into producing that kind of stellar content is what gives CBC, and Mansbridge, a boost. It's what makes it stand out from other broadcasters.

The only noticeable exception of the network acknowledging itself is the @cbcyourvoice Twitter account possibly purposefully choosing not to retweet comments about the quality or content choices of CBC productions, but rather only comments on the news that is actually being covered. Understandably, since they could argue that retweeting positive comments would force them to potentially damage the network by retweeting negative comments in a quest for balance. But I think the willingness to expose themselves to criticism in that way would only enhance their profile and increase the trust Canadians put in the CBC. But that's just my opinion.

Overall, CBC definitely stood out by its inclusion of basically all media types in its coverage of #Obamawa. Live online coverage, thanks to CoverItLive.com, some tweeting - though more would have been appreciated - by @cbcyourvoice, quick article and photo updates on cbc.ca, along with live camera feeds - which I still haven't figured out the whole production aspect of... Mobile or control room? More than one producer? - and of course, broadcasting on CBC local and CBC Newsworld, as well as CBC Radio One.

Quite a production, wouldn't you say?

Then again, would you expect any less for POTUS' first official visit?

Good job to everyone at CBC. I applaud you.

On job searching

So today I spent the day applying for a job. The whole day. One job.

It's often been said that job searching is a full-time job in itself, and never have I felt the full weight of that statement until this week.

Earlier this week, I spent a whole day trolling through various media job sites looking for open (and interesting) postings. I found 7. Now, it's not that I'm picky or anything - in fact, I even put far away jobs that I am borderline qualified for on my "must apply" list. And often, I start the process and stop it promptly, when I realize I have no clue what the acronyms in the qualification questionnaire stand for.

Of course, I don't just apply for anything. I don't apply for jobs I am under-qualified for, unless I really really really want it. Even then, I don't expect to get called for an interview. It's also a waste of time to apply for too many jobs, since writing cover letters can get to be a tedious task. However, I do still apply for jobs I know I can do but am over-qualified for - like the ones requiring a high school diploma and good people skills.

Yeah, somehow, I don't get called for those interviews either.

Job searching in journalism is not easy right now. Not only is the economy in recession - and therefore everyone's cutting back - the media industry has been in its own recession of sorts for a few years now. That means newspapers are cutting local staff (like at the Montreal Gazette, for example - sign the petition here!) and consolidating resources by producing less content and operating from one central location. Some broadcasters are under hiring freezes which means that although they have a number of open positions, they can't actually hire you in the end... This is also the cause of vanishing job listings - the ones that mysteriously disappear although the application deadline is still ways off.

In other words, it's a tough life, and you've got to spring on anything that comes your way, no matter how under or over qualified you are. It's also a very depressing situation.

The solution, or so I've heard, is to reach out to your network of contacts, and ask, push and even beg for a job - paid or unpaid - so you can learn, build more contacts, and hopefully eventually get a real position. Just don't fall into the endless internship scenario - I've known a few smart people who have - where you work hard for free and never have an honest chance of getting hired simply because there are no jobs (because there's no money) whether or not an extra hand is needed.

All in all, there's nothing to do but try everything. Again, over and over, and hope it produces results. Until then, try to balance the job search with the voluntary work... and perhaps a bit of a personal life.

Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to write a cover letter for this kick ass job I'm applying for.

Stay tuned!

The story behind a Canadian Cyclist

Some months ago, I was asked to do a one-on-one interview with reporter Alain Gravel, host of Radio Canada's investigative reporting programme "Enquête". Gravel, as you may recall, is the reporter who broke the story of Quebec's biggest doping scandal. After many months of pushing, cyclist Geneviève Jeanson admitted to Gravel and his team that she had in fact taken drugs and had been doing so from a very young age.

The interview was published in Media Magazine, the publication put out by the Canadian Association of Journalists. Ironically, Gravel was, at the time of the interview, the president of the Fédération Professionelle des Journalistes du Québec.

This interview was particularly tough to write up, not because of the translation work required, but because of the sheer amount of content that the interview provided. Originally, I had planned on a 15 to 30 minute interview - MAX. Instead, I had just over an hour of tape to listen and sort through. Plus, the story itself was very complex, as there was a lot of back and forth before Gravel and his team were able to get a confession out of Jeanson. In fact, the story was so complicated that even Gravel had to think hard about the timing and sequence of the events leading up to his scoop. Not to mention that the story and the pursuit of the story were both very interesting and full of juicy details.

All in all, I was very satisfied with the article and with the editing job - with one exception. Near the end of the second page, the text mentions that "a Canadian cyclist had written about a marriage certificate" when it should instead say "Canadian Cyclist had written about a marriage certificate", meaning the industry magazine Canadian Cyclist.

Without further ado, here I am, on page 18!

Stay tuned for more goodies...

Paper trail...

In honour of the NHL trade deadline, it's time to think of something else. In this case, paper.
This year, I once again was an intern for The Reporter, Pulp and Paper Canada's daily publication during PaperWeek International and EXFOR 2008.
It took place in early February, so while I'm a bit slow on the posting, I figured today was a symbolic day for looking back at past success and forward at new horizons.

Here are a couple of texts I wrote during that week.

Irving impresses with SC-A upgrade

In 2006, Irving Paper Ltd. decided to convert its PM1 to an SC-A grade machine, with plans to upgrade to SC-A+. The PM1, which was built in 1964, was in need of an upgrade, especially in the press and calendering areas.

“This was a strategic decision by the company to move away from newsprint and go to value add grades, so that was probably the biggest asset,” said PM1 Superintendant Terry Tomney.

One of the most interesting aspects of this presentation, which was part of Metso’s annual conference, was the time lapse photography of the whole process. The upgrade took 65 days to complete, and the bird’s-eye view of the calendering and dryer hood deconstruction and reconstruction was captured every 20 minutes, providing a remarkable amount of material for an impressive slideshow.

Most inspiringly, the process was ongoing as workers were on the floor 24 hours a day and the project was completed with no downtime.

At first, Irving experienced some quality issues such as dry end breaks, VIB Digital Block Corrosion, and wrinkling due to air entrapment, but Metso and Irving cooperated in finding the solutions to these problems, often by using new technologies such as the OptiReel Plus.

However, several of Irving’s concerns turned out to be non-issues.

“One thing we were really concerned about,” said Tomney, “is that it’s approximately 80 meters that the sheet runs, so there’s a lot of opportunities for issues. But to our great surprise, thanks to the advance work we had done with Metso, we had no issues with threading.”

Since Irving has only two paper machines, it was important for the company to minimize downtime. One of the keys to accomplishing this was quicker troubleshooting of E&I issues, as software made it possible to resolve issues in ten to fifteen minutes rather than four to five hours.

“We are taking a quantum step in development for ourselves and we’re entering an area that we didn’t know so much about,” Tomney said. “[Metso] was very valuable to us, so much so that we extended our co-operation agreement.”

Still, while early 2007 results showed a great increase in the quality of the paper produced by Irving’s reconstructed SC-A/SC-A+ machine, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

-30-

Industry analyst forecasts transition year

By Naila Jinnah

Tuesday’s plenary session provided much food for thought as TD Newcrest’s Paper and Forest Products Equity Analyst Sean Steuart, CFA, presented his forecast for the year to come.

His presentation, appropriately entitled “Outlook: An Industry in Transition”, was a perfect partner to PaperWeek International’s theme for 2008, “A Bridge to the Future”.

Steuart explained that the pulp and paper industry in the United States and in Canada has a poor reputation in the investment community, partially because of its failure to meet performance expectations in the past few years but also because of the way brokers emphasize the pros but neglect to stress the cons of investing in the sector.

Since 1999, capital has been down 6%, with a more pronounced trend since the Canadian dollar started rising. Therefore, the industry is losing relevance in the investment community, as Canadian, US and European investments in the sector account for less than 1% of the equity market.

“I think there’s a credibility issue both on the analyst side and the industry side,” said Steuart. “We definitely get the sense that investors want to see how this unfolds in the next couple of years.”

In 2008, only five Canadian P&FP companies were listed in the S&P/TSX Composite Index, accounting for $6.0 million Canadian in market capital. That’s a huge drop from 1995, when 23 companies combined for $14.8 million in market capital. One major factor is the mergers and buyouts of the past few years, as traditionally Canadian companies like Abitibi and Domtar became listed as US companies.

Steuart looked back at the downturn of the past year and provided short, mid and long term trends, focusing primarily on the Canadian market.

“We estimate that the weighted average cost of capital for Canadian companies is 13%,” said Steuart of the current situation. “I wouldn’t say that USA and Europe companies have been better, but they’re certainly better than Canada. Companies have been withholding investments and share prices have gone down as a result.”

Steuart also addressed the recession fears in the US, claiming that although a broad recession might not take place, but that various commodities in this sector are already in recession.

Wood products were hit especially hard in 2007 and over the past five years, mitigated by actual demand improvement but also because of factors like the US housing crisis. New technologies will also play a role in the long term.

“A couple of products are in structural demand decline for North America,” said Steuart, “especially newsprint and uncoated freesheet. This reflects the trend in the way people are accessing information, especially with new technologies.”

Most wood product companies have a negative cashflow, especially in Canada, and further consolidation is inevitable, according to Steuart.

“Prices have fallen so much because companies with good balance sheets have decided to push their assets too hard and burn cash instead of sitting back and balancing,” said Steuart.

As for market pulp, prices are still rising across most grades and regions. The market remains tight, especially for hardwood, but momentum is decreasing due to the short term fibre scarcity caused by issues like weather, closures, and union disputes. In the long term, there will be a steady demand growth with closings of high demand price mills as new greenfield pulp mills open in the Southern Hemisphere. China remains a big driver, as shipments to that country account for 20% of the 19 major companies’ exports.

Prices for newsprint, primarily a Canadian commodity, have started increasing.

“A number of the smaller companies were waiting for Abitibi to finish their merger and proceed with expected closures. And they sort of sat at on the sidelines and waited, and prices went down,” explained Steuart.

For Steuart, it’s hard to believe prices went down so much, since the effect of inflation in the last 8 years in Canada coupled with the Canadian dollar appreciation made it double the US values.

“It’s been a very tough few years, but I think we’ve turned the corner,” said Steuart. “Part of the reasons we’re positive is that the big publishers in the States appear to be aboard and understanding our struggles.”

All Canadian lumber producers except for Interfor are losing operating cash before taxes and adjustments.

“We’re going to see the worst data in Q4 that we’ve ever seen. It’s going to be a tough quarter,” Steuart warned.

-30-

I also have an article going into the March issue of Pulp and Paper Canada, which is always interesting, and I should be writing an article on one of my pet subjects as of late, so...

Stay tuned!

New Feature!

Of the written kind, I mean.

Here's the piece I wrote on the goalies of the Concordia University women's hockey team, the Stingers. It was published in today's edition of the Link.

Enjoy!

Passion brings Stingers goalies together

But a little competition is healthy for women's hockey teammates

By Naila Jinnah

On paper, Concordia Stingers goaltenders Meggy Hatin-Léveillée, Audrey Doyon-Lessard and Stephanie Peck don’t have much in common, apart from sharing a spot on the women’s hockey team.

A quick glance at the roster shows that the girls have different eligibility years, come from different CÉGEPs and are in programs that couldn’t be more different: honours psychology, exercise science and marketing respectively. But one look at these three masked warriors and all those differences come crashing to the ice.

Goalies are a special breed, a saying that rings especially true for collegiate teams. For years, these girls have been the only goaltenders on their team, left aside at practices while the rest of the players worked on drills. They have become more self-sufficient than their teammates, often learning on their own and from their own mistakes. They have been the starting goalie every game—by default. But CÉGEP brought not only a new level of play but also a new reality—competing for the starting spot with at least two other girls.

This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is the risk of spending most of the season on the bench rather than on the ice. On the other hand, practices are a bit more fun when you have a companion to run goaltending drills with.

“With the three of us, practice is more fun, because it’s like a team of goalies!” said Hatin-Léveillée, laughing with her goaltending partners.

“Being goalie is a very special bond,” she added. “Aside from our field of study, we really understand each other, even if others don’t. We know we can rely on the other two to understand, so we don’t feel awkward or out of place.”

Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard have been splitting the load for one season, but Peck joined the team this year. They were an instant fit.

“I totally felt welcome with them,” said rookie Peck. “I knew right away that they got along really well because it showed. It really makes a difference when you get along with your goalie partner.”

This year, the girls need to get along with someone else too. For the first time in four years, the Stingers have added a goalie coach to their staff. Dave Paré gets on the ice with the girls during practice and his feedback is definitely appreciated.

“Last year we couldn’t improve on anything because no one would tell us what the problems were,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “But this year, in practice, our coach tells us what we do and we can improve our game.”

“It makes us feel more part of a team and more important, in a way.”

“I think it shows that we just prioritize the goaltending and that it’s really important,” said Peck. “We need that kind of help and it’s good to have that kind of support.”

The girls also get a lot of support from each other—they spend a lot of time together and the comfortable chemistry that was established during training camp turned into friendly competition as the season started. At the beginning, Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard were the goaltending duo of choice, and while Hatin-Léveillée got many starts, there was no clear-cut number one goalie. But on Oct. 28, 2007, Doyon-Lessard was injured in a game at Carleton University.

“I tried to cover the puck and was going forward, but the girl sort of skated on my head,” explained Doyon-Lessard.

She was diagnosed with a concussion, an injury that is particularly hard to recover from since it requires complete rest. After over two months on the injured reserve list, Doyon-Lessard finally made it back between the pipes on Jan. 6, 2008 for the championship game of the Theresa Humes tournament, replacing starter Hatin-Léveillée. The Stingers lost 7-0 to McGill.

“It was great for me to play,” Doyon-Lessard said after the game, “but I didn’t like the reason why I had to go in.”

Meanwhile, Peck was back at her usual seat in the stands. The third goalie is often lost in the rush, but she is just as much a member of the team as the other girls. Like Doyon-Lessard when she was injured, Peck needs to attend all practices and games, even if she’s not dressing for the latter. The average observer doesn’t notice her, but she is far from invisible to her teammates. And while the seats in the stands are mostly comfortable, it’s not Peck’s spot of choice.

“It’s really tough coming in as a third goalie,” she said. “People don’t understand unless they’ve lived it.”

“With goalies, there are only three spots, and two that dress,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “With players, there’s a lot more room to work with. They have twelve!”

“I’ve lived it,” she added, “and now Steph is going through it.”

“It’s a real learning experience,” Peck said. “It’s definitely going to make me better for it. Stronger. It’s humbling too, because you have to earn it. Everybody has to pay their dues.”

The bond between these three girls is apparent in their interactions on and off the ice, and their unofficial ranking on the roster is not of much concern to them.

“We try to stay together and keep it equal in practices,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “And come game time, for sure there’s going to be a goalie who plays and a goalie who doesn’t dress. I think that’s the only time that there’s a difference.”

“In practice, we don’t see number one, number two, number three. We don’t see a difference.”

But for Hatin-Léveillée, having a new partner in crime didn’t change the way she approached the game. Competition is important, but the girls each have a different role to play on the team. They push each other in positive ways.

“It’s never taken for granted,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “I’m not number one for sure. We have to work for it, earn it, and if I play a good game, more points for me!”

“It’s a competition, but at the same time it’s healthy, because we’re not bitching about it and we’re not being mean about it. We want our spot and we want to deserve it. If I don’t feel like I deserve it, I don’t want to be the one in nets.”

“It’s not like if someone has a bad game, you’re like ‘yes!’ You put the team first,” Peck agreed.

“We all can do it, and we all know that everyone here can stop the puck wherever it is,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “When it happens that we have bad games, we know it’s a mental thing. So we go up to each other and tell the other goalie to get back in there and to be strong mentally.”

The girls don’t really see each other outside of hockey, although that’s probably a good thing. With practice, workout sessions, school and homework, it’s hard to find time to relax, not to mention that non-hockey friends tend to get jealous.

“You’re with each other every day,” said Doyon-Lessard. “We see each other more than our family!”

It is this commitment to the game that enables the girls to make these sacrifices. Their love for hockey is apparent on and off the ice, and their passion brings them together just as it divides them.

“We have that thing in common that we love to come here to play hockey in the morning,” said Hatin-Léveillée.

“But like it or not, we’re here to play hockey, and we all want the same thing,” concluded Peck.

-30-

Timbits

* It is absolutely ridiculous that the Pittsburgh Penguins are pushing away their vets, including Mark Recchi, who cleared waivers last night. Ironically, Wednesday was Mark Recchi Bobblehead night in Pittsburgh.

* Maroon 5's latest CD is brilliant. It's fun to listen to, but not too overbearing or repetitive. It uses a few well known riffs from popular songs... but mostly to start off their songs, before going in an opposite direction. Still, it catches your ear, which makes me believe that this disc has at least 3 more good singles on it.

* The Habs have called up Ryan O'Byrne and Maxim Lapierre, as you're probably already aware. This means Grabovski's going to Hamilton. These changes, in my opinion, are long overdue... although you have to wonder about calling up two of the penalty minute leaders on the 'Dogs team. Hopefully, this shake up, a mini-shake-up really, will create a spark, add some energy, shuffle the deck, add your cliché here...

* The TV Strike officially sucks. Simply because I'm now on break and there's nothing on at night. I have to resort to going out and spending money (yay! Wings night!), or watching old shows.

* Speaking of which, I have finished re-watching all of ALIAS... Two years after I started, lol. But, to be fair, I didn't watch it regularly. And all my habitual TV viewing/hockey games/work/homework came first. The good news is, it's just as good as I remember it to be. The bad news is, it's so sad I cried. And now, I have nothing to watch. I'm trying a bit of Robot Chicken, but I'm definitely going to have to search the server for a new series to watch...

* Tonight is JSA Karaoke night. YEY! But travel time means that I'll probably miss some of the game... unless I watch from downtown earlier, which involves driving in traffic. And then there's the whole needing a car at the specified time thing...

* Star Trek is coming to town! We don't know when, or where exactly, but a Star Trek Tour has been announced, and for once, Montreal is on the list of stops. Attractions include a life-size version of the Enterprise bridge (the original, in case you're wondering), an opportunity to have a digitally-modified photo taken with life-sized members of the original cast, a few museum-like articles such as Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costume, tours, audio visuals, simulators, and more! :D You can be sure that when the details are revealed (including prices), I'm totally jumping on this bandwagon!

* And in more Star Trek-related news, I was lucky enough to be one of the 300 people who got their hands on a limited, signed, hardcover copy of Wil Wheaton's latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. My paypal order has been processed, and my package is probably somewhere between California and Montreal right now... How wonderful! I love waiting for packages you can't track... it's all the more exciting!

* I wasn't selected as a Donaldson Scholar, but no matter! I'm applying for the winter semester internship with CBC News TV in Montreal. Sure, I won't get paid, but that's totally irrelevant. The experience is worth much more than a couple of sparkly tops.

And last but not least,

* Biorhythms are actually fairly accurate, from my experience. Very surprising, but very useful. If you believe in that sort of thing, I mean.

Stay tuned for more rambling...

Concordia Reports - Remembrance Edition

Our second TV show is now on YouTube, published yesterday, just in time for Remembrance Day. Appropriately, there's a lot of memorial and veteran content in this show.

This time, I hosted, had a pack on carepacks to Afghanistan, and helped with the show packaging and opener. I also interviewed veterans from General Vanier Branch 234 in Quebec of the Royal Canadian Legion, aka the Roxboro Branch.

I really had a lot of fun on and with this show, and I think it came together nicely.

As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts and opinions on the show, so post away! Positive and negative comments are welcome, I always want to learn :)


Enjoy!!

TV Thoughts

Yesterday's Heroes was many ways of awesome. But first off, I need to point out that while Zachary Quinto could pull off a convincing Spock, he reminds me more of Christopher Higgins, of Montreal Canadiens fame.

Next, Heroes came to Montreal!!!!! Sure, it was sort of an obvious assumption based on the previous show (and the promos!), but it was really cool when it finally happened. Too bad the outdoor scene lasted all of 20 seconds, and I missed part of it. I wonder who that Adam guy is, and if they'll actually film in Montreal. So far, I haven't heard that they have...

I really like the split in Maya and Alejandro's characters, and the Claire storyline is getting more... dangerous, shall we say?
As for point two of awesomeness... The Ukrainian guy was in Red October. I know, I know... it's sort of geeky, but that's what I love about Heroes! They take all our secret geek fantasies and put them into one beautifully packaged show.

On to a different kind of TV...

Our first newscast is now on YouTube, courtesy of Elias Makos.
It was Group 3's first newscast, and my first Assignment Editor position of the term/year. I also did a reporting stint and a one-on-one interview with Mike Boone. I'd love to get feedback on anything from flow to visuals, to specific comments about reports...

Bonus incentive? The chimps!!!

Stay tuned...

A much needed update

I was just thinking that four months might be enough time to come up with something worthy for an update, and I guess it is.

In the last four months, I've:

-Moved back to the West Island with my parents (and re-learned the hardships of poor bus services, not having a car, and actually having to get somewhere before being able to just go somewhere)
-Started working at The (Montreal) Gazette (as a copy clerk, basically an entry level editorial position. I'm not complaining, it's fun! Also, I get to meet nearly everybody, and I read the paper one day in advance :P )
-Registered my business in the province of Quebec (and therefore gotten a QST/GST number to apply to my freelance operations, and being able to claim some of the following as business expenses - read on...)
-Bought a new 21-inch not widescreen monitor, a beautiful glass-top desk, a planner I'll start using in August, a Queen-sized bed, a bedside table, and a dresser.
-Successfully moved on (more or less)

Overall, quite a good list for only four months. Also, I did a military journalism internship, which was loads of fun. We got to tour the Valcartier base, the St-Jean military training base/school, the Quebec City Citadelle (we got special access to some areas), the military defence and research centre at Valcartier (all restricted projects), and so much more. Most importantly, I made friends that will (hopefully) last a lifetime. Still need to plan a trip to Ottawa...

Yes, there have been a lot of changes in a short period of time, but they're mostly good changes. It's weird to not make plans based solely on my input, and it's definitely frustrating not to be able to just go out without going somewhere first. Plus, it's been extremely interesting (and it still is) to work at the Gazette. Strangely fulfilling as well, since it has always been a sort of dream of mine. Still working on the covering the Canadiens part, but I have reason to believe that it's not that far out...

Stay tuned...

Lagging...

Yes, yes, I've been lacking in my updates. But school is finally over - for now. I will soon have a lot of goodies, including a newscast I produced for my TV course. But first, here's a profile I wrote on a photographer I worked with at Pulp and Paper Canada. Her name is Kate Fellerath, her work is awesome, and you can contact her on www.fellerath.com.

Bringing Stills to Life

A professional photographer makes posing for portraits fun

By Naila Jinnah

She’ll take the typical headshot you asked for, but Kate Fellerath will make you laugh as she’s snapping away. She will make you comfortable, and no matter what, she will make you look good.

After all, that’s her job. A professional photographer aims to make the client happy.

But for Fellerath, that’s not enough.

“I think I try to make a connection with the person I’m taking a picture of,” she said, “because as boring as the process can be, it must be extra boring for them!”

Fellerath’s personality and personableness has earned her many smiles over the years, but it’s the quality of her work that has brought her jobs.

“When you’re in this kind of business, you really need to get along with everybody because you rely on word of mouth,” she said. “I don’t do it on purpose, but I think I do get along with everybody, and that’s the key.”

The key to her success. Fellerath was a customer service representative in Toronto when she realized that she was unhappy with her life. Her friends recommended that she look back at what she loved as a child.

“I actually got into photography when my dad gave me a camera for Christmas when I was 10,” she said.

Fellerath’s life had brought her elsewhere, but a trip to Europe in the late 90s made her rediscover her passion. It was time to return to her roots, and her hometown of Montreal. There, she enrolled in the rigorous three-year commercial photography program at Dawson College, where she had previously completed a creative arts diploma.

While in school, Fellerath started working for Lawrence Clemen, a prominent Montreal wedding photographer. Clemen became her mentor, teaching her all about being a professional photographer. Through his generosity, he encouraged her to open her own business.

And so she did. It was a progressive endeavour, with Fellerath gradually taking more projects of her own, and spending less time at work.

“Soon, I got so busy, I just gave up all my other jobs,” she recalls. “That would have been probably in 2005. I was on my own.”

Two years later, Fellerath’s business is thriving. She has a solid client base and spends her summer photographing weddings.

“I basically started my business in weddings,” she said, “because that’s a word of mouth business.”

“If you do a good job, people will tell other people, so I didn’t have to invest in marketing or advertising. I just naturally started getting my name out there, and got more and more jobs.”

From weddings, Fellerath has expanded her business to include travel photography, still life, documentary photography, commercial advertising projects, and now, portraits.

“I think that’s the next step for me, to photograph family pictures, and kids, and stuff like that,” she said.

“And then I might get a studio. I’m pretty careful with my finances so I’d have to make sure that that’s a good investment for me.”

So far, Fellerath owns two film cameras, and two digital cameras. She also has six lenses. That’s not a lot for a professional photographer, but it’s not because she can’t afford the equipment – or the studio.

“I try to buy my equipment really smartly,” said Fellerath. “I try to buy the best equipment that I can, and then I just add a little bit at a time. I make sure that I actually need it first!”

Just like starting her own business, Fellerath is expanding slowly, but by choice. She even rents equipment to try it before buying it.

The one step Fellerath took faster than most small businesses and artists was creating a website.

“It’s an incredible tool,” she said. “It’s gotten me a lot a lot of work because when people recommend me, they just send my website. It’s like a calling card.”

On her website, Fellerath displays a selection of her favourite travel, wedding, and portrait photography. Throughout her portfolio, Fellerath demonstrates a unique blend of photojournalism techniques and fashion with an artistic eye. Her work shows a strong use of light, composition and colour that seems instinctive.

What truly makes Fellerath’s photography exceptional is her ability to channel the intrinsic beauty in every shot.

“I love beautiful imagery,” she said. “Something that’s sad, something that is going to move somebody. I love colors, I love interesting compositions. That’s what I really enjoy.”

What Fellerath loves to create is what she enjoys seeing in the work of others, like fine arts photographer Keith Carter.

“First of all, I look at it, and there’s no way that I would be able to take those photos,” she said. “That’s one thing that I really like.”

“When I see a photographer that just has that sort of artistry, and it’s a traditional method of photographing and it’s all kind of warped and blurry and suctions…” she goes on passionately.

She also admires Henri Cartier-Bresson, a pioneer of modern photojournalism.

“It’s really beautiful street life photography,” Fellerath said, “and it’s really interesting because every day you look around and it’s not as exciting as what you see in his photography.”

Luckily, Fellerath manages to make all her photographs exciting, even her still life. In fact, some of her favourite still life and architectural shots of Montreal are currently displayed at Sur Bleury Restaurant, in the downtown core. Her work has been displayed in galleries and local cafés before, but it has been tough for Fellerath to find the time to devote herself to creative endeavours.

Even though she only schedules one job a day – in case a client needs more time or more work – Fellerath’s months have been busier than ever.

“When you work for yourself you’re always working,” she said.

But striking a balance between the photography and the business side is the real challenge, not time management.

“My goal is to take on lots of interesting projects,” said Fellerath. “Maybe expand my business, get a studio, and hire someone to do all the tough stuff.

“Then I can just concentrate on the shooting,” she laughed.

She still has a long way to go, but those who have worked with Fellerath or simply seen her photography agree that she has made it as a professional photographer.

“I never actually expected to become a professional photographer,” she said. “I thought that it was a really hard thing to get into. Everyone was saying that there wasn’t a lot of work for photographers.”

“I just thought it would be just a nice skill to have to take beautiful pictures, and it would be a nice way to see the world,” said Fellerath.

“And it just happened that things worked out.”

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Interning at CJAD

I have been interning at CJAD for the week, and let me tell you, today is the craziest day I've had in a while... And it's not even over!

I got in at 8:30, the morning news meeting was delayed til about 9. I wasn't sure what I would be doing for the day, but I had done my research and I knew there was a LOT of stuff happening... especially since two party leaders are in town, and schedules overlapped.

I followed Tim Parent to the Actualite press conference on the overview on the accessibility of Quebec hospitals. They actually INTERRUPTED the anglophone reporters, who had lined up behind the mic, after the francophone reporters, mid-question (After 3 other English questions had already been answered), to ask if there were any more French questions. Two reporters stood up and got their questions answered. And then they never went back to English. At least Tim was able to get stuff in the English scrum.

Then we went upstairs in the same hotel to hear what the Liberals had to say about it. Couillard looks larger than life, trust me. Soooo much like Grissom from CSI. Freakishly so.

We got back to the station, and I filed a voicer on the event, for practice. I had already written it at the event, so I was done that by 12:45 ish.

Then, I had to be trained on fielding the phones because I will be the call screener for the Habs post-game show on CJAD tonight, and hopefully all other weeknights when the team is out of town.

So that took from 1 ish until 1:20 ish. I had eaten a pastry at the Actualite press conference so I wasn't too hungry...

I immediately took a taxi (paid by CJAD of course) to Espace Go to get clips on Andre Boisclair's announcement to spend about $210 million on various women's programs, like sexual assault programs. The French media mostly - no, almost exclusively - asked questions on the earlier controversy about one of his party members denying the Rwanda genocide. Boisclair kept repeating that the headline in La Presse was false, and misleading, and that the candidate wrote a whole book on the genocide and never denied it.

An anglophone reporter (from Global, I think) went up to ask a question... about the genocide. He got one follow up, and then a francophone reporter asked a question from the other side of the room, and the press people called it quits. As in, press conference over.

Now let me note that Boisclair only spoke in English when he answered the Global question. He never spoke of the women's funding program in English. There was no scrum, but I went up to him anyway, in the lobby (they kinda rushed him out), and he said, "I already gave my press conference. I'm not answering any questions." So I said, but you didn't even speak English. And so one of the female party members who was around said, (as Boisclair walked away), that he HAD indeed spoken in English. I retaliated, but not about the funding, just about the Rwanda question. She was like, oh, right... and mentioned it to another female party member, but nothing came of it. The Global cameraman said he would be complaining... but I highly doubt it.

So Boisclair answered 1 question in English, then left. And didn't even talk about what he was supposed to be there for. How lame is that? How are anglophone voters supposed to get all the information they need to make an informed decision? How can the party leaders not care? In a similar case, reporter Shuyee Lee was covering a Jean Charest press conference. The anglophone reporters got 3 questions, again, nothing on the actual reason for the press conference.

It is really frustrating that these people think they can get away with this. It is even more frustrating that they will. The anglophone media should - but won't and can't - make the story that these party leaders are refusing to speak English, that they are not giving equal weight to both languages, and that this is a disrespect to anglophone voters. Do they value their votes any less come election day? No. But any media that would put out this story would pretty much never get access to anything again. Except if there was public support, an inquiry, or anything of that sort.

Anyway, I came back to the studio (thanks taxi!) and put together some clips. I sent them to Kristy Rich in Quebec City for her election round up. Now, I am about to leave to go to the Dorval Hilton for Jean Charest' West Island rally... No clue what it's about, but it better be good! It's pretty much the only time West Island voters will see any of the party leaders. That starts at 6:45. Then I get to taxi back to the studio, upload clips, and wait until the hockey game ends to start fielding calls at around 9:30. That will last until either 10 pm, 10:30 or 11 pm, depending on when the game ends.

It's a long day, but a fun day. I was also lucky enough to get an answer from the CRTC about my TV story, and while they couldn't comment on the issue (more on that later), the press representative pointed me towards a bunch of documents that are a goldmine of information.

And now, before I leave, I will have a Thai Kitchen soup, run across the street to get chocolate from Provigo, get to a bank or ATM machine (or get money back at Provigo) to get cash for the cabs... and then head out.

But first, I desperately need to pee.

A few Dawson stories...

... As you might know, I have been following the Dawson Blues this season. My teacher - it's for a sportswriting class - said he would create a website where we could post our stories. It hasn't happened.

So here are 3 recent feature-ish stories. I think they're interesting... so they might interest you too!

Just as a bit of background, Dawson is the school where shootings occurred earlier this year. And the women's hockey team is undefeated with 5 games left in the season. 2 years ago, they were in the last few teams.

Enjoy!

Women’s Hockey

Dawson Blues still unbeaten with 6 games left

By Naila Jinnah

The Dawson Blues' 7-2 win over the John Abbott Islanders this weekend brought their record to an impressive 21-0. With only six games left in the regular season, the Dawson women’s hockey team is on the road to an undefeated season.

But the team’s perfect record does not equal perfect play. The Blues are having trouble focusing on their game, especially when they are not facing their closest rivals, the St-Jerôme Cheminots.

“They shouldn’t be paying attention to who they’re playing,” said Blues coach Scott Lambton. “They should be paying attention to how they want to play. Unfortunately, today it didn’t work.”

“Today wasn’t one of our better games and I think that has to do with a lack of focus on the game,” said second-year player Mallory Lawton. “When we play against St-Jerôme, we’re focused for like 2 weeks. I think that we have to stay focused for every game and not just specific ones.”

Lawton is one of eight players who were also on the Blues’ roster last season, when Dawson finished second in the league with a record of 23-4. St-Jerôme was first with a perfect 27-0 record.

This season’s role reversal is a source of pride for team, and testament to their talent.

“I just think we did a really good job with the recruiting,” said Blues’ head coach Scott Lambton. “A lot of very good hockey players came to our team this year.”

The Blues have ten new girls on the roster, five of which came from the Quebec Avalanche, an elite women’s hockey team that trains players to play in the Women’s National Hockey League.

It was luck, while tragic, that brought the girls together at the beginning of the season. The Dawson shootings forced the cancellation of the first game of the season, originally scheduled for the following Sunday.

“I think it played a big part in the chemistry of the team,” Lambton said. “They have really come together from such a tragedy. They bonded very quickly.”

The pressure of winning has only strengthened that bond, while the leadership of veterans like Lawton has given the team the push they’ve need a lot in recent games to regain their focus.

“You try to take each period at a time,” Lawton said. “You do good things (on the ice) and when a player doesn’t work you tap them on the back, and you keep (the game) going.”

“You’ve got to stay positive. If you go into it negative, and you say ‘We can’t do this’, automatically you’re done.”

Coach Lambton does not think it’s a fear of losing that’s causing his team to slack off in so-called easy games.

“It’s just giving a consistent effort,” he said. “Nothing’s going to come easy, and there are going to be some games where things aren’t working in terms of passing and stuff, but what should be there each and every game is your effort.”

“The last game against St-Jerome was a good wakeup call,” Lambton said, “because I think we have been getting overconfident.”

Lambton wants his team to concentrate on refining its play rather than focusing on its 21-0 record. By looking at the individual game statistics and holding practices full of skill development, he hopes the Blues will step up their game in time for the playoffs.

“I want them to take more risks,” he said when asked if the team should keep its play simple. “I want them to be really aggressive, and I want them to be really creative. And just always remember to switch it up. Risks are good, you learn from risks.”

But what about the risk of losing?

“I think you have to think that, you have to,” said Lawton. “You can’t go into every game thinking we’re going to kill this team. If you’re not having a good game, you start to panic. We feel like we have to keep going with our streak, and you have to get it in your head that you can lose.”

“You never know what can happen, and you got to be ready for it,” she said.

The last six games of the regular season will be challenging for the Blues. With no more match-ups against St-Jerôme, the team will have to find a different form of motivation. There’s no question that Dawson is a talented team, but a lack of focus and effort could be the weakness its opponents are banking on to serve the Blues their first loss of the season.

The Dawson Blues next take the ice against the Lévis-Lauzon Faucons at the Ed Meagher Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2:20 pm.

-30-

Women’s hockey

Dawson shootings bring motivation, chemistry to Blues

Now 22-0, only 5 games left for undefeated season

By Naila Jinnah

With five games left in the regular season, the Dawson women’s hockey team are on the road for an undefeated season. The Blues brought their season record to an impressive 22-0 after beating the Lévis-Lauzon Faucons by a score of 4-1 on Sunday.

No one could have predicted that such a young team in a budding program would have such a strong season. Then again, no one could have known that Dawson College would be the target of a killer’s wrath.

“I think it played a big part in the chemistry of the team,” said Blues’ head coach Scott Lambton. “They have really come together from such a tragedy. They bonded very quickly.”

The Sept. 13, 2006 shootings made Dawson a media favourite, so it comes as no surprise that the women’s hockey team’s success has been covered in many of the local media. Although no one on the team knew her personally, the death of Anastasia De Sousa had an untold impact on them. The Blues were scheduled to start the season on the Sunday following the attacks, but out of respect, the game was cancelled.

“Yes, we’re playing for Dawson, but we’re also playing for her,” said assistant captain Ann-Sophie Bettez. “Even though she was no one at the beginning and now she’s known by everyone, we have to play for her in a way.”

Each team member wears a black band on her left arm to honour the memory of their schoolmate. They have even donated the proceeds of the admission to some of their games to the Anastasia De Sousa fund.

“When you go out there you play for your school and you represent them,” said second-year player Mallory Lawton. “Especially now, because it’s a school that has struggled a bit.”

It is not only the school that has suffered, but the women’s hockey program. The Blues might have finished second in the regular season rankings in 2005-2006, but for seasons before that, they were a bottom three team.

Now, they outrank the St-Jerôme Cheminots, their closest rivals, in the rankings, in a reversal of fortunes. Last season, the Cheminots finished first with an undefeated season. With the Blues well on their way to accomplishing this same feat, the sentiment around the locker room is one of pride and fulfillment.

“I think it’s a feeling you can’t describe,” said Lawton, “because no one ever thought this program would ever beat St-Jerome and the fact that we’ve done it now… It’s an incredible feeling and I’m proud, to be really honest, to be a part of it.”

“It’s very satisfying!” said coach Lambton. “We’ve put so much work in over the past four years. It’s come a lot quicker than we thought it would but it’s extremely satisfying because you know all the work that you’re putting in is paying off.”

The Dawson shootings might have brought the team together faster and more completely than expected, but no one is disputing the players’ skill, determination, and hard work ethic.

“It’s really good, considering what Dawson has been,” said Bettez. I think that we have the team to (go undefeated), and it just makes me feel good and want to win each game.”

The current roster, with ten veterans and eight rookies, knows that their success is partly due to the chemistry generated by the shootings. But it is the thought of all the girls who went through a mediocre program in the past that is motivating the team to go all the way.

“I wish I could share it with all the girls who have gone before us,” said Lawton. “This program wouldn’t be what it is right now if it hadn’t been for those teams that went 1-27, or 0-28.”

“When we go out there, part of us plays for them because if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have this opportunity. We wouldn’t be where we are now.”

So while the Blues may be playing to honour the memory of their slain classmate, they are also playing for themselves, and there is no greater motivator than that.

The Dawson Blues next take on the Lionel-Groulx Nordiques on Feb 18, 2007 at 11:50 at the Ed Meagher Arena.

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Dawson Blues Women’s Hockey gets a boost

Two members of the Blues family honoured

By Naila Jinnah

The Dawson Blues women’s hockey program received an unexpected bit of exposure this week, and not because the team is five games away from an undefeated season.

The Montreal Canadiens, in association with Dawson College, announced a $3000 bursary program to be awarded annually to a graduating Blues player pursuing their academic and hockey careers in university.

“The inspiration for this award was the tragedy of September 13 and our will, shared by Dawson, to promote women’s sports and academic performance,” said Canadiens’ president Pierre Boivin.

The criteria for handing out the Catherine Ward Women’s Hockey Scholarship have not yet been determined, but Blues’ coach Scott Lambton said there was no hesitation in naming the scholarship after his former defenseman.

“She just embodies everything that we want to encourage in terms of athletics, and in terms of academics,” he said. “She’s an incredible hockey player. I don’t think there’s anybody in Canada that can do what she can do.”

Ward, who is credited for turning around the Dawson women’s hockey program over the past three years, left quite an impression on former teammate Mallory Lawton.

“Catherine is just an absolute special player,” she said. “There are times where she would do these plays, and I wish I could just watch them over and over because they were really that amazing.”

“You strive to be like her,” Lawton said. “You see her do moves and you try to practice them in practice to be just like Cat Ward. She’s so much fun to just watch, and she was fun to play with even more.”

The Blues found out about the Catherine Ward scholarship at practice last Thursday, but the official announcement was made during the Canadiens’ game at the Bell Center on Tuesday.

“Before the game, we sold tickets for the Montreal Canadiens Children Foundation,” said Lawton. “It was really successful, we sold all 3000 tickets.”

“It was just a wonderful experience to be in the press room, with Catherine, and her parents,” Lawton said. “It was a proud moment for all of us, even the girls who didn’t play with her last year. You could see how proud they were to have that jersey on.”

Blues assistant captain Ann-Sophie Bettez has known Ward on and off the ice since high school. She called her friend to congratulate her, but Bettez also had her own reason to celebrate, as she was honoured with the Medaille d’Or for 2006-2007, an award Ward was awarded last year.

“I was just surprised to be nominated for it, because I was not expecting that,” said Bettez.” I was so grateful just to be rewarded because I’ve worked so hard. I think that it felt good to be rewarded for it.”

The Medialle d’Or is awarded based on athletic and academic performance, something Bettez had trouble with last year.

“She’s the best pure skater in our league, in terms of technique and in terms of speed,” said coach Lambton. “So she combined hockey with good grades, which is really nice, because last year she wasn’t pulling those grades.”

The award makes Bettez a member of an exclusive club that include former Habs legends Maurice Richard, Réjean Houle, and Claude Mouton.

And Catherine Ward.

-30-

PaperWeek International and EXFOR 2007

Chances are, you're not really into the pulp and paper or forestry industries. But that's what I've been covering for the past four days, so that's what you're going to get.

I was complimented on my excellent writing, by the editor-in-chief of Pulp and Paper Canada (the larger magazine that runs the daily Reporter for which I was interning), as well as by the editor-in-chief of the French equivalent, Les Papetieres du Quebec, who was the francophone writer for the convention.

I might do some freelancing for them, either pitched or assigned. One thing is sure, I want to go back next year.

Here's some of the stuff I wrote. In fact, I think I'll post all the stuff I wrote. Whether or not you like pulp and paper mills, you should check out the articles, because they include a whole lot of information on the industry's challenges, research, and new technology.

Enjoy!

* Posted in order of writing *

Metso presents innovations that increase safety and effectiveness

In its 22^nd seminar in conjunction with PAPTAC, Metso presented innovations and acquisitions that aim to improve operator safety and mill effectiveness.

“We are developing products that are using less fibre, less fresh water, less energy, and less manpower,” said Metso Paper North America president Jukka Titinen.

The acquisition of Aker Kvaerner Pulping and Power exactly one year ago provided Metso with new capabilities to ensure a continuous service to its clients, making them as competitive in the fibre industry as they are in the paper sector.

Titinen started his presentation by thanking Metso’s clients, to whom he feels the company owes a large part of their success over the past year.

“It’s more of a recognition for the commitment you have shown, and the time you have set aside to spend with us this afternoon,” he said.

Through a video presentation, Metso presented its dreams for the future, which include innovations like their new press section design. This compact, pre-assembled press fits into standard transport containers and no longer needs cantilever beams to operate.

The big emphasis was on the safety in installation of the press and for the operators, who can access the back of the machine and gain quick access to the major points of interest using a new mobile platform system.

Harri Parnanen, vice president of sales for Metso Paper Canada, noted the record number of orders received by Metso in the past year. About $2.4 billion dollars of profit were generated through the work of 10 500 employees globally.

Metso received at least six major orders for rebuilds and start-ups in North America in 2006, and several others across Europe and Asia.

Two large orders were received in fibre line for Canadian companies, including a complete mill-length logline for ALPAC in Boyle, Alberta.

Metso also provided Shandong Chenming in China with the largest newsprint line in the world.

“It features the latest Metso de-inking technology and newsprint technology,” said Parnanen, underlining the use of ChipWay™, a unique solution for woodhandling that saves on wood.

The company is currently building the world’s largest single drying line, due in August 2007. It will also work on increasing their cooperative agreements, a joint venture to meet their clients’ priorities over a period of four to eight months, plus monthly follow-ups on the effectiveness of the solutions implanted by Metso.

Most impressively, Metso beat several world records for speed for woodfree, LWC, and SC paper machines. The UPM PM 1 in Changshu, China became in 2006 the first woodfree paper machine to operate at a speed of over 1700 metres per minute, recently clocking-in at over 1706 m/min.

Fuelled by new technologies and product innovations like the new generation of ValFlo headboxes that can be used for all paper grades including paperboard, Metso is on track to follow its dreams in 2007.

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A look at the past, present, and future of bleaching

Early Tuesday morning, the mechanical pulping committee presented the Douglas Atack Award for the Best Mechanical Pupling Paper in 2006 to Yonghao Ni for his work on peroxide bleaching in mechanical pulps.

Also, the bleaching committee gave the Howard Rapson Memorial Award for the Best Chemical Pulp Bleaching Paper in Canada for 2006 to Hans Süss and Dan Davies.

The session started with the presentation of the PAPTAC bleaching committee’s annual report, updating committee activities over the past year. Then, Paul F. Earl presented the results of a survey of Canadian mills on pulp washing after the first extraction stage. This PAPTAC-sponsored overview showed that most mills are operating efficiently at this stage, and that mills that use hot water or White Water had cleaner pulps.

To conclude the morning session, Barbara Van Lierop of Paprican, QC presented a historical overview of the bleaching based on predictions made in 1985.

The audience was reminded that the first bleaching actually took place pre-1800s by exposing textile fibres to the sun. In medieval times, bleaching was taken quite seriously, and the penalty for using any improper materials was a criminal record… and death!

A look back at the events that marked the history of bleaching and lead to the modern bleaching process showed noteworthy advances like a 1854 patent for soda pulp bleaching. This process was only used in the industry in 1930, because of problems getting rid of the orange color that appeared when chlorine was added to pulp.

In 1900, an evaluation of the stoichiometry of chlorine and lignin allowed bleachers to measure the amount of chemicals needed during the process rather than add and waste chemicals until they were satisfied with the product.

It wasn’t until the 1930s that progress was made in multi-stage bleaching, when plants in Port Edwards, WI, and LaTuque, QC started using elemental chlorine. This process is still applied today, making multi-stage bleaching a relatively new technology.

Van Lierop also underlined the 1949 ozone pulp bleaching patent that describes ozone as it is being used today, and the rapid implementation of a 1980s advancement on enzymes in pulp bleaching, an uncommon event.

“The chemicals were known, but how to apply them on the pulp was dependant on the efficiency of the equipment,” said Van Lierop.

Using data from a 1985 paper by Norm Liebergott, she compared the technologies of the past and the present. Liebergott was right in 15 out of 17 predictions on the future of bleaching plants, and those that were not put in place are all technologies in development.

They include the absence of chlorides in effluent, shorter retention times by using U-tubes for towers plus high-intensity mixers, and using oxygen at a lower pressure, which is currently the case only in two-stage bleaching.

Van Lierop believes that the bleaching industry should think of itself as a chemical plant, especially for on-the-floor operations. She recommended that PAPTAC recognize the importance of proper and solid testing.

“There’s more emphasis put on the online control, but you still need to calibrate equipment,” she said. “We are finding that there’s not enough emphasis on the control of the mills for proper testing.”

As for the future, Van Lierop expects that pulp properties would be an important issue in the bleaching process.

-30-

New business tools for a changing industry

The Business open session on Tuesday afternoon focused on three distinct areas. First, Mathieu Seguin, an emergency responder from Thurso Pulp, a Fraser Paper mill, discussed the benefits of creating an emergency plan. The full process can take several years, but effective results can be seen after about four years.

The plan itself takes a recommended six steps, including gaining the approval of the executives, verifying laws and codes, and identifying internal and external risks and personnel.

“It’s very important to implement the emergency plan in the field,” said Seguin. “It serves no purpose if it’s left on the shelves. And if someone leaves the company, you need to update your plan so that it is always current.”

A seven-step manual should also be created to foster a structured management in emergency situations. Of course, no two emergencies are the same, so the manual should be a guide that can be adapted to each situation.

Seguin also mentioned that a plan is useful only if it is tested in the field through simulation days, and if the manual is complete and easy to understand.

“When you consult an emergency manual, it is usually in an information situation, even though we really should familiarise ourselves with it earlier.”

A following presentation by consultant François Côté underlined the advantages of a fully-integrated environment and health services management system. Although some services must remain independent, this concept helped Tembec’s Chetwynd mill achieve ISO health and environment certification, all the while remaining flexible.

Next, Bill Haverinen (Albany International) and Ron Labrie (Humeng International) discussed the possibilities of eLearning as a training tool for the pulp and paper industry. This program is based on the need for training that exists in the industry, as a result of less technical support and higher cost pressure.

Some of the advantages mentioned include flexibility, time and content wise, the company sending a consistent message, and the ability for the student to learn at his or her own pace, reviewing content whenever needed, without losing face.

The success of this tool is tracked through a Total Needs Assessment taken before the course is started. The student is quizzed through questions randomly selected from a database. At the end of the course, the student takes a Total Final Assessment that similarly checks what was learned.

Trials at the Longview mill showed a 30% increase in knowledge after only three hours of learning on six modules. Comments received by the program include the experience value of eLearning for a new employee, and the increased level of confidence for all employees.

Possibly the most anticipated event of the session was the R&D tax credit round table. Experts from different backgrounds presented statistics, problems, objectives and tools to help the industry fully understand and take advantage of this Canadian Revenue Agency program.

About $1.8 billion in investment tax credits is awarded to 11,000 projects in a given year, with the possibility of a 20% refund for large companies, applied as far as 20 years back or three years forward.

There are several limits from both the CRA and the industry that currently undermine the mill’s ability to earn a Scientific Research and Experimentation Development credit, so a special committee created documentation that helps both sides come together.

The credit cannot be applied to a research project for adapting standard practices, routine development or troubleshooting. It must have some scientific or technological uncertainty. Also, the product created during the research process cannot be sold, which goes against the reality in the industry, since SR&ED in the pulp and paper industry is usually done as part of the manufacturing process.

One of the committee members, Stéphane Rousseau (Kruger) believes the industry must react and change or it will fail. A simple recommendation?

“Never use the word optimization. Use the word innovation.”

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Biorefineries for a greener industry

The biorefinery symposiums have attracted a lot of attention this week due to the increasing concern for greener practices across the world. The Wednesday morning session on practical steps to a biorefinery was no different.

Christian Messier, the director of the new Centre d’Etude de la Forêt and a forest ecology professor at UQAM, fashioned himself to be an outsider to the industry. However, he presented ideas on farming trees in Canada, and especially in Quebec, that appealed to the pulp and paper industry representatives in the room.

His main concern was to keep everyone happy, environmentalists and industry leaders alike.
“If we want to do transformations with trees, we need to grow them,” said Messier. “I believe we can do both. We can cut trees and we can have biodiversity and protected areas.”

To do so, Messier proposed zoning principles for forests that would ease the struggle between stand complexity, which is better for biodiversity, and wood removal. He proposed a rotation of intensive and super-intensive zoning, coupled with the planting of hybrid trees like larch and poplar. This concept is already in use to grow large quantities of timber in Finland, which has a similar climate to Canada.

Basically, the zoning principle would allocate 60 to 80 per cent of the forest to ecosystem management for biological legacy, at least 12 per cent to protected areas for necessary control, and one to five per cent to super intensive plantations where trees could be grown quickly in 20 to 25 years.

Messier’s productivity chart for different tress species showed a yield per cubic meter per hectare per year that was four to 20 times higher in intensive and super intensive management.

Messier also reassured the audience that research is being made as to the quality, in terms of strength and length of fibre for applications in the pulp and paper industry.

Other presentations included an introduction by Mark Ryans (RPF) on the use of forest feedstock as a biomass source, which dealt with recovery issues like cost, volume and transportation, and an analysis presented by Jim Frederick (Georgia Institute of Technology) on biofuel and fiber co-production in a forest biorefinery, a concept that could create profitable ethanol sales opportunities for the pulp and paper industry if cellulose loss can be eliminated during the wood extraction process.

Also, Garth Gorsky (Ensyn) presented a case study of a biorefinery in the community setting of Renfrew, Ontario. Benefits include readily available biomass from industries in the surrounding area, the extraction of valuable chemicals from the bio oil produced, and cooperation between , and biofuel and fibre co-production in a forest biorefinery.

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Lack of bio means lack of interest for non-wood fibres… for now

With heavy competition from the biorefinery symposium, the non-wood fibre session on Wednesday afternoon had to deal with a lack of “bio” in their paper presentations.

Shijie Liu from SUNY-ESF first discussed pulp fibre size and fine characteristics. He compared the difference between optical and gravimetric measurements of fibre length and width and concluded that optical tools show a richer distribution of results.

Liu then announced that he was stepping down as the chairman of the non-wood fibre committee and that his current TAPPI equivalent, Bob Huerter, would be taking his place. This led to an open discussion between members of the audience and the new members as to what topics the PaperWeek International conference should cover next year.

“Biorefinery is the big thing right now,” said Huerter, “and all the money is going there. But one of the things that no one is looking at is how to get the biomass into the mill, because that’s different for non-wood fibres.”

The non-wood fibre industry will largely be impacted by the pulp and paper industry’s decisions in terms of bioenergy, and a new structure will need to be created for the transformation of flax fibre into fuel, for example.

“It’s tough,” Huerter said, “when Shijie organizes a program, and three papers don’t show (as they did this morning), and you have a competing conference (like biorefinery).”

Huerter does not think that biorefining and non-wood fibres are competing in all aspects. He gave the example of a cornstalk mill in Ioha that reduced its costs and increased its efficiency by adding a gasifier. This technology produced all the steam and power needed for the mill’s operations, making it a truly green mill that produces environmentally-friendly fuel.

“I don’t think we can do this in Quebec or Ontario,” Huerter said, “because we don’t have the right type of biomass. It’s a Prairies project.”

David Carruthers (Saint-Armand) was one of the more vocal audience members, suggesting that the sessions move back towards pulp and paper applications to attract more interest. He was also concerned about the amount of usable agricultural fibres that the industry is wasting in Canada every year.

Carruthers also brought up the possibility of using second-hand clothing for papermaking, a practice that was abandoned by the pulp and paper industry when fabrics became contaminated by synthetic products. With the trend changing back to cotton clothing, a “marvellous” paper-making fibre, non-wood fibre mills should explore the possibility of transforming the volume of post-consumer waste that is, for lack of a better term, going to waste.

All suggestions were good ones for Huerter, who concluded, “It’s nice to talk agriculture, but it needs to go back to pulp and paper making. It needs to become more balanced.”

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That's it for now! Stay tuned...