Canada's Northern Problem

Over the past several years, there has been much discussion about Canada's North and protecting our sovereignty in the Arctic Archipelago. Much of this talk has focused on military and international diplomacy solutions.

Little attention has been paid to the region's inhabitants, the Inuit. Thirty-three thousand Inuit are spread across across the massive Nunavut territory, living in 25 settlements (accessible only by air). They face a myriad of challenges whose roots stem from the transition from a nomadic to sedentary lifestyle, forced relocation to the High Arctic (eg. Resolute and Grise Fiord), and the devastating effects of the residential school system.

In Nunavut, the suicide rate is 40 times higher than in the rest of Canada and the crime rate is more in line with South Africa than the southern provinces. As the territory passes its twelfth anniversary, it is faced with serious social issues that continue to compound.

The Globe and Mail's Patrick White wrote an excellent, in-depth portrait of trials and tribulations of Canada's largely forgotten northern people. It's a long, but extremely educational read about the struggles of our fellow citizens.

Negative PR and sports labour unrest...not limited to North America

It's interesting to note that unchecked greed is not something isolated to North American professional sports.

While the National Football League (the billionaires) and the players (the millionaires) fight not just a labour, but a public relations battle (hears and minds), everything is not rosy in Spanish futbol.

The Spanish government recently decided that one La Liga game per matchday must be shown on free television. This is the equivalent of the Canadian government mandating that Hockey Night in Canada must exist or the American government saying that CBS has a legal right to air Sunday afternoon football.

The concept of sports on non-pay channels in North America is pretty-well accepted. Not so in Spain, apparently. La Liga and its member teams have taken the Spanish government to court over the decision, claiming it will effect their revenue streams. If the decision is changed, the league will collectively go on strike.

This can't be good pr for a league that pays some of the highest salaries in soccer and has some of the largest revenue-grossing teams.

Social Media Slam Dunk

Ah, it's that time of year again. The temperatures are rising, the snow is melting, and Winnipeg is beginning to turn into one gigantic, dirty puddle. Beyond that, another sure sign that its almost spring is that March Madness kicked off on Thursday.



The 68-team, three week NCAA Men's College Basketball Championship is treated like a religion by hundreds of thousands on both sides of the border. The prospect of seeing, not only college's best teams, but also the prospect of a "minnow" knocking off a "big fish" makes casual basketball viewers fanatics for a short period of time each year.



In the world of Web 2.0, March Madness is a perfect avenue for social media marketing. Facebook was one of the first social media websites to take advantage of this, when they launched a NCAA bracket pool in 2007. This year they've expanded on this app, by partnering with Citizen Sports and having a $5,000 grand prize. For the iPhone, Citizen Sports offers a mobile version of its Facebook app.

Talk Hoops offers an app for the iPhone that provides in-depth information, news, and game scores about all 68 teams taking part in the Madness.

The NCAA and tournament broadcaster CBS haven't been left behind in the social media derby. The NCAA offers on-demand streaming of all tournament games, while CBS has an app that allows you to watch every game on your iPhone.

All these new social media avenues for the tournament are a goldmine for their creators and everyone out there jonesing for more coverage of March Madness.

With these new apps you have no chance of missing the 2011 version of Valparaiso-Mississippi or Princeton-UCLA.

IPPP Time

Wow time has flown by over the past few years. It feels like only yesterday that I was sitting in the multi-purpose room at Red River College's Roblin Centre at the Exchange District Campus, having the Creative Communications program explained to me. But, in reality it has been almost a year and a half since this event. In the meantime, countless written, audio, and visual assignments have been produced, I chose public relations as my career path, and I, along with roughly 70 of my peers completed an IPP.

What exactly is an IPP? In order to graduate from Creative Communications, students must complete an Independent Professional Project. This can be a written project, audio or video project, or a promotional project. Students pitch their idea in the form of a written proposal and to a panel of instructors for approval. They then have roughly a year to complete this project.

I chose to produce a travel blog focusing on Manitoba's stunning and diverse provincial parks. Thanks to the support of the Winnipeg Free Press, I was able to market my project by having it featured prominently on the front page of their website. Manitoba Parks: A(sessippi) to Z(ed Lake) ended up being a great success.

Next week marks the completion of the IPP, when every Creative Communications student is tasked with presenting their project in front of an audience of their peers, instructors, family, and media industry professionals. The Independent Professional Project Presentations (IPPPs) will take place Wednesday, March 9 to Friday, March 11 at the Winnipeg Convention Centre. Students will each have 10 minutes to present their project and all the work that they have accomplished.

If you have the time, stop by and learn about Manitoba Parks: A(sessippi) to Z(ed Lake) and Steve Dreger's South African World Cup Odyssey. Watch Jeff Ward's feature film, "The Trainman" and learn about "Debuts" thanks to Lennie Eulalia's documentary, among many other excellent and thought provoking projects.

If you have the time

Exploitative PR?

This is from Michael Grange's blog for The Globe and Mail. He discusses the UFC taking advantage of good pr coming from a man who fended of an attack by a mass murderer.

Which brings us to the dramatic events in a New York City subway station earlier this week, where a Maksim Gelman, 23, accused of killing four people in a weekend crime spree, allegedly attacked Joe Lozito with a butcher knife.

The burly father of two survived the first swipe and told reporters he used a wrestling move he picked up from his years of watching UFC fights on pay per view to help subdue his attacker.

"It was my instinct to get him down," Lozito said. "Like getting an opponent down in MMA, what do you do? You go for the legs. When we were on the ground he was flailing at me with that knife. I just wanted to get control of that right wrist. In the process, he got me on my thumb and left triceps, but I was aiming towards getting control of his wrist for sure."

Dana White, UFC president, invited Lozito to be the guest of honour at the upcoming UFC card across the river from New York, in Newark. This picked up heavy news coverage from the New York media.

New York State is the last major market in North America that refuses to sanction mixed martial arts events. This good news story will likely go a long way to convincing state legislators to change their minds.

When I first read the blog post, I thought that it was a good PR move, but after thinking about it a little more it seemed a little exploitative. Four people were killed by the attacker. Taking advantage of any PR, for financial gain, out of this story doesn't quite seem right?

Blogosphere, what do you think?

Hockey goes Pink

It's almost surreal to imagine grown men shooting, hitting, and fighting in a pink jersey, but in Anchorage this February 14th that will be the case.

Minor league sports is a cutthroat business. In order to maintain a small, loyal fanbase and attract new customers, teams have gone to every extreme to draw fans to the arena, diamond or stadium. Minor league hockey is no exception and promotional jerseys have become the norm, with Valentine's Day jerseys being worn by hulking, behemoths every year.

These promotional jersey's have become a public relations staple for minor league hockey teams and obviously have been proven to be a successful tactic, as teams constantly trot them out, year after year. Valentine's Day jerseys are just the tip of the iceberg though. Teams have commemorated New Year's Eve, Christmas, beach night, and Milwaukee legend/Mr. Belvedere star Bob Ueker, among many others.

The Alaska Aces, of the ECHL, join a long line of team's that have tried to draw in couples celebrating Valentine's Day. Here are some of the best of the worst.

Bakersfield Condors



Las Vegas Thunder




Grand Rapids Griffens

New ideas at the FreeP

It's nice to see that the Winnipeg Free Press is taking steps to evolve and diversify at a time when the future of media industry is uncertain and constantly in a state of flux.

I was just reading an article about the "News Cafe" that the paper plans to open in the Exchange in the spring. The Free Press describes the cafe as a place that people can come for food and interaction with journalists. I like the idea of having working journalists in the downtown area, instead of just operating out of the Free Press offices on the edge of the city.

This new office/cafe seems like an ideal spot for more co-operative work between the Free Press and journalism students in Red River College's Creative Communication program. That seems like a win/win for both parties involved.

Whether this new Free Press venture lives up to its potential remains to be seen, but it's nice to know that the "old guard" of the Winnipeg media is thinking outside the box. The staff has introduced a lot of new features in the last year, including Winnipeg Free Press TV, live-tweeting of events, interactive chats, and large amounts of video content. The Free Press seems to be catching on to the interactive role that media plays at the present time.