AC Experts: 2014 Top Five News Stories
Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2014
Algonquin College faculty members and former journalists Dan Pihlainen and Julie McCann weigh in with their top five news stories affecting people living in Ottawa this year.
(Ottawa, December 18, 2014) They were talked about in the hallways and classrooms of Algonquin College, and in coffee shops and offices, around dining room tables, and on talk radio all year long. And finally, from a list of 40 down to five, expert faculty members Dan Pihlainen of the Radio Broadcasting program and Julie McCann of the Journalism program have named their picks for the Top Five Stories of the Year
5. Alfie: “The prodigal son returns,” explains Julie. “Mending the fences with Alfie and allowing him to retire where he belongs makes this the human interest and sports story in Ottawa this year.”
4. City gets set for 2017: “Between federal projects like the Museum of Science and Technology, the National Arts Centre, and Lebreton flats, to city projects like the LRT, it seems like we will be looking at a very different nation’s capital when Canada celebrates its 150th,” says Dan.
3. Uber: “Technology continues to challenge established business models, and our city government insists we have to do things the same way they have been done for 70 years,” adds Dan. “This one incident speaks to a larger issue that will certainly continue to be an issue in 2015.”
2. Ghomeshi fallout: “Jian Ghomeshi was the domino that set many similar stories in motion,” says Julie. “And it is far from over. It has opened up the conversation about sexual assault – online, on the airwaves, and on Parliament Hill.”
1. Parliament Hill incident: “The phrase that was used is, ‘We lost our innocence’ that day,” adds Julie. “Sometimes Ottawa has a reputation as being sleepy. This was a wake-up call. Everyone remembers where they were when Michael Zehaf-Bibeau opened fire. We are only starting to see the consequences for Ottawa as a city and Canada as a nation.”
- Posted in
- News