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The Back Story

with Gabrielle Giroday

  • African Mafia: the power of a name

    Is there anyone I hang out with who didn't hear me tell them to run -- not walk -- to Cinematheque to see The Storytelling Class?

    The documentary about a bunch of multicultural youth at inner-city Gordon Bell High School made me proud to be a Winnipegger, if for nothing else than the wicked kids the documentary showcased. It also drove home some themes I think about a lot as a reporter, about telling true stories.

    View Full Post | 25/01/2010 2:17 PM | 4

  • Police chopper donut runs and juror cats?

    Sometimes, the things I cover can be quite dark and disturbing. It’s the nature of the territory.

    However, I have to say a lot of the people I come into contact with are amazingly resilient and buoyantly cheerful.

    View Full Post | 21/01/2010 6:17 PM | 4

  • A ‘hot’ teacher and brave hockey player

    I recently wrote about how male victims of sexual assault might face social stigma in coming forward in ways that women don’t
    (thanks to a reader who eloquently pointed out that a sex assault series I wrote focused mostly on women, not men).

    I’m not a huge hockey fan, beyond the fact that both my brothers have a love for the game. I’m working on it, though.  Anyways, I found hockey player Theo Fleury’s very public disclosure about his sex abuse and the subsequent Winnipeg Police Service investigation really interesting.

    View Full Post | 18/01/2010 10:54 AM | 2

  • Streetz rocks. Chris Brown, woman beater, doesn’t.

    You may have heard that classic adage of journalism: "If it bleeds, it leads."

    All too often, I hear people lament the media just focuses on nasty crime events and ignores all the good done in the community.

    View Full Post | 12/01/2010 11:22 AM | 1

  • Bus shelter deaths and sex assaults

    I recently completed a series on sex assaults that I have to say was one of the most rewarding things I've taken on since I started the crime beat last March. This blog is about the back story of what I cover, but one basic of the back story for this series is this: sexual assault is a difficult topic that is hard to talk about and mostly ignored in media coverage given its prevalence, unless it's a particularly violent, random or startling attack.

    Everyone who agreed to chat with me for the series really put themselves out there.

    View Full Post | 8/01/2010 10:58 AM | 0

  • On Compton vs. Winnipeg

    Some people go to California to relax. I tried my best.

    You can take the crime reporter off Selkirk Avenue, but the undisputed winner of my vacation was a visit to Compton.

    View Full Post | 14/12/2009 8:33 AM | 3

  • Winnipeg runaways, Ottawa politicians

    It’s hard to sense sometimes which stories will blow up and which ones will sink quickly and quietly from public consciousness, barely making a whisper. Some of the stuff I’ve written that’s gotten top play is not what you might expect.

    (Like Shadow the cat, a Winnipeg feline who scared away a postal worker and ended up making it on CNN.

    The tough ones are the stories that deserve way more attention than they get. I’m not going to point out any examples here, but I will tell you I keep a glow-in-the-dark plastic horse on my book shelf at home to remind me of a story that got away.

    View Full Post | 23/11/2009 1:17 PM | 3

  • Surprise Canadian role in child porn

    Child porn tends to drive an extreme reaction in all of us: total disgust. The issue is supposedly coated in extremism because the thought is truly abhorrent to most.

    However, the promise of battling child porn has an interesting effect on policymakers. I often think of the child porn issue as one of the least politically divisive things out there: an issue that unites lawmakers, interest groups, police, and voters of all stripes.

    View Full Post | 19/11/2009 4:09 PM | 0

  • The 14-year-old who fought back

    Reporters shouldn’t show bias, right? It’s a no brainer.  That being said, a very wise journalist once told me that if you have a bias to admit it up front.

    So here goes: There’s a 5’1, 102-pound high school student out there in our city who I think kicks butt.

    View Full Post | 17/11/2009 1:48 PM | 11

  • The madam, the teen, and the teen’s angry mom

    I had the chance to spend a lot of time at the courthouse last week and this week.

    The drama of the courthouse plays out differently from the cop beat – it’s like comparing a rough-and-tumble sporting event to an impeccably directed play.

    View Full Post | 12/11/2009 10:44 AM | 3

  • Zombies attack?

    Let’s be frank – is there anyone who didn’t chuckle a bit at the insane 500 person turn-out for Winnipeg’s growing Zombiewalk?

    Well, apparently there is. 

    View Full Post | 29/10/2009 2:31 PM | 0

  • African reaction to the Winnipeg police

    Last week, in the midst of the Unger story hullabaloo a much-overlooked report came out that touched on some pretty thorny issues to do with race and policing.

    (If you’re looking for the report on the link, go to the yellow part at the top left of the page, and scroll down to reports and click on Follow-up on Newcomers' Discussion Group Summary)

    View Full Post | 26/10/2009 11:13 AM | 10

  • Gangs of Brazil

    Winnipeggers, as you prepare for another long, cold winter, do yourself a favour and pick up the 2002 film City of God from your local video store.

    The film is possibly the best one I have ever watched (twice), never mind the gorgeous South American cinematography that makes our climate feel about 20C warmer just by flipping the movie on.

    View Full Post | 19/10/2009 11:04 AM | 2

  • Not just another vigil

    Last night, I went to a vigil for the Sisters in Spirit organized by the Mothers of Red Nations.

    The weather was very cold, but this year the ceremony was particularly poignant for a lot of people present due to the increased attention the deaths of murdered and missing Aboriginal women has garnered.

    View Full Post | 5/10/2009 10:56 AM | 0

  • Winnipeg's Most Wanted hit it big

    Det. Sgt. Clyde Raven means business.

    When the Winnipeg Police Service officer and Emily Cablek got up in front of a roomful of reporters earlier this month to plea for information about two kidnapped children, they said they were going all-out in their media blitz. And they did.

    View Full Post | 20/08/2009 11:44 PM | 0

  • What the Police Chief didn’t say

    It’s hard admitting you’re wrong – but I feel like I have to be as straight-forward as I can with readers so they know what my approach is and how I do my job.

    So what am I so troubled about?

    View Full Post | 18/06/2009 5:46 PM | 6

  • Gang girls and police praise

    Sometimes, I prefer to let a little fiction do the talking.

    As is the case with a book I bought last night at Grant Park McNally, An Inner City Girl Like Me.

    View Full Post | 17/06/2009 12:23 PM | 3

  • Spanish words for a dead man

    Enlarge Image

    Evaristo Caniuman (FAMILY HANDOUT)

    I've had a story chewing on me since last Friday.

    That's the day I started learning about 60-year-old Evaristo Caniuman, the city's seventh homicide victim of the year.

    View Full Post | 22/04/2009 2:11 PM | 0

  • Am I reverse sexist? Good lord.

     Tuesday night, a spectacular story on two young female pilots and their incredible belly landing spawned a newsroom debate that had me questioning how true my feminist roots really are.

    I had a fascinating discussion with a male editor tonight – who wishes to go unnamed – on a story I think is great news when the reading public needs it most.

    View Full Post | 3/03/2009 11:09 PM | 15

  • Stop whining about the economy (myself included)

    Enlarge Image

    Kim and James Wood (ERIN WALLIS PHOTOGRAPHY)

    Let’s be frank, this year has been the time we all want to curl up with a bucket of ice cream and go to town.

    (Does the word collapse mean anything to you? Did I mention I really mean ‘I’ in the statement above, specifically if you’re offering chocolate chip cookie dough?)

    That’s why, frankly, it’s times like this people like Kim Wood and James Wood  come into your life.

    Please, put down that cookie dough down. Slowly.

    Hotel Lobbyists musician James Wood is still struggling with a brain injury from a crash that happened near Brandon in September, shortly after his wedding.

    He and his wife Kim got to take on the whole ‘in sickness and in health’ thing after less than five weeks of marriage.

    After the crash, James went into a coma and suffered a broken pelvis, fractured ribs and brain damage from a fractured skull.

    Since Kim, a pediatric nurse, has already spent much of her life figuring out how to live with diabetes and cystic fibrosis , they probably had their plates full. (median age those with cystic fibrosis live to? 37 years)

    But no whining.  The two actually contacted the Free Press – along with Christine Black, James’ mom – to say how grateful they were to Manitobans.

    Grateful? Now? What? Really? Really, really?

    I chatted with them recently, the couple’s voices thick with emotion as they described excited they are for their future.

    All of the sudden the hysteria around the global financial meltdown seemed a bit, well, much. And I just felt plain old lucky.
    Here’s the original letter, unedited and in full:
     
    Dear Editor

    We would like to pay tribute to some wonderful people in Winnipeg who came to the support of our family in a time of crisis. Twenty seven year  old James Wood, singer/song writer and teacher was critically injured  in a motor vehicle accident near Brandon, Manitoba on Sept. 25, 2008.  

    Thanks to the incredible care given him beginning at the scene of the  accident through to the SICU and step down unit at Winnipeg Health  Sciences Centre. He is making an amazing recovery.

    Our heartfelt thanks go to the ambulance crew, the truck driver who parked his rig across the road blocking traffic so James would not be run over, the doctor at Brandon Hospital who worked so hard to  stabilize James and transfer him quickly to Winnipeg, Dr. Parry  Gray, Dr. Michael West, Dr. McCarthy, Dr. Tudesko, Dr. Joe Silvaggio, their  colleagues and the nurses and  support staff who saved James life. 

    They provided excellent care for James ensuring the best possible chance for full recovery. As well, their patience and thoughtfulness was of significant support to his family.

    We will never forget the extraordinary kindness of the firefighters under the leadership of  Alex Forrest who ensured the family's needs were taken care of. They went over and above the call of duty to support the family who were so far away from their homes on Vancouver Island.  Their kindness and generosity was immensely appreciated.

    James wife, Kim has cystic fibrosis and diabetes and must work very hard to maintain her own health.  Members of the Winnipeg Chapter of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation including Bill and Sandra Johnston provided warm and generous support for Kim and her Mom.  

    Other amazing people who jumped in to help were the CF clinic nurse, Pat Haines and pharmacist Lyall Meyers.
     
    Many people from Winnipeg stepped forward to offer their support including Barb Petrowski and a woman whose name we never learned who quietly put a handful of bills into James mother's hand and kept returning to check on our family.

    We would also like to recognize and thank Jack Jonasson from the Lo Pub who organized several fund raisers to help relieve some of the financial burden for the family as a result of the devastating accident.

    James is now an in patient  at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver. He is working very hard to recover from his injuries.

    Kim spends her time with James or doing the many treatments necessary to help her stay healthy. She is currently on leave from her job as a nurse but looks forward to returning to work as soon as possible.

    Kim and James will be forever grateful for the support and generosity of their new Manitoba friends.

    With much gratefulness,
    the Black and Wood families
    Campbell River, Nanaimo and Vancouver, B.C.

    View Full Post | 18/02/2009 10:34 PM | 1

  • Sex, Pledges and Teenage Desire

    In journalism pieces, there’s what’s known as a talker.

    And, I assure you, the piece running today had talker written all over it from the second we heard about the True Love Waits pledge ceremony. Check the video my colleague Tyler Walsh made if you want to get a better feel.  

    My editor Julie Carl gets the kudos for spotting this story.

    The truth is – no matter you feel about making a promise “to honour God with your bod” by being sexually abstinent before marriage – any time teens and sex comes up, everyone tends to have a strong opinion.

    And frankly, many of those people probably are sticking their noses in exactly where they don’t belong, making judgements on sexual behaviour for kids from wildly different backgrounds.

    I’m not going to be one of them.

    What I can say is that to my own surprise, after listening to a variety of people chat about the matter, especially the kids themselves, I felt my own initial perspective shifting. That’s good.

    I’m not convinced every Canadian teen or youth who takes a pledge will stick to it until marriage.

    However, the kids I spoke to seemed to feel very empowered by the decision that they didn’t have to have sex.

    And in a world that includes messaging to teenagers from TV shows like Gossip Girl (anyone remember the shameful OMFG ad?), I can’t help but feel for any teen who’s brave enough to opt out.

    I was impressed when I interviewed Pastor Chris Jordan that he was very aware of potential controversy around the ceremony he’s planning, and seemed very open to others challenging his views. I was also amazed at the complex and nuanced opinions many people I spoke to about pledge ceremonies brought forward, views that were not absolute and extremely well-informed around public health issues.

    It’s also important to keep in mind the context of where this ceremony will occur: in a small town where there’s still a hand-painted mural of a Canadian soldier on the front of the local grocery store.

    Then there’s Janet Rosenbaum, one of the top U.S. experts on this, who has a fabulous blog where she examines adolescent risk behaviour.

    There’s links to her research which indicates teens who take pledges face more risk when they decide to have sex than those that don’t.  For all the statistical focus, this is one researcher who has a sense of humour (check out her blog over the controversy on True Love Waits sweatpants at K-Mart), which is why I am sure her work has made it Saturday Night Live.

    My only definitive quibble with the abstinence pledge movement? The festishization of viriginity with gaudy mementoes: like expensive silver rings to mark a pledge. Yick.

    To note, Jordan specifically decided not to include these items in his ceremony.

    Another thing I’d have loved to include? The growth of these abstinence pledge ceremonies in an international development context, like in the Philippines and parts of Africa. Proponents of True Love Waits say it’s helping stem HIV/AIDS in countries like Uganda.

    Let the debate begin. Oh vey.

    View Full Post | 14/02/2009 1:53 PM | 2

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