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U.S. President Barack Obama's public inauguration is happening today (he was privately sworn in yesterday). On this, the official beginning of his second term, the crowd in Washington is smaller, and a lot has happened in the country since America's first black president triumphantly took the oath of office four years ago.
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Why Kate, is that you? You’ve finally decided to pose for a magazine cover, and not just any magazine but Marie Claire South Africa – wait, what?

Duchess Catherine recently appeared on the cover, with a headline that read “Fashion’s new royal icon wears SA’s best local designers*.” But read the fine print, buried amidst the folds of fake Kate’s colourful dress: “Of course she doesn’t. But she should.”

Kate’s head was actually photoshopped onto a model’s body. Inside, the photoshopping continued in illustrations featuring the duchess in clothes from local designers.

Marie Claire editor Aspasia Karras told The Telegraph that “the cover is actually a hyper-real illustration of Kate, meant to be a fan art tribute to fashion’s new royal icon.”

Um, should journalists be creating “fan art”?

Granted, fashion journalism is an entirely different beast than other forms of the craft. But don’t some of the basics that apply to news magazines such as Maclean’s and Report on Business, basics like accuracy and integrity, apply to fashion?

This isn’t the first time in recent weeks that a photoshopped Kate has appeared on a magazine cover. The July 12 cover of The New Republic magazine altered the smile of the Duchess, adding crooked, yellow-stained teeth. Behind her, a tattered U.K. flag waved under the headline “Something’s Rotten: The Last Days of Britain.” This image was obviously meant as political satire, but does it make the alterations acceptable?

Strict guidelines around the use of Photoshop exist in most respected news organizations. Reuters for example, bans photographers from adding or deleting anything from the original image and excessively lighting, darkening or otherwise manipulating an image. Reuters also gives detailed instructions for using specific Photoshop features.

When it comes to fashion though, the line blurs as thighs, waists and blemishes disappear. Critics decry the lack of objectivity, the lack of believability in these images. But New York Magazine’s Amanda Fortini calls this a “quaint puritanical notion.”

While critics argue that fashion photography gives young women unrealistic expectations about their bodies, Fortini suggests they aren’t fake enough.

She writes that these images should be viewed as illustrations or cartoons – not real depictions of real people.

“Too many magazine images nowadays are neither fish nor fowl, neither photographs of integrity nor illustrations of potency. They’re weird in-between creatures, annoying and unsettling.”
If magazines are about ideals and not realities, why not push the fantasy all the way instead of trying to balance between the two, writes Fortini. “The problem isn’t altered photographs; it’s our failure to alter our expectations of them.”

Tell us: Do you think the photoshopped images of Duchess Catherine should be viewed as fantasy art? Or are the photos unethical?

Corina Milic

Adieu Bling Bling and Marie Antoinette. It’s time for Mr. Normal and the Rottweiler to take the stage.

As the dust settles on France’s presidential election – in which Francois “Mr. Normal” Hollande ousted Nicolas “Bling Bling” Sarkozy – the most captivating aspect isn’t the presidents. It’s the women by their sides.

Let’s look at the basic details.

Departing first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy made millions as a supermodel, became a famous songstress, then annoyed most of the French as the president’s new wife’s glamorous life became increasingly out of step with the stark economic reality of, oh, everyone else. Thus the Marie Antoinette comparisons.

Valerie Trierweiler, on the other hand, is a well known journalist nicknamed the Rottweiler for her tenacity, who tends to slap people down - literally and figuratively - if she feels they’re being sexist. And she is not rich. No-one goes into journalism for the money, believe me.

They both have great hair, can wear a mean scarf and make oversized sunglasses look totally workable (although that may be just a French thing).

But the “The Rottweiler” might just end up being more feisty and headline-grabbing than the outgoing glamourpuss.

While Bruni married her man and charmed world leaders and tabloid-readers alike,  Trierweiler isn’t married to Hollande, and she’s dissing anyone who says that will be a problem.

She also plans to keep working at the magazine, where she has stopped covering politics and now writes about the arts. (Cherie Blair did the same thing in the U.K., continuing to work as a lawyer while her husband ran the country, but it’s a rare spouse that chooses that path.)

Never mind what the election meant to the economy – it could have more impact for society. Instead of headline-grabbing style, the French now have assertive feminist arguments and a first woman who is not afraid to slap you.

Will voters be disappointed by the reality of ditching their latest Marie Antoinette (although they did kindly let her keep her head) in favour of someone more like themselves? Or will they sleep happy at night knowing their country is represented by a woman as tough, complex and proudly unmarried as the majority of the French?

Regardless, one thing is clear: There is now an opening for a new leading lady to join U.S. first lady Michelle Obama at the stylish end of world politics.

So get to it, Laureen Harper. The world awaits.

Tenille Bonoguore, guest blog

The decision by a media organization to publish controversial content is often done when the interest of the public is considered greater than the consequences of such publication. The public good versus the privacy of a citizen can even be used as defence by media lawyers in court. And of course these days, with online commenting so simple, the court of public opinion is always the first to rule.

The trick in each case with such content is to decide exactly where to draw the line. This brings us to two very different stories that ran this week by news organizations that decided the public had a right to know.

 In a story that created waves around the world, but especially in the United States, the Los Angeles Times ran a story and two photographs showing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan posing with the body parts of Afghan corpses. The images were two of 18 that had been given to the paper by a soldier who said he wanted to show how command of this unit had fallen apart. The Times verified the images had not been doctored and that the soldier who sent them was legitimate. It contacted the Pentagon, which did not deny the images were of U.S. soldiers, but asked that they not be published. In one shot, soldiers are shown smiling, holding up the severed legs of a man. The images are graphic and gruesome and the Times decided to run them regardless of what the Pentagon asked. It did wait a few days so the soldiers shown could be protected however. The White House has now officially apologized for the behaviour of its soldiers in this case.    

In a very different story, media organizations around Toronto decided to post a video sent by a member of the public, of the mayor getting a takeout meal from the KFC. This mayor, Rob Ford, weighs more than 300 pounds and has made his quest to lose weight is a matter of public record. In fact, he stands on the scales once a week for members of the press so his efforts can be monitored. The shaky recording was taken by a woman from her car, who gave her first name, but not her last and admitted she was also eating some KFC takeout. The question arises over whether the public really needs to know where the mayor gets food.

Here's the Toronto Star's version.  
Here's the Toronto Sun's version, including a comment from the mayor.

Aside from the fact that the U.S. soldier story makes the KFC video look embarrassingly trivial, the debate about whether they should have been published is essentially the same.  

In both cases, the court of public opinion came down on either side of the fence. (As with all online commenting, it also wandered off in a bunch of unrelated directions, but that's a subject for an entirely different blog post.) A lot of criticism, however, was directed toward the media organizations for publishing the content in the first place, made by people who, presumably found the stories worthy enough to read just before they commented.
Here are comments from the L.A. Times

For the record, the image we've used in this blog is of U.S. Defence Secretary Leon Panetta apologizing for the incident with the soldier.

Christine Diemert

This is a guest post from Jeff Hale, who writes the weekly Rundown news feature for MSN.ca News.  

In many of the stories leading up to this week’s sentencing of Graham James, the former junior hockey coach who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his players, the photo that often accompanied them showed James brandishing his award from The Hockey News as the 1989 man of the year. That photo was often alongside stories used on this website.

I was on the staff of The Hockey News then and that photo was a reminder of an event that no matter how well-intentioned at the time, became more unsettling as the horrific extent of James’s crimes were revealed.

It also explains my palpable relief when I found out this week from my former THN colleague and longtime friend Ken Campbell, that James had returned the award.

After James had pleaded guilty this past December to sexually assaulting former NHL star Theo Fleury and his cousin, Todd Holt, when the two were junior hockey players in the 1980s and the 1990s, Ken had written a column revoking the man-of-the-year honour and asking for the return of the award. As Ken notes, it was something of a hollow gesture, coming 15 years after James pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy and another player. But it was still something that needed to be done. “We want to make sure people know James has been deemed unworthy to continue to hold that award,” Ken writes.

The award was given to James for his public stand against violence in hockey, as much a novelty then as it would be today, and for leading the Swift Current Broncos to the Memorial Cup, the junior hockey championship, less than two and a half years after four players died in the crash of the team bus.

That was all fine and good 23 years ago and no one wants to rewrite history now. But it does serve as an example that vigilance, even if it is retroactive, becomes us all. While the photograph, which sits in archives everywhere, can never be reclaimed by The Hockey News, in its small way, the publication has let people know where it stands.

Jeff Hale

Are you waiting for the day the CEO of that Fortune 500 company is named Britney? Our guest news blogger Mary Doyle has some thoughts on that. (Christine Diemert)

(Odd) names in the news

What’s in a name? Well, if it’s Newt or Mitt or Barack, you may have a shot at the highest political office in the U.S., but it will be in spite of your name, not because of it.

Through the decades, uncommon first names like Newt (or Newton) have bounced into and out of popularity lists, but traditional names have dominated.

Now some of the less traditional names are making their way onto Top-10 lists. On the most recent U.S. Social Security list, for example, the No. 4 choice for boys is Jayden, a name that didn’t even track until 1994. Since then it has steadily climbed in popularity, helped along no doubt by the fact that Britney Spears named her second son Jayden.

With more little Jaydens and Aidens (No. 9) and Madisons (No. 9 for girls) and Addisons (No. 11), those names become the new Johns, Thomases, Marys and Susans on the playground. But the non-traditional or trendy names that started showing up more regularly with the baby boomers are still struggling to get through the doors of power in the political or business worlds.

In politics, for example, the names Newt and Mitt and Barack – none of which has ever broken a major Top-100 list – are a departure from the Williams, Georges, Ronalds and Jameses who have populated the White House. You have to go back to 1963 before you run into a name that is not considered common – Lyndon B. Johnson. In the year of Johnson’s birth, in fact, the top names were the more presidential John, William, James and George.

Similarly, in Canada, the prime minister’s office has attracted those with fairly common names – Stephen, Paul, Jean, Kim, Brian, John, Pierre, Joe. Again, it’s the early ’60s when a prime minister with what might be considered an unusual name is sworn in – Lester Pearson. Lester was by no means in the Top 10 in 1897, the year of Pearson’s birth, but it was at least in the Top 100. Today Lester, like Lyndon, is absent from the popularity charts.

And sadly for little Jayden and Aiden, a look at the names of CEOs in Fortune 1000 companies shows that they tend to have traditional first names – John, Robert, James, Richard, etc. Even more sadly for little Madison and Addison, there are too few female CEOs to draw any meaningful conclusions about women’s names.

Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, with their very non-traditional names, went almost entirely in the opposite direction with their kids. Newt’s daughters are Kathy and Jackie. Mitt started out of the box, with Taggart, but then retreated to traditional, with Matthew, Joshua, Benjamin and Craig.

Often the parents leading the way in off-the-chart naming are celebrities. Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have little Apple (no ranking at all) and Moses (No. 510). Gwen Stefani has Kingston (which appeared on the list only in 2006, the year of his birth) and Zuma (no ranking). David Bowie was an early adopter in 1971, with Zowie. And Canadian Bryan Adams, whose first name is only slightly uncommon because of the spelling variation, had Mirabella Bunny (yes, Bunny) in 2011.

Sarah Palin, a celebrity/politician with a very traditional first name, went wildly untraditional with Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.

As the numbers of strangely named little ones increase, what will become of them as they grow up? The stats don’t look good so far. In Canada, a scroll through the list of accomplished citizens who have been appointed to the highest level of the Order of Canada turns up no Apples or Zowies or Bunnys. Nor do the names show up on the list of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients in the U.S.

But maybe by the time little Apple grows up, her name will be so common as to be annoying. If not, she can always take a leaf from Zowie Bowie’s book. He changed his name to Duncan Jones and is now an award-winning director.

Mary Doyle

At least once a year even the most cynical among us gets caught up in the holiday spirit and takes time to report some good news. That would be the progress of Santa as he makes his way around the world on Christmas Eve.

It's really the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, that tracks the big guy, mapping his progress and showing everyone where he is on his route. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet believers can follow the trip through points on an interactive map complete with images of his stops and even some video. (NORAD's Santa tracker feature.) 

NORAD, a joint U.S., Canada defence command, is really there to keep an eye on possible threats to either country and, as the CBC is told in this Christmas Eve video, there's no need to worry, as it can still do that while also tracking Santa. (NORAD explains its Santa tracker.)

Some of us are old enough to recall watching television news on Christmas Eve as children to see whether Santa was doing okay on his route. Apparently NORAD was at it even then, as this tracking has been going on for 55 years. Of course now you can follow the jolly fellow's progress on your smart phone.

So, good news shared. And for those of you rolling your eyes and questioning the sincerity of this Santa tracking sentiment from a member of the media, we'll share a story to keep you guessing. Drunk Santa arrested at Regina mall. 

Christine Diemert

As every year ends, news organizations cast an eye over the past 12 months and start to make lists. There are biggest stories, newsmakers of the year, best sports teams, most outrageous quotes, you get the picture. Oh yes, there is also a look at the best photos  and most iconic photos of the year.

As it turns out, 2011, as a year in news, was remarkable. Most of us in the business cannot recall a year where so many huge news events toppled onto one another as though they were up against some sort of world-ending deadline. If you are a conspiracy theorist, you will believe that’s exactly why everything happened when it did, but that’s another story.

So where to start? There were terrible natural disasters, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami leading the headlines. In Canada, a wildfire wiped out nearly half the community of Slave Lake, Alta.

On the political front, Canadians bored with campaigns struggled to survive another federal election, at least until Jack Layton single-handedly pulled the NDP from also-ran status to Official Opposition in a house with a Conservative majority. As he triumphed, two other leaders tumbled, their Liberal and Bloc Quebecois parties left in shambles. Then, not long after that political victory came a national heartbreak, when Layton died of cancer. The outpouring of grief across the country was unprecedented.

Meanwhile, around the world shouts of dissent were being heard in the Middle East and North Africa. Uprisings flourished in country after country in what became known as the Arab Spring. Dictators were toppled, one after the other. Included in that rebellion was Libya, where leader Moammar Gadhafi was eventually driven from power and killed.

Then there was the financial crisis. European countries, where finances had been mismanaged for decades, were finally starting to crumble under debt. Long-time leaders, such as Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, were forced to resign as the European Union worked to keep itself and the rest of the world’s major economies, from falling into a depression.

The year was also shocking for the number of newsmakers who died. The world’s most wanted man, Osama bin Laden, was killed by U.S. Navy Seals in Pakistan. The young, troubled soul diva Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home. Apple co-founder and visionary Steve Jobs died of cancer at age 56. There are many more.

In a year of so many tragic events there were some good news stories. The wedding of Britain’s Prince William to Kate Middleton captured the attention of billions of people around the world. Then their first official visit as a married couple was to Canada, where they were treated like stars.   

On Thursday, Canadian Press will announced its newsmaker of the year. This is the person deemed by news editors across the country to have been the biggest name in the news for the year. Next week CP will announce the biggest news story. On Wednesday it released the most iconic photographs for the year.

I’m pretty sure I can guess who the newsmaker will be. Time magazine named the protester as the newsmaker of the year. Canadians will, I think, pick someone else.

We’d love to hear your opinions. Who was the newsmaker of the year. And what was the biggest news story in your estimation? Why?

Christine Diemert

Satirical news made real headlines several times this week.

The first was an encounter comedian Mary Walsh had with Rob Ford, when she and a "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" crew ambushed the Toronto mayor in the driveway of his home. Dressed as her character Marg Delahunty, she confronted Ford with cameras rolling.

Such an ambush is nothing new for Canadian politicians, but most have learned to stand mute while being mocked by Walsh. Ford is not one of them and he called police. That was the first headline and at most, it helped bring viewers to the CBC show Tuesday night and left Ford's detractors rolling their eyes.

Things went further however, when a CBC reporter followed up a couple of days later with a story about what happened when Ford called 911 about the TV crew. Sources from the Toronto police told the reporter Ford was combative and swore at the dispatchers. And so the headlines grew and stories showed up on most major Canadian news sites. For a while in the morning Rob Ford was trending on Twitter. Many hours after the follow-up story, Ford apologized for his profane outburst, which as news cycles go, was a bonus. That first story of the day about his swearing was starting to get a bit stale. As they say in the news business, the story really got legs.

Meanwhile, as people watched the Ford saga unfold, Canadian comedian Rick Mercer was also making headlines, but this time for being serious. On his TV show "Rick Mercer Report" he focused his weekly rant on teen suicide, bullying and homosexuality. Where he usually commented on politics, he instead called out to adults take a greater responsibility to educate and support bullied teens. He also called out to members of the gay community to step up and make themselves known as role models. 

The video of his rant went viral and Rick Mercer was also trending on Twitter for most of the day. Mercer was commenting on a recent story about a bullied gay Ottawa teen that made headlines when his father spoke out. 

There are times real-life news is so strange you don't need satirists. But if this week is any example, they certainly have a way of moving stories forward.  

Christine Diemert