Rob Ford coverage explodes in new media era

Toronto police announced their possession of a video allegedly showing Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack cocaine on Thursday. News and analysis erupted from traditional media outlets and social media commenters alike as Police Chief Bill Blair and Ford himself hosted media conferences in quick succession. It was an electrifying moment for media. But their manner of reporting on the story revealed as much about the new era of news as it did about the city's attitude towards its mayor. Jeffrey Dvorkin, a former vice-president of news for National Public Radio and former managing editor with CBC Radio, is lecturer and director of the journalism program at University of Toronto Scarborough and executive director of the News Ombudsman Organization. He explained how the Ford scandal has clairifed a new relationship between online and print media for U of'T News . Did anything surprise you in regards to coverage of the Ford story yesterday? - It was a great piece of investigative journalism—among the best I've seen in my career.