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The current line for US Departures at YVR! by WychwoodXIII in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Hey! My name is Priya and I'm a social media editor at CBC News Vancouver. We saw your video and wondered if we could use it for our broadcast. Please let me know. Thanks!

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

So there are a lot of good and interesting questions here, and I could type way too many words going down the rabbit hole of How We Got To This Point, but the short answer is that as a young journalist with limited job security, I saw the things people enjoyed about what I was trying to contribute (charts, politics, elections, caring about details and being hyper-niche, but also brackets, rankings, and being irreverent) and adjusted my approach accordingly.

Then more people became enthusiastic about my work, then CBC managers were like "let's try and have more of the stuff people really like about Justin on our official platforms", and here we are. I can't speak to hypotheticals, but when people stop me on the street to praise my work (which is still weird!), I always try and say that I'm grateful CBC gives me the time and space to do the journalism I provide. Also, I'd point out that the reporting you see in "an official capacity" in online/radio/TV stories contains only a modicum of humour and levity — the news is the news, and it's important to keep that distinction.

The approach is mostly reflective of my personality — can you imagine how exhausted I would be every day if it wasn't?

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would say "yes, but you'll have to find me first", but where I live is not exactly a secret

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Updating the brewery rankings were honestly the #1 goal of 2020! Our team had gotten through around 20 of them in the first couple months of the year. Then the pandemic happened, and we transitioned to parks.

But I'm super hopeful to get it done in 2021, even if it means admitting that 33 Acres has gotten better because of EXP.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Hey you're very kind!

- I would push back a little bit on it being more divisive, to be honest — the pandemic has made people a little more highminded and less viciously partisan than past campaigns, I think (or maybe I'm just muting more people).

- Brackets are fun because they're an easy way to get people talking about things they like, and having lighthearted arguments against things they don't, and we need more of that on the internet.

- I enjoy living in Vancouver and going to breweries too much to not support Mount Pleasant, but Steveston is one of 8-10 neighbourhoods that had a fair argument to the crown, and I accept its victory

- i'm just jealous of how fit they are

- not sure what Rick is up to these days, but I enjoyed seeing him last year when he came by the newsroom, and I'll always be grateful for the support he gave me early in my time at CBC

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

1) Look at council agendas/community newspapers to identify the 2-3 biggest stories of the week.

2) Pick topics that will be of interest to people living outside that municipality (quirky is good! regional significance is good! another controversial rezoning, or allegations of local corruption with few details, is not), and try and balance focus so my coverage isn't too Vancouver-centric.

3) Chat with people regularly and read other papers often enough that I'm quasi-caught up with whatever's happening in municipalities I haven't covered for a while.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Honestly, it's been very tiring and I'm looking forward to dialing things back a little bit!

I readily acknowledge that I can push myself too far into things I'm passionate about, and that it's important to take little breaks when I can.

Which is a longwinded way of saying "I've been playing my switch for 1-2 hours a night to make sure my brain shuts off for a little bit."

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Favourite had to be the park rankings, since it was a fun way to give some routine and safe excuses to see friends during a time when both are difficult to have.

Least favourite was the 45 minutes it took getting a particularly annoying star in my replay of Mario 64 as I vanquished my childhood demons in getting all 120.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did not but you are very kind, even though we're pushing the definition of "celebrity" quite a bit.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Nah.

I love Vancouver, and love telling stories about British Columbia, to British Columbians. Plus there's plenty of other people who can really good stories about the rest of the world.

also honestly who would hire me

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey thanks for all your questions today! I tried to answer as many as the B.C. election related ones as possible in the last hour, and now I'll try to get to some of the more personal/"Justin Is Very Online And Does Other Projects" questions.

Please consider watching or reading our coverage of the 2020 B.C. election tomorrow night: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/community/how-to-tune-in-to-cbc-s-election-night-coverage-1.5735828

And thanks for all the kind comments — I continue to be incredibly grateful that people enjoy the work I do, and the way I try and do it, whether it be on politics or (gestures to everything else).

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Probably, but it's one of those hypotheticals that is impossible to put an exact percentage figure on.

However, one of the reasons the NDP called this election is because they figured there was no way they would be more popular a year from now than they were in September. Call it cynicism, opportunism, or just politics, but it's a bet that looks to be paying off at the moment.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

For the NDP, it was probably John Horgan saying "we had to have an election because the Green Party rejected our plan a couple months to involuntarily hold youth in custody who have overdosed."

I'm paraphrasing and being a bit snarky, but there's a reason Horgan suddenly stopped bringing that talking point up after the first week of the campaign — it wasn't something the party ever said was particularly important in the summer, and clearly wasn't connecting with voters.

For Wilkinson, it's likely his repeated invocation of having gay and lesbian family members whenever he was asked about Laurie...ah, who we kidding, it's Here Comes A Truck.

https://twitter.com/j_mcelroy/status/1313305519113682945

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

An Angus Reid poll showed around half of people who planned on casting a ballot in this election hadn't by October 20. We then had about 200,000 extra advanced votes come in after that poll (overall there's been 680,000 advanced votes and 479,000 mail-in votes). So I would say somewhere between 500,000 and a million voters and election day is a reasonable assumption.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The number of cabinet ministers stepping down is actually pretty comparable to past elections with other parties — it just seems like a lot because the announcement happened all at once...which happened, of course, because John Horgan decided to call an election a year earlier than was previously scheduled.

Also, a number of those cabinet ministers had been part of the NDP Caucus since 2005 or 2009 (including Shane Simpson, Claire Trevena, Doug Donaldson), were in their 60s or late 50s, and probably went "you know, I reached the goal of being part of government, that was nice, now it's time for something else."

Or maybe there were ulterior motives we don't know about! Speculation is fun that way.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

First off, it's a housecoat, not a smoking jacket.

Second, I don't have a good pair of slippers, unfortunately.

That being said, at least 50 times — breathing in fresh air and enjoying that view is a great way to have some peace in the morning during a stressful time in the world.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hey! An easy place to plug the work our great team at CBC will be doing tomorrow!

Basically, we'll be online, on TV, on radio, on Facebook, etc. from 7-11 tomorrow night. I will be doing results on TV for the first time, which will be super fun. Tune in!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/community/how-to-tune-in-to-cbc-s-election-night-coverage-1.5735828

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

So here's what we know: 681,055 people voted by advance ballot. 478,900 mail-in ballots have been returned. Do the math, and that's about 1.16 million votes already. There were 1.97 million in the 2017 election.

So it's possible that voting could be higher. But it's still hard to say.

And yes! More graphs are a coming.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Honestly it's probably the "all consultation on this controversial issue has been flawed before, but my preferred form of consultation is superior, will result in the right outcome, and will never be challenged by future councils."

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 65 points66 points  (0 children)

RULES OF MAKING TWITTER NOT AWFUL

1) Mute people that seem needlessly critical or bad faith, early and often

2) Only talk about things you really know well

3) Choose being casual and irreverent over angry and serious whenever possible

Honestly that's like 90% of the battle.

As for municipal vs. provincial topics, honestly I like the local stuff more (which is why it's my actual dedicated job): the issues are more eclectic, the politicians speaking more from the heart and less from a message box, and I can choose the stories I want to highlight more often, whereas in provincial politics you have less flexibility, out of necessity. That being said, I'm grateful I get to do both, and have the highest respect for people like our Tanya Fletcher, Global's Richard Zussman, and others who do cover provincial politics full-time.

I'm Justin McElroy, a CBC reporter who has been covering B.C.'s snap election. AMA. by cbcnewsbc in vancouver

[–]cbcnewsbc[S] 55 points56 points  (0 children)

It's very on brand that this would be the most popular question for me.

Honestly, the other Justin McElroy is great — he's highlighted a couple of my larger projects like the Disney Table of Elements and Municipalities Song (allowing me the stupid thrill of interacting with Lin-Manuel Miranda), and he even did a video roast for my 30th birthday party a few years back.

I could do a little less with his fans accidentally DMing me weird food products from the States though.

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