The BC Press Gallery has been a private club, reluctant to admit new members. Emma Gilchrist, co-founder of The Narwhal and Executive Director of its predecessor Desmog Canada, had media privileges blocked at the Legislature by Tom Fletcher, then Press Gallery president. Fletcher, the Black Press advocate for climate change
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Political Potshots: Tuesday Night Journalistic Masochism
No politician has ever been removed from caucus in the history of Parliamentary politics in Canada. That is what I gather from Canadian media yesterday, The level of near hysteria and hyperbole would have you believe that the concept of democracy in Canada itself is under attack. It was a
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: The Leak Came From The PMO (And Other Lies Coming From Canadian Media)
This feels way too convenient to me. Every instinct in my body tells me that the Glenn Joyal leak came from either someone close to Jody Wilson-Raybould – either a former staffer, or from someone inside of her circle. The issues surrounding the Glenn Joyal appointment to the SCC were
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: My Last Post About SNC Lavalin (Also, I Lie Sometimes)
The worst part of this whole SNC-Lavalin faux scandal has been the polarizing effect that it has had on Canadian politics. I have never seen such a disconnect between journalism, the political class, and the voting public. The truth of the matter is, polling numbers show that the story has
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: My Second Podcast Appearance – The View Up Here (And Of Course Some Thoughts On SNC Fakegate)
//percolate.blogtalkradio.com/offsiteplayer?hostId=711695&episodeId=11232575 I sat down for a wide ranging chat with Canada Glen (@canadianglen) about the United We Roll convoy and the SNC Lavalin story, it is actually quite fair, and the deep analysis into these stories that I wish corporate media would have done. The way Canadian mainstream media has
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: Introducing Political-Potshots.com (And Now For Something Completely Different)
I am so absolutely excited and proud to launch my very own website, Political Potshots! It is less a culmination of a lifelong dream, and more a step into the the future. I have been writing blogs on various formats about politics for years, but I have never felt this
Continue readingScripturient: Local media is letting us down
Rule number one in The Elements of Journalism is: “journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.” Number three is “Its essence is a discipline of verification.” Keep those two in mind as you read this. I recognize that local reporting is not always the same calibre as the investigative journalism
Continue readingIn-Sights: Breathless
Following Liberal defeat in the Nanaimo byelection, Global TV reporter Sarah MacDonald talked to Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson for the 11pm newscast. Breathlessly, she asked what is probably the worst question in the history of BC political reporting…
Continue readingPolitical Potshots: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation And The Astroturf Lawnmower
Astroturfing is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. Doesn’t that sound like it was written for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation? Given Canadian media’s reliance
Continue readingScripturient: The slow death of media credibility
A story in the recent issue of New Republic opens: “A decade of turmoil has left a weakened press vulnerable to political attacks, forced into ethical compromises, and increasingly outstripped by new forms of digital media.” This points to the continuing erosion of public confidence in traditional media. While this
Continue readingIn-Sights: Economic illiteracy in Canadian media
The Fraser Institute declares Tax Freedom Day each year. It is an inaccurate trick to further interests of the millionaires and billionaires for whom the “charity” works. Many of those people use overseas tax shelters so their tax freedom day falls in January. Don’t expect Fraser Institute to mention Earth
Continue readingIn-Sights: Bitter old man
A person shilling for the pension funds management business complained about my recent article revealing extravagant salaries at the BC Investment Management Corporation (BMI). He wrote that I was a bitter old man…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Shape of the Planet; Both Sides Have a Point* … Alberta’s UCP helps make flat-eartherism respectable again!
Surprisingly, as far as we know, neither Opposition Leader Jason Kenney nor any members of his United Conservative Party Legislative Caucus made it to the Flat Earth International Conference at the appropriately named Fantasyland Hotel in Alberta’s capital city Thursday and yesterday. “Flat-earthers from around North America came to listen
Continue readingIn-Sights: Good news, bad news
Bill Good is in the news this week. David Ball wrote about this news reader turned political activist in the The Star Vancouver. In years past, Mr. Good was a favourite subject of this blog, even though he seemed to have little regard for bloggers…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Unreliable narrators
In British Columbia, ethical rules of news gathering are not always followed. Some offences are minor, others are significant…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Postmedia distortions
Postmedia’s Colby Cosh demonstrates the truth of Jefferson’s quote, “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”
Continue readingIn-Sights: Announcing the Merv Adey Memorial Fellowship
Merv Adey was a passionate British Columbian and a regular and welcome fixture in social media. Following his passing in 2017, a group of his friends sponsored a fellowship in his name to promote journalistic excellence and insightful debate on electoral reform.
Continue readingIn-Sights: Real news reshaped, redefined and side tracked
Independent Voter Network declares: A free press is the watchdog of the people. The media holds the sacred responsibility of alerting the citizenry of actions by governments, elected politicians, corporations and even private citizens. It is the fourth estate… But now the fourth estate is in crisis. The news media
Continue readingIn-Sights: Shilling for dollars
Updated from June 2016. In an earlier article, I made reference to BC Legislative Press Gallery members producing commissioned articles. These are public relations pieces intended to serve particular needs of government or entities doing business with government. It is the kind of output that will ultimately be replaced by
Continue readingSusan on the Soapbox: The Role of the Political Journalist
“The journalistic mission remains at its simplest: know your patch and use your knowledge to try to tell readers what’s actually going on.”– Katharine Murphy, Journalism Professor & Guardian Australia’s deputy political editor. Is it right for a political journalist to simply quote a politician’s comments without challenging their veracity
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