President Joe Biden missed his goal of 70 percent of Americans vaccinated against Covid by July 4th. Some cities are now urging even vaccinated residents to resume mask-wearing, and in states such as Missouri and Utah, where large swaths of the population remain unvaccinated, health officials are warning of hospitals
Continue readingTag: Journalism
Alberta Politics: State of the Media: Postmedia, looking for a future, post media as it were, wants to deliver your parcels!
Let’s give ourselves some respite from the horror of living in Alberta under Jason Kenney and his United Conspiracy Party. Instead, here’s an inspiring, upbeat story about an old business we all thought was on its last legs that is thinking outside the box about how to grab the low-hanging
Continue readingViews from the Beltline: Kudos to Maria Ressa
Among the numerous seriously unpleasant men leading countries in the world today, Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, must be included. Perhaps his most odious policy is his support for the extrajudicial killings of “undesirables.” When mayor of the city of Davao, he was accused by the Philippine Commission on
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Sliding Into Irrelevance: Pro-Censorship Stance Obliterates Careers – and Minds
The once-great Naomi Klein. I had great respect for her until she burned her very considerable credibility to the ground, by publicly and viciously attacking Glenn Greenwald recently – after he quit The Intercept, for not agreeing to their new policy of enforced censorship, saying Glenn had “lost the thread”.
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: Suzanne Moore – Why I Had to Leave the Guardian
Go to unherd for the full article. It is brilliant. “This also might explain some of the utter gender gobbledegook we run about how HRT has taught someone to cry and all categories are porous. Whatever. As a feminist, I have limited interest in all this, in the holes
Continue readingThings Are Good: This Doc on Bellingcat Inspires You to Act
Since 2014 an innovate research team has been looking into major news events in a way never done before, that team is known as Bellingcat. Bellingcat is comprised of volunteers (and a small paid staff) which use social media and other publicly available information to investigate in an organized and
Continue readingIn-Sights: Absent watchdogs
Most journalists, particularly ones occupying the BC Press Gallery, have spent little or no time examining Site C, the costliest public project in BC history. In contrast, I remember daily headlines and aroused commentary when Premier Glen Clark’s government thought ferry construction would invigorate BC’s shipbuilding industry. In financial terms,
Continue readingIn-Sights: Postmedia, still allied with BC Liberals
It is not the first time a Postmedia newspaper has presented a misleading report on public affairs. This one doesn’t rise to the level of Brian Lilley’s ugly dog whistle implication that Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam is more loyal to China than Canada, and should be
Continue readingIn-Sights: Media matters, in ways not mysterious
A comment on my article at The Tyee is repeated here along with some hints about how dollars might have influenced reporting on IPPs by members of the corporate media.
Continue readingIn-Sights: Corporate welfare
Despite newspapers being longtime supporters of Fraser Institute teachings that call for reduced public spending, they are now more than happy to get in line for corporate welfare. That’s not surprising. While many Canadian journalists are principled professionals, rather few of their employers share that virtue.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: The Sins of Assange
“Assange’s arrest represents an abuse of power, highlighting not only how true journalism has now been banished in the West, but also how politicians, journalists, news agencies and think-tanks collude with each other to silence people like Julian Assange and his Wikileaks foundation who are a nuisance to US imperialism.
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Turn Off The Propaganda Machine
This week’s cover story of the world’s leading trend analysis institute: very fitting, dead on the money, as usual. As I keep saying, turn off the state and corporate “news”. It’s not news. It’s 80% propaganda, 19% filler and fluff, and 1% useful information. Turn it off. Look for better,
Continue readingScripturient: Books, writers, words, and competencies
I have always believed that any good, competent and credible writer can be judged (if judge people we must, and yet we do) by the books on his or her desk. Yes, books: printed hardcopy, paper and ink. I’ll go into why books are vastly superior to online sources a
Continue readingIn-Sights: Good old days
Politicians, not too long ago, feared the press. Much has changed, not because corporate media owners are suffering financially, since most are not. Good journalism is available, much of it from new media that survives on the knife edge between survival and insolvency, ever in need of financial support. Tenuous
Continue readingIn-Sights: Who says no, when no needs to be said?
Are citizens of British Columbia protected from massive financial fraud? Frankly, we have little protection…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Political journalism
Yet more evidence that important parts of corporate media do not practice good journalism…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Taxes buy civilization
Neoliberalism has brought us extreme concentrations of wealth and power and a society governed by and for the rich. The Guardian reports America’s three wealthiest billionaires—Bezos, Gates and Buffett—have as much wealth as the bottom half of the US population combined. Funders—like the American Koch brothers and Fraser Institute directors
Continue readingIn-Sights: Reward the wealthy, fail the needy
In 2011, Canada’s austerity driven federal government suspended, delayed or cancelled numerous Environment Canada programs, including the Action Plan on Clean Water. Stephen Harper’s administration made the choice even though adult residents […]
Continue readingIn-Sights: They won; we lost
Financial elites have waged a decades-long campaign of self-interest against Canadians. They won; we lost. The most important front has been action to control mass media and reduce the influence of progressive voices heard by the general public…
Continue readingPolitics and its Discontents: A Most Worthy Initiative
Although it has almost become a cliche, knowledge is indeed power. It confers upon us the opportunity to think critically; it enables us to make informed choices, freeing us from the demagogues in our midst; and most importantly, it helps us to participate meaningfully in the world around us. One
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