“…It’s a fundamental existential problem for every society on earth today.” That’s in the opening comments of Dr. Robert McChesney when he was interviewed by Ian Jessop of CFAX 1070 radio. The professor of communication at the University of Illinois ended his weekly show Media Matters last year, after a
Continue readingTag: Journalism
Northern Insight: "Veritable sewer of skullduggery"
Reading through Diane Francis’ 1988 book Contrapreneurs, from which the title of this piece is taken, I noted repeated mentions of a person who was, for more than a decade, indisputable bête noir of white-collar con artists in British Columbia and beyond. Former Vancouver trader Adrian du Plessis had developed
Continue readingSun News and sewer journalism
When Sun News hires the infamous Ford brothers to do a TV show, decent people cringe, but they shouldn’t be surprised. Aping Fox News, as Sun Media are inclined to do, it is simply pandering to the lowest common denominator, and the Fords are masters at pleasing that crowd. An
Continue readingWritings of J. Todd Ring: Reflections on tumblr, facebook and social media
Going from specifics to depth and breadth, and from particularities to universals, here are some thoughts for your consideration, for anyone who may be interested. I’ve come to love the social networking / blogging community / window onto the web which is called tumblr. That being said, tumblr is largely
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: A Benchmark for Quality Journalism
Once in a while, but not frequently, someone does something in the media that helps me understand that there is still integrity in journalism. At least in some places. Squeaky clean! Once upon a time, I wrote about Paris Hilton’s post-incarceration image make-over. Sure, that was 6 years ago. And
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Got PTSD?
September 12, 2013 PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is thankfully becoming less stigmatized due to increased awareness, but like most mental health issues, there stigma that prevents open discussion about mental health is profound. But I recall 2-3 decades ago it was far worse. There are a few PTSD events
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Men: Never 100% Responsible for Rape?
I have no words, at least I thought I didn’t. It’s bad enough that men rape women, then modern culture shames women for wearing anything but a burlap sack. I do not condone rape or sexual assault, but I think the male teens often so accused are not wholly to
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: You Aren’t Sufficiently Critical of the #Media
You need to trust the media less. Almost a year ago, and before the last US presidential election, Gallup determined that there has been a stunning decline in citizens’ mistrust of the media [see below]. It crossed over from mostly trust to not so much trust around 2004-2005. If you
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Open letter to Cameron from European editors: Miranda’s detention threat to freedom of the press
Editors of a number of northern European newspapers have written an open letter to British PM David Cameron stating their concerns arising from the detention of David Miranda – partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. The writers express concern about the “harassment” of “the paper and individuals associated with it.”
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Online Surveys, No Longer Much Fun
Once upon a time, it was fun to take online polls. For lots of reasons. But one of my favourites was to watch how poorly polls could be constructed. Once, six years ago, Innovative Research Group put a racist poll into the field. It included questions about whether I had
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Class War: US$11.5 Trillion Hidden in Tax Havens
Which tax haven is right for you? Class war is alive and well. I have this rose-coloured, nostalgic dream of history. Once upon a time we emerged from feudalism with a democratic revolution. All were equal. Well, most. But the hope of democracy was to rid the world of the
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Julian Assange: Bradley Manning is the quintessential whistleblower
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says Bradley Manning “is the quintessential whistleblower” after a US military court found him not guilty of “aiding the enemy”, guilty of 19 lesser charges. The post Julian Assange: Bradley Manning is the quintessential whistleblower appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Jeremy Scahill at Socialism 2013: free press under threat, al-Awlaki, dirty wars
Jeremy Scahill is National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine and author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army. His most recent book Dirty Wars: The World is a Battlefield was published in April of this year. He also wrote and produced the film Dirty Wars
Continue readingmark a rayner | scribblings, squibs & sundry monkey joys: How social media has changed the news conference
This moment of snark brought to you by the incomprable XKCD. Alltop wonders if Google+ has a role to play.
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Sun Media urged to reverse “self-destructive” plan to nuke 360 jobs
CWA Canada is urging Sun Media to reverse its “self-destructive plan” to nuke 360 jobs and 11 publications, and to instead focus on quality local jobs and journalism to boost profits. The post Sun Media urged to reverse “self-destructive” plan to nuke 360 jobs appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Sunday Morning Links
Assorted content for your Sunday reading. – Lest anybody think the Harper Cons’ combination of dishonesty and secrecy is limited to political payoffs, Blacklock’s reveals (PDF) that they subsidized the shipment of corporate jobs out of Canada – and didn’t deign to inform the public that the program existed until
Continue readingDead Wild Roses: I.F. Stone – How Journalism should be done.
From an interview on Democracy Now with Amy Goodman. AMY GOODMAN: And the issue, what many will call a false dichotomy between advocacy and journalism, his views on this? D.D. GUTTENPLAN: Well, his views were that you can either be — he said two things that I think are
Continue readingArt Threat: Fearless photography explores the Egyption women of the revolution
The woman in a red dress being blasted by pepper spray in Gezi Park, Istanbul, is not an anomaly. Women are on the front lines of Turkey’s protest movement and were also well represented in the series of upheavals that was dubbed the Arab Spring. But to gain a full
Continue readingeaves.ca: The Past, Present and Future of Sensor Journalism
This weekend I had the pleasure of being invited to the Tow Centre for Digital Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School for a workshop on sensor journalism. The workshop (hashtag #towsenses) brought together a “community of journalists, hackers, makers, academics and researchers to explore the use of sensors in journalism;
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