The ranks of journalism in Canada today sport no shortage of truly awful scribes. There are plenty that are openly biased, the odd one that might resort to a little light racism from time to time. Then we’ve got the loudmouths like Blatchford and shills like Fife. But, for my
Continue readingTag: Postmedia
Northern Insights / Perceptivity: Toothless media accommodates political fraud
In 2006, Rafe Mair wrote News Media, Defanged for The Tyee. It included the headline: “Politicians, not too long ago, feared the press.” Of course misreants particularly feared Rafe Mair during his post-politician days. Rafe had been a successful lawyer and a capable cabinet minister in Bill Bennett’s coalition and
Continue readingAnyone else gobsmacked by Postmedia attention to Robogate?
I’ve been a taken a little by surprise at the attention paid by Postmedia to the Robo-call scandal. While the Globe & Mail and Sun Media rest on the sidelines, choosing to bolster Conservative claims of innocence and misdirection, and CBC continues its lame tact of false equivalence, the National
Continue readingDid the Ottawa Citizen screw up with its ‘expose’ of @vikileaks30?
@vikileaks30 is no more. Perhaps the heat generated by the Conservative organ Postmedia shut it down. Whatever. It appears that the Ottawa Citizen’s detective work was highly suspect. Proved nothing but got our lazy, incompetent media on the run for a news cycle or two. @vikileaks30 fans, don’t despair. A
Continue reading@vikileaks30 originating from House of Commons? Dipper? Paul Simon fan? Toews to investigate.
This is interesting. No doubt the enabler of quotes from Vic Toews’ personal divorce and spending history on Twitter will eventually be outed. The Ottawa Citizen did a little exploring and found the IP address used by the Tweet author originates in the House of Commons. Also, there is a
Continue readingPostmedia’s conservative Jeff Lee fawns over 60’s wingnut mayor ‘Tom Terrific’ Campbell
Polarizing 60’s radical mayor Tom Campbell has died. Nobody has paid much attention. That’s because the Rob Ford inspiration was a raging right winger and hater of all things non-conservative. He was a disgusting wingnut who makes Rush Limbaugh and Pam Geller seem like puppy worshippers. Leave it to the
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Harper, the anti-democrat
Terry Glavin: Scrutinizing Canada’s pipeline to Beijing, Terry Glavin, National Post – one of the most powerful pieces in recent memory: “Canada is at the brink of a radical shift in energy and foreign policy. But there has been no debate of any consequence about it — not in the
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: On CBC from outside the local milieu
National Post, January 25, 2012 “… For everyone’s sake, the CBC should offer Mr. Smart a better assignment.”
Continue readingBigCityLib cleans up journalist’s mess. Confirms Brazilian did sign up to speak at pipeline hearings.
Go to BigCityLib’s place for the details on how a simple e-mail clarified at least part of a sloppily-research article from Postmedia, intended no doubt to raise doubts about the pipeline hearings and capitalize on the ‘foreign influence’ scam. Alison at Creekside comes up with another scenario involving the infamous Teneycke Snuffaluffagus
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Oil industry ramps up the pressure
As Ian Reid succinctly observes, the Vancouver Sun “has apparently merged with Encana’s communications department and is now almost desperately spinning the Northern Pipeline on their behalf.” Postmedia, the Sun’s owner, styles itself a conservative publisher but it is that only by redefining the label. In fact, a real conservative
Continue readingPolitics, Re-Spun: Book Review: Suffled How it Gush: A North American Anarchist in the Balkans
“I think Hannah Arendt did say somewhere in The Origins of Totalitarianism that the thesis of the modern state is: ‘Everyone should die.’” –Suffled How it Gush (pg. 74) I have joked with my partner that I have a certain amount of angst regarding my future as any sort of
Continue readingThe Disaffected Lib: WTF? China is Driving Canada’s Purchase of the F-35?
If you have any doubt about how feeble Canada’s corporate media have become you need only read the PostMedia scribe Matthew Fisher’s article proclaiming that “Canada will buy F-35 joint strike fighter, no matter the cost.“ This joker has the critical thinking skills of a 6-year old at Christmas. Who
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Advocates not reporters
Canada kept detection of salmon virus secret, Craig Welch, Seattle Times environment reporter, Nov. 30/11 “A decade before this fall’s salmon-virus scare, a Canadian government researcher said she found a similar virus in more than 100 wild fish from Alaska to Vancouver Island. “Canadian officials never told the public or
Continue readingWhat Gregor Roberston’s win means to the right wing: “Vancouverites are now raising sheep and growing corn in their backyards”
You know how right wingers love to predict the end of the world if a non-conservative is elected? Republican presidential contenders in the States are predicting death panels, rampant socialism if not communism (or is it fascism – the right can’t seem to make up its mind), gay parents raping
Continue readingWhat Gregor Roberston’s win means to the right wing: "Vancouverites are now raising sheep and growing corn in their backyards"
You know how right wingers love to predict the end of the world if a non-conservative is elected? Republican presidential contenders in the States are predicting death panels, rampant socialism if not communism (or is it fascism – the right can’t seem to make up its mind), gay parents raping
Continue readingHow can opposition battle Harper’s War Against Information when there’s no battle plan?
HillTimes: There are an estimated 1,500 communications staffers working in ministers’ offices and departments, including 87 in the PMO and PCO. (And don’t forget Sun Media, Postmedia, editorial board at Globe & Mail and 90 percent of the media.) Soon after Mr. Harper won power, the Prime Minister’s staff started
Continue readingHow can opposition battle Harper’s War Against Information when there’s no battle plan?
HillTimes: There are an estimated 1,500 communications staffers working in ministers’ offices and departments, including 87 in the PMO and PCO. (And don’t forget Sun Media, Postmedia, editorial board at Globe & Mail and 90 percent of the media.) Soon after Mr. Harper won power, the Prime Minister’s staff started
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: The end of news as we know it
The following article was first published May 24, 2010. Since then, Sean Holman suspended the Public Eye website, Postmedia has focused on serving business not public interests, the destruction of CBC News has advanced and radio news, with few resource…
Continue readingNorthern Insights / Perceptivity: Does Postmedia need paywalls or headstones
In his NY Times blog, economist Paul Krugman focused attention on one of the frequently repugnant think-tanks that serves America’s one-percenters. In Denial In Depth, Krugman applauds Ryan Chittum at the Columbia Journalism Review for:
“… a takedown…
Northern Insights / Perceptivity: They won big but it’s still not enough
Forty years ago, American (and, by logical extension, Canadian) business worried about future survival of free enterprise. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce commissioned Lewis Powell, later a Nixon appointed Supreme Court Judge, to report on the crisis an…
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