Self-interested blather from Edge of the Ledge
Wonderful demonstration today of how BC’s tight little circle of political reporters is wilfully blind to the real issue at stake in the CBC conflict of interest matter. Of course,…
Journalism
Canadian University Press Archipelago (74th Annual National Conference)
I got in yesterday to the Canadian University Press’ 74th Annual National Conference known as Archipelago (as each member paper is like an island in an archipelago). Anyway it was…
Treading on the public welfare
News Item, January 11, 2012: “Shaw Media announced Wednesday that it has filed an application to the CRTC for a 24/7 regional, all-news channel for the province. “The channel is…
Terry O’Reilly begins new CBC Radio series today
Under the Influence from CBC Radio After The Age of Pursuasion, his award winning series about advertising, I’m certain Terry O’Reilly’s new program will be radio that I will not…
The greatest Christmas movie miracle of all time
This originally appeared as a column in the December 22 print and online editions of the North Bay / Nippissing News, the weekly newspaper I’ve been writing for recently. I’ve…
Vancouver Sun practices conscious deceit
Elmer Derrick and Enbridge VP Janet Holder IS IT TRUE ELMER DERRICK IS “THE” GITXSAN HEREDITARY CHIEF? Commentary by Merv Ritchie, Terrace Daily, Dec. 11, 2011 This is the claim…
Canada trails USA in risk awareness
Canadian media doesn’t provide much detail but ProPublica, the American non-profit doing fine investigative reporting, is examining dangers of gas and oil production through hydraulic fracturing. In an earlier article…
Majority supports Keystone XL, or do they?
Wetland oil spill – Evi, Alberta Vancouver Sun headlines: U.S. majority supports controversial Keystone XL pipeline project: poll “A majority of U.S. voters still support TransCanada Corp’s controversial Keystone XL…
Never in Canada, right?
Abramoff Regrets Paying Writers For “Placed” Columns, by Joe Strupp, Media Matters, Dec. 8, 2011 “…During a recent interview with Media Matters while promoting his new book, Capitol Punishment: The…
Fiscal demonization of @OccupyTO continues on CTV | #classwarfare
Like clockwork, the corporate media are swinging into action. Or perhaps like robots. Either way, the narrative is being reinforced and amplified. Just now on CTV a “news” report is…
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…
How The Globe channels the 1 per cent | #Occupy #classwarfare
Managing Occupy protest cost city $1-million, city says – The Globe and Mail: ‘via Blog this’ It’s masquerading as “objective” “news,” but in fact it’s anything but. Note how Canada’s…
Help for the CBC on conflicts of interest
Regular readers will be aware that I filed a complaint with CBC Ombudsman Kirk Lapointe over the conflict involving Legislative Bureau Chief Stephen Smart, husband of Rebecca Scott who holds…
@GeorgeMonbiot takes down the corporate media
George Monbiot – Unmasking the Press: ‘via Blog this’ Too bad about Hitchens, but the best thing I’ve found about the corporate media this week comes from Monbiot. Everything you…
Taking issue with journalism in the MSM
I left this comment at Ian Reid’s article about Vaughn Palmer but the audio link does not work within comments, so I repeat the comment intended to follow Ian’s item…
Can someone report news while making news?
It is appropriate to ask if political writers can report objectively after they become paid participants in the public forum, earning appearance fees and other remuneration from businesses with interests…
Public interest journalism in BC?
December 1, Glacier Media Inc. completed the acquisition of Postmedia Network Inc.’s community newspapers in British Columbia and the Times Colonist. . The Lower Mainland Publishing Group media assets include:…
Free market, Canadian style
From J-Source.ca “New Brunswick is about to become the first place in Canada where readers must pay for local news. “The Irving-owned Brunswick News Inc. has decided that the era…
Snoozing, slothful syndicate of political poodles…
At the Rafe Mair birthday celebration last week, we got to hear Rafe tell an anecdote about writing for Ryerson School of Journalism a piece that celebrated free speech, one…
On media, a reader’s contribution
Ms.Photo Op,Mentzelopoulos,Muir,Waldner Here’s an excerpt from the Vancouver Sun that ran Nov 22nd about the hiring of the husband of the minister of corporate priorities by the Vancouver Island Health…