Bad governance, disinterested corporate media
Political observers who expected BC NDP to live up to electoral promises of 2017 are by now thoroughly disillusioned. Broken promises could pave the the grounds of the BC Legislature…
Journalism
Monday Morning Links
Miscellaneous material to start your week. – Stephanie Desmon interviews Ziyad Al-Aly about the danger COVID-19 poses for the heart – even for people with mild cases which have otherwise…
Finally—a Bill to end news theft
It’s taken a while, and the loss of a third of journalism jobs and 451 news outlets since 2008, along with the migration of billions of advertising dollars to tech…
Ted Byfield, talented rhetorician and paleoconservative activist, dead at 93
Ted Byfield, publisher of the influential Alberta Reports Magazine and similar hard right spinoffs, died Thursday at 93. Edward Bartlett Byfield was born in Toronto on Bastille Day, 1928. Mr.…
Corporate media, a propaganda system for elite interests
PoP BC formed after health professionals became concerned about inadequate health policies in BC. Are participants qualified to express opinions different than government officials who balance political issues with health…
Is Facebook killing people?
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.
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…
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…
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”.…
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…
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…
Who says no, when no needs to be said?
Are citizens of British Columbia protected from massive financial fraud? Frankly, we have little protection…
Political journalism
Yet more evidence that important parts of corporate media do not practice good journalism…