Flawed analysis
Following the passing of Alberta’s Conservative party, Macleans writer Colby Cosh described a drawn-out illness that made the result inevitable. Followers of British Columbia politics will recognize symptoms also found…
Journalism
Mohamed Fahmy “has no relation to the Muslim Brotherhood”
A billionaire telecoms tycoon has told an Egyptian court that Mohamed Fahmy, a journalist and Canadian citizen, “has no relation to the Muslim Brotherhood” The post Mohamed Fahmy “has no…
Cracks in credibility remain
Two days ago, retired journalist and TV newsman Harvey Oberfeld headlined, “Bell Media President Brings Shame to CTV.” Today, the company reacted to disclosures Bell Media President Kevin Crull interfered…
Shining a light
Glenn Greenwald, “A key purpose of journalism is to provide an adversarial check on those who wield the greatest power by shining a light on what they do in the…
Chomsky on media
What Makes Mainstream Media Mainstream, Noam Chomsky, Z Magazine, October, 1997 Part of the reason why I write about the media is because I am interested in the whole intellectual…
The moderating effect of moderation
RossK writes about the Pro-Media Club and its implicit rulebook, which includes a requirement that no one reprove a colleague, even if overstatements and misrepresentations morph into purposeful lies. The…
Setting priorities
I’ve written about politics influenced by a captured and compliant press. This is from a helpful Canadian Press article published by Macleans Magazine weeks before the last BC election: …A…
Agenda journalism
Black Press political reporter Tom Fletcher, whose wife is a Public Affairs Officer for the BC Liberal Government, occasionally recalls the nineties: The dark decade, the dismal decade, the decade…
Oh, what a tangled web we weave…
I will comment about BC Budget 2014 after more study but I’ve read a few reports from media stenographers. Studying detail takes more time than rewording notes issued by the…
MORE Sexism Against Female Canadian Athletes!
THIS picture respects the dignity of a tennis player. Not, “give us a twirl” demeaning, sexist abuse. Today is a terrible day for gender equity in sports. What it looks…
Nobody’s servant…
North Van’s Grumps is the proprietor of Blog Borg Collective. While I search for material in the main aisles of information warehouses, NVG prowls the dark recesses. Happily, he shares…
Real Journalism: Holding Harper To Account
Unlike the kind of faux journalism that the CBC’s most reverent chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge, has perfected, real journalism requires critical thinking and hard-hitting questions. In that, The Toronto Star…
In the Time of the "Official Truth" There’s No Room for Journalism
John Pilger looks at what the Western media offer up as journalism and sees instead propaganda. He sees the essence of the mainstream media as not information but power. The…
All the spin that’s fit to print
This week, British Columbia saw evidence that corporate media does not report adverse details about public finance unless the material is dropped on desks in digested form, complete with defensive…
Hedonists of power
Chris Hedges wrote many words for the New York Times; some of them wrong. He participated in false reporting that helped orchestrate invasion of Iraq by the coalition of the…
The Election-Eve Racist, Sexist Attack on Olivia Chow
If this cartoon were published, say, 2 weeks before the election, it would have been debated as a tool of racist, sexist propaganda and yet another blemish on corporate media.…
Zombie Journalists
If you’re wondering what’s contributing to less accountability and more soft fascist, totalitarian government behaviour… Leaked memo confirms that Globe and Mail wants journalists to write advertorials http://canadalandshow.com/article/leaked-memo-confirms-globe-and-mail-wants-journalists-write-advertorials August 28,…
The CBC Respects Dignity Better than Corporate Media
Corporate media, being owned by corporations, needs to maximize shareholder wealth. That means news is a loss leader. News is about generating sensationalism, excitement or hysteria. News is about generating…