We learn more from what is not reported than reported Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre recently reflected on a very important question, “Why are people so angry?” He stated that Canadians have a great deal to be angry about. The standard of living for many ordinary people is falling, and our government leaders…
Ethics, shmethics. The Liberals know they can rely on a pliant media to win them another election The old maxim is you should test drive a vehicle before purchase. The same goes for a political party approaching a federal election. It pays to knock off the rust on your door-knocking and get-out-the-vote efforts before embarking…
A recent one-sided article on Canadian forestry practices suggests the answer is no Can we still trust the Canadian media to properly report facts when it comes to controversial environmental issues? We cannot generalize for all media outlets and journalists, of course, but recent coverage of the impact of the forestry sector on climate change…
Fritzi Ritz was launched in the New York World on Oct. 9, 1922 After a wonderful and relaxing Christmas with my family, I sat down at my computer to contemplate some possible topics for this week’s column. By chance, I happened to come across a piece that steered me in a completely different direction. Fritzi…
Intolerance undermines the free speech essential for democracy to survive The quest for “diversity” has become the universal rallying cry for every institution, including universities, government departments, corporations, and even law societies. “Diversity” has been defined as including skin colour, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. However, the one kind of diversity not included on this…
The carefully curated campaign to portray him as the Nosferatu of the National Capital is already falling apart
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for the Trudeau Media Party. First, they watched in horror as their Elizabeth May pet project – known to its friends as the Green Party – collapsed in ignominy. Despite best attempts to escalate a Facebook page into a force worthy of inclusion in leaders’ debates, the party…
How do you manage a crisis with little time between the story going public and reporters calling?
“I’m on deadline!” the harried journalist yells. This is a euphemism for “I’m very busy.” There were also literal deadlines. An old-fashioned newspaper went “to bed” because the printing press was bolted to the floor on what was called the “bed.” The presses started running in time to get the newspaper out the door. It…
Telling someone to "do the research" may in fact do more harm than good
The expression that beauty, or art, is in the eye of the beholder means that it’s the viewer who decides. The same is true of the beholder of news stories. More simply, new research shows us, again, that news consumers see what they want to see. The latest research data comes from the ongoing conflict…
A brilliant mind with a critical eye. Intelligent, engaging, curious, humorous and innovative
On Monday, a true giant of Canadian broadcasting left us. Patrick Watson passed away at age 92. Steve Paikin, host of TVO’s The Agenda, circulated the sad news. “A broadcasting legend has died. … His Witness to Yesterday in which he interviewed figures from our history got me hooked both on journalism and history,” he…
Why an academic theory that dates back to the 1970s has become a political lightning rod today
In April of this year, Georgia became the latest of 15 American states to ban the teaching of critical race theory in schools. In celebrating a similar ban in Mississippi, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves recorded a video in which he claimed, without evidence, that school children had been “dragged to the front of the classroom and coerced…