Don’t believe everything you hear from the masters of spin. Do your own research using legitimate news sources
Political spin and media spin drive some Canadians up the proverbial wall. As a long-time columnist and political pundit who has occasionally utilized both of them (for my own purposes and never for a political party), I can understand why. The real key to understanding spin is there are often kernels of truth in the…
Media’s role in society is integral for a healthy democracy. However, a lack of diversity within journalism is a significant detriment. Since Sept. 6, social media has been abuzz after an op-ed arguing against ethnic diversity was published by the Vancouver Sun and The Province – two of British Columbia’s largest newspapers. The op-ed sends…
Regional reporting may come to suffer blindness similar to that in some Central Canadian media, to the disadvantage of provinces
The announced federal government subsidy for “trusted” media outlets risks undermining provincial jurisdictions. The federal lathering of a $595-million subsidy on “trusted” media over five years may encourage a regressive democratic step of making more news outlets more dependent on Ottawa, feeding a centralizing spirit. News outlets becoming openly partisan (or more partisan than some…
CBC has become tediously missionary rather than journalistic. And the last thing Canada’s private media needs is to compete with a subsidized entity
CBC Radio was once a national treasure. From Peter Gzowski through Arthur Black, Shelagh Rogers and Danny Finkleman, a turn of the knob rewarded the listener with information, entertainment and humour. But now, a push of the button is more likely to bring on someone eager to talk about their sexuality, ethnic origin or skin…
There’s nothing more fundamental to the democratic ideal than the freedom to speak one’s mind and sound as wise or foolish as that happens to sound
The news that environmental groups have been warned their speech will be regulated during the upcoming federal election campaign has finally drawn attention to the stifling impact of the nation’s most recent election legislation. This latest twist is due to People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier, who has expressed doubts about anthropogenic climate science.…
Get CBC out of the advertising business on all of its platforms. And make its content available to other media for free within Canada
Several years ago, I by chance encountered a backbench member of Parliament who asked in a very straightforward fashion why we at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) didn’t “do something” about CBC. Mildly startled, I replied that if something was to be “done” about CBC, Parliament should just go ahead and do it.…
Partisan environmental reports like the recent one from GEM abound with misinformation regarding natural gas - and the media has failed to fact check
It’s summer in Canada and the last thing on many people’s minds is foreign-funded activist groups working against a Canadian industry. Sadly, this tactic continues to gain traction in the media. For a long time, these special-interest groups have targeted Canada’s natural resources by slapping our oil and natural gas industry with ‘dirty’ labels. They…
Canadian media giant Postmedia continues to see declining revenues and net losses. On Wednesday, it said it “intends to continue to identify and undertake ongoing cost reduction initiatives in an effort to address revenue declination in the legacy print business.” In reporting its financials for the three months ended May 31, Postmedia said its net…
The relatively low value Canadians assign to religious freedom and the tepid opposition to secularism laws are worrisome
Have we lost all sense of proportion when it comes to our fundamental rights in Canada? Two recent cases suggest we have. Both cases involve the notwithstanding clause in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which allows legislatures to temporarily bypass certain constitutionally-protected rights. Two premiers have sought to invoke the much-discussed clause recently. Yet…
The proposal to give $595 million in federal funding over five years to Canadian media organizations comes with significant strings attached
Much has been written about the federal government’s proposal to give $595 million in funding over five years to Canadian media organizations. This political strategy has been called everything from a financial life saver to a Liberal takeover/buyout of our news industry. While it’s hard to blame anyone in the media who is starving economically…