Digital advertising sales reached $295.6 million in 2018, a 20.8 per cent increase from 2016, yet print ad sales declined by a much larger amount
Growth in digital ads for newspapers has not been fast enough to offset the decline in print advertising, according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada. The federal agency reported that digital advertising sales reached $295.6 million in 2018, a 20.8 per cent increase from 2016. Print advertising sales totalled $1.2 billion, down from $1.6…
These untruths reflect badly on candidates, and much more on the ability of the electorate to make thoughtful and informed decisions
We live in a society of law and order, of values and mission statements, oversight, accountability, and in which transparency is highly valued. Witnesses at judicial hearings are held in contempt if they lie, individuals who knowingly make false and harmful statements can be held libellous, advertisers can’t lie about their products, students can’t cheat…
Canadian media giant Postmedia ended up losing $6.3 million for its fiscal year ending August 31. The company said Thursday that the net loss compared to a net loss $33.9 million in the same period in the prior year. “The change was primarily the result of decreases in depreciation and amortization expense, decreases in restructuring…
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…
Growth in digital ads for newspapers has not been fast enough to offset the decline in print advertising, according to data released Friday by Statistics Canada. The federal agency reported that digital advertising sales reached $295.6 million in 2018, a 20.8 per cent increase from 2016. Print advertising sales totalled $1.2 billion, down from $1.6…
