Some of my most popular, and favourite, dispatches

I was contacted recently by a student of journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University. She asked me the following questions…

I’m happy to report that the state of hyperlinking in news in Canada appears to be improving. It’s a tentative claim…

The thing about economics is that it’s a real scientific discipline. Like many sciences, there’s some more theoretical branches and also some more applied branches.…

It’s two thousand years since the birth of Christ; the zero year. I think it’s time to free ourselves from the Christian calendar…

Some time ago Nikiforuk published an article at Foreign Policy declaring Canada a petrostate. It caused a big splash and became a talking point in…

I’ve been interested in hearing more about a case of a Prince Edward Island writer and journalist who was ejected from the Press Gallery for…

I am fascinated by what constitutes the limits of “respectable” public discourse. This phenomenon is related, in part, to the Overton window, which is the…

It’s no small chore trying to understand climate change. We live in a society that is lacking in scientific literacy. Even those of us that…

Journalists claim that it’s their duty to give context to important events. The floods in Alberta are important. The context is climate change, but the…

In which I reflect on the behaviour of major news organizations in Canada who stubbornly refuse to link out to relevant websites, data and reports…

This is my third exploration of racism in the writings of Andrew Coyne, while writing for Postmedia News. Today’s argument will focus on the discourse…

This is my second exploration of racism in the writings of Andrew Coyne with Postmedia News. This argument will refer to three articles written by…

This is my first argument toward the conclusion that journalist Andrew Coyne made claims that were racist. The remarks by Coyne that I will focus…

A little while ago I posted a review of several journalists’ positions on the Idle No Moremovement. With the exception of Ibbitson, all of the…

There is an old idea that journalism has an important role in democracy. I kind of believe this. But the problem is that the view…

I challenge white journalists to tell us how much they think they know about about the history and relationship between settlers and Indigenous people. Judging…

I see bias everywhere. Yes we all struggle with our biases. I wish the reporters, editors and owners at the Globe and Mail would own…

This is my sixth post in my series on Dan Gardner’s article about the Muslim veil. I want to reflect on the language of hate,…

I approve of science. I approve of evidence and research. By and large and in the long run, science reveals the facts or transparently fails…

Here’s another reflection in my ongoing series on Dan Gardner’s article from the Ottawa Citizen about women who choose to wear the Niqab…

Democracy is not a single style of governance. Democracy is not simply about having elections. Democracies come in many colours and fashions. Democracy is a…

I was recently asked on Twitter what the difference is between Santa Claus and the orbital model of the atom. It was asked in a…

Folks have always understood that the various news outlets have brands. But I think this understanding has been superficial.

The officers failed to properly assess and respond to the situation effectively. Then they used too much force. Then they failed to administer CPR. Then…

A few years ago I was at a dinner party at a cabin on Vancouver Island. The host, and my good friend, Dalton, told a…

Okay. I’ve been very critical of journalists and newspapers that are getting it wrong on climate change: here and here and here. But you should…

Here’s a fun thing that you can try at home. It’s a simple form of media analysis. The result of this particular analysis leads me…

Today is a good day to think about our life support system. Our life support is our earth. It’s a delicate mixture of gravity, various…