White supremacy, doing journalism, and the explanatory comma
Code Switch is a great NPR podcast.1 I recently re-listened to an episode they first published in 2016 which is … White supremacy, doing journalism,…
Headlines, cognitive processing, and problematic information
Headlines matter. Publishers know it. Good headlines help with the understanding, reach, and impact of a story. Headlines frame articles, … Headlines, cognitive processing, and…
Three unforgettable moments in [my] hockey history
Where I grew up in Northern Alberta, hockey was a big deal. My big brother played hockey. And my dad, … Three unforgettable moments in…
Idea: Journalism is a convenience store
I like to imagine different metaphors for journalism. Consider that the press is a giant inertia machine, for example.1 I … Idea: Journalism is a…
Journalism is the business of influence
Good journalists do what they do because they care. They have interests. The organizations that employ journalists also are guided … Journalism is the business…
Journalism’s allergy to substantive regulation
Misinformation is a big deal. Hate online is a big deal. And as the public catches up to their reach … Journalism’s allergy to substantive…
Paul Wells, conservatism, satire, and Maclean’s footprint
I like Maclean’s about as much as I like the National Post. They’re rightwing, partisan, and legacy. On my view … Paul Wells, conservatism, satire,…
The look, and the social nature of knowledge
When I was growing up I was bad with context. Super bad. My young logic-oriented self just did not understand … The look, and the…
Hyperlinking in Canadian journalism (Case study, IPBES report)
If news orgs are serious about being good partners in mitigating misinformation, they need to link meaningfully to relevant references and especially science-based organizations…
The dominant press is a giant inertia machine
But here’s an old idea: what if dominant journalism, by and large and in the long run, is actually a drag on progress? What if…
The dream of proportional representation dies again; long live pro rep
I campaigned during the first and second referendums we had here in BC regarding proportional representation. We won the first … The dream of proportional…
Tsleil-Waututh Nation versus Bill Morneau, the duty to consult, and the public interest
Say it with me. The duty to consult Indigenous people does not conflict with the public interest…
Trinity Western University continues to defend anti-gay community covenant
The Supreme Court of Canada, happily, was not moved by Trinity Western University’s claims that they weren’t hurting gay folks. And the Supreme Court was…
Canadian journalism fails at nuance when it comes to jihad
On my view the news media in Canada have, by and large and in the long run, misrepresented the concept of jihad. They have positioned…
Some notes on why jihad is good
If you read Canadian journalists on the topic, you might not understand that jihad has some very nice meanings. Most Canadian journalists seem to commonly…
More nuanced theories of journalism needed
A good theory of journalism helps us understand what media are not journalistic. And, equally important, a theory helps us understand what unconventional kinds of…
Nine animals that we should be trophy hunting instead of grizzly bears
I’ve been wracking my brain trying to think of how to help stop the commercial trophy hunting of bears in BC, which is ongoing and…
Salvaging trust: confronting journalism’s deep wrongs
News orgs make a big deal about fixing typos and issuing corrections. But what if there’s a much deeper trust problem…
Racist trope: fatwa as act of villainy
I’ve become numb to racism in legacy media in Canada. But to see Canadaland unthinkingly repeat a racist trope angers …
Journalism techniques for avoiding criticism
There is a kind of journalist that pretends their work is beyond criticism. It’s an art form. Here’s a rough taxonomy of techniques..
Media should always link to press releases
Canadian journalists and other forms of media types rely on press releases written by public relations pros and the problem can be easily fixed by…
That time Colby Cosh called Stephen Marche a cunt: casual misogyny among Canadian journalists
In which Colby Cosh calls Stephen Marche a cunt, and then Jonathan Kay and Stephen Marche and Andrew Coyne totally miss the point …
Why Queen’s Park Today might not be journalism (yet)
Some thoughts regarding what counts as journalism particularly as it relates to Queen’s Park Today, and subscription news that arrives by email…
“Today in Three Panels” by Dean Mang-Wooley
In which I talk to Dean, an illustrator, and the creator of Today in Three Panels, and we discuss the thin membrane between private and…
No one has a right to not be offended
When critically considering a given piece of journalism, we might ask ourselves, was it informative? was it engaging? was it helpful? So it’s rather sad…
Cognitive bias and the backwards bicycle test
The backwards bicycle is a hilarious and damning insight into the challenges of understanding and resisting deeply ingrained ways of thinking and doing…
Yes, journalists are* responsible for their headlines
Unfortunately, headlines are, often enough, hyperbolic, clickbaity, misleading, having secondary content, racist, priming, inappropriate or ill-judged. Engaged readers will complain to the author. The author,…
Understanding privilege through the lens of Bayesian probability
Maybe Bayes theorem can help right wing commentators better understand, and respect, the language of privilege …
Cop show Blue Bloods makes me cringe
Blue Bloods is a story of a cop family, the Reagans, in New York. And it’s a reasonably well written family drama that suffers from…
Question and answer on journalism and other forms of writing
I was contacted recently by a student of journalism at Wilfrid Laurier University. She asked me the following questions…
The state of hyperlinking in news reports
I’m happy to report that the state of hyperlinking in news in Canada appears to be improving. It’s a tentative claim…
Can we have infinite, exponential growth with finite resources? Andrew Leach says Yes.
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.…