The absence of hyperlinks in journalism, part two
A further reflection on the absence of hyperlinks in certain mainstream forms of journalism, and what this says about modern editors and journalists ...
Toshiba supports the National Post public relations campaign obfuscating climate change
Do a search for the name, "Jim Hansen" on the National Post website and you get two hits from 2012 and 2011. Both hits are about NASA, which is good, since Hansen is the leading climate scientist at NASA. Unfortunately, both articles promote the protestations of 49 former NASA employees...
The Robert Dziekanski case
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 the officers lied. Then their superiors and media relations officers lied...
Discourse analysis of the National Post media surrounding Pickton
Soon I am embarking on a discourse analysis of the National Post’s coverage of the Robert Pickton murders. This is my second foray into a discourse analysis of a major media outlet. The first was on the Calgary Herald and I was interested in their analysis and value judgments of climate change issues. This time...
Advertisers make good advocates
The Age of Persuasion is a CBC radio show that I've always enjoyed.[1. Here's a link to a live stream of an episode on the branding and rebranding of sharks and other things.] Terry O'Reilly is the host and has…
The Olympics versus Tiger Woods
Ages ago I wrote about how the brand of the Olympics is a safer investment than investing in a single athlete or even an entire team. Since I wrote that, a particularly high profile athlete has had a massive brand…
Good research and racist comments
The study that inspired the racist comments, and this post, is interesting because it helps folks who have a hard time seeing racism understand that it's rampant in Canadian culture. The researchers sent off over 6000 resumes to potential employers…
Challenges for the modern journalist
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 know that I have moments of being more, well, sympathetic with the modern journalist. I…
Fossil awards for Harper-Prentice Government
Jim Prentice and the Harper Government have earned Canada several Fossil Awards for the positions they have been putting forward in negotiations at Copenhagen. Actually, we're currently leading the scoreboard for total points. Hell. We took first place and second…
Hey, Calgary Herald, you suck on climate change destabilization
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 to think bad thoughts about Canwest. But that's just me. Here's what I did. First…
Random ideas about Rex Murphy
The thing about Rex Murphy that troubles me is the way he calls his show "Cross-Country Checkup" but whenever I find myself listening I hear a representative from The Conference Board of Canada or the Fraser Institute. These guys (they…
2010 Olympic branding challenge
Over thirty police officers were counted at Centennial Square on Friday during the No Olympics protest. That's not including the snipers that were reported to be on the rooftops or the officers on horseback or the officers that make up…
An average Magazine
We made this piece last year. We picked up a magazine off of the shelf in our neighbourhood grocery store. Yikes. I am very interested in the way we shape people through media, especially advertising. What I find interesting about…