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…
discourse
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. And the application of economic modeling to real life society …
Design a better calendar: new zero year needed
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…
Petrostatehood is not a zero or one
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 the culture wars that make up Canadian politics. Stephen Saideman called it hyperbole. And Andrew Leech called it short on evidence…
The best journalism is a kind of advocacy
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 being an advocate. Wow. I have lots of thoughts about this. Most saliently I believe that journalists are advocates…
Social norming, agenda setting and discourse about climate change
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 set of concepts that are considered politically acceptable by the dominant culture. But I am equally fascinated by the social limits …
Grappling with climate change, politics and the Alberta floods
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 have some, have little time to read and understand so many complex issues of our day, including climate change…
The context is climate change
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 press is strangely absent…
“Digital journalism” and the absence of hyperlinks
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…
Andrew Coyne: instance of racism #3
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 of denial…
Andrew Coyne: instance of racism #2
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 Coyne in January…
Andrew Coyne: instance of racism #1
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 on for today’s argument were…
Andrew Coyne dismisses multiple allegations of racist writing
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 journalists I reviewed positioned themselves as experts and went on to express views in ways that displayed a lack of good judgement…
The social relevance of journalism
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 of journalism subscribed to by the old guard, is shrinking the role of journalism in our democracies…
Dinosaur journalists and Idle No More
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 by their recent strong opinions about First Nations governance, Indigenous land rights, the Idle No More movement, Attawapiskat, and Chief Spence, they are all experts…
Understanding bias
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 up to theirs. There’s bias …
The veil is “hideous”, “odious”
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, and on having successful public disagreement via Twitter…
The use and abuse of science in editorial
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 to do so. Along the way we make mistakes, get things wrong, get our hands dirty and learn that stuff is often really complicated. And I also approve of journalists…
Public relations defense of Conservative policy
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 zero or one
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 matter of degree and dimension…
Santa Claus and the orbital model of the atom
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 way, that suggested there was no difference, so I thought it must be humour. But now I think it wasn’t.
The significance of the news brand
Folks have always understood that the various news outlets have brands. But I think this understanding has been superficial.
Can humans echolocate?
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 story. He told us a …