From time to time I like to check in on how news orgs are doing with their online publishing practices. In particular, I like to review how they handle reports and science articles. So when Oxfam published their inequality report this year, I was keen to see how journalists and their editors are doing. Hyperlinking,…
Some thoughts on how not to amplify hate accounts on Twitter.
This particular Code Switch episode on the explanatory comma is itself a kind of extended explanatory comma, or perhaps an interrogatory comma.
Headlines matter. Publishers know it. Good headlines help with the understanding, reach, and impact of a story. Headlines frame articles, shaping the information in the article that follows, and alter reader comprehension. Headlines can induce positive priming effects in readers.1 Headlines are efficient at doing this. They play a significant role in readers’ memories, inferential…
![Three unforgettable moments in [my] hockey history](https://www.sherwinarnott.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/hockey-and-masculinity-v1.0-1-768x403.jpg)
Where I grew up in Northern Alberta, hockey was a big deal. My big brother played hockey. And my dad, who was not a great skater, played hockey in a community league. Everyone had a team, or pretended to. Everyone talked about the “game last night”. Neighbours, mostly men, watched televised games together. They sat…
I like to imagine different metaphors for journalism. Consider that the press is a giant inertia machine, for example.1 I like to imagine different metaphors as a way to resist, and make evident, the dominant ones. The dominant frames are so common, so worn, they become invisible. One worn metaphor for journalism is food: it…
Good journalists do what they do because they care. They have interests. The organizations that employ journalists also are guided by interests. They have purpose. The Washington Post wears their mission on their sleeve. Their tagline is “Democracy dies in darkness.” This stated vision is shared by many in journalism. If true, journalism has a…
Misinformation is a big deal. Hate online is a big deal. And as the public catches up to their reach and impact, we’ll see more and more talk about regulation of media. Interestingly, news organizations love talking about regulating Facebook. But journalists, and their overlords, are allergic to talking about regulating news. So allergic are…
I like Maclean’s about as much as I like the National Post. They’re rightwing, partisan, and legacy. On my view they have courted hate and burned trust, undermining journalism along several dimensions.1 Also. I will admit it. I often don’t get sarcasm.2 When I saw the “the resistance” cover by Maclean’s, I thought it was…
When I was growing up I was bad with context. Super bad. My young logic-oriented self just did not understand humans and their social “nuance.” I’m still trying. Perhaps I’m practical-intelligence deficient. But, luckily, I’ve had a fleet of friends and colleagues who’ve helped me and I am grateful. They’ve held my hand tight, so…
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…
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 dominant journalism, and by that I mean the mainstream press, is actually a conservative force? On this view, it’s a drag on change…
I campaigned during the first and second referendums we had here in BC regarding proportional representation. We won the first one. 58% of voters voted yes for the Citizen Assembly recommendation to implement the Single Transferrable Vote. But the BC Liberals had set the “binding” threshold, arbitrarily, at 60%. And the Liberals here in BC…
Say it with me. The duty to consult Indigenous people does not conflict with the public interest…
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 not moved by the claims by TWU that they…
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 jihad as a form of villainy. In so doing they have portrayed Islam as a peril…
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 misrepresent the concept. It’s not just them, mind you. There’s lots of misrepresentation of jihad to go around…
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 media are journalistic…
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 totally unethical. But I’m pretty smart, so I put this problem in my mind-vice and I’m a genius…
News orgs make a big deal about fixing typos and issuing corrections. But what if there’s a much deeper trust problem…
I’ve become numb to racism in legacy media in Canada. But to see Canadaland unthinkingly repeat a racist trope angers …
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..
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…
In which Colby Cosh calls Stephen Marche a cunt, and then Jonathan Kay and Stephen Marche and Andrew Coyne totally miss the point …
