Mark Harrison leaves CBC The National
Leaving The National after 28 years won’t be easy—but Mark Harrison is ready for a new challenge. Harrison, now the former executive producer of The National, is taking over the health unit and the growing science and technology unit at CBC. He says the decision to leave CBC’s flagship nightly program was a personal one, […]
Yawn-worthy coverage
Feeling sleepy? In case you couldn’t tell from your Twitter feeds or small-talk interactions this week, it’s daylight saving time again. It’s a yearly ritual each spring: set your clocks forward an hour, complain about how tired you are and, for journalists, write yet another story on the subject. For the past few days, outlets have […]
PMJT is hot. Get over it.
Politics is about perception (and always has been). Official messages are carefully constructed to paint a specific type of picture. It’s the journalist’s job, theoretically at least, to find the flaws and the hidden distortions in that image. But what if the picture is perfect and makes everyone happy? A hot prime minister meets a […]
A writer’s complicated relationship with freelancing
There’s an increasing trend of writers speaking out against publications that don’t pay their writers. Freelance writers are exploited, they say. Putting in countless hours of research, interviewing and sometimes painful writing sessions filled with self-doubt and lack of sleep can lead to very little in return—sometimes nothing at all. Huffington Post UK editor Stephen Hull […]
Why are we still talking about diversity?
“Is it Fateeema?” asked two editors interviewing me in a boardroom much too big for a three-person meeting. I tried to impress them with three story ideas: something about transit, something about local politics and something about immigration. They asked follow-up questions about the third one—How did I think of the story? What are the main issues? […]
We’re looking at the wrong numbers
A StatsCan report released on February 15, 2016 shows how different age groups in Canada consume news and current affairs, and I don’t believe it’s fully accurate. If it is to be believed, then the most popular medium to consume news by those over 35 years is television, who are also leading in newspaper and magazine […]
BuzzFeed’s search for marginalized writers is progressive, not racist
White men effectively control Canadian journalism. But recent events have shown that’s not enough: any challenge to their dominance must be condemned. On February 18, BuzzFeed senior writer Scaachi Koul tweeted a call for longform writers, particularly those who aren’t white or male. This was a commendable step toward breaking down barriers preventing people from entering, and then […]
20 Black Canadian journalists to celebrate this month (and every month!)
20 Black Canadian journalists to celebrate this month (and every month!) For Black History Month, we compiled a list of reporters who’ve made significant contributions to Canadian journalism. While many are well-known, others are doing substantial work that must be recognized. If there’s a journalist we missed, please contact us and we’ll add him or […]
Journalists are ignoring the real threat to a free press
Canadian journalists have spent the last couple days shooting fish in a barrel and congratulating themselves for it. On Tuesday, The Rebel reported that its journalists were barred from several government events between January 29 and February 3 because Alberta’s department of justice ruled that the publication — started by Ezra Levant — does not produce […]
On the edge of ethics
Most journalists agree that native advertising is a moral void. But in order to boost revenue, the Globe tries to strike the right balance with Globe Edge
In the summer of 2014, The Globe and Mail narrowly avoided an editorial staff strike over native advertising—the practice of working with advertisers to create ads that resemble journalism. A leaked memo from Globe management to the paper’s union proposed a system in which editorial staff would write for advertisers, compromising, in the minds of many Globe reporters, […]
