Feature
Webster’s Newspapering a cracking good read with much to teach
By Michael Harris December 21, 2020
Norman Webster, reporter, editor-in-chief, and word-farmer extraordinaire, sheds light on reporting and more in a riveting collection of columns spanning his decades in 'newspapering.'
Perhaps the biggest lesson of Norman Webster’s book is that Canada is certainly not 'dull as a snowbank, with politicians to match.' As he notes, humanity, tolerance and decency unite us. 'What is important is to run well and honestly, with as much human grace as possible—not forgetting, too, to take joy in the running, to laugh at life’s absurdities as well as weep at it’s cruelties.' Photograph handout
Ever wondered about Chairman Mao Zedong’s sexual preferences, how to castrate a camel, or how many shots of vodka Nikita Khrushchev forced on Lester Pearson during a wild night by the Black Sea the two men spent when “Mike” was foreign minister?
Related Stories
Politics This Morning
Your email has been added. An email has been sent to your address, please click the link inside of it to confirm your subscription.
Parties ramping up candidate nominations across Canada as election threat looms
Quebec is expected to once again be a key electoral battleground, spurred on by the Bloc Québécois’ resurgence in 2019, with multiple candidates already nominated in three target ridings. Former innovation minister Bains was most-lobbied minister in 2020
Mr. Bains, who was lobbied 214 times in 2020, took the top spot from the 2019 leader, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Post controversy, Green Party executive director position remains unfilled
The Green Party's former executive director resigned in October, but a public search for a permanent replacement has yet to begin.Updated mandate letters allow Grits to showcase pandemic fight without being attacked for abandoning promises, say politicos
The new mandate letters add new priorities to the instructions given to cabinet ministers in the 2019 mandate letters. Garneau’s new foreign affairs post centres on his American links and steady hands, say analysts
With Garneau's appointment as foreign affairs minister, the 'big message' to Biden in Washington is 'we have somebody here who can work with you' and who 'understands you,' says Carleton professor Fen Olser Hampson.Canadians ‘overrepresented in the alt-right,’ says filmmaker who chronicled movement’s rise
The U.S. insurrection was an ‘inevitable consequence,’ says documentary filmmaker Daniel Lombroso, after years of far-right activity he witnessed first-hand.
Biden’s plan to cancel Keystone XL pipeline could be ‘blessing in disguise’ for Liberals, says former diplomat
'Knowing that you won't get too many seats in the West, [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] can turn around and say, ‘Well, I did everything I could to get the project going forward,' ' says a former diplomat. Designating Proud Boys as terrorist organization could deter recruits, experts say
In 2019, the federal government added two white supremacist groups to the terrorist list. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says officials will see if Proud Boys will become the third far-right group.‘Natural attrition’ can absorb most jobs in fossil fuel industry in managed phase-out, says economist
Most of the job losses would be concentrated in 18 communities in Western Canada, according to the report, with Wood Buffalo, Alta., where Fort McMurray is located, and Estevan, Sask., expected to be hit hardest. Trending Stories
