Closure of HuffPost Canada another hit to already battered Canadian media landscape
The closure of HuffPost Canada and HuffPost Québec earlier this month is just another gut-punch to an already battered news industry in this country following the economic wreckage of the COVID-19 pandemic. And Zi-Ann Lum, one of the reporters at HuffPost Canada, told The Hill Times that although she’s been “overwhelmed with support” following the […]
From disorientation to lockdowns to recovery: my year reporting on COVID
Following the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve noticed more and more folks on social media asking and answering this question: ‘on what day did the pandemic really and truly start for you’? For me, it was March 16, 2020, when I checked into a hotel just off Elgin Street for the first of […]
Media leaders, CAJ weigh in on newsroom diversity efforts 10 months after tumultuous summer of 2020
Ten months after the killing of 46-year-old George Floyd, a Black man, by a white police officer in Minneapolis prompted soul-searching in newsrooms across the country to address anti-Black racism in all aspects of society, there has been slow but steady progress toward bringing more diverse voices into the fold in this country’s major media […]
Public trust in government, business, media erode following dramatic spring 2020 surge, according to survey
Public trust in government and business came back down to Earth last fall, falling significantly from a high point during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey by communications firm Edelman. Canadians became fatigued by lockdowns and what they feel is the spread of disinformation online and in the news, the […]
It’s time for a private-sector sunshine law
Kudos to The Globe and Mail for digging into the darker side of Bay Street’s dirty little secrets. In a series on workforce gender bias last week, the Globe published confidential information on the remuneration of partners in one of Canada’s largest business law firms. At Cassels, Brock & Blackwell LLP, female equity partners earn […]
Rebel Media lawsuits target journalists, chill speech, says reporter facing litigation
Two lawsuits launched by Rebel Media against media outlets have been dismissed under Ontario’s anti-SLAPP law, a sign that the law is working to protect press freedom, say journalists still facing litigation from the far-right website. Earlier this month, Ontario Superior Court Justice James Diamond ruled in favour of Al Jazeera and Brendan DeMelle for […]
On reducing harm, improving democratic expression on the internet
“Today, anyone can own a corner of the internet. More people than ever can benefit from enhanced access to knowledge, community and collective action. But there is also the darker side. Along with a more open and accessible public square has come a less trustworthy and safe one. This represents one of the central paradoxes […]
‘Canadians have grown impatient’: regulation of social media in the works, but Parliamentarians wary
As the federal government looks to set down rules around hate and harmful speech online, MPs and experts are still unclear as to what the legislation is going to look like, but all say there’s work to be done to tamper some of the unsavoury elements of social media in Canada’s political discourse. Liberal MP […]
Hate and paranoia abound in political social media, as federal Liberals prepare to intervene
Expressions of hate and paranoia, and conspiracy theories with roots in the United States have become a staple of Canadian political Facebook pages, as the Liberal government prepares legislation to crack down on social media platforms that don’t remove hate speech quickly enough. The Liberal Party of Canada Facebook page is no exception. It doesn’t […]
‘The closest equivalent is Afghanistan’: Canadian correspondents on navigating the Washington insurrection
Canadian reporters on the scene for the insurrection on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., earlier this month say the atmosphere reminded them of covering Afghanistan, rife with violence and escalating anger. It was just one of the events that marked coverage of the U.S. under the Donald Trump administration as considerably different from covering politics […]
