Newspaper industry must ‘speak with one voice,’ say publishers pushing feds to ‘level the playing field’
As the Canadian newspaper industry continues to feel the crunch from lost advertising revenues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic downturn, publishers of Canada’s major newspapers came together in a rare demonstration of coordination to deliver a dire message to the federal government earlier this month. Titled “An urgent message […]
Globe and Mail team wins National Newspaper Award for SNC-Lavalin reporting
A team of reporters headlined by Globe and Mail parliamentary bureau chief Robert Fife and reporters Steven Chase and Daniel Leblanc won the National Newspaper Award for political reporting for their coverage of the pressure from Justin Trudeau‘s Prime Minister’s Office to give SNC-Lavalin a deferred prosecution agreement. The team of reporters who won the […]
Environment and Climate Change Canada wins Code of Silence (dis)honour
For its departmental secrecy and a slow response to an access to information request, four journalism advocacy groups have awarded Environment and Climate Change Canada the 2019 Code of Silence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Government Secrecy. With last October’s federal election just months away, Ottawa Citizen reporter Tom Spears filed an access to information […]
This just in: Donner Prize, Dafoe Prize name books shortlisted for honours
The nominees for 2020’s prestigious Donner and Dafoe book prizes are now out, with 10 books earning the nod and offering Canadians another enlightening way to pass their time in the COVID-19 lockdown. The five books nominated for the Donner Prize for best public policy book include Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson‘s Empty Planet: The […]
MPs join fight to stamp out COVID-19 disinformation that’s ‘spreading faster than the virus’
The World Health Organization has warned of an “infodemic” of misinformation and disinformation around COVID-19, and as authorities, companies, and individuals work to combat it, two Members of Parliament have joined an international initiative aimed at calling out and fact-checking online content around the virus. “We’ve seen misinformation in many other contexts—electoral contexts and certainly other […]
Feds ‘on the hot seat’ for past and new decisions, as journos, staffers contend with new media environment
Despite the dwindling numbers of journalists standing face-to-face with decision makers as the COVID-19 pandemic pushes more people to work from home, public officials and the media have done an effective job of communicating with the public so far, despite challenging conditions, say observers. In addition to daily updates by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Papineau, […]
How to save the Canadian media industry from mass extinction
TORONTO—If current trends continue, Canada’s news media will not survive the COVID-19 recession. Even during the boom years of 2009-2019, nearly 300 Canadian outlets shut down and 16,000 journalists were laid off. But the good times, if you can call them that, are over. In the last two weeks, nearly 500 more journalists have been […]
Guilbeault announces support for media; Winnipeg Free Press publisher blasts feds, saying ‘no new support’ forthcoming
The federal government announced long-awaited support on March 25 for media organizations suffering significant losses of revenue, after news media organizations in Atlantic Canada and Quebec joined the long list of businesses laying off employees across Canada. Winnipeg Free Press Publisher Bob Cox, however, says the announcement contains “absolutely no new support whatsoever” for journalism. […]
Catherine McKenna offers virtual civics lesson for furloughed students
With Ontario’s children stuck at home following the provincial government’s school closures to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna decided to sub in. Ms. McKenna hosted a 45-minute civics lesson on Facebook live last week. “I thought I would try do something different, which is, talk about being a Member of […]
The Hill braces for Covid-19
As Canada tries to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the Hill is also adjusting. Like many sports leagues across the world, the House of Commons has suspended until April 20, missing two sitting weeks. Access to the House and Senate is being limited to parliamentary personnel and to the Hill media. Tours are being […]
