Don’t blame Twitter for an atomic president
Like Albert Einstein exclaiming “Woe is me” on hearing of the bombing of Hiroshima, Twitter co-founder Evan Williams is shocked and appalled at what his invention has wrought. “It’s a very bad thing, Twitter’s role in that,” Williams lamented, in a recent New York Times interview, of the election of the current leader of the […]
‘Appropriation prize’ controversy a learning opportunity, say journalists, writers
PARLIAMENT HILL—From op-eds to Twitter threads, the issue of cultural appropriation in writing—of indigenous cultural in particular—has recently taken a spotlight among Canadian writers. Sparked by a controversial editorial in a magazine edition meant to showcase indigenous talent, it’s led to multiple people leaving their jobs, and sources say they hope the recent controversy sparks […]
Comey firing isn’t Trump’s Watergate
TORONTO—“In Firing Comey, Did Trump Unleash the Next Deep Throat?” This question was the headline of a story last week on The New York Times. Since Donald Trump’s victory last year, there are many politicians and pundits expecting the new president of the United States to fall under another Watergate scandal. Not me. The Watergate scandal […]
Open season on reporters must be confronted for democracy’s sake
OTTAWA—Any foreign correspondent from a country like Canada or the United States will, from time to time, find himself or herself in a dangerous situation. Danger can flare from many directions: a checkpoint in disputed territory, rogue troops invading a hotel looking for someone to abuse, drug gangs, military thugs, civil strife, riots, thieves, cities […]
Liberals spent more than $16,000 on Snapchat filters since coming to power
The Liberal government spent more than $16,000 on developing and placing Snapchat filters in both Canada and the United States to promote the federal government during special events, since its cabinet was sworn in on Nov. 4, 2015. Seven federal departments, agencies, and Crown corporations reported developing specialized filters for Snapchat—a popular social media platform that allows […]
Now in Defence minister’s office, former reporter Cudmore in ‘awkward situation’ as RCMP investigates cabinet leak, his story
James Cudmore finds himself in a “unique position” and “awkward situation” as a staffer in the office of the Defence minister but, as a former journalist, haven broken a story, shortly before his job changed, that’s prompted the government to call in the RCMP to investigate how the story got out. While those from the […]
O’Toole flies into the Danger Zone
Erin O’Toole has got a Top Gun type of thing happening lately with his social media campaign to become Conservative leader. On April 28, he posted a picture on both his Twitter and Facebook feeds of his head on a body of someone wearing air-force gear, standing in front of a fighter jet, with a […]
Parsing a brand-centric approach to power
We lack a focused study of how political communications work in Ottawa. We need a theory for why they create a contagion of pulling everything toward “the centre”—a term with so many different and sinister connotations that in this book it refers to a transcendental concept, usually encapsulating the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and Privy […]
Sajjan doesn’t need to be fired—the hit to his reputation is enough
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan shouldn’t have inflated his military record. He’s feeling the heat now for wrongly saying he was an “architect” of the Operation Medusa campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2006—as he should. Mr. Sajjan, a former lieutenant colonel, said during a visit to India last month that he was an “architect” […]
Spicer obliterating unwritten rules of press chief protocol
Of all the inexplicable phenomena associated with the presidency of Donald Trump, the most outrageous in terms of shocks to the political culture is the screwball performance of White House press secretary and Melissa McCarthy-immortalizer Sean Spicer. Spicer’s operatic behavioural departures from all historical precedent related to previous White House press secretaries have been well-documented […]
