Two groups, both representing core democratic ideals, are at complete loggerheads with each other over the issue of freedom of expression in Canada. Civil libertarians are on one side and human rights advocates on the …
International perspectives on offensive journalism
What offends you? The dead body of an Iraqi child? The irreverent use of a religious symbol? The boiling down of modern geopolitics into a simple formula of ‘us’ versus ‘them’? Or how about the …
Journalists who retell violence relive trauma, too
When he was sent to cover the war ravaging Sierra Leone, reporter Ian Stewart had little knowledge or interest in the conflict – until he saw it unfold before his eyes. On November 10, 1999 …
Investigative journalist says Canadians kept in dark by their leaders
Award-winning Toronto Star investigative journalist Rob Cribb called on the Canadian public to demand greater government transparency at a lecture at UBC’s Robson Square campus last week. “The public must demand greater openness and transparency …
Communication Breakdown at a University Lockdown
An RCMP Emergency Response Teams swarmed the University of B.C. campus on Wednesday, January 31. With bulletproof vests and dogs, they spent the better part of the afternoon in the biological sciences building. Neither the …
The Halifax Daily News: 1974 – 2008
The end for the little tabloid-that-no-longer-could came suddenly, sadly and unceremoniously. At 10 a.m. on the morning of Monday, February 11, 2008, Halifax Daily News reporters and editors were still filtering into the newsroom with …
How real can a real story be ?
At 9 p.m. Tuesday, about 2 million Quebeckers turned on their TVs and tuned in to Radio-Canada for the last chapter of Les Lavigueur, la vraie histoire — The Lavigueurs, the real story. The miniseries …
Rethinking Balance in Post-Genocide Rwanda
In the spring of 2007, after a five-week visit to Rwanda, I produced two television news pieces for the CBC. Together, the stories challenged the prevailing view about healing and reconciliation in that Central African …
Reporting on religion: When neutrality and faith collide
Religion and journalism might seem incompatible. One lurks in the murkiest mysteries of the spirit; the other’s a no-nonsense broker of fact and action. But Columbia University professor Ari Goldman makes the case that there’s …
CRTC reins in media ownership
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) new regulatory policy to ensure “plurality of editorial voices” and “diversity of programming” in private media is long overdue. Canadians have been waiting for some 38 years. Studies, …