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Fraser Institute’s message machine — and friends in high places

The Fraser Institute has gone from being regarded by journalists and editors “with suspicion and derision” to its current lofty status “as a go-to source for every major media outlet in Canada,”…
Asia loses FEER

Foreign affairs columnist Jonathan Manthorpe wrote an eulogy to the Far Eastern Economic Review, or simply “FEER,” which Dow Jones announced it will close, after gutting it several years previously. “Asia is…
A Twitter battle over truths

It’s been almost a month since Ontario’s former Attorney General, Michael Bryant, was charged with dangerous driving, and, criminal negligence causing the death of a cyclist, Darcy Allan Sheppard. The fact that…
Another model for newspaper survival

David Olive’s new model for newspapers: “shrink the newsprint product to a 32-page broadsheet or tabloid featuring only staff-written feature-length content and the best material available from other publications worldwide.” Shunt all…
War reporting: shades of gray

New York Times public editor Clark Hoyt examined the case of Times’ reporter Stephen Farrell’s kidnapping in Afghanistan — and his rescue by British soldiers which led to the deaths of interpreter/journalist…
UGC (User Generated Content) — get used to it

A paper by John Kelly, published online by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University, asks, “Is journalism a profession or a trade?” Kelly acknowledges, “It’s a question…
John Elson dies at 78

Canadian-born journalist John T. Elson has died, age 78. He will be remembered by most, perhaps, for his 1966 cover piece for Time, “Is God Dead,” a massive research and writing effort…
Comments as critique

Someone dubbed “Neocynic” is out to embarrass the Globe and Mail for its priorities. The commenter is repeatedly posting sarcastic comments saying that 12 staffers are covering the Toronto International Film Festival…
Scrap “news media”

OK, it’s time to abolish that meaningless term “news media.” I’ve long advocated that we differentiate between different kinds of media, from “junk media” to “quality media” — just as we differentiate…
Tributes pour in for Margaret Philp

Beautiful tributes have been pouring in for Margaret Philp, a Globe and Mail reporter for more than 20 years who died last week at 43. Her family has planned a memorial service…