• J-Source

    A lighter (sorta) take on API’s crisis summit

    Mark Potts, author of the Recovering Journalist blog, has a few choice thoughts about the American Press Institute’s upcoming one-day summit of 50 newspaper executives, who are gathering in a closed-door session Nov. 13 to share thoughts about “saving an industry in crisis.” Potts suggests several potential answers to the question: How many newspaper executives…

  • J-Source

    The media criticism of Peter Watkins

    Atlantic writer Michael Hirschorn has discovered media critic and filmmaker Peter Watkins, who specializes in historical and current-affairs re-creations like The War Game but whose “real subject,” wrote Hirschorn, is an intense critique of the media. The War Game in particular, said the Atlantic piece, provides “a deep, unerring analysis of how we use media…

  • J-Source

    Muslims need free speech protection: report

    A report by a British think tank calls on governments in Europe to protect the free speech of Muslims against religious extremists. The report, Victims of Intimidation: Freedom of Speech within Europe’s Muslim Communities, said official failure to offer victims the protection they needed had left significant numbers of Muslims unable to express themselves, reported…

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    Religious dialogue censored

    This week’s edition of L’Express International was banned by Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco for having “offended Islam.” Associated Press quoted an anonymous official who said Algeria banned the magazine because it published “illustrations or accounts … contrary to Islamic morality or national values.” In Tunisia an anonymous official said it could be considered to be…

  • J-Source

    Poetry, TV news and the U.S. election

    CTV News closed their newscast last night with a witty, clever, informative and entertaining story on the U.S. election by CTV’s LA bureau chief Tom Walters. It’s poetry – literally; he marries his narration and clips in a most unusual way. Have a look – it’s great TV. You’ll laugh and be inspired.

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    Online credibility

    Toronto Star public editor Kathy English wrote of the Toronto Star‘s recent move to axe pseudonymous online comments alongside signed letters in its online Web Forum: “I would prefer the Star demand real names of those who comment online. I’ve been told that’s a near-impossible expectation in the online environment. I don’t buy that.“I understand…

  • J-Source

    Media Matters

    With an annual budget of $10 million, all donated, Media Matters aims to monitor accuracy and bias in American media — and has a reputation for holding especially partisan right outlets to account. The New York Times looks at the organization…

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    Covering aboriginal peoples

        Aboriginal People’s Television Network asked in an episode of its program Contact, “Is the mainstream media part of the problem?” ….

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    Local news boost

    A ruling by the  the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission includes provision for a new fund to support local news programming in markets under one million people, with cable and satellite distributors contributing about $60-million a year, reported the Globe and Mail. The CRTC release is here.A Globe and Mail story is here.