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Poll suggests Canadians want local media ownership

A majority of Canadians oppose foreign ownership of the media, telephone and cable firms, and believe the government should play a role in preserving Canada’s cultural identity distinct from the United States,…
BBC apology for Muhammad dog joke

The BBC was forced to broadcast an on-air apology after a local radio presenter in Nottingham joked that freed British schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons had a dog named Muhammad. Here’s the Guardian report.
Maclean’s newsmaker: “Conrad”

Maclean’s named former media mogul Conrad Black as its Newsmaker of the Year. From the press release: “Even if Canadians think Conrad Black is getting everything he deserves, one still has…
Associated Press reorganizing

After a decade of watching newspapers and rival wire services shrink, The Associated Press, the 161-year-old news cooperative, is refitting itself to handle the 24-hour news cycle it helped create, reported the…
No public right to know

The judge hearing a political corruption case in British Columbia approved a prosecutor’s application for an in-camera session as part of the pre-trial process, reported the Canadian Press: “Justice Elizabeth Bennett of…
Court-ordered CBC programming?

A judge in the Northwest Territories seems to think the courts have the ability to order CBC programming: a court ordered a CBC Radio broadcaster to air a program on family violence,…
On suing Maclean’s

Maclean’s recently published an excerpt from a 2006 book by Mark Steyn entitled, “The future belongs to Islam.” On Dec. 4, the Canadian Islamic Congress will hold a press conference to launch formal…
Responsible journalism and the Ontario ruling

There is no defence at all for “irresponsible journalism,” wrote Toronto Star public editor Kathy English in a weekend column, “What is responsible journalism on matters of public interest?“ A recent Ontario…
China’s Olympics

Chinese officials are denying reports they’re keeping dossiers on foreign journalists who are planning on covering the Beijing Olympics, reported the Associated Press. The the Beijing Games open in less than nine…
Slow Journalism please: Al Jazeera chief

Media in the Arab world are “suffering from four major defects”, the director-general of Al Jazeera warned at a Media & Marketing conference in Dubai, reported Arabian Business. Wadah Khanfar said that…