Investigations into Catholic Church finances, military sexual misconduct among finalists for journalism awards
Journalism awards season is well underway. The Michener Awards Foundation has announced the finalists for its 2021 award for public service journalism, and the Canadian Association of Journalists has announced most of the finalists for its slate of 2021 awards, ahead of its May 28 awards gala. Several finalists were recognized for their work on […]
Legacy media players shouldn’t expect smooth switch to digital
OTTAWA—This week marks my three-year anniversary writing for the Hill Times and five years of writing in general, in addition to five years of producing, writing, recording, and curating political and pop culture content for the Bad + Bitchy podcast. In this time, the news media landscape has shifted its tectonic plates to a decentralized […]
Governments need to use social media influencers as part of their communications strategy
Recent news that the federal government had spent more than $600,000 on social media influencers to promote federal initiatives, including promotion of the COVID-19 vaccine, left some critics questioning why the government chose this route and if it was the best way to spend taxpayer dollars. A better question is: what would be the cost […]
Faced with deluge of misinformation, MPs, Senators say they’re doing what they can to fight the spread
Faced with a surge of misinformation and conspiratorial thinking among the general public, Parliamentarians are raising the alarm, and are pushing back by talking to people directly, compiling research, and being mindful of the content they themselves digest and produce. “We are seeing the radicalization of an increasing number of Canadians,” NDP MP Peter Julian […]
Western Standard opens a new Ottawa bureau
On March 14, the Western Standard opened a new Ottawa bureau with two new reporters on the federal politics beat, Rachel Emmanuel and Matthew Horwood. Horwood most recently worked at The Hill Times, and has also freelanced for Ottawa Life Magazine, The Kitchissippi Times, and The Ottawa Business Journal. Emmanuel, who most recently worked at iPolitics and interned […]
Veteran political journalist Paul Wells opens up about why he left Maclean’s magazine
A senior writer for Maclean’s magazine up until earlier this month, Paul Wells says that although it’s well within the prerogative of the company’s management to change the editorial direction of the influential publication, he became increasingly uncomfortable with that direction. Maclean’s magazine, which has been in publication since 1905, has seen the departure of associate […]
Paul Wells and Marie-Danielle Smith take a tandem departure from Maclean’s Hill bureau
Senior writer Paul Wells and associate editor Marie-Danielle Smith have both left the Ottawa bureau of Maclean’s magazine. Wells posted on LinkedIn on March 11 that he had resigned from the publication. He had been a columnist, editor or writer at Maclean’s since 2003, aside from one year as a columnist with the Toronto Star. […]
‘There seemed to be this complete loss of faith in institutions’: Canadian journalists talk about covering ‘Freedom Convoy’
A number of leading Canadian journalists who covered the ‘Freedom Convoy’ came together last week to discuss how media should be covering those who have lost faith in the media, and who are absolutely determined to have their voices heard. Carleton University hosted the “Journalism Under Siege” panel discussion, moderated by CBC Ottawa journalist Adrian […]
Conspiracy theories and disinformation in Canadian politics amped up after ‘Freedom Convoy’
While watching MPs debate the “Freedom Convoy” and whether to support the now-revoked Emergencies Act, Canadians might be forgiven for thinking politicians were playing a game of two truths and a lie. Misinformation—false information that is accidentally spread—and disinformation—false information that is spread with intent to deceive—have both been key characteristics of the convoy protest […]
‘It’s really shaken what people thought of Canada’: international media attention of Ottawa occupation driven by contrast with Canada’s clean image, say journalists
The high amount of international media attention on the so-called “Freedom Convoy” in Ottawa could be attributed to how the event clashes with Canada’s stereotypical “clean” image, say some journalists. “It’s really shaken, I think, what people thought of Canada, or their impressions of Canada,” said Paula Newton, an international correspondent with CNN and CNN […]
