Thoughts on BC Politics and More

When Meta banned the news from its platforms in Canada, it was a huge blow to traditional media — and a massive boost for independent journalists like me. There’s just one problem: not all of those who call themselves independent journalists are, well, like me. Starting in the summer of 2023, Meta blocked Canadian news organizations and links to news stories in reaction to federal legislation requiring platforms to pay journalism companies. Now, Canadians are met with a familiar message when they try to look at any news organization’s page or posts on Instagram or Facebook: “People in Canada can’t see this content.” While it’s true that Canadians craving journalism with published ethical standards and professional guidelines can still seek it out, that now requires the oh-so-arduous extra step of typing in a URL. The odds of Canadians stumbling across an intriguing headline in between scrolling through selfies, though, have taken a nosedive. Instead, they see me ... CLICK HERE for the...

Permit me to share a confession — not one born of guilt, but of a long-suffering heart. I, a seasoned newshound with a nose for nonsense, now find the daily news cycle nearly unwatchable. Not for lack of stamina, but because the rickety scaffolding of truth that once held journalism upright has collapsed under the weight of its own duplicity. Once upon a time, the media were adversaries of power. Today they are its stenographers, whispering sweet falsehoods into the ears of an unsuspecting public.  The latest chapter in this Orwellian fable? The crescendo of manufactured outrage over Israel’s alleged “genocide” in Gaza. Yes, Israel — the only nation in the Middle East that could be accused of too much restraint ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Legend has it that back in the seventies and eighties when Carleton University journalism students ascended the stage to receive their diplomas on graduation day, the editors of Canada’s top newspapers, magazines, and TV news shows were there sitting in the crowd, silently waiting to tap the shoulders of the young and talented and offer them full-time employment. As a result, some students had media jobs even before they left the auditorium.  Carleton journalism’s class of 2024 will be lucky to get jobs in journalism at all ... CLICK HERE for the full commentary

Twenty years ago, it should have been obvious to all that the jig was up for newspapers and journalism was going to need a new ride. Print had a good run—almost 600 years—but the invention by Tim Berners-Lee of the World Wide Web meant the era of massive presses and the power they bestowed on their owners was coming to an end. The only question, once Craigslist and Kijiji began boring holes in classified advertising, the economic foundation of newspapers, was whether there would even be time to save the furniture. Since the turn of the century, there have only been two alternatives for legacy news organizations: adapt or die ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Metroland Newspaper Group is going bankrupt in Ontario, pulling down 70 community newspapers with it. It's part of a decade-long decline in traditional media. The same thing is happening in BC, where one publisher told me that a certain community newspaper exists on a knife edge, making about $100 per week. Hardly a profitable business. The internet is partly to blame, of course, where people have access to instant news and social media worldwide, for free. But lack of diversity is another big factor. Today's journalists are uniformly leftist, so people like me can't trust what they read.  Most people I know are completely turned off by so-called 'journalism.' For years our local paper slammed anyone who didn't agree with its radical woke perspective, and twisted its coverage accordingly. For example, I remember standing at the end of a line of politicians at a local news conference. The woke reporter took a picture that conveniently left me out whe...