Two colour photographs hang on the wall of a nondescript office on the fifth floor of CBC headquarters in downtown Toronto. Each picture features the same subjects – David Knapp shaking hands with Pope John Paul II – captured at specific moments in time, eighteen years apart. As CBC manager of special events and elections,… Continue reading The Pope of CBC
Category: Online Exclusives
Fear of Publishing
When cartoons ignite worldwide protests, resulting in torched embassies and many deaths, the decision to reprint is easy. Many outlets believe in freedom of speech and providing readers with context, but few in Canada have actually run the cartoons. Western Standard magazine and The Jewish Free Press, both based in Calgary, are two that did,… Continue reading Fear of Publishing
Causalities of War
On February 23, the bodies of correspondent Atwar Bahjat, cameraman Khaled Mahmoud al-Falahi and engineer Adnan Khairallah were found near Samarra, Iraq. Bahjat was a correspondent for Al-Arabiya, while al-Falahi and Khairallah were employees of Wasan Productions on assignment for Al-Arabiya. The Wasan crew was covering the bombing of a Shiite shrine near Samarra, Iraq,… Continue reading Causalities of War
Shooting the Messenger
My excitement about giving a presentation on the state of Canadian media to a bunch of European journalism students cooled when I discovered I was to follow the reporter from Zimbabwe. All my criticisms of corporate concentration, CanWest Global Communications Inc., the public relations industry and Chomsky’s Propaganda Model of thought control in democratic societies… Continue reading Shooting the Messenger
Celebrity Takeover
“Sex does not a relationship make,” Jann Arden advises. “Dating is a tool used to weed out the wackos.” The question “So Confused” had asked Arden was whether she ought to stop looking around, now that she and her date had slept together. In the December 2005 issue of Elle Canada, the advice columnist finished… Continue reading Celebrity Takeover