Month: May 2015

Macleans’ “Titillating” Cover Story on Sex Abuse Criticized by the Dancer it Profiled

May 25, 2015

Serena McCarroll and others spoke out on the record as part of a Macleans cover story on abuse allegations at the Winnipeg Ballet. McCarroll hoped that going public would give the accusations a greater resonance than some might think is lacking with anonymous allegations. Unfortunately, in its treatment of the story, Macleans side-stepped fundamental issues at play and portrayed its on the record victim in an unclear light, to the point where it has left her frustrated and saddened by the piece.

Michael Chong’s Reform Act is Easy to Hate. So Why Does the Media Love it?

May 21, 2015

How well are be being served by our political media if they can’t be bothered to get both sides of a story if that other side is coming from the Senate? It is a legitimate parliamentary body, even if they’re not elected, and it’s not going away, so maybe it behoves us to actually give it proper coverage.

For Evan Solomon, Elizabeth May’s Speech was a Democratic Crisis

May 13, 2015

For some reason, Elizabeth May’s drunken press gallery speech was treated as the most important story in the country. To Evan Solomon, our whole democracy was in crisis.

VICE “Punked” Freelancers for “Boob Video,” says Globe Reporter

May 12, 2015

After a topless Femen protester crashed a Quebec cabinet minister’s press conference late last month, some reporters in the Quebec Parliamentary Press Gallery wondered aloud if VICE had something to do with it. The media company had never reported from the National Assembly before, and yet it had a three-person camera crew on hand to film Neda Topaloski as she yelled in protest against a health-care bill she argued would limit access to abortion.

Why CANADALAND: COMMONS is possibly the worst thing for Canadian politics

May 6, 2015

A member of the Press Gallery on why ignorance is not bliss.

Ghomeshi’s Accusers are Dreading Kevin Donovan’s Book

May 5, 2015

The women who accused Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault, abuse and harassment took extraordinary risks and gained nothing. If Ghomeshi is guilty, their courage may have prevented others from being harmed by him, and it has certainly emboldened others to speak out about sexual assault and abuse. These women have changed the way people think and talk about domestic violence, workplace harassment and sexual assault.

Postmedia Told Edmonton Journal to Endorse Jim Prentice, Says Edmonton Journal

May 3, 2015

Their recent performance in office and at the hustings subject to widespread media and voter skepticism, incumbent Premier Jim Prentice and the Alberta Progressive Conservatives nonetheless managed to secure the endorsement of the four largest papers in Alberta, the Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Sun and Calgary Sun. In one case, instruction to endorse came from the papers’ parent company, Toronto-based Postmedia.