Canadaland

When the vitriol started to fly over Omar Khadr's $10.5 million settlement and apology from the government, Michelle Shephard got frustrated with just how much people were getting the basic facts wrong. As national security reporter for the Toronto Star, author of the book Guantanamo's Child and co-director of the documentary of the same name, she's been the top reporter on Khadr's story for the past 15 years. She speaks to guest host Omar Mouallem about how Khadr's public image has evolved over the years and what the media and the public continues to get wrong about the story.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Journalist Evan Balgord has been covering fringe right groups like the Proud Boys, Soldiers of Odin, and the Three Percenters for the better part of the past year. He joins the COMMONS team to discuss the ongoing street protests and what’s driving these groups’ discontent.   CANADALAND will be back on Monday.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ren Bostelaar posted nude pictures of women he knew to 4chan without their consent. He avoided a criminal record by apologizing and taking a peace bond. Was justice served? Is revenge porn legal in Canada? What is the state of the law and social media, years after the Amanda Todd and Rehteah Parsons cases? Privacy lawyer David Fraser launched a successful constitutional challenge against Nova Scotia's anti-cyberbullying law. But he supports current anti-revenge porn laws, and he explains why. Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With resistance to Canada150, Indigenous women calling out a reporter at a press conference, and the Proud Boys disrupting a Mi'kmaq ceremony in Halifax, the way people talk about our colonial history is changing. While Indigenous people demand respect, journalists like the National Post's John Robson think the insults are just too much.   NDP MP Romeo Saganash plagiarized co-host Erica Violet Lee's work in an op-ed for the Globe and Mail.   With Omar Khadr reportedly getting an apology and a settlement of $10.5 million from the Canadian government after nearly a decade in Guantanamo Bay, politicians are twisting the narrative, and a columnist wonders why Khadr can't just move on.   Erica's blog: Moontime Warrior Erica's Twitter: @ericavioletleeSupport CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada was once home to a small, but mighty collective of gay and lesbian newspapers and magazines that made up a radical alternative media. Over the last few decades now-defunct publications like The Body Politic, Siren and Fab brought LGBTQ+ issues, interests and voices, to the forefront. Daily Xtra, now the country’s only remaining national queer news source, ceased print in 2015 but continues publishing online. Despite queer people having more rights than ever before, queer media is all but disappearing. Is this solely a result of Canadian media’s general decline, or is the shift indicative of something more? It’s also been a year since Black Lives Matter Toronto (BLMTO) halted the country’s largest Pride parade in protest, with a list of demands in tow. The action sparked a harsh months-long backlash of editorials and hot takes by mostly white, straight columnists and pundits, ruthlessly condemning BLMTO. Has coverage of LGBTQ+ issues and news by legacy media changed or improved since BLMTO’s protest?

The Toronto Star put the final nail in the coffin of Star Touch, its $20-30-million app for a device that most people don't have or use. And after praising themselves for its bold innovation, quietly laid off 30 journalists. Meanwhile, Canada gears up this weekend for a celebration of epic proportions: Peter Mansbridge is retiring. And confederation, something something. Finally we dig into Jonathan Kay’s Twitter mobs and how they’re killing free speech for anybody who’s not a National Post columnist. Vice Senior writer Manisha Krishnan joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the release of the Public Policy Forum's Shattered Media report this past winter comes the latest beg for cash to prop up the newspaper industry. This one comes in the form of a request for a subsidy totaling hundred of millions of dollars per year from News Media Canada, the umbrella advocacy organization for Canadian newspapers. While it claims to advocate for the maintenance of local journalism, the organization shies away from supporting small, digital startups, which are often the strongest source of civic journalism in many Canadian communities. The Trudeau government swiftly knocked down the idea of taxing Netflix and other digital endeavours to fund this bailout, though it sounds like they're ultimately in favour of finding that funding. Bob Cox, Chair of the Board of News Media Canada as well as the publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press joins us.   (Producers' note: owing to a technical glitch with our telephone recording process, this interview is an amalgam of two separate interviews conduct

Governor General David Johnston issued a mea culpa over his radio interview in which he refers to Indigenous peoples as immigrants. Postmedia did not issue mea culpas for poorly-researched racist screeds in its Vancouver and Toronto outlets. Instead, they continue to rattle the cup in front of the federal government for bailout money. Finally, the National Post issued a mea culpa for years of Conrad Black columns by announcing they would stop publishing their Monday edition of the paper.   (Producers' note: Jesse Brown would like to issue a mea culpa after misstating the name of one of the lead characters of TV sitcom Three's Company, while Short Cuts guest David Berry's mea culpa comes over misstating that 'Sufferin' Succotash' was a catchphrase of Foghorn Leghorn. It was, in fact, Sylvester the Cat.)Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iraqi photojournalist Ali Arkady thought he was documenting the "good guys" -- the non-sectarian forces fighting Daesh for the preservation of Iraq. Instead, Arkady witnessed abuse, torture, and murder committed by the Emergency Response Division.  After fleeing Iraq with his family, Arkady partnered with the Toronto Star and ABC News to have his work see the light. He joins Jesse Brown on the phone from an undisclosed location in Europe alongside Mitch Potter, one of the three Star reporters who helped write this essential exposé.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Breitbart News has convinced concerned Christian families that Ontario’s new child protection laws will bring forth a queer totalitarian state, where parents opposing or denying their children’s gender identity will have them forcibly removed from their homes. After tweeting about almost being published in Teen Vogue on June 2, Toronto-based freelance writer, Roslyn Talusan’s call-out of the magazine went viral and led to dozens of writers flooding her inbox with similar stories of being strung along after having successfully pitched personal stories and essays approved by editors of Conde Nast’s supposedly progressive, feminist magazine. The Liberal government is moving forward with an amendment to the Criminal Code,  as a result of the Jian Ghomeshi case. The change will, for the first time, ensure that a complainant’s text messages, e-mails and video recordings with sexual content or a sexual purpose can be kept out of trials. Freelance writer and editor at Femsplain, Roslyn Talusan joins Jesse.Support

Or did we play ourselves? This most recent Conservative leadership race highlighted a number of deficiencies in Canadian media. Namely, why did the guy with virtually no chance of ever becoming Prime Minister, who skipped debates and ran much of his campaign from Boston, receive so much more press coverage than the guy who actually won the leadership? Did media just go for the low-hanging fruit, or did we allow ourselves to be manipulated by an expert huckster? CBC.ca's Opinion Producer Robyn Urback has some opinions of her own and joins us for the episode.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland stands up to the sole remaining global superpower like a newborn kitten taking on Galactus. Somewhere between 10 and 5,000 freedom-loving citizens descend on Parliament Hill to rail against Trudeau, refugees, Islam, you name it. Of course, close to 10,000 attended the most recent pro-marijuana rally, proving that Canadians love pot far more than they fear Sharia law. Finally, Scott Gilmore pens a tone-deaf piece for Macleans highlighting conditions on First Nations reservations and the solution is for the rest of us to ... care?Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

McClelland & Stewart was the publishing house that, at one time, served as the home for the likes of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Leonard Cohen and others. In 2000, under the direction of building magnate Avie Bennett, it was broken apart and sold to the University of Toronto and to Random House Canada. It's now entirely owned by a foreign company. Elaine Dewar, author of the new book The Handover, joins us to explain the seeming sleight-of-hand that put this institution in foreign hands. Avie Bennett died this past weekend at the age of 89.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservatives have a new, dimpled, leader, Nova Scotians have more of the same, and British Columbians have an unprecedented lefty hybrid. How effective was media coverage of these three electoral events? Plus, Toronto Life's recent tone-deaf spurt of house porn has led to, if not riots in the streets, then at least a whole lot of snark on social media. Journalist Katie Toth joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One cardinal rule of journalism is that reporters never accept incentives, be that meals, gifts, or - God forbid - money, from the subjects on whom they're reporting. This applies across the board except, we now know, in the travel section. Travel writers used to diligently follow this standard but, as newspapers and magazines were increasingly unable or unwilling to foot expenses, these journalists were forced to find alternative sources to fund their trips. This meant cozying up to hotel chains, airlines, and tourism bureaus. If travel writers are being subsidized by the tourism industry, can the readers trust the stories? Bert Archer is arguably Canada's most prolific travel writer and teaches the practice and ethics of travel writing at the University of Toronto. He believes journalists can maintain their editorial independence - but must walk a careful line.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

This week, The Guardian continued its exemplary coverage of Canadian university student unions. Hamilton police arrest two journalists attempting to cover a traffic fatality. And the Toronto Star wants you to trust it. This week's Short Cuts comes to you from scenic Hamilton and the studios of CFMU. The Public Record's Joey Coleman joins Jesse and suggests new ways to report on traffic deaths, and how local newspapers need to up their game when it comes to investigative reporting.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Texas of the north. Racist rednecks, gun nuts, and pickup truck enthusiasts. That's the Alberta stereotype portrayed in much of the rest of Canada, but how much of that is accurate and how much is due to lazy media that falls back on clichéd tropes? After all, Alberta gave us the first big-city Muslim mayor, the first provincial cabinet with gender parity, and hell, led the charge for women's suffragism (okay, that was a century ago, but still...). Despite the province's increasingly young and multicultural population, some still believe that the only real Albertan is a conservative Albertan. And that extends to the two men - Jason Kenney and Brian Jean - who inked a proposal to merge the Conservative and Wildrose parties last week. Are they, and their policies, reflective of a new, diverse Alberta? Joining Omar to unpack Alberta's multifaceted conservative history is Calgary journalist and author Sydney Sharpe, whose 2016 book, Notley Nation: How Alberta's Political Upheaval Swept the Country, documented

Hal Niedzviecki and Jonathan Kay have left their jobs. Steve Ladurantaye's been shifted to a lesser role at CBC. And no, we're not finished talking about this yet. Ryan McMahon joins Jesse in Winnipeg to talk appropriation.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When it comes to rap, where does artistic licence end and confession begin? According to prosecutors in at least 30 cases from the last decade, it starts when the artist is charged with a crime and the lyrics are parsed for clues to a case or for proof of bad character. Many of these defendants are convicted of their crimes, but should their music be a permissible tool? What is the threshold? And does the practice intentionally or unintentionally tap into the unconscious biases of jurors with the fate of young black and indigenous men in their hands? This roundtable discussion on the inclusion of rap as criminal evidence brings together three experts: University of California, Irvine criminologist Adam Dunbar, University of Toronto sociologist Jooyoung Lee, and lawyer Hilary Dudding, whose case, R. v. Campbell, could effect future trials in Canada. They join guest host Omar Mouallem for the episode.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on A

British Columbia had an election where everybody won - or at least got an 'I Participated' ribbon. Also, Rebel Media wades into the French election like a skunk splashing around a backyard kiddie pool. Finally, black activist and journalist Desmond Cole takes leave from the Toronto Star after the corporation suggests they'd appreciate it if he wouldn't mind being a little less active and a lot less black. The National Observer's Sandy Garossino joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.