Fresh approaches to skepticism
The skeptic social movement has been a big part of my social and intellectual world. In a world full of bullshit and liars I appreciate the posture of “show me…
Journalism is a variety of public relations
Journalists complain about the rise and impact of public relations. It’s the “dark side”. Public relations (PR) “exerts a pressure” on journalism. It has a “distorting influence”. Journalists find themselves…
Masturbation: A Short History of a Great Taboo
This film by Lori Malépart-Traversy is a fascinating peak into the legacy of the Graham Cracker guy, Sylvester Graham, And the Kellogg’s guy, John Harvey Kellog, and other Presbyterian and…
Reality testing: measuring the long term impact of journalism
When Margaret Wente was getting busted repeatedly for plagiarizing, her publisher, The Globe and Mail, more or less defended her. Critical commentators’ noted that no one spins harder or better…
Some notes on microblogging
This week Twitter continues to burn money by rebranding to X. I’m still at Twitter at @sherwinarnott. But I don’t know for how long. Twitter remains more or less functional,…
Cognition trick: the Google Effect
The Google effect is a kind of digital amnesia that permeates this internet age. Explored by Sparrow, Liu, and Wegner, this variety of cognitive bias reveals the fascinating relationship between…
Five kinds of compassion, according to Gabor Maté
I’ve been reading (listening to) The Myth of Normal, by Gabor Maté. It’s a fascinating look at the role of trauma in our selves, but also in our collective selves….
The stickiness of so-called “reverse racism”
“Reverse racism” has been debunked many times. It’s a bogus idea. Unfortunately, it is also a bogus idea that is widely believed. Like other rightwing tropes such as “the nazis…
Municipal election recommendations for #YYJ
I live in a family of three with a young kid, downtown adjacent, in a condo. Here are my voting recommendations.
Research notes on defunding the police, from Halifax
The hard work of an important committee in Halifax has recently come to fruition. The Subcommittee to Define Defunding the Police have finished their research, their surveys, and their deliberations…
The state of hyperlinking in journalism, a case study
From time to time I like to check in on how news orgs are doing with their online publishing practices. In particular, I like to review how they handle reports…
White supremacy, doing journalism, and the explanatory comma
This particular Code Switch episode on the explanatory comma is itself a kind of extended explanatory comma, or perhaps an interrogatory comma, because Demby and Marisol Meraji take time to really discuss and think about their own discomfort with this practice.
Headlines, cognitive processing, and problematic information
Headlines matter. Publishers know it. Good headlines help with the understanding, reach, and impact of a story. Headlines frame articles, shaping the information in the article that follows, and alter reader comprehension.
A new generation of queer love: Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau
Bloom is a graphic novel about a young man in a small town, working in his family’s bakery. It is a meditation on patience and slowness and joy.
Three unforgettable moments in [my] hockey history
Where I grew up in Northern Alberta, hockey was a big deal. My big brother played hockey. And my dad, who was not a great skater, played hockey in a…
I seen it
She was kind. But she was also ruthlessly attentive to my Northern Alberta dialect. Sometimes she would simply say it back to me. I seen.
Journalism is the business of influence
Good journalists do what they do because they care. They have interests. The organizations that employ journalists also are guided by interests. They have purpose. The Washington Post wears their…
Journalism’s allergy to substantive regulation
Misinformation is a big deal. Hate online is a big deal. And as the public catches up to their reach and impact, we’ll see more and more talk about regulation…
Paul Wells, conservatism, satire, and Maclean’s footprint
I like Maclean’s about as much as I like the National Post. They’re rightwing, partisan, and legacy. On my view they have courted hate and burned trust, undermining journalism along…
The look, and the social nature of knowledge
When I was growing up I was bad with context. Super bad. My young logic-oriented self just did not understand humans and their social “nuance.” I’m still trying. Perhaps I’m…
Hyperlinking in Canadian journalism (Case study, IPBES report)
If news orgs are serious about being good partners in mitigating misinformation, they need to link meaningfully to relevant references and especially science-based organizations…
My cell phone carrier has stopped spamming me
My local gym and community centre is awesome. It’s a little less than three kilometres from my home. The pool is great. The gym is nice. It’s got a kind…
The dominant press is a giant inertia machine
But here’s an old idea: what if dominant journalism, by and large and in the long run, is actually a drag on progress? What if dominant journalism, and by that I mean the mainstream press, is actually a conservative force? On this view, it’s a drag on change…
The dream of proportional representation dies again; long live pro rep
I campaigned during the first and second referendums we had here in BC regarding proportional representation. We won the first one. 58% of voters voted yes for the Citizen Assembly…