White supremacy, doing journalism, and the explanatory comma
Code Switch is a great NPR podcast.1 I recently re-listened to an episode they first published in 2016 which is a an examination of explanatory commas. An explanatory comma is…
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](https://www.interrobang.is/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/hockey-and-masculinity-v1.0-1-768x403.jpg)
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…
Map of earthquake liquefaction risks around Victoria
My father recently sent me these amazing resources about various risks due to earthquake around Victoria. I immediately had to look at one, because the thought of the ground turning to liquid is terrifying to me…
Tsleil-Waututh Nation versus Bill Morneau, the duty to consult, and the public interest
Say it with me. The duty to consult Indigenous people does not conflict with the public interest…
Martin Speckter, type design, and the interrobang
99% Invisible did an episode on the interrobang recently. I was interested to learn that early Greek and Roman writing didn’t have spaces! Rack that up to stuff I took for granted. Apparently an ad man in the sixties developed the interrobang…
Trinity Western University continues to defend anti-gay community covenant
The Supreme Court of Canada, happily, was not moved by Trinity Western University’s claims that they weren’t hurting gay folks. And the Supreme Court was not moved by the claims by TWU that they…
Canadian journalism fails at nuance when it comes to jihad
On my view the news media in Canada have, by and large and in the long run, misrepresented the concept of jihad. They have positioned jihad as a form of villainy. In so doing they have portrayed Islam as a peril…
Some notes on why jihad is good
If you read Canadian journalists on the topic, you might not understand that jihad has some very nice meanings. Most Canadian journalists seem to commonly misrepresent the concept. It’s not just them, mind you. There’s lots of misrepresentation of jihad to go around…
Ads versus articles in the Saturday BC Edition of the Globe and Mail, A Section
Here’s the A Section of the Globe and Mail. It’s the BC edition for June 2nd, 2018. There are 19 reports and 5 opinion pieces. I counted the weather section…
Some thoughts on microblogging with self-hosted WordPress
So I’ve been experimenting with microblogging on Mastadon, micro.blog and Tumblr. I decided it’s time we have our own self-hosted WordPress microblog…
Anadrome, semordnilap and levidrome: a whimsical example of problematic information
How a heartwarming news story about an interesting linguistic phenomenon widely mislead people that there are no words to describe that spell different words when they’re reversed…
More nuanced theories of journalism needed
A good theory of journalism helps us understand what media are not journalistic. And, equally important, a theory helps us understand what unconventional kinds of media are journalistic…
UBCIC Rejects Canada 150 Celebrations
Republished with permission: “Canada150” is not representative of the history of our lands and territories, or of our present realities as Indigenous Peoples. We, the Union of BC Indian Chiefs (UBCIC), cannot, in all good conscience, participate in, and will not celebrate…