#243 What Does ‘Off The Record’ Actually Mean? The Toronto Star And BuzzFeed Explain.
Confusion over "off the record" played a pivotal role in global affairs this past week. So — how does this oft-misunderstood agreement actually work, and why do so many powerful people continue to misuse it?
Jesse speaks with Toronto Star’s Daniel Dale about his scoop on Trump’s off the record comments about Canada amid NAFTA talks, and to Buzzfeed News’ editor-in-chief Ben Smith about an “off the record” email Elon Musk sent to one of his reporters.
Teachers accused of abusing Indigenous children at Catholic schools are among us. John Furlong is quoted regularly in the press as the man leading a possible Vancouver bid for the 2030 Olympics. It's as if the people accusing him of physical and sexual abuse don't exist. Today we hear Jesse's original 2014 conversation with journalist Laura Robinson, who broke the Furlong story, and an update about all that has happened since, and why the upcoming tribunal on the case may be different.
Ryerson University (aka X University) has a Journalism department in turmoil over student grievances. As similar reckonings sweep Canada's other J-Schools, Jesse sits down with departing Ryerson Prof Karyn Pugliese and former Undergraduate Director Lisa Taylor to discuss why they both left their posts. Then, reporter Cherise Seucharan talks to Ryerson alum Sarah Krichel and student Reah Singh, an organizer of the open letter that became national news.
Travel Writer and Journalist, Marcello Di Cintio talks to Jesse about his one year journey around Canada, in search of the secret stories etched in the minds of Canadian taxi drivers.
Pornhub is a massive Canadian website that few talked about until the New York Times called it out for profiting from the exploitation of children and rape victims. Now government is rushing to regulate all online pornography. But the NY Times piece has its origins in an anti-porn crusade from an anti-gay, racist evangelic church. Sandra Wesley, executive director of the sex worker advocacy group Stella, says that bad laws will harm sex workers, and that the "moral panic" over porn could even kill them.
News stories are frequently updated, clarified or corrected online, after they've been published. But when there's no disclosure that a story has been changed, something's usually up.
As reports of Chinese government influence in Canadian media gain traction, South China Morning Post reporter Ian Young reveals an incredible tale from the past.
Queen's University quickly rejected the findings of an anonymous report accusing six people associated with the school of misrepresenting their Indigenous identities. That prompt dismissal has raised questions about the non-status Ardoch Algonquin group, and the controversial academic from the U.S. who co-founded it.
