A Haitian senator’s wife paid $4.25 million—all money down—for a house in Laval, Quebec. Meanwhile in Haiti, people have been protesting against corruption, kidnapping, and a president who they say is over-staying his term in office. How do we talk about Haiti without reproducing unhelpful tropes and stereotypes?
Michelle Latimer was the buzziest Canadian director and showrunner of 2020. But it all came crashing down in December when a CBC investigation called into question her Indigenous identity claims.
The New York Times’ wildly popular podcast Caliphate came into question after its central character, a Canadian man who claimed he’d joined ISIS and committed executions, was charged with perpetrating a terrorist hoax.
Many people who broke into the Capitol broadcast their crimes across social media. Twitter, Facebook and other platforms responded by deleting accounts, but other people rushed to preserve and organize all their posts from the assault on the Capitol, as well as photos and videos from journalists present.
A teenage boy and his friends start robbing banks in Toronto. A future Prime Minister is deported from Montreal. A Black Panther in Baltimore goes to prison for four decades.
Karl Dockstader and Sean Vanderklis update us on the 1492 Land Back Lane occupation and explore why federal government inaction just makes things worse.
The Epoch Times’ COVID-19 special edition raised controversy when it landed in mailboxes across Canada in April. The paper was accused of spreading misinformation and fomenting anti-Chinese racism.
This week marks a month since the start of a land occupation to block a residential development at the edge of Caledonia, Ontario — and the Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve.
Last week’s House Finance Committee hearings into the WE Charity scandal yielded few new insights into why the government awarded it a massive sole-source contract or how the organization itself operates. Thankfully, the press has continued to turn up information that MPs have not.
We really didn’t expect to find ourselves writing about the WE organization again. But then it became part of the biggest politics story in the country, and we obtained a recording of a strange conversation between one of its founders and a person who was then a senior employee in the group’s Kenyan operations.
InfoLab imagined newspapers' transition from print to digital, creating multimedia digital news in the basement of The Hamilton Spectator back in the early '90s.
The pandemic could be an "extinction event" for American newspapers and so their publishers want their own government bailout. Meanwhile Canadian papers want money from Google and Facebook, too.
We are facing an unprecedented shutdown of services and businesses across the country. Health columnist Andre Picard was an early voice calling for Canada to “shut it down” in the pages of the Globe and Mail. He talks to us about how COVID-19 compares to other epidemics he’s covered, the media coverage so far and why he was pushing for social distancing before the government embraced it.
Every year, Bell shines the spotlight on mental health for Let’s Talk Day. So we’re taking a look at their prison phone contract, which advocates say exacerbate mental health problems for inmates.
Reporter Anna Mehler Paperny talks about her book, Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person, which covers her search for answers about depression and her personal experiences.
The Sahotas are Vancouver’s most notorious slumlords. For decades they’ve let their buildings rot, leaving their tenants to live in filth and desolation. But the Sahotas are not like any other dynasty you’ve ever heard of. Their story is far stranger, and far darker, than anything you can imagine.
Alberta's premier wants a referendum on ... what exactly? And Justin Ling wants you to calm down about climate change "muzzling." Plus, meet some intriguing candidates to keep an eye on.
Canoe-borne bandits strike an underwater town. A new generation of wealthy lobstermen is minted. An island disappears. And hellfire engulfs a highway jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. Just another normal day amidst Canada’s climate catastrophe.
Over the past couple of years, a few Canadian media outlets and writers have become obsessed with trans people, painting their campaign for human rights as a menace to society. This coverage has hit a peak with the story of Jessica Yaniv, a trans woman who’s taking multiple beauticians to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal after they refused to wax to her genitals. Where did this obsession come from? And why has this particular story taken off?
Steven Page, former frontman and founding member of Barenaked Ladies, talks about his career, why he chose to leave a beloved and wildly successful band, and the fickle realities of Canadian stardom.
Glen Assoun spent nearly 17 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit. But even after his sentence was overturned, the evidence that freed him remained sealed. Reporters fought successfully to have that evidence released. What they found not only raises questions about the investigation, but reveals the outright deletion of evidence pointing to another killer.
Canada's news bosses are some of the most influential people in the country. They decide what is news and what isn't. We think it's time someone talked to them about that.
InfoLab imagined newspapers' transition from print to digital, creating multimedia digital news in the basement of The Hamilton Spectator back in the early '90s.
When Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese called the government to follow up on a tip, he heard back from the PR arm of Irving Shipbuilding. And then the president of that company called, and threatened to sue him.
Canada's most ubiquitous TV host talks about his many, many gigs, from MuchMusic VJ to CNN interviewer -- and why he's turned to YouTube for the latest one.
This week marks 175 years of The Globe and Mail. You can read all about its accomplishments elsewhere. Writer Jamie Bradburn takes us through the paper's darker moments.
In the past year or so, the podcast industry has seen an explosion --or bubble, depending on who you ask-- with companies like Entertainment One, Corus, and Rogers making big plays in the market. Who are the big players? What are they trying to do? And are their podcasts any good?
There's a lot to learn from what politicians and journalists can and can't tell us, their lowly constituents and readers. We read between the lines of the news coverage of the SNC-Lavalin scandal with BuzzFeed News' Paul McLeod. Then, Macleans columnist Anne Kingston helps translate politicians' passive-aggressive, condescending, or coded messages, passed to us through resignation letters, speeches, and even Twitter likes.
In English media, there are whole organizations and departments devoted to debunking fake news. But in Quebec, a lot of the work falls to one guy: Jeff Yates. He talks to guest host Brigitte Noël about the unique challenges of combatting fake news in French and why he thinks it's time to destigmatize sharing bogus stories.
Paula Simons did something that makes a lot of journalists cringe. She went into politics. The former Edmonton Journal columnist is now an independent senator. She speaks about crossing over, using social media to pull back the curtain on Canadian politics... and the Senate's secret snack machine.
What do warnings of globalism, support for pipelines and calls to execute Trudeau have in common? They're all part of the rhetoric of the Canadian Yellow Vests. CANADALAND producer David Crosbie investigates how a French working class protest against a fuel tax has inspired a right-wing, populist movement holding recurring rallies across Canada.
Something like the half of all activity on the internet is fake. Yes, there are bots. But there are also fake websites that cater to bots. And then there are the ways real people adjust their behaviour to try to game the bots. Where does this leave the idyllic internet we were promised?
A bunch of new partisan political websites are fighting for the narrative in the run-up to the federal election. Reporter Graeme Gordon is here to tell you which organizations to look out for on your Facebook and Twitter feeds, what their political objectives are, and who's paying for them.
Blazing wildfires. Pipeline stand-offs. Unpredictable floods. Men in suits arguing... One of our era's most urgent, high-stakes stories is also the hardest one to get right.
The Canadian federal government plans to issue nearly $600M in tax credits and incentives to bolster the country's media industry over the next five years. What will this mean for the independence of the Canadian press? And will CANADALAND be applying for funds?
Thunder Bay podcast host and creator Ryan McMahon reflects on the year-long production process, and he, Jesse and Connie Walker — host of CBC's award-winning podcast Missing & Murdered: Finding Cleo —speak at ImagineNATIVE Film & Media Arts Festival about the challenges that come with telling such sensitive, complex stories through the true crime genre.
After 25 years at the CBC, tech columnist Jesse Hirsh decided to risk it all. During an interview about Facebook, he turned the tables, asking why CBC continues to promote Facebook after we've seen what that company has done to undermine democracy. CBC refused to post the segment online, raising questions about what you can and cannot say on our public broadcaster.
The Kielburgers' WE Movement has enjoyed more than 20 years of glowing press. They also have partnerships with 38 media organizations and a history of aggressive responses to criticism. Reporter Jaren Kerr speaks with Jesse about his investigation of WE's media relations.
Guest host Karen K. Ho explores how ethical concerns are becoming a core component of many big business stories, and what some reporters are doing to expand business journalism’s audience and sources.
Google's sister company, Sidewalk Labs, has partnered with every level of government to build the first-ever 'smart city' in Toronto — but with several high-profile resignations and mounting privacy concerns, will this project ever break ground?
Craig Kielburger founded WE when he was 12 to fight child labour. Now, the WE brand is used to promote products made by children. Reporter Jaren Kerr presents the findings of his 4-month long investigation.
Next week, recreational weed will become legal across Canada. In anticipation, mainstream media has begun taking cannabis coverage seriously. Overnight, nearly every major outlet across the country has hired full-time reporters to cover it — but before we celebrate industry growth, how sustainable is this beat?
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?
The book world has been thrown into turmoil by sexual assault allegations, inter-generational fighting and questions over Indigenous ancestry. Is this inside baseball for a tiny industry, a microcosm of the culture wars or a battle over who gets to tell Canada's story?
While journalists worry about Facebook algorithms and digital advertising, every other industry gets to be excited about technology. So today, we try our hardest to find the positive tech stories for the news industry.
More than a year after their expansion into Canada, the New York Times is holding its own against our native media. And they're doing it with only three reporters. But what exactly is their goal here?
We hear from two Canadian journalists currently facing legal consequences for doing their jobs. The outcomes of these cases could set precedents for how the press is allowed to operate.
Richard Stursberg was the most hated CBC executive in recent history. What advice does he have for Catherine Tait, the CBC's new president? And what does he have to say about his own infamous legacy?
After years of dodging emails about the internal politics of the country's largest subreddit, r/Canada, Jesse finally jumps down the weirdo-message-board rabbit hole.
"From mass dissemination of false information, to impersonation, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes... the
possibilities for the types of activities contemplated in [Bill C-59] are limited only by imagination."
This week, we're presenting some of the best work from across our network. In this series of The Imposter, host Aliya Pabani decides that to learn more about comedy, she's going to learn how to be a comedian.
Over the holidays, CANADALAND is presenting the best work across our network. Here's a recent episode of COMMONS about Robert Pickton, marginalized communities and police accountability.
Reporters Anna Merlan and Madeleine Davies were investigating and writing about Louis CK well before the New York Times story came out. And they faced a lot of criticism for it.
“Objectivity for the sake of objectivity often means make sure that the powerful always get their say. And sometimes Caesar shouldn’t have his say. Sometimes the truth is just true.”
Sarah Polley talks about how she helped Jesse break a major story. And she discusses domestic abuse, sexual harassment and assault, and the culture that fuels it.
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly had the thankless task of crafting a new culture plan that was sure to disappoint. She is now being viciously attacked by the press.
Over the summer, videos came out that appeared to show Saudi Arabia deploying Canadian combat vehicles against their own citizens. And it barely made a splash in the Canadian media.
Michael Enright got Jesse his first job in radio. He was also CANADALAND’s first ever guest, drinking bourbon and talking shit about the Canadian media. For our 200th show, he’s back to talk about how the media has changed since that day.
Every year, Toronto hosts some of the biggest stars in Hollywood as they debut their new films. But is the Toronto International Film Festival actually good for the city?
Who thought we'd have a Nazi problem in 2017? Richard Warman did. Years before the current "Should I punch a Nazi" debate took off, he attacked neo-Nazis with the law. And the media hated him.
Sports journalism is facing many of the same issues as other facets of the industry: declining ad revenues, job insecurities, and too much content vying for too few eyeballs.
Following the election of Donald Trump, Craig Silverman wrote the defining article on fake news. Now he dives into hyperpartisan media -- websites that blend legitimate reporting with clickbait viral headlines to create a morass where you can't be sure what's real and what isn't.
In it: should you fuck your Prime Minister?; Why Canadians secretly love climate change; why we love the RCMP; and a peek at the Canada of the not-too-distant future. The stage show for our book, the CANADALAND Guide to Canada.
Michelle Shephard has been covering Omar Khadr since the beginning. She talks to guest host Omar Mouallem about what the media keeps getting wrong about the story.
Ren Bostelaar posted nude pictures of women to 4chan without their consent. He avoided a criminal record by taking a peace bond. Is revenge porn legal in Canada?
In the months after Robyn Doolittle's groundbreaking series of exposés about the scandal-ridden Toronto mayor Rob Ford, she left the Toronto Star for a new investigative role at the Globe & Mail. Then, mostly, silence. Her lack of bylines belied her hard work behind the scenes as she dug into what would become the story of the year: a 20-month investigation into police departments across Canada and their chronic underreporting of sexual assaults being filed.
Late last month the Public Policy Forum released its long-anticipated report on the state of Canadian newspapers. Somewhat unexpectedly, this was a bold and far-reaching document, exploring the changing face of media in this country. The principal author of the paper, former Globe & Mail Editor-In-Chief Ed Greenspon, joins Jesse to dig deep into its findings. Read the entire report (no, seriously, read it) here.
In 2008, political pundit Don Martin penned a negative screed against former NBC wartime correspondent and - at the time - Alberta provincial electoral candidate Arthur Kent, aka the Scud Stud. Convinced that Martin had violated basic journalistic ethics, Kent took him and the CanWest newspaper chain (later Postmedia) to court for defamation of character.
On this episode, guest host Ashey Csanady and Vicky Mochama look at CBC's recently launched comedy portal and wonders if it's relevant and, you know, funny.
Yellowknife crime reporter John McFadden has been getting into problems with the local police for a while now. But that won't stop him from doing his job.
In the wake of Colten Boushie's death, Jesse discusses racial tensions in Saskatoon with panelists Betty Ann Adam, Rob Innes, and Mylan Tootoosis. Recorded live at Winterruption in Cosmo Seniors Centre on January 20th, 2017.
Misha Glouberman has been hosting Trampoline Hall, a barroom lecture series created by author Sheila Heti, for 15 years. He and Jesse are almost, but not quite, friends.
La Presse journalist Patrick Lagacé tells all about why the Montreal police spied on him and other journalists, and why the free press is under attack.
We lost almost half our staff this month. We need to pay better to retain our amazing team. Help us on Patreon and everybody but Jesse will get a raise.
The BBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Bloomberg: all of them are increasing their presence in Canada at the exact same time that the Canadian media is cutting back like never before. Jessica Murphy, head of the BBC's new Canadian bureau and the New York Times' Canada correspondent Ian Austen discuss the influx.
Answers to some of the questions about reporter Raveena Aulakh's suicide. How much did the Toronto Star know about its "toxic" workplace and what did they do about it?
John Furlong has been accused of abusing dozens of First Nations children when he was a teacher in Burns Lake in the 1960s. Journalist Laura Robinson told this story and ended up on the wrong side of a defamation lawsuit.
Baroness Von Sketch, CBC's new sketch show, is funny. What happened? Jesse asks Baroness writer, author, and standup comedian Monica Heisey about what went right and what may be changing in Canadian comedy.
Is the Communist Party of China influencing the Canadian-Chinese press? Journalist and paralegal Jonathan Fon joins Jesse for a discussion on the influence of Beijing.
Global News anchor Chris Gailus is one of British Columbia's most renowned television broadcasters. He's been accused of sexually harassing his former makeup artist, Dawne Koke. Koke speaks to Jesse about her claims and about sexual harassment in the news business.
CBC still has a bullying & harassment problem. Jesse and Jane discuss how they investigated it for their recent report, "Bullying & Harassment Claims Emerge at CBC's As It Happens, TV Sports, and HR."
When it came to Canadian arts administration, Jeff Melanson was the king. Until his messy annulment papers from frozen food heiress Eleanor McCain alleged that he left more than just administrative damage in his wake from the National Ballet School, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Banff Centre for the Arts. Anne Kingston dives deep into the hushed world of Canadian arts institutions.
Live from the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, cartoonists Ted Rall, Chip Zdarsky, and Rokudenashiko talk censorship, the surprisingly subversive power of cartoons, and the dying art of comics journalism.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, massive numbers of workers are getting laid off. Taxes are skyrocketing. The oil industry is collapsing. Meanwhile, journalist James McLeod has independently published a Sunshine List that exposes just how cosy the province really is.
Justin Trudeau's government told us that selling weapons to Saudi Arabia was a "done deal" of the Conservative government, but reporting by The Globe and Mail's Steven Chase revealed that it was entirely within the Liberals' power to stop it. The Globe called the government hypocrites, the NDP called them liars. What about the public?
For the past year, Desmond Cole has been the media's go-to guy whenever a story about black Canadians would come up. Now, he discusses what's to come after hosting COMMONS.
The Ethnic Aisle is a crowdfunded digital magazine tackling issues of multiculturalism, diversity, and race in Toronto and the GTA. Chantal Braganza is the managing editor of The Ethnic Aisle and a digital media producer at TVO. Guest hosted by Scaachi Koul.
Adrienne Batra and Alex Pierson were SUN News TV hosts until the network suddenly went dark last month. Now, they join Jesse to come clean about what it was like to work at the most hated TV station in Canada.
Should journalists have control over what other journalists have access to? Allison Smith is the publisher of Queen's Park Today, a daily news website that reports on Ontario politics. For the last four years, the Queen's Park Press Gallery - a group of journalists - has denied her membership on dubious grounds.
Dozens of women and girls have been murdered in the Halifax area over the past few decades. Tim Bousquet is capturing it all on his independent news site, the Halifax Examiner.
Glen McGregor just left the Ottawa Citizen (along with 14 others) after breaking many major political stories of the last few years. So what's next for him, for the Citizen, and for print journalism in Canada's capital?
Most Canadians don't hear about the stories Indigenous peoples tell within their communities. Mainstream media only covers the most tragic events affecting Indigenous communities — if it chooses to cover them at all. Now, alternative digital platforms have created an opportunity for these stories to travel outside the communities they are about.
When Ken Alexander co-founded the Walrus in 2003, he wanted it to be a left-leaning literary magazine that also functioned as an educational charity. Now he says The Walrus has lost its way, strayed from its editorial mandate, abused its staff and violated its charitable obligations.
Last week, Postmedia laid off 90 journalists from newsrooms across Canada, months after absorbing the Sun newspaper chain. What if a slow, painful death was the plan all along? The National Observer's Bruce Livesey weighs in on the implosion of Postmedia.
Do media unions protect journalists at the expense of journalism? Do they make it impossible for struggling news orgs to survive? Do they protect older workers at the expense of the younger generation? Nora Loreto, author and union activist, talks about what place organized labour might have in today's media.
What is CANADALAND doing wrong? What are we getting right? Where should we be headed? Listen in and find out: we recorded our annual staff meeting/staff mixer.
Marineland denies the allegations made in this podcast by Phil Demers, their former animal trainer. They have launched pending legal action against The Toronto Star, Phil Demers and others.
How will we know how bad things have gotten when most of the records have been erased? Anne Kingston discusses how Canada has thrown its data in the dumpster and become an international cautionary tale.
It's taken 40 years for the media to pay attention to the permanent crisis of missing and murdered aboriginal women. Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Director of News and Current Affairs, talks about what has finally changed and why it's taken so long.
Comedian Sugar Sammy might be the most famous Canadian you haven't heard of. He plays to sell-out crowds in Paris, India, South Africa, and night after night in Montreal. He has sold hundreds of thousands of tickets. Yet he has yet to break through in english Canada or in the States. Jesse asks him why, and waxes nostalgic for the time he and Sammy were at the same university.
Is VICE a cult? Is it a sweatshop? Does their partnership with ROGERS influence their content? VICE Canada's head of content Patrick McGuire and executive vice president of TV Michael Kronish sit down for a tense chat with Jesse.
Who keeps the media in check? The newly-formed National Newsmedia Council, according to John Fraser and Don McCurdy. Can a bunch of journalists and public members wrangle the entire Canadian journalism industry?
Joey Coleman was often the only reporter at Hamilton Ontario City Hall: a one-man digital newsroom, funded by his audience. His constant presence irritated a city councillor, who lost his temper and got physical. Joey didn't fight back, but he was the one punished: through a series of retaliations he was pushed out of the building and his news coverage became impossible. He joins Jesse to tell his story.
What does it really mean to be represented, in the media or in government? Can one kind of minority stand-in for another? What is shadeism? Does the media demand that minorities conform to whiteness in order to get in front of a camera? Is Canada finally, truly ready to deal with race? Septembre Anderson takes it all on.
The Walrus is in meltdown: stories of office bullying, exploitation and workplace chaos are leaking from "Canada's best magazine". Three of the people at the centre of the controversy speak.
Kady O'Malley might be the 1st Canadian journalist who gets paid, primarily, to report the news via Twitter. Ottawa Citizen calls her Canada’s first mobile-focused political journalist. Jesse and Kady discuss social media journalism and the relationship between journalists and politicians.
University of Ottawa's Michael Geist breaks down the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), a proposed trade agreement that Stephen Harper has been toiling over in secret for the last five years - an agreement that will have huge impacts on Canada's internet freedom and copyright issues.
Laura Robinson has lost her libel suit against John Furlong. The ruling, which could limit the media's willingness to report on abuse allegations, is based on erroneous information. Lawyer William McDowell discusses the possible impact.
Hart Pomerantz was Lorne Michaels's original partner, back when Michaels was still known as Lorne Lipowitz. Their top-rated CBC variety show, The Hart and Lorne Terrific Hour, was a precursor for Saturday Night Live before it was pulled from the airwaves after two short seasons.
The Ashley Madison hack was shitty and evil. But is reporting on it shitty and evil? Fortune Magazine's Mathew Ingram discusses where to draw the line.
First, the National Post's Adrian Humphreys on working with Anonymous. Then, Jesse interviews #OpAnonDown about their recent leaks on CSIS foreign stations, their John Baird threat, and more.
Veteran comedian Scott Thompson on why nothing happened after The Kids In The Hall, the biggest problems with the Canadian film & TV industry, and why gay men still have to be defanged to be accepted.
Veteran journalist Vivian Smith on institutional sexism, metaphorical pink and blue aisles, why some women choose to leave the profession, and how to fix it.
Paul Watson discusses his resignation from the Toronto Star, his upcoming article that the Star refused to publish, and his career spent reporting from hot zones.
Crime writer James Dubro discusses the symbiotic relationship between criminals and the press, and the four decades he's spent covering the mob in Canada.
The Tyee may be the oldest surviving "digital native" news site in Canada. Who funds it and why has it stuck around for so long while so many others have faded away? Founder David Beers explains.
Last week a Conservative strategist fooled the media into thinking there was a popular, grassroots movement to boycott Tim Hortons on behalf of the oil industry. There was not. BuzzFeed Canada's politics editor Paul McLeod revealed the scheme, and talks to Jesse about how reporters get played by people in politics all the time.
Josh Dolgin is one of Canada's most idiosyncratic talents. He is a rapper, a producer, an accordian player, a magician, a cartoonist, a puppeteer, and a cook book author. He is also Jesse's former creative partner, and this conversation should probably have taken place in private, if at all.
Aboriginal people make up over 4% of Canada's population, but less than .5% of Canadian news stories have anything to do with them. What little we do hear from the media about indigenous people is often negative. APTN is the first, and perhaps the only aboriginal TV network in the world. Jesse visits their Winnipeg HQ and speaks to Karyn Pugliese, APTN's Director of News and Current Affairs.
Leah McLaren was telling the world about her private life before we all started doing it. She talks to Jesse about haters, journalism and acts of provocation.
It's possible that Chantal Hébert's journalism once held Canada together. She joins Jesse for a discussion about what's appropriate in political news coverage, and what (if anything) needs to change.
The energy sector has flooded Canada's media with money, be it in ad dollars, speaking fees, charitable donations or "native content" partnerships. What this has bought, in effect, is a lack of critical mainstream discourse on oil and the environment. The National Observer has launched to counter this reality. Linda Solomon Wood is its founder, and she speaks to Jesse about her effort.
Veteran investigative reporter Bruce Livesey was fired by Global News after they spiked his report on the billionaire Koch Brothers and their influence in Canada.
CANADALAND has obtained two eyewitness accounts of the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard. Neither has been publicly released before. They tell a very different tale of the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard than what the media has previously reported. They are followed by an interview with Sheppard's father, Allan Sheppard.
The Irving Family of New Brunswick own more land than anyone in the world except for royalty and the Pope. How do they use their media monopoly to further their interests? What happens to those who try to compete with them?
Before he quit his job, Foreign Minister John Baird said journalist Mohamed Fahmy's release was "imminent". Now Fahmy is set to be retried in Egypt after over a year in prison.
As few as 5000 people watch Ezra Levant's SUN News TV show, yet Levant himself is a major presence in the Canadian media. Why is that? Jesse asks Ezra to explain his own prominence.
A CANADALAND live taping from The Hamilton Public Library on the state of news coverage in medium to small markets. Panelists include crowdfunded local journalist Joey Coleman, media researcher Sonya MacDonald and CHCH's Donna Skelly.
CANADALAND is gearing up for a big year. Time to check in with those who listen to it and who pay for it: What should I be covering? How should I handle ads? Who should host the upcoming politics show? More questions, some answers, and an apology.
The President of Ecuador spent his state TV broadcast decrying a 26 year-old Canadian journalist. Then his operatives bullied her out of the country. Now, Bethany Horne tells her story.
45 First Nations people allege experiencing or witnessing abuse by former school teacher John Furlong, President of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Journalist Laura Robinson broke the story.
Steven Kerzner may be the most famous TV peformer you've never heard of. His hand has insulted some of the biggest pop stars in the world. Crouched just out of frame, he had a worm's eye view of the heyday of CityTV and Muchmusic, and he tells Jesse all.
The Irvings are secretive billionaires who have a monopoly on New Brunswick's news media. Journalist Jacques Poitras, author of Irving vs Irving, describes how the family subtly suppresses criticism and destroys competitors.
An on-stage interview with Pultizer-prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald on his troubled relationship with the Canadian media and what he knows but has yet to report on CSEC spying.
Norman Spector is Canada's former ambassador to Israel. He was also the publisher of the Jerusalem Post. Conversations about Israel-Palestine are invariably bummers, but for Norman, Jesse makes an exception.
CANADALAND is at a crossroads. The show won't continue without your support.
But if each of the show's 10,000 listeners kicks in $1 a month, CANADALAND becomes an independent news org, a podcast network, and a daily news site.
Carl Wilson changed the way music is discussed. His "poptimist" manifesto, Let's Talk About Love, made it okay to talk seriously about bubbly pop, and went pop itself- that rare work of criticism that becomes a bestseller. He rose to a top job in his field, senior critic at SPIN. But he almost instantly lost that job. He explains why, and talks about the rapid decline of music criticism itself.
Baby Boomers are the wealthiest generation ever while young Canadians are increasingly poor and in debt. Yet the federal government spends four times as much on the average senior citizen each year as it does on the average 24-year-old. Eric Swanson of Generation Squeeze is fighting an uphill battle to even the scales.
The CBC, Ontario and Quebec say they want to tax Netflix to pay for CanCon TV. The Harper government says there will be no Neflix tax as long as they remain in power. They're all full of it. A Netflix tax is impossible. Journalist Steve Faguy explains why.
David Soknacki is the opposite of Rob Ford: he's skinny, sober and thoughtful. But is the political press too sensationalized for a candidate with substance to get noticed?
The Score is a digital-first, globally popular Canadian media company that's growing each year. So why did its well-loved feature writing team just get the axe? Former features editor Dustin Parkes explains.
MuchMusic and dozens of other specialty channels collect millions of dollars a year from subscribers who didn't ask for them and don't watch them. Meanwhile, channels are laying off their staffs and producing less meaningful content than ever. Is it time to cut the cord on the protected cable business?
Veteran journalist John Barber has written a fire-breathing, bridge-burning polemic on the state of Canada's newspapers, including The Globe and Mail, where he spent most of his career. He explains why he had to say it.
THE GRID may be remembered as the last newspaper ever launched in Canada. The people behind it share their thoughts on whether success was ever even possible.
The veteran CBC broadcaster as you've never heard him before. A candid, combative, and lubricated conversation about the state of journalism, the CBC, Canada in general, and Jesse's life choices in particular.
The CBC's new plan is to be a digital content company (that doesn't make content). Jeffrey Dvorkin used to run news at CBC and NPR. He tells Jesse what he would do if he were still in charge.
A people-powered journalism startup from Montreal has quickly earned the support of hundreds of backers. So what is Ricochet and who’s paying for it? Editor Ethan Cox explains.
CSEC is shadier than the NSA. Nobody really knows what they are doing, including the Ministers who empower them and the judges who grant them warrants.
Actor/writer Matt Watts (The Newsroom, Michael Tuesdays and Thursdays) on "incest" and "hush money" at the CBC, among other problems plaguing our TV industry.
