Weekly News Journal
Week1- NPR
This week I began to familiarize myself with NPR. I am embarrassed to say that even though I
have heard people refer to this news outlet I have never investigated them. So far, I have found the
articles to be very informative and I have been able to follow them with ease. I guess I was worried that
they would be too academic for me. I believe I still suffer a bit from imposter syndrome and maybe did
not believe that I would be able to follow the news stories with any amount of understanding.
The news stories that have caught my attention the most are the ones about Donald Trump and
the 2020 election. I have come to understand more about the election process this week because of the
articles and podcasts on NPR. I am more likely to tune in now. The mobile app is easy to use, and I can
find news information rather easily. I would probably not spend a lot of time with NPR just because I
would prefer more local news information, but I find I can learn much about the world in general from
the broadcasts they have.
Week 2 – CBC
I just handed in my first assignment for this class and I wish I could take it back. I suggested that
I did not actually have a reliable news source and that I preferred to read empirical journal articles. After
todays class and reading the CBC for this past week I feel differently. Having scientific data to support a
hypothesis is great but we live in a society with many different perspectives and those perspectives
should not be ignored. Emily Chung wrote earlier in the week about how people in Canada do not really
trust scientists and find them elitist. If students like me who prefer to read journal articles can help
others understand how science is done and how to interpret studies maybe, we can reduce that
mistrust and encourage more critical thinking in the general public.
I find that the CBC attempts to be as accurate in their reporting as possible. I also respect the
opinion section of the website. They present different sides of issues as well as links to other stories that
give context and background information for things I may not have fully understood. Jennifer McGuire’s
helped me understand the difference between and analyses and an opinion. Her blog post reminded me
of how we as students are taught to read journal articles. To think about why a study is being done, who
are the players, and what difference does it make.
Another aspect of the CBC website that I really enjoyed was the Indigenous section. Right there
on the top with all the big issues. Most news broadcasting that I have witnessed share very little about
what is going on within Aboriginal communities and you must dig to see what is really going on.
Week 3 - The Toronto Sun
Umm, I don’t even know where to start. From journalists who make outrageous claims and
statistics without any actual evidence to the unmonitored hateful comments section. On Wednesday
there was a story about Canadian women not believing that PM Justin Trudeau was a feminist. The
Toronto Sun used a DART poll but only used part of it. The poll suggested that yes, there were a lot of
women in Canada that did not think Trudeau was a feminist, but they failed to mention that 54% of
women in Canada still felt like he was doing more to create opportunities for women. They also did not
say how many people were questioned, only the percentage which could also be misleading.
On another more troubling note, the way a report on teachers engaging in sexual
misconduct with students was completely inappropriate. They story had a vibe of mockery when
describing female teachers or in one case a school psychologist who were convicted of statutory rape
with minors. The story included a video aptly titled “Hot for Teacher”; identifying numerous female
teachers who had engaged in this type of behaviour. The clip also had this very weird, upbeat music that
evoked a sense of lightheartedness. I found it incredibly disrespectful.
Twenty years ago, I remember getting this paper and then sitting down to enjoy my cigarette
and coffee. Now that I am grown and have not smoked in twenty years, I have also outgrown my desire
to fill my head with garbage. I have not read the Toronto Sun in so long that I almost forgot it existed,
and it seems like for good reason. This paper just reminds me of my four brothers being knuckle heads
and fighting about stuff that they know nothing about. I basically just roll my eyes the entire time.
Week 4 – CNN
CNN on television seems serious and urgent. This past week they rarely deviated from the
Trump impeachment story. They speculate a lot and get lots of opinions from people that are close to
the story or at least understand the implications of actions from government officials. Their coverage of
breaking news stories on television news is far easier to follow in my opinion than coverage on their
website. The CNN website looks cluttered and confusing to navigate. The banner moves around a lot as I
try to read stories and I become frustrated trying to get to the content I want.
I was surprised that the only coverage on CNN regarding the Canadian Federal Election was the
black face scandal involving Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. I did not expect there to be in depth coverage
because it is an American news outlet, but it did leave me wondering why they would only cover
scandalous news stories in Canada. I will be more critical when looking at Canadian news outlets
covering the American election.
I found a CNN video podcast CNN10 that are 10-minute videos of informative clips of current
issues, trivia, good feeling news stories etc. I think it is a good way for people to learn about new things
and to pique interest of those curious enough to look deeper into things. It is a way to highlight things
that are otherwise overshadowed by the more urgent news broadcasts seen on television and in the
newspapers.
Week 5 – Macleans
Macleans is not an easy read in that the articles are long and in depth, but I thoroughly enjoy
reading them. I do find it difficult to get through the whole magazine with all my other school readings,
but I try. With the federal election just around the corner, I appreciate the amount of information given
on the different candidates and what their political policies are. Macleans has a special report and
newsletter just for the election and that has helped me immensely in understanding the issues that the
leaders are addressing.
Many years ago, I used to get MacLean’s magazine delivered to my door every week. This week I
wanted to trial a free trial to see if I would be interested enough to start receiving it again. I accidently
signed up for a free trial of the online archived edition which wasn’t too bad really, but I missed the
ability to flip through the pages. I was able to subscribe through Rogers for only one dollar a month, so I
am looking forward to getting the magazine again.
The authors of the articles I read in Macleans are fair. I can read an article and sense where they
may stand on an issue, but I don’t feel as though they try to paint people in a negative way. I feel more
like they offer alternative perspectives that give you more balance look at things. For instance, Shannon
Proudfoot wrote about Andrew Scheer campaigning in Langley, B.C., and the overall effect of the
editorial was one of simple observation. Loudfoot was present at the rally and wrote about what was
witnessed, and occasionally adding commentary when there was context missing. I did not feel as
though the author was trying to sway me one way or the other but rather gave me enough information
that I could judge for myself.
Week 6 – The Daily Podcast
I began listening to this podcast at the beginning of the semester and I am hooked. I wake up
every morning excited to see what story they are covering. The first time I heard the podcast it was
about the third democratic debate in the United States federal election. Up until this point I had only
heard about Donald Trump news in passing. I usually enjoy the light heartedness of satirical news. This is
different. I found The Daily to be not just current and relevant but also soothing. I opted to walk to
school instead of drive so I could listen to it. I even have my kids listen to it when I am driving some time
(although they are not as enthusiastic as I).
The last few weeks I have been learning about Donald Trumps’ phone call to the Ukraine, the
U.S. troops pulling out of Syria and what that means for the Kurds (I learned who the Kurd are.), the
impeachment process, the election, and also that vaping is worse than smoking. The more interesting
thing about listening to this podcast though is that it has made me want to learn more. I find myself
looking deeper into the issues they discuss on the show and the characters that are involved.
As a side, Michael Barbaro‘s voice is very soothing and they way he speaks resonates with me.
He speaks clearly and methodically. It is as though ever word spoken is said with a lot of thought first. It
may be that it comes with the job, but I have heard other podcasts that do not strike me as trying to
choose their words carefully and I personally appreciate that he does that. I also like that he and the
other contributors tend to summarize, or paraphrase statements made by others that will help me
understand the implications that are made within a given interview. This is a great podcast and I am so
glad that Professor Dvorkin suggested it.
Week 7 – The National Post
This week I decided to try something I have never read before, The National Post. I always
assumed it was for rich people and never even attempted reading it. One of the first articles I read was
about a transgender woman attempting to sue estheticians that would not wax her genital area that
were still physiologically male. I took a very feminist based course at George Brown, but I am forty years
old and I am still trying to wrap my head around transgender rights and LGBTQ issues. I found the piece
very well written and it did not seem to attack the transgender woman like other articles I have read
about her but it did seem to have valid points about abusing the human rights tribunal and about what
is expected in business practices. Later in the week Barbara Kay’s response to controversy over Meghan
Murphy speaking at the Toronto Public Library was a little harder for me to take, but I did not see her
point as wrong. I feel for the transgender community, I also feel for women, but I feel like on many
issues’ things are always this way or that way, no in between and I think that is wrong. Women should
feel safe in public places, but so too should transgender women.
With regards to politics; this week was all about the Liberals winning a minority government.
The National Post is described as centre right which I find to be evident in its writings. Compared to
other right leaning media though I have not found it to be as upsetting. I consider myself to be liberal so
I was looking for things to irk me immediately but that wasn’t the case. I found articles about Scheer and
Trudeau to be mostly respectful in their reporting and informative about the opposing sides. At times I
may have noticed a hint in a right leaning direction or a slight jab at the Liberals but nothing to offensive
or off the mark.
Week 8 - Fightback (http://www.marxist.ca)
Wow! This website is intense! While reading about the protesters in British Columbia to the
revolution in Lebanon I find myself getting very emotional. I definitely align with the issues that are core
to the Marxist ideals, but I have lived a pretty privileged white woman in Canada and have not had to
fight all that much for what I have. The demonstrations in Lebanon had millions of people chanting
“revolution!” and it gave me tingles. To see so many people want to fight for what they believe and put
aside religious beliefs is very moving to me. What strikes me about the writing of this particle piece is
the illustration of crowd effervescence. I’m not even there but I feel effected by the people who want
change.
Unfortunately, the euphoria I was feeling from the initial part of the week lost ground as I began
to read about Alberta, oil prices, prosperity, tax cuts, jobs, and a bunch of other things I don’t
understand. Maybe because I live in Ontario and I am very far removed from there. I did live in Alberta
for about three months in 2000 but the drama of the wives of oil field workers was too much for me and
I raced back to Ontario. Anyway, that piece about Alberta felt more like a huge laundry list of complaints
than anything else, not they are not warranted complaint, just that following the uplifting piece about
people banding together for change, I felt deflated.
Well maybe it is that Canadians are just too passive, because in Chile, people were also taking to
the streets to protest the regime of the Piñera government. Jorge Martin speaks passionately about the
fact that overthrowing one government for another may not be enough to give the protestors what they
want, which he thinks they may not be sure of themselves. The people know what they don’t want
though, and that is capitalism. This piece reminds me of the Venus Project introduced by Jacques Fresco.
It is about a resource-based economy instead of a monetary one. I often thought his ideas were socialist
and Marxist, although I am still figuring out what those terms really mean. Fightback is fascinating and
inspiring to me and I really enjoyed looking into it this week.
Week 9 - The Scarborough Mirror
The Scarborough Mirror comes to my door every week. I normally do not read it to be honest. I
use the flyers to plan for my grocery shopping and that is about it. This week I read the newspaper from
cover to cover. It is pretty much what I expected. Local news, not very in depth, supports local
businesses and artists wanting or needing promotion. The one article that really affected me was about
the little girl that was killed by a fallen air conditioning unit at a Toronto Community Housing apartment
building. Now city housing has never really had a good reputation from what I can tell. Everyone I have
ever known who has lived in Toronto Housing has complained about bug infestation, disrepair and
criminal activity. This story just made me so angry though. I am extremely lucky to live in a co-op. Here
as members, we contribute to the operation and maintenance of the community. As an example, every
fall and spring, everyone is expected to rake leaves and pick up garbage around the property and then
we all have coffee and donuts. We also have volunteer members that do unit inspections every year.
This year, I forgot to put a cover on my AC unit. We do this so that the unit is not damaged over the
winter. I received a letter as a reminder to cover it. Comparatively, at the Toronto City Housing building
where this baby was killed, an AC unit was hanging out of an eighth-floor window. Why was this
allowed? Was it installed properly by professionals or the tenants? Were there any checks done at all to
ensure it was safe? These questions are all still unanswered and I am devastated.
This story was very important because it obviously highlighted some very serious problems with
using air condition units in windows. However, it was not addressed until the 12th page of the
newspaper. I would have liked to see on the front page something like “If you live in an apartment,
check your AC units immediately”. I would have liked to see more information about how the Toronto
City Housing has addressed using these types of units in the past. Right now, they are keeping very quiet
as investigations are underway. This story reminded me of another terrible accident a few years ago
where a toddler took a fatal fall out of a window that they easily pushed open. It was also at a Toronto
Community Housing building.
Week 10 - Peace Magazine (http://www.peacemagazine.org/)
I was not expecting to feel so devastated reading this magazine online. The story about the
stateless children made me want to weep. To think about millions of children displaced from their
homes, separated from their parents, not knowing where to go or being imprisoned, enslaved, trafficked
is just too much to bear. I have four children, and this just breaks my heart. To read about these children
in such large numbers, it almost dehumanizes them in a way. However, when you look at one little face
and you start to think about them and their personal story you realize that each and everyone of them
also has a story, a family, a personality and the enormity of that is just overwhelming. I may have
mentioned before the work of Jacques Fresco and the Venus Project regarding a resource- based
economy and it is articles like this that highlight the importance of his message. There are enough
natural resources to take care of every single person on the planet. We know what we need to survive
and to thrive, yet greed, power and nationalism and borders keeping us all segregated continue to keep
all of us from unifying.
The next article on the site echoes the sentiment of the Venus Project in that is speaks to the
way in which Aboriginal people have always tried to preserve and protect the natural world. The notion
that land cannot be owned by anyone therefore cannot be technically sold really resonates with me. The
treaties that Native Americans signed were an agreement to peacefully share land, yet colonialists saw it
as purchasing land to do with what they wish. All over the world the practice of borders continues to
espouse the idea that this is ours, that is yours. None of it is ours. The planet was here well before us,
we are just borrowing its resources.
I must admit that much of the articles on the site when above my head. They spoke a great deal
about places and politics that I have no understanding of. Ignorance is not an excuse of course, and it
prompted me to look further into some of those issues. For instance, the article about India and the
controversy over the large number of dams being built there over that last 70 years. These dams have
caused so much strain on the farmers that hundreds if thousand of them have apparently committed
suicide because their farms fail. The history and culture of some nations goes back millennia and I often
find it very difficult to understand how we got to where we are.
Week 11 – The Globe and Mail YouTube Channel
I decided to try something new this week and watched many videos on the Globe and Mail
YouTube channel. There were many interesting stories to choose from and all were relatively short and
easy to digest. What I liked about the videos is that they were like trailers for movies in a sense. They
would instigate enough curiosity that I found myself pausing and searching things up continuously. The
channel is broken into many different categories, but I decided to just stick to a few playlists. I chose
news, election 2019, explained and opinion.
In the news playlist the videos were varied although there seemed to be a lot of videos about
the election which I felt should have been filed under election 2019 but I suppose the Globe and Mail
felt they were “news worthy” as well. The other videos under the news heading were anything from
immigration and gun control to the sad news of the passing of John Mann.
Overall, I was not happy with the Globe and Mail’s use of YouTube. The other categories I
mentioned only had a few videos in them and they happened to be almost four years old. I feel like it is
a missed opportunity to have some really powerful videos, but it seems as though they don’t put a lot of
effort into maintaining it. Videos are added sporadically and are not necessarily current or relevant.
Week 12 - BuzzFeed
I decided to go for something light this week and check out BuzzFeed. Mediabiasfactcheck.com
suggests that BuzzFeed has a left-center bias and that it has a mixed fact reporting status. I found it
difficult to stay on the section where the news is because every time I would read something, the next
thing I know I am inundated with lists of things that I don’t really acre about but I am drawn to none the
less. For instance, “22 Pictures That Help Define the 20th Century” or “28 Things That Must Have Been
Designed by Geniuses”. Unfortunately, I was disappointed every time when it turns out that the lists
were some arbitrary measure of whatever the authors were talking about.
With regards to actual news reporting, I found the pieces to be engaging and well written. The
news organization has had some backlash in the past for having some things factually inaccurate but
from what I can tell those items well from some of their silly lists or were about incorrect numbers. I do
not excuse those types of mistakes, and I do believe that Buzzfeed needs to take accountability for
them.
The somewhat more entertaining items could be a way to draw attention for audiences to click
on to the site and maybe encounter more hard-hitting news stories, but I personally doubt that it draws
in as much of that type of attention as they might hope. If I am looking for factual, unbiased,
accountable news organizations I am not going to go to Buzzfeed first. I will however look through their
Tasty videos which show fast edited cooking instructions for recipes. I actually really love those videos.