Early newspapers were often more interested in expressing the opinions of the owners than the facts
Fake news is a popular term these days. It’s hard to imagine why. Much more inflammatory and even manufactured ‘news’ has been with us all through history. Pamphleteers of the French and American revolutions may be the most famous. Among the best was Thomas Paine. But the average person with an axe to grind and…
When making daunting decisions, having people who have experience in industries under discussion is invaluable
Nothing has been more vital to the functioning of Canada’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic than the Internet. Yet recent appointments to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reveal a government oblivious to its necessity. Nirmala Naidoo, for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Ellen Desmond, for the Atlantic and Nunavut, were added to…
Portrayals of violent crime in pop culture and media are skewing people's perception of how likely it is to happen to them, says U of A expert
U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted recently that defunding the police would “be good for Robbers & Rapists.” Last week, after signing his tepid executive order on policing, he proffered that “without police, there is chaos.” The reality, however, is that violent crime – the kind that people often think of when rationalizing the need for a…
Just as in his reality show, Trump’s need to crush opponents and win at all costs leads to chaos. History shows us how to defeat him
I admit Donald Trump is a lot smarter than I thought he was. In fact, he’s quite cunning. I also once thought that the U.S. president was very unpredictable. I just couldn’t make sense of what he was doing. The guile of Trump came into clear focus in a statement by Michael Nutter, the former…
New interest in Chernobyl as the result of an HBO miniseries prompts U of A historian to reflect on 1986 nuclear disaster
It’s synonymous with nuclear disaster. It’s inspiring new scrutiny from historians. And it’s the subject of an award-winning HBO miniseries. When Chernobyl first made global headlines in April 1986, reporters trying to make sense of the accident looked to a young University of Alberta researcher. “Every single major news outlet was phoning up Edmonton,” said David…
Disney’s 1950s version of the life of King of the Wild Frontier was, well, mostly historically correct
If you were a child in the 1950s, the chances are that Davy Crockett was briefly a part of your life. On December 15, 1954, the ABC television network broadcast the first episode of a new Disney mini-series loosely based on his exploits, two more episodes followed in January and February 1955, and a concluding…
Once a subscription model is implemented, BBC will only survive if it produces content people actually want to watch
In February, Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the government had “no intention” of imposing licensing requirements on news organisations and will not “try to regulate new content.” The clarification came after Guilbeault told CTV’s Evan Solomon precisely the opposite. During an episode of Question Period, he explained how Canadian news media organisations should be…
Oklahoma has a long, sordid history of scoundrels who have found its red dirt fertile for all manner of dubious schemes
The small town of Wynnewood, Okla., might seem like an unlikely setting for a magical realist tale involving tigers, polygamy and blood feuds. But the bizarre reality of Oklahoma has never matched up to its homogeneous image in popular culture. You could be forgiven if the state conjures up images of the musical Oklahoma! and…
Netflix Parental controls provide timely solutions for families at home on lockdown: PIN protocol, maturity ratings, activity logs and more
There’s plenty of Netflix binging going on with many people at home on lockdown. Folks perhaps have a guilt-free opportunity to finally binge on Ozark or that most-talked-about, love-it-or-hate-it new series Tiger King. But for parents, the lockdown creates issues around managing TV time. While Mom and Dad are working from home, the kids could…
The league has a new deal with players, free-agency frenzy begins this week and big-time bargaining for TV rights is on the horizon
The National Football League has always thought it doesn’t play by the same rules as everyone else, so it shouldn’t be a total shock that – in the midst of a global pandemic – the league announced its new collective bargaining agreement with players that will take it through 2030. It also announced that it…