Well, I must confess that this is a sad post to write. On Friday of last week, The Sasquatch held a wake/commemoration for the end of their publication.
A fiercely independent media source, Sasquatch will be suspending its publication due to financial strains and a generally challenging market. Editor Shayna Stock summed it up best when she wrote,
“This has been a difficult process for everyone involved, particularly because the need for independent media in this province is still so acute, and The Sasquatch, though barely out of its infancy, was already punching far above its weight. The more unbalanced and divided our world becomes, the stronger the need for democratic, public-interest journalism that holds power to account and presents practical alternatives to the status quo. It is painful, then, to close down a new publication that directly addresses that need.”
Well said, Shayna, well said. To all those involved with the publishing of The Sasquatch, thanks for being part of an important dialogue. We will miss you!
If you haven’t seen this video of Jon Stewart on CNN’s “Crossfire”, well, you’ve been missing out until now! While most of this is hysterically funny, there are also some excellent points brought up about responsibility of, and in, the media. Enjoy!
The debate regarding how well our Canadian Parliamentary Democracy works, and how well for whom, aside, Rick Mercer reminds us why it is so damn important for Canadians to know how our government works, and why it’s so scary that the majority of us don’t.
Just in case you’re a student and you needed a good reason to get angry, or at least spiteful – Rick Mercer gives you a few reasons to get out there and cast your ballot!
There’s this news story I have been following with great interest, and the deeper I research it, the more complex it becomes. A white man from South Africa by the name of Huntley has applied for refugee status in Canada on the basis of his experience of violent racial discrimination he claims is being perpetrated by the South African government.
What made this particular refugee claim newsworthy? Thousands of refugee claims are processed in Canada every year that are the result of violent racial discrimination and oppression. Why was Huntley’s case singled out as newsworthy… was it because he is caucasian? Is it SO rare that a white person from another country applies for refugee status as to make it newsworthy? Is it really that rare; are white people universally privileged and immune from racial oppression? Oh, but wait… this story gets better! Read more »
The enumerator came by tonight! This is incredibly exciting; there I was, entering my second hour in front of my computer, when my doorbell rang. Wondering whether to stop working, I finally made my way to the door… and there was the enumerator! Like the eight year old in line to see Santa at the mall, I broke into a huge grin and happily gave the pertinent information.
To me, voting is exciting because it’s an opportunity to participate in our democratic process. Yawn, right? Wrong. Read more »
This is a brief and very interesting interview with K’Naan, a hip-hop protest artist from Somalia now based in Canada. His music speaks to the struggle people face living in his home country, and the government and warlords that prevent peace and prosperity. In this interview he talks about the origins of Somalian pirates from an angle that no other media source has addressed… watch on.
So here’s the question: does social media influence political policy? Over the last few years, the rise of social media as a medium in which to interact with people locally and around the world has created a dramatically different landscape for those hoping to be elected as well as for those in power. Social media exemplified by Twitter, Facebook, and a whole host of blogs, has produced an entire generation of people that can not only get their viewpoints out to the public vis a vie the internet, but also be contacted by politicians in a new way.
For instance, let’s say that you’re sitting at your computer when you hear a knock at your door. You get up, open the door and see a politician running in a local election. Now let’s say you’re sitting at your computer and you see that the same politician is following your twitter account, or has added you as a friend on Facebook; or maybe they made a comment on your blog. To which are you more receptive? Read more »