What does it mean to speak truth to power when power has never been more hostile to the truth? That question sits at the heart of this year’s World Press Freedom Canada Awards luncheon, and it is precisely the question that has defined the career of our keynote speaker, David Frum. A Canadian-American staff writer […]
Read MoreB.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner said police had no good reason to block media access during the April 2023 eviction of an encampment in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. A Feb. 4 report found that Vancouver police compromised transparency and press freedom by excluding reporters from the operation. “The rights to peaceful protest and freedom of the press […]
Read MoreWhen the Board of Governors at Algonquin College announced in February it was ending the college’s journalism program, it joined a growing list of journalism program closures across the country. Both the news industry and post-secondary institutions are facing dire financial circumstances. Many colleges are responding by targeting their j-schools, but professors and students worry […]
Read MoreThe son of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has described his father’s 20-year prison sentence under the city’s national security law as effectively a “death sentence,” citing serious health concerns. Lai, a prominent pro-democracy figure and founder of Apple Daily, was convicted of national security offences, charges he has consistently denied, while supporters […]
Read MorePresident Donald Trump has endorsed comments by Brendan Carr, who warned that news organizations could lose their broadcast licenses if they air what he called misleading coverage of the Iran conflict. Carr said regulators may accelerate license reviews or revoke them altogether, prompting bipartisan criticism citing First Amendment protections against government interference in the press. […]
Read MoreA report by the Committee to Protect Journalists found that 129 journalists were killed worldwide in 2025, the highest number on record, with Israel responsible for nearly two-thirds of the deaths. The majority of those killed were reporting in conflict zones—particularly in Gaza—while dozens were deliberately targeted, raising serious concerns about violations of international law […]
Read MoreA complete version of this column appeared in Dean’s newsletter. The Liberal government has finally got around to asking ordinary Canadians how to fix the country’s premier transparency law, the Access to Information Act. But it’s hard to have confidence that the government will embrace real reform. The Act requires a thorough “review” of the […]
Read MoreWhen police arrested photojournalist Amber Bracken while she was documenting a protest in northern British Columbia, they didn’t just detain a reporter — they set the stage for a major test of press freedom in Canada. The Narwhal and photojournalist Amber Bracken were in court in January to press their suit against the RCMP over […]
Read MoreThe newspaper industry should brace for more challenges in the coming year, as other media players rush to fill the void left by a shrinking industry. The warning came in November from Statistics Canada which reports on the financial health of the newspaper industry. A multi-decade decline in revenue has resulted in newsroom job losses, […]
Read MoreStudent journalists across Canada are increasingly facing delays, ghosting, and centralized message control from universities and student unions, raising concerns for the future of press freedom and the learned practices of the next generation of Canadian reporters. “Sometimes we’re waiting on emails for too long and then the story withers on the vine,” said Thai […]
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