7 Comments January 16, 2015 at 3:20 pm

Extra, Extra: Norm Tweets, A Ford Endorsement, and Media Criticism

Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.

Photo from Norm Kelly’s Twitter account, @Norm.

One of the most surprising developments in Rob Ford’s term was Norm Kelly, or at least his social media presence. Today brings another classic @Norm tweet, which is itself a great Twitter handle, as he wishes Raptors backup point guard Greivis Vasquez a happy birthday. Happy birthday Greivis, and may you beat the conference-leading Atlanta Hawks at the ACC tonight.

Media critic Jesse Brown has been in the news a lot lately, with his popular podcast Canadaland, his big story on Jian Ghomeshi co-written with Kevin Donovan, and recent allegations about the ethics of CBC Senior Business Correspondent Amanda Lang by Canadaland freelancer Sean Craig. The Globe and Mail‘s Simon Houpt gives Jesse Brown the Jesse Brown treatment in his latest column, calling into question Brown’s corrections policy, the thoroughness of his reporting, and whether he applies the same standards to himself that he does to others. If you like thinking through the ethics and principles of journalism, or you just like media slapfights, then it’s time to grab the popcorn.
In Rob Ford news, the Etobicoke councillor (Ward 2, Etobicoke North) endorsed Monte McNaughton in the provincial Conservative leadership race. Ford says McNaughton is the true conservative in the race, and the MPP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex has embraced the former Toronto mayor’s endorsement. Given everything we know about Rob Ford, this says a fair bit about McNaughton.