BIG Media Ltd. turns two years old today – and, like most 2-year-olds, we still have a lot of growing to do.
As is the case with any startup human or business, it was difficult learning to get our legs solidly beneath us, but we worked through the wobbles and are now running with good stability. It might even be time to remove the training wheels.
However, we are not perfect. On occasion – especially when...
As long as I am running a truth/integrity-focused media company, I will not personally and publicly endorse any politician or political group. I will continue to focus on documenting facts to empower voters and policymakers with critical knowledge regarding the most important issues.
However, on occasion, I write opinion pieces about the political landscape.
Today, I am compelled to discuss what I believe to be the political harakiri being carried out by the left.
But, first, a...
One of my associates suggested recently that I am not doing enough to help people understand how BIG Media Ltd.'s style of journalism is different from that of other news organizations, and why it is more accurate.
So, here I go. I will break it into segments, each of which is critical to our unique style of covering the big issues at BIG Media.
Editorial team
My team of journalists consists of a bunch of brilliant scientists...
Some might consider this public proclamation of my new year's resolutions to be egocentric, but I believe that these objectives are relevant for everyone in my network.
They will only come to fruition with your support, and we all benefit if they are accomplished.
MY TOP 5 RESOLUTIONS FOR 2023:
5. Engage younger generations in our work at BIG-Media.ca so they are empowered with knowledge, rather than shackled with misinformation and fear.
4. Recruit more brilliant scientists who...
I am generally a fun guy to be around, but you do NOT want to invite me to your Christmas party this year.
Excerpts from conversations at an event last weekend will make this abundantly clear ...
(I have changed the names of my conversation counterparts to Partygoer (PG) in order to protect the gullible.)
PG1: "Pretty cold out there tonight. I guess this is what happens with global warming."
RD: "Did you hear what you just said – it's cold...
5. Data mining and algorithms give us highly customized content ... which is why a lot of us believe that we are quite knowledgeable about certain topics, even though we are almost exclusively exposed to material that reinforces narrow-minded bias. Our myopic viewpoints then set us up perfectly to engage in destructive communication.
4. 24-hour news cycle – there simply are not enough amazing stories happening every day, so media outlets that produce a lot of content daily...
Two different but possibly connected encounters with criminal acts have me more convinced than ever that our society is far too soft on crime.
A few weeks ago, I witnessed a man stealing two large boxes of product from a Vancouver dollar store. As he escaped through the entrance door, I alerted an employee, who took about three steps toward the door, shrugged his shoulders, and returned to stocking shelves.
About three minutes later, the thief...
Laurie Weston recently wrote a series of three very cogent articles in BIG Media addressing science – the scientific method (Science – there is method to the madness), the manipulation of science for various causes (Manipulating science – activism and advocacy), and moral and ethical issues around the practice of science (Science and morality – ethics and judgment).
Often now when I read blogs, social media posts and even mainstream media, I think “this author...
In a court of law, witnesses swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This means they promise not to knowingly lie, leave anything relevant out of the story, or embellish what they know with something they think they know or assume to be true – with or without the intent to mislead. The spirit of this oath should be adopted by scientists and those who use science as...
BIG Media Ltd. has covered controversial issues including abortion, the decision to vaccinate or not, bioethics, the legality of drug use, misinformation, fracking, the energy transition, and climate change. Providing calm, objective news coverage to readers on these matters is a formidable challenge. In fact, readers might at times feel some of these topics are intractable.
Some of these issues – climate change, for example – are so difficult that they fall into a category...
