Saturday, December 7, 2024

The most un-Canadian article you will ever read

Warning: to follow is a very un-Canadian article that will trigger many.

There will be no modesty in this article. There will be no apology in this article.

Some of you will find it obnoxiously arrogant. Some will feel inclined to knock me down a few pegs. That is OK – in three years of documenting facts in the face of powerful conflicting narratives, my skin rivals that of an alligator … and that is no crock.

Hopefully, a few of you see that what we are doing is important and will choose to get involved.

OK, bear with me while I pat myself on the back …

Three years ago, some friends and I launched a news platform that presents an elevated and extremely pure form of journalism.

The unique style of journalism at BIG-Media.ca is superior to what you see from our rivals in the news media industry.

Our coverage is more accurate and of higher integrity than that of reputed industry leaders such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Times of London, and Guardian.

“Did he just say that,” you might say. “What is he smoking, thinking that his little three-year-old platform is more accurate than the Washington Post?”

Well, the only thing that I am smoking is the competition.

If you compare how the news organizations listed above covered such issues as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and energy transition over the last few years, you should see that BIG Media Ltd. is more accurate. In fact, it’s not even close.

During the pandemic, the news “leaders” stopped practising good journalism and became promoters of myopic groupthink. They decided that the lockdown-and-rush-vaccinate approach was a moral imperative. They ignored compelling evidence to the contrary and seemed to forget about the concepts of balance and good old-fashioned investigative journalism.

They pretended that the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci and other agenda-driven medical officials somehow carried more weight than those of great scientists doing actual science such as Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorff, and Marty Makary.

Mainstream news organizations saw that fear was profitable, and they ran with it.

They are doing the same thing with climate change, eschewing practical education in favour of fear mongering.

It really is not difficult to be more accurate than the journalistic juggernauts. If you can find any news outlet that covered these topics better – or even on par – please provide a link to such coverage as I would love to see it …

Causes of death during the pandemic – https://big-media.ca/a-look-back-at-causes-of-death-in-the-first-year-of-covid-19/

Excess deaths during the pandemic – https://big-media.ca/causes-of-death-in-alberta-during-the-second-year-of-the-pandemic/ https://big-media.ca/analysis-of-excess-deaths-in-2020-reveals-surprising-deviations/

COVID vs the flu – https://big-media.ca/covid-19-is-definitely-not-the-flu/

COVID vaccines and children – https://big-media.ca/higher-rates-of-adverse-events-after-mrna-vaccines-interpreted-poorly-by-study-authors/

Adverse events following immunization – https://big-media.ca/analysis-of-severe-events-following-covid-vaccine-shows-increased-incidence-of-myocarditis-and-lymphadenopathy/

Understanding science – https://big-media.ca/do-you-believe-the-science-how-about-starting-with-understanding-the-science/

Biomedical ethics – https://big-media.ca/mounting-covid-frustration-is-no-reason-to-abandon-fundamental-principles/  https://big-media.ca/examining-the-ethics-of-triage-in-a-pandemic/

Emergencies Act – https://big-media.ca/the-canadian-prime-ministers-emergency-act/

Climate change context – https://big-media.ca/climate-change-and-energy-context-for-the-great-debate/ https://big-media.ca/real-climate-science-uncertainty-and-risk/

Historic climate trends – https://big-media.ca/optimal-holocene-climate-is-in-our-rear-view-mirror/

Energy transition – https://big-media.ca/return-to-sensible-energy-policy-a-painful-but-necessary-transition/ https://big-media.ca/diving-beneath-the-surface-of-the-energy-transition-discussion/ https://big-media.ca/examining-the-real-meaning-of-energy-transition-in-the-face-of-undeniable-historic-trends/

Global emissions – https://big-media.ca/putting-global-emissions-in-perspective/

Energy crises – https://big-media.ca/recognizing-roots-of-global-energy-crisis-might-help-us-move-toward-solutions/ https://big-media.ca/power-struggle-data-illustrates-texas-energy-crisis/

Carbon capture – https://big-media.ca/carbon-capture-utilization-and-storage-ccus-effective-technology-or-convenient-scam/ https://big-media.ca/capturing-carbon-the-science-and-the-subtleties/

Fracking – https://big-media.ca/fracking-101-just-the-fracts/

Sea level rise – https://big-media.ca/sea-level-is-rising-should-we-be-worried-2/

Glacial recession – https://big-media.ca/funeral-for-a-glacier/

‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’ – https://big-media.ca/taking-a-critical-look-at-the-great-pacific-garbage-patch/

Mathematics and music – https://big-media.ca/music-mathematics-and-physics/

Artificial intelligence – https://big-media.ca/ai-where-are-we-and-where-are-we-going-2/ https://big-media.ca/ai-where-are-we-and-where-are-we-going-3/

 

Here are the key reasons why our coverage is more accurate than our rivals:

  • 24-hour news cycle – there simply are not enough amazing stories happening every day, so media outlets that produce a lot of content daily are under great pressure to find shocking material to keep you coming back to support their advertisers. That pressure is inversely correlated with journalistic integrity. We don’t publish anywhere near as much content as our competitors, and that will always be the case. We want you to check in every few days, find out what is actually going on in the world, and then escape your screens for a while.
  • Expert testimony – BIG Media does not quote experts to validate whatever theory we may have … as does every other news media company (I have looked far and wide, and still have seen no other exception). Experts have their own agendas that often fly in the face of the common good. Anyone who questions this is encouraged to do a close review of Dr. Fauci’s messaging throughout the pandemic, or examine the historical accuracy of any “expert” climate alarmist.
  • Size matters – while virtually all news media organizations focus on the SIZE of the audience (hence the sensationalism and scandal to please owners and advertisers), our priority is the INTELLIGENCE of the audience. While our rivals sell out for the almighty dollar, we buck the trend with a resolute focus on the intellectual empowerment of our readers.
  • Cherry picking of data – media companies (other than BIG Media) rarely work with qualified data scientists, and even when they do, data is still almost never presented in a way that fosters education over sensationalism. The standard method of operation is to pull one or two morsels of data from a dataset and try to shock the heck out of people.
  • Funding — if a news organization’s primary revenue is advertising or sponsorship, the news will invariably cater to those who pay the bills — i.e. using sensationalism and scandal to maximize audience size and keep readers coming back for more. The news companies that count on money from government, meanwhile, are naturally soft — or even supportive — in their coverage of the politicians in power because they fear that the public funding will disappear. On the flip side, BIG Media does not accept advertising, sponsorship, or government funding. We serve only our readers, and that is the only way to ensure lasting objectivity.
  • Story structure — the standard operating procedure for almost every news reporter — when they are not writing completely one-sided articles— is to give an authority on each side an opportunity to state their case. I call it “press-release journalism”, and it is generally ineffective in getting to the truth. The reporter ends up being a mouthpiece for officials who are naturally driven by agenda. The BIG Media approach is to step away from biased rhetoric, focusing on facts and the most reliable data available.
  • The scientific method — whereas most news reporters are journalism school grads charged with writing content that will attract as many eyeballs as possible, BIG Media writers are mostly accomplished scientists who operate under strict editorial guidelines. They use the scientific method, regularly trying to prove themselves wrong as they research and compose their articles. They are asked to write without spin or opinion, and they do so brilliantly.
  • Context – the large media companies count on our society’s unhealthy fixation on scandal (I will leave the chicken/egg discussion for another day), and feed us non-stop drama. The last thing they want is for us to be educated enough to calm down and focus on silly activities such as going for hikes, and spending time with friends and family … when we should be glued to our phones, laptops, and TVs.
  • Data mining and algorithms … give you 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 or at least misleading communication.

 

Documenting truth with verifiable facts and logic is quite gratifying – I would even say fun – but relying on subscribers to drive the business is hard. Like, really hard.

We have a small operating budget, and the marketing is all done by my amazing daughter Christina (one of her three jobs), myself, and the BIG Media followers who graciously share our content with their networks.

Most of our writers are accomplished scientists and professionals who donate their evenings and weekends to craft incredible articles.

They write for BIG Media because they care. They care about education, and they understand that empowering people intellectually is the best way to foster societal harmony.

When we are exposed to important context without spin and sensationalism, we are able to find common ground. I believe it’s the best way to reverse the polarization that is welcomed – even promoted – by many news companies.

Despite my bold claims, intellectual humility is a pillar of our business model … so if you have constructive feedback, we are all ears! *

If you wish to get involved in this important initiative, drop me a line and let’s chat.

 

* Upon further review, we are actually mostly brains 😉

Rob Driscoll
Rob Driscoll
Rob Driscoll is co-founder and president of BIG Media Ltd. He is a writer and entrepreneur who is deeply committed to elevating the level of coverage of our society's most pressing matters as well as the level of respect in public discourse.
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