Are you part of The Tyee's critical 1%?

Thanks for reading The Tyee today — we hope this article added to your day in some way. Our team of independent journalists takes pride in doing in-depth reporting and taking time to get it right.

We're able to focus our attention on publishing impactful journalism in the public interest, and publish it for free for all to read, because we have the support of Tyee Builders. Tyee Builders are readers who contribute a bit of money — at a level and frequency of their choice — to support our editorial budget.

This core of supporters — making up about 1 to 2 per cent of our daily readership — enables us to pay our writers, keep our articles free and open to all, and not bombard our readers with annoying ads while you try to read.

Instead of focusing on what kind of articles will attract the most advertising dollars, we can spend time devoted to researching and writing stories that our readers find most valuable and make the most positive impact in our region.

If you'd like to join thousands of readers who help make independent journalism possible, consider joining Tyee Builders. Thank you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders

Help us un-break journalism in Canada

You made it all the way through the article – I hope that means you liked it (or if not ‘liked’ it, gleaned some useful information from it). Tyee articles are known for being quite lengthy, so we appreciate when people spend some quality time with our work.

Listen, I’ll get to the point – the article you just read was made possible because our non-profit newsroom was able to pay a talented journalist to research and write it. And we can only afford to do that because of our business model, which relies on a certain percentage of our readers signing up for our paid membership program called Tyee Builders.

The traditional business model for journalism in Canada has been completely disrupted, and we’re witnessing a slow collapse as corporate newsrooms buy up distressed publications, lay people off, and suck the value out of them before declaring bankruptcy. And it doesn’t help that tech giant Meta has blocked Canadian news on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.

There is another way and we are carving the path.

Between 1 to 2 per cent of people who visit The Tyee contribute financially, but amazingly, that small percentage is enough to fund half of our overall budget. And it means we can operate without a paywall, too. 1 per cent of people giving means 99 per cent of people get access to quality, fact-based journalism from a talented team of journalists who live and work in B.C., Alberta, and across Canada. We think that’s pretty remarkable.

If you’re concerned about the way journalism is heading in Canada and you’d like to do something about it, consider joining Tyee Builders and contributing an amount that works for you.

— Jeanette Ageson, Publisher

Click here to Join Tyee Builders
Marking 20 years
of bold journalism,
reader supported.
support us subscribe free
Mediacheck
Politics

Bridge Burners! Eco-John Turner! Dirty Earners!

And more Fast Rewind of January.

Mark Leiren-Young 3 Feb 2009TheTyee.ca

Mark Leiren-Young is a Vancouver screenwriter, playwright and journalist, and files his "Fast Rewind" summary of the news for The Tyee at the end of every month. His podcast interviews with notables about "Trees and Us" also appear on The Tyee.
image atom
Mats Messier?

This was the month that Douglas Coupland's "city of glass" became William Gibson's wasteland, as Olympic debts piled higher than the snowflakes and the homeless burned down the Pattulllo Bridge to stay warm.

Steve Harper delivered a budget the Liberals won't vote against, but any true Conservatives would. The Coalition failed to coalesce. And Iggy didn't pop, but Layton blew his cork.

The BC Liberals held an emergency session to bail out the Olympics and to ask for details on former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau's pregnancy.

BC NDP leader Carole James had her ID stolen and wasn't allowed to fly because, um, nobody recognized her since she won't carry an American Express card.

Vancouver is on "credit watch" after Mayor Smoothie discovered Olympic Village cost overruns couldn't all be covered with James' stolen Visa card.

Barack Obama was inaugurated as president of the United States. Inauguration parties are expected to wind down sometime in March. As his first official acts, Obama set out to close down Guantanamo, and keep his BlackBerry open.

Obama plans to visit Ottawa and meet Prime Minister Steve later this month. This will be the new president's first official visit to a world leader since teaming up with the Amazing Spider-Man in issue 583.

Benjamin Button sewed up the most Oscar noms and it was a dark day for the Dark Knight.

The Super Bowl featured Bruce Springsteen versus Jennifer Hudson.

And Mats Sundin joined the Canucks and promptly began playing like Mats Messier. Too soon?

Now let's put down our snow shovels and remember the worst of January before you get back to figuring out the 25 random facts you want to share on Facebook.

The Fantastic Four?

Four Ex-prime ministers (the four who collectively served for about an hour and a half) joined forces to urge the ReformaTories to introduce a "green stimulus" to help the economy and to remind people that their memoirs are still available in better bargain bins everywhere. And the Jeopardy question is: "Who are John Turner, Joe Clark, Paul Martin Jr. and Kim Campbell."

A security expert has urged the BC Ferry Corp. to start staffing the boats with armed guards. The guards may not help against terrorists, but they should definitely be able to convince drivers to park a lot closer to the car in front of them.

Macho Mike Millbury

Hockey Night in Canada colour commentator Mike Millbury proved his colour wasn't pink as he out-cherryed Don Cherry by complaining about the "pansification" of the NHL. I guess that means it would be bad form to make a crack about the pansification of the Canucks?

Cold-fX was named an official sponsor of the 2010 Olympics, which is a good thing since so many British Columbians are already sick of Olympic news, Olympic-related traffic jams and the gold-medal-winning debt.

One of Canada's top TV bosses announced he doesn't watch TV. Asked: "What are your favourite television programs?" CRTC vice-chairman in charge of broadcasting Michael Arpin replied: "I'm a news and documentary consumer. I'm not that interested in televised action or even feature films. I would prefer to read a novel." Arpin is apparently campaigning to become the new head of the CBC.

Barack and the Supremes

The U.S. Supreme Court tried to keep another elected Democrat from becoming president instead of George Bush, when the chief justice had Barack Obama recite an incorrect oath of office. Democrats became suspicious when Obama was asked to repeat the words, "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight." Fortunately, Obama caught the error and was sworn in correctly when he recited the words, "With great power comes great responsibility."

To herald a new era of U.S.-Canada relations, CBC created a musical playlist for new President Barack Obama, which was way cooler than the mix tape they made for George Bush.

Caroline Kennedy withdrew from the race to replace Hillary Clinton as the senator for New York citing "personal reasons." Apparently the reasons were that she personally came off as the Democrat's answer to Sarah Palin.

Blunder road

Bruce Springsteen's new album is only on sale at Wal-Mart, because with the current economy it's the only place most Americans can afford to shop.

And finally... a new study in the United Kingdom shows that one in three workers watch porn in the office. In a related study, one in three porn stars watch The Office while having sex.

Related Tyee stories:

[Tyee]

Read more: Politics

  • Share:

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Comments that violate guidelines risk being deleted, and violations may result in a temporary or permanent user ban. Maintain the spirit of good conversation to stay in the discussion.
*Please note The Tyee is not a forum for spreading misinformation about COVID-19, denying its existence or minimizing its risk to public health.

Do:

  • Be thoughtful about how your words may affect the communities you are addressing. Language matters
  • Challenge arguments, not commenters
  • Flag trolls and guideline violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity, learn from differences of opinion
  • Verify facts, debunk rumours, point out logical fallacies
  • Add context and background
  • Note typos and reporting blind spots
  • Stay on topic

Do not:

  • Use sexist, classist, racist, homophobic or transphobic language
  • Ridicule, misgender, bully, threaten, name call, troll or wish harm on others
  • Personally attack authors or contributors
  • Spread misinformation or perpetuate conspiracies
  • Libel, defame or publish falsehoods
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities
  • Post links without providing context

LATEST STORIES

The Barometer

Are You Concerned about AI?

Take this week's poll