Jessica Johnson

CBC needs more frequent mandate reviews & public consultation, researcher says - The Wire Report The CBC "will better serve the country when it is appropriately funded and mandated through the lens of what the audience needs first,” a new report from the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy...

@cbcradiocanada.bsky.social's mandate should be reviewed much more often than it has historically, says @jessicajohnson.bsky.social, project lead of a recently released report from the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy:
@mediatechdemocracy.bsky.social #CDNpoli

bit.ly/4lVr1C2

I read Lolly Willowes a couple of years ago and couldn’t believe how modern and dystopian it is. Like the Handmaid’s Tale of its day.

Our upcoming report, What Should the CBC Be? by @jessicajohnson.bsky.social and @emma-wilkie.bsky.social, offers a vision for a public media system that is accountable, accessible, and built for the future. Follow along to learn more about their research and recommendations!

I also just realized that Jersey Milk must have been named for the type of cow’s milk its chocolate was made from. We are so divorced from agriculture today.

Another Canadian chocolate bites the dust. With Jersey Milk gone, here are other options for your sweet tooth Jersey Milk chocolate bars, exclusively made in Canada, is another domestic chocolate treat that is being discontinued this year. Here’s what chocolates you can still buy.

I hadn’t realized how many chocolate bars from my childhood don’t exist any more. I can’t say I miss them exactly because I never bought Rosebuds and Sweet Marie, but I can see them so clearly at the store. www.thestar.com/life/food-an...

The other thing is that human translation services cost relatively little—a fraction of what it costs to commission original literary work. When you factor in the cost of needing someone to read over and correct an AI translation, it doesn’t seem worth it.

A lovely story about an obsession I share.

This is the most nonpartisan case I can make against the Therme spa at Ontario Place. Who will battle the travel conditions to make it there?

I don’t know any city (NYC comes to mind) this unpredictable in terms of traffic and transit conditions.

I find no correlation between estimated travel time and actual travel time needed in many everyday instances (getting to dentist, getting to train station, etc.) I can leave 45 mins early for a 20 min trip only for it to take 15 to 75 minutes.

I should say it’s of SOME help but it should definitely not be the only reliable part of your skill set.

I’ve said this before but many of the world’s great journalists are not great writers. They’re interviewers, analysts, strategists. An MFA is no help when you’re covering crime.

In the early days of ChatGPT and other LLMs many assumed AI could replace professional journalists. But that’s because in this age of opinion-driven journalism we’re trained to see the most important aspect of reporting as writing, which it isn’t. It’s research.

This is a good thread (including the comments) on how ChatGPT and other LLMs work. They’re writing tools, not research assistants.

Jessica Johnson, Senior Fellow, Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and Former Editor-in-Chief, The Walrus

Mike Ananny, Professor, USC Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism

Anja Karadeglija,Tech Reporter, the Canadian Press

In our second panel of the evening, @anjakaradeglija.bsky.social ‬was joined by @jessicajohnson.bsky.social‬ and @mikeananny.bsky.social‬ to discuss how public media remains vital to democratic health in a fragmented information ecosystem.

when the AI bubble pops and corporations stop forcing AI down our throats i'll miss stuff like this

I would almost prefer it for students to delegate the writing of their papers to AI than that they use it to frame the scope of the world they’re looking at and accept its interpretation of what is important.

I don’t think we’re at a point where there’s a “worst use of AI” example to point to, but the situation I find most personally dispiriting is when students use ChatGPT for search.

Die 100 größten Medien- und Wissenskonzerne der Welt (2024) Die Medienkonzerne des Rankings werden als Unternehmen definiert, die publizistische Inhalte in Massenmedien verantwortlich erstellen und/oder verbreiten sowie maßgebliche Teile ihres Umsatzes mit …

A propos of nothing, here’s a list of the world’s largest media and “knowledge” companies from 2024. Canada contributes Rogers (#36) and Quebecor (#58). mediadb.eu/en/die-grost...

Canada is building its own social network - The Logic Gander Social aims to be a social network where users, not algorithms, set the tone—and where content moderation is based on Canadian laws.

thelogic.co/news/gander-...

It is. I buried the lede there.

Filter? I don’t know! I’ve wasted my life on French press and moka pot apparently

Here are the worst coffee types for your cholesterol levels | BBC Science Focus Magazine Your morning cup of joe might pack a punch – just not the kind you expect

Strange to think that after 20 years of fleetingly popular coffee making systems—French press, moka pot, pod machines à la Nespresso, aeropress—plain old drip coffee could be the best for you www.sciencefocus.com/news/cholest...

Very important to go to Cubeshop and buy a felt-tip pen or similar.

I can’t wait to read those books.

Bad news if your party is hoping to kill it! www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

A man in a park, wearing earphones and a light beige t-shirt, with his eyes closed and a peaceful smile on his face.

Study suggests we don’t just hear music, but ‘become it’. 🧠🎵 Researchers show brain rhythms sync with sound to create emotion, movement and meaning. ➡️ mcgill.ca/x/iNY

Tough customer!

News deprivation - CCPA The last 16 years have not been kind to local news outlets in Canada. Now 2.5 million Canadians don’t have access to local news. That’s a problem for our democracy.

"Cities with the most news deprivation are the suburbs of larger centres: the suburbs in the [GTA], Grand Montréal and Metro Vancouver populations have grown quickly but local news hasn’t kept pace or has declined." www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc....

How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housing (Published 2024) One quarter of residents in the French capital live in government-owned housing, part of an aggressive plan to keep lower-income Parisians — and their businesses — in the city.

“How Does Paris Stay Paris? By Pouring Billions Into Public Housing.”

“1/4 of residents in the French capital live in government-owned housing, part of an aggressive plan to keep lower-income Parisians— & their businesses— in the city.”

Paris innovation isn’t just about people-places & bike-lanes.