Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Jim Rankin

Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) @cajournalists.bsky.social · 21h

We've extended the deadline for our mentorship program - apply by Oct. 14! Get one-on-one mentoring from some of Canada's top journalists.

Apply now: https://caj.ca/programs/mentorship/

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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 7d

Hey Toronto and area media types, tickets for Newzapalooza 2025 live band karaoke edition with The Approximators now on sale. Show is November 22 at legendary The Duke on Queen St. E. As always, it's a benefit for the Children's Aid Foundation of Canada, and is Media Event of the Year!

Tixtree

By selling or buying tickets on Tixtree you are leading the way towards a sustainable future.

www.tixtree.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 7d

Jane Goodall, primate expert and conservationist, dies aged 91.
www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
Here’s a piece I wrote about her in 2014: Youth give Jane Goodall reason to hope
www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nationa... via @theglobeandmail.com

Youth give Jane Goodall reason to hope

Primatologist is inspired by young people’s desire to live in harmony with one another and nature

www.theglobeandmail.com

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Media Action Plan @mediaactionplan.bsky.social · 21d

Our Fact Check campaign is now live at factcheckhere.ca! On this website you can...

-Find credible news sources

-Read about the importance of fact-checking

-Share our Fact Check campaign content like this ⬇️

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Unifor @unifor.org · 21d

Unifor’s Media Action Plan launched its hard-hitting Fact Checked campaign today with social media, TV and newspaper spots to bring attention to the fight against misinformation.
#canlab #savelocalnews

Unifor’s Fact Checked campaign fights misinformation by boosting Canadian journalism

TORONTO—Unifor’s Media Action Plan launched its hard-hitting Fact Checked campaign today with social media, TV and newspaper spots to bring attention to the fight against misinformation.“The Canadian…

www.unifor.org

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Toronto Star Bargaining Unit - Unifor Local 87M @torontostarunit.bsky.social · 21d

This campaign is now live. Check it out! www.factcheckhere.ca

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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · Sep 4

"Toronto is so comfortable that when he received an invitation to appear on The Tonight Show last Thursday - 'Me, a guy from Sheppard and Pharmacy!' - he ran right out and bought a new suit at Harry Rosen."

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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · Sep 4

With TIFF on in Toronto, here's a snap of Mike Myers from 35 years ago, for @thestar.com story in which Myers expressed his comfort with being a Toronto guy:

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Toronto Star @thestar.com · Aug 8

Female pilots may be more consistent and accurate when flying in high-pressure scenarios, according to a small study out of the University of Waterloo.

Female pilots may perform better in high-pressure scenarios, University of Waterloo study finds

In simulated scenarios, female pilots were faster at identifying an emergency and landing the plane safely.

www.thestar.com

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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · Aug 1

ICYMI, great story!

Bruce Arthur @brucearthur.bsky.social · Jul 29

Mary-Sophie Harvey has slept in her car so he can train; she has finished fourth so many times at big events she has 4s tattooed on her arm. But she has always felt like she was swimming towards something, and in Singapore, she got her moment. www.thestar.com/sports/amate...

Mary-Sophie Harvey breaks the fourth wall to win bronze at world aquatics championships

Canadian has fours tattooed on her arm for all her fourth-place finishes: 2 individual Paris Olympic events and several at short-course championships.

www.thestar.com

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The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · Jul 23

In June 2023, the Canadian government passed Bill C-18, the Online News Act, mandating that big tech pay media organizations fees to distribute content. Google complied, but Meta refused to pay up. Mostafa Al A’sar examines the fallout: thewalrus.ca/if-you-think-we-...

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aisling murphy @aislingmurph.bsky.social · Jul 22

Really grateful to Phil Rickaby for having me on @stageworthy.ca, where we had a wide-ranging conversation about slime tutorials, my strange journey from theatre school to my job at The Globe and, of course, Taylor Swift.

open.spotify.com/episode/3FPj...

#421 – Aisling Murphy

Stageworthy · Episode

open.spotify.com

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The Biking Lawyer LLP @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social · Jul 12

I still feel intense emotion when faced with my assault & survival. I'm thankful for that, it reminds me of the preciousness of life & what I've learned. Incredibly grateful to @jleerankin.bsky.social @thestar.com for sharing some insight into this journey: www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...

How a near-fatal punch on New Year’s six years ago changed a Toronto lawyer’s life — and his assailant’s

David Shellnutt is telling his story to show what he has learned as an assault victim — and highlight what happens when a court case takes so long.

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Heather Mallick @hmallick.bsky.social · Jul 12

Really touched by this story of the fallout from a violent dispute on a sidewalk on a rainy night in Toronto so many years ago. In the U.S. it might have ended in gunfire. Here, it's insight. Good for Shellnutt. @jleerankin.bsky.social

The Biking Lawyer LLP @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social · Jul 12

I still feel intense emotion when faced with my assault & survival. I'm thankful for that, it reminds me of the preciousness of life & what I've learned. Incredibly grateful to @jleerankin.bsky.social @thestar.com for sharing some insight into this journey: www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...

How a near-fatal punch on New Year’s six years ago changed a Toronto lawyer’s life — and his assailant’s

David Shellnutt is telling his story to show what he has learned as an assault victim — and highlight what happens when a court case takes so long.

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Toronto Star @thestar.com · Jun 26

Another Toronto high school is being accused of suppressing student voices after all Grade 12 quotes were removed from its yearbook over student submissions related to Palestine and Tibet.

Some Toronto students offered Free Palestine and Free Tibet as yearbook quotes. The school removed quotes from the entire Grade 12

Parkdale Collegiate administration said the decision was made to align with a provincial directive to avoid political biases in the classroom.

www.thestar.com

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OKC THUNDER @okc--thunder.bsky.social · Jun 24

SHAI & FAM WITH THE TROPHIES 🥹

What it's all about.

#ThunderUp #OKCThunder #ThunderNation #NBA

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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · Jun 24

Amazing!

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · Jun 19

Cool study from @bikewaysto.bsky.social detailing a traffic count on Bloor Street taken on June 11 with a camera at 412 Bloor West. During the peak of the afternoon rush, bikes outnumbered cars.

I repeat: bikes outnumbered cars.

drive.google.com/file/d/1ctd4...

Bar chart showing traffic counts on Bloor Street West in Toronto during the afternoon rush on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. For each hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the number of bikes and motor vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles) was recorded. At 4–5 p.m., there were 643 bikes and 849 motor vehicles. At 5–6 p.m., 930 bikes and 832 motor vehicles. At 6–7 p.m., 919 bikes and 909 motor vehicles. At 7–8 p.m., 726 bikes and 935 motor vehicles. Bike counts exceeded car counts from 5 to 7 p.m. The chart was created by Matt Elliott for City Hall Watcher using data from the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition.

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Cathy Crowe, C.M. 🍁 @cathycrowe.bsky.social · Jun 16

RIP #BuzzHargrove @unifor.org

A description of Buzz's support for advocacy on homelessness.

Several people sitting at a table outdoors, holding microphones.

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Brendan Kennedy @bkstar.bsky.social · Jun 16

NEW: Ontario's government is facing a slew of lawsuits, including a proposed class-action, from former Maplehurst inmates subject to a brutal collective punishment in December 2023.
www.thestar.com/news/investi...

Ontario government facing lawsuits from inmates over ‘unconscionable conduct’ by Maplehurst jail guards

The lawsuits mark a widening fallout from the violent incident, which has already compromised dozens of criminal prosecutions.

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · Jun 10

An LAPD helicopter claimed to have ID'ed protesters from above and threatened to "come to your house."

The threat was greeted with extreme concern by civil liberties and digital privacy groups. It suggests the LAPD could be using facial recognition to identify and retaliate against protesters.

An LAPD helicopter claimed to have ID'ed protesters from above and threatened to "come to your house"

The practice, an expert warns, could lead to "reprisals and retribution by the police for your politics.”

www.motherjones.com

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Mike Wilner @wilnerness.bsky.social · May 29

IT’S A BRAND-NEW EPISODE OF DEEP LEFT FIELD!!!

This week, Tim Leiper looks back at his #Bluejays days, the BatFlip and more!

@cdnbaseballhof.bsky.social chair Jeremy Diamond talks induction weekend!

And you get to meet Steven Jaschinski, the Burlington kid who is now an #MLB umpire!!

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Chair Jeremy Diamond on Jose Bautista and other inductees, plus Padre Tim Leiper and ump Steven Jaschinski

Podcast Episode · Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner · 2025-05-29 · 1h 18m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Ted Rutland @tedrutland.bsky.social · May 29

"The wholesale betrayal of Canada’s largest racial justice movement by those in power continues to have deadly impacts for Black and Indigenous folks today." @policingblack.bsky.social reflects on five years since the 2020 BLM uprising.
www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

What is life like for Black people five years after George Floyd’s murder?

The same political leaders who claimed to they’d heard the calls of this historic movement eschewed meaningful change in favour of the status quo.

www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · May 29

A B.C. couple waited weeks to get their stillborn daughter's remains. Then, they were invoiced for her autopsy.
Expert says lack of standardized care for stillbirths results in errors that traumatize grieving families, by Jodie Martinson www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... via @cbcnews.ca #stillbirth

A B.C. couple waited weeks to get their stillborn daughter's remains. Then, they were invoiced for her autopsy | CBC News

A month after delivering their stillborn child, a couple received an invoice for her autopsy addressed to her by name. It revealed her remains had been waiting for pick up two weeks longer than necess...

www.cbc.ca

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Reposted by Jim Rankin

Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) @cajournalists.bsky.social · May 26

Twenty volunteers were trained this month and are now officially open for business to offer Canadian journalists confidential colleague-to-colleague help through the Canadian News Industry Peer Support (CNIPS) program, a pilot initiative of the CAJ. caj.ca/canadas-news...

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