The Black Rod

If you blinked you missed it. Starring Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett and screen veteran Robert Redford, the movie titled "Truth" came and went and nobody noticed. Despite opening in more than 1100 theatres, this certified stinkeroo, which cost $9.6 million to make, has grossed barely $2.5 million. So why mention it? Because its the celluloid apologia for Rathergate, the infamous scandal where CBS tried to influence the 2004 American presidential election by smearing George Bush with a phony story on 60 Minutes (Wednesday edition) hosted by Dan Rather.   When the documents used by Rather to attack George Bush proved to be fraudulent, show producer Mary Mapes was fired and Dan Rather's career was over.   The only thing left behind was the mantra adopted by bad reporters everywhere: the evidence is false, but the story is true. The real heroes of Rathergate were the bloggers and internet commenters who rose up together to take the false story apart, line b...

The Shadow has a higher public profile than he does. You couldn't pick him out of a line-up.  If his picture has ever been posted anywhere, let us know. What is known is that he's got bigger cojones than anyone at City Hall.  This year he stared down the mayor of Winnipeg and the mayor's closest friend and ally,the city's chief administrative officer, who happens to be the most powerful man in city government. By the time he got through with them, they were sitting in council chambers like frightened schoolboys in the principal's office as they watched their power to intimidate city councillors evaporate into thin air. And because of him, those councillors developed some backbone for the first time in living memory and showed they could take the reins of government away from unelected administrators if they wanted. The Black Rod's Newsmaker of the Year---city auditor Brian Whiteside. Way back as far as last January, Whiteside gave a warning th...

Congratulations are in order. Winnipeg's very own Krista Erickson has been fully exonerated by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for her feisty interview with dancer Margie Gillis which sent Canada's left-wing elite into a carpet-chewing frenzy. Sun News had barely begun broadcasting when, last June, Krista went toe-to-toe with Gillis over government funding of the arts. Gillis, who hops around, flaps her arms and calls it modern dance, has been sucking at the public tit for most her, ahem, career. The challenge to Gillis drove the arts community wild. An organized Facebook campaign resulted in an unprecedented 6676 complaints to the CBSC. Friday, Krista kicked 6676 Leftie butts with a vengeance. The CBSC said her interview met the standard of a full, fair and proper presentation, which might have been controversial, but in a way that is "essential to the maintenance of democratic institutions." Addressing the complaints directly, the council said...

The sun is shining on Winnipeg today in more ways than one as we announce the recipient of the coveted The Black Rod Newsmaker of the Year Award for 2011. It wasn't even close. He was a shoo-in. The man of the hour. If we had a laurel wreath we would crown him with it. Mark Chipman. He brought the Winnipeg Jets back. You don't need to say another word. He's 50; he's co-owner of True North Sports and Entertainment; he's got a degree in economics and worked as a lawyer. Blah blah blah. Who cares? He brought the Jets back. Now there's an accomplishment. It's like Prometheus bringing Man fire. Or Dr. Frankenstein seeing his creation twitch and breathe for the first time. "It's alive! It's alive!" For the return of the Jets has brought life back to Winnipeg. Life and sunshine. And song. And confidence. And hope. Can love be far behind? Chipman did it, and he did it without massive government subsidy or a massive ego...

Breaking news this morning is that one of our readers' favorite subjects is taking a giant lateral step in her meteroic career. After a detour out of Parliament Hill without the rumoured Olympic beat to give her a world platform, The Divine Miss K took a decidedly low profile as the CBC's consumer reporter (yawn). Not one to accept a stalled future, our Krista Erickson has leaped (lept?) from the CBC to the abyss, or as the eastern press likes to call it "Fox News North", the soon-to-be Quebecor gabfest channel. Here is the formal au revoir issued this AM: After over a decade as a reporter and host, Krista Erickson has decided to leave CBC News. Krista joined CBC in her hometown of Winnipeg in 1999 and worked on a variety of programs including Disclosure, Country Canada, and It’s a Living. She became a reporter in Winnipeg in 2001, again contributing to many programs including The National and Marketplace, and receiving a Gemini nomination for Best...

We have to admit that our decapitation story isn't as good as the Greyhound Bus decapitation story that broke Thursday. But its still damn good---and it's a scoop. Do we have your attention? The investigation into last weekend's mysterious abduction in the 500 block of College Avenue is a homicide investigation. Winnipeg police have been told the still missing, still unidentified abductee had his throat cut to the extent he was almost beheaded, his head hanging on by a thread. The street was awash with blood when an ambulance got to the scene after a call to police that somebody was seen being stuffed into the trunk of a car. An 18 year old "man" was charged Monday with Assault Causing Bodily Harm and Forcible Confinement. Expect the charges to be upgraded once a body is found. The current accused has the same name (and age) as the founder of Bassment Records, a local hip hop and rap record label, who is better known by his street name, Big Fun. Bassment Records i...