The Globe and Mail
Canada has a hereditary monarchy where the governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister for a 5-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Commons generally designated prime minister by the governor general. The legislative branch is a bicameral parliament consisting of 105 members of senate that serve until the age of 75, and are appointed by the governor general. There are also the 338 members of the House of Commons, also known as the Chambre des Communes. The members of the house are elected by a simple majority vote to serve a maximum of four year terms. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the judicial branch, and consists of the chief justice and eight judges. The members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the prime minister. All of the judges that are appointed serve with mandatory retirement at the age of 75 years old. The country Canada has grown into an urban and industrial country since World War II because of the growth of manufacturing, mining, and service sectors. There is an abundant source of highly skilled labor force, modern capital plant, and natural resources. Today, Canada is the fifth greatest producer of oil; their petroleum sector is continuously expanding. They export about three-fourths of its merchandise to trade with the United States each year. United States gets most of its supplied energy from Canada, including oil, gas, and electric power, and even uranium imports. Despite the recent drop in the price of oil, and the recession of 2008 Canada has achieved a marginal growth since 2010.
The Globe and Mail covers a wide variety of topics pertaining to Canada and global relations. It’s geological setting allows it to cater to American and Canadian audiences, covering mostly media that pertain to these two audiences. This is noticed by its English set language and the material it covers. Having both print and online versions, The Globe and Mail provides stories of current news that fall under several categories. The paper breaks down their covered media from American news, to business, top stories, tech, sports, etc. The large range of categories allows for easy reading and user friendliness. Having being in print for over 172 years, Canada’s #1 National News Paper attracts a high volume of readership from across Canada and within America as well. Currently owned by the Woodbridge Company and based in Toronto they print in six provinces across the country. Founded by a Scottish immigrant George Brown and later merged by Scott McCullagh; The Globe merged with The Mail and Empire making it The Globe and Mail. In the 1960’s the paper was bought by FP Publications and then sold to the Thomason Corporation before being owned by Woodbridge Company. Its long history provides for it to be Canada’s number one press and paper. The paper is known in the U.S. as well due to its wide coverage and well known media. Both American and Canadian audiences can benefit from reading The Globe and Mail because it provides unique coverage and updated information on global, local, and pressing issues that people want to read about.
The Globe and Mail covers a wide variety of social issues including a small selection of the inside of a federal prison, suicide stories, discrimination, and immigration issues. Because of the wide range of stories this paper is global in how it covers news due the nature of what it publishes. Reading the paper allows for insight on how other countries cover their news and also how they handle pressing issues. The Globe and Mail not only chooses to cover hyperlocal news but also global news that affects the Canadian population. Alongside that, the paper provides details on current issues that allow a lens for readers to understand how connected the globe is in crime, economic struggle, power structure and media. One of the major articles in The Globe and Mail that went viral not just in Canada but on social media such as twitter and Facebook, but also spread throughout the U.S., was a story of a young man by the name of Adam Capay who after arrested, was put in a cell for four years without the sight of sunlight. The story covered his mistreatment and allowed for audiences to see the common struggle that many countries are facing aside from America with relations to race and how even prisoners are treated differently due to it. Readers of the article were enraged because Adam Capay’s lawyers allowed his abuse and poor treatment to happen. Adam Capay has damage due to this and many took to twitter under his name as a hashtag to make people aware of the story.
Another important article was on a 10-year-old who committed suicide and was even brought to the attention of the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau due to the high rate of suicide among the ages of 12 and 14 years. Trudeau was disappointed, and called it a national tragedy because nobody was doing anything to resolve the situation, and provide better health care to Canadians. The coverage from The Globe and Mail allowed other press to cover stories relation to the suicides and how it affected the countries outlook on mental health. This story sparked a conversation within the education system that would provide help for adolescent youth and hopefully bring down the high suicide rate in Canada.
The Globe and Mail covers a variety of global issues that many countries face as well. For example, a teacher almost forced a Hijab wearing student to take her head wrap off so he could see her ears. This story relates to the ban of burkinis in other countries and ban of head wraps and religious garments. Many teachers struggle with the issue of asking a student to see their ears or other hidden body parts due to the possibility of cheating. Both parties are right and wrong in a situation such as this in education. It makes for a controversial conversation that allows readers to develop their own opinion on the matter. This story covered how both the teacher and student were uncomfortable, but that overall the misunderstanding was handled by the school very well which ensured that the misunderstanding would not happen again in the future.
The country’s political structure influences the press coverage because the outcome of the situation is dependent on the liberal beliefs of the country, and how the three branches of government are run. The news will consist of multiple political figures behind most stories, like the prime minister or a correctional officer because these are the people that have caused the problem or the one that are going to resolve it. The coverage of the press is very diverse because they cover multiple issues like race, public health, weather and global change, politics, entertainment, as well as business. Allowing for a wide range of categories gives readers the opportunity to tap into whatever they want to read or feel important specifically to them.
Following the Canadian Press allowed myself to understand how one news source can fit into the globe. I discovered this by reading coverage of issues that relate to the rest of the world. Alongside that, I was able to see how hyperlocal news can affect other readers that are not of the Canada population. For example, Americans benefit from reading coverage from The Globe and Mail and how their political and economic structure can affect the population. The Globe and Mail provided myself with the opportunity to see how a media outlet can provide a lens on how issues can be covered differently than how they are in America. This following made me want to continue to follow global coverage of pressing issues and the world rather than just American sources.
