The Catch's New Years Resolutions

2022 was a terrible year, yet another in a long list of capitalist hellscapes that make life grueling, bland and dangerous for the majority of the working class. COVID is worse than ever, despite our media and government’s insistence on minimizing its impacts. The federal Conservatives selected their most openly far-right candidate to lead them. Provincial conservative parties and municipal candidates held or gained ground where elections were held or new leadership selected. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Canada and Fightback shook hands and decided that protecting sexual predators and unjust power structures against their own rules was more important than advancing the working class. The world’s most annoying Boer seized the bird site and revealed his intention to tilt it towards his particular fascist tendencies. Fidlar got back together but then released garbage track after garbage track.

Happy fucking new year.

Personally, 2022 hasn’t been the best for me, but there have been positives. I launched a podcast. CUPE repelled Ford’s attack on the constitutional right to strike. I was published on outlets for which I have a deep respect. I saw Viagra Boys and Tropical Fuck Storm live. I launched The Catch.

Now that The Catch is little over a month old, I have a better idea of where I want to take it in 2023. I’d like to share that with you, so that you can have a better idea of what you’re subscribing for, and why you should share it with others who may be interested. So without further ado, I’ve caved and created a numbered list of four goals for the new year. These are in no particular order.

1. Publish media criticism weekly

This sounds simple, but consistently throughout school, summer, summer school, work, my podcast and writing for other outlets, I’ll be juggling a lot of irons in the fire. Regardless of this, if you subscribe I want you to get weekly breakdowns of misinformation or ideologically-motivated framing in the news media’s reporting. Typically my focus lays with the perceived “neutral” news sources in the Canadian context. The National Post and Toronto Sun are obvious purveyors of propaganda to those with a modicum of critique. The more insidious reporting comes from outlets that purport to be neutral or particularly prestigious. In the Canadian context this means the CBC, The Globe and Mail, Global News, CTV, etc. That’s not to say National Post or Toronto Sun articles won’t be the subject of particular editions of The Catch, but only when their articles border on the cartoonishly malicious. I’ll also cover the global north’s news media reporting more in general when needed. Rest assured, there’s plenty of garbage to go around.

Knowing this, it’s almost certain that there’ll be enough news reporting in the corporate press that merits a weekly edition of The Catch to focus on media criticism.

2. Own up to mistakes

One of the things I don’t want to be as a writer, journalist or analyst is stubbornly committed to an incorrect analysis. As such, it’s crucial to admit when mistakes occur, rectify them and try to minimize the chance of them in the future. There will be times when I miss information crucial for understanding a subject, misinterpret a quote, or cite faulty information that doesn’t reflect updated sources. That’s simply being human. The issue, however, arises when these things are pointed out then the response is to ignore, downplay, or aggressively defend that mistake. I’d like to think that I’m not usually like that, but I have been known to stubbornly commit to trivial things on occasion because-I don’t know man, we all got quirks. However, I don’t want that to get in the way of reporting. So I want to make that promise in writing. Seems simple but the New York Times is still insisting that Iran disbanded its “morality police” when they definitely didn’t. I think we can all agree that’s some easily-avoidable nonsense.

3. Original reporting

This will be minimal, as I said there are other original reporting opportunities that may take precedent. That being said, I’d love to reach out to sources to frame particular stories that have faulty coverage, ask agencies for comment, or just interview certain knowledgeable experts about a particular topic. This won’t happen often, and may or may not take the place of the weekly news media analysis, but I would like to make it a goal whenever possible.

4. Reach 100 subscribers

Right now, I’m sitting at around 30 subscribers. That means an increase of more than 300%. It sounds like a lot, and for a relative unknown like myself it is, but I know we can do it… only with your help. If an edition of The Catch really speaks to you or illustrates a point you feel hasn’t been made (or covered as well), please share with others you think may benefit from reading it. I do this entirely for free, like most of my solo endeavors, but one of the things that keeps it going is the amount of people I reach. I have no intention to introduce a paid option for The Catch in 2023, and even if I reach the numbers where that would be feasible, the stated goal of weekly news media criticism will stay free and accessible.

I’ve been doing things in a pretty punk DIY way since my teenage years and while it certainly has its advantages, it has its downsides as well. While my work is independent and free from oversight that may compromise its vision, it also has less institutional backing and a more difficult breakthrough point. The easiest way to help me is by subscribing. By doing so, you’ll help throw a wrench into the gears of the consent manufacturing machine, help me uninvent reality, help me uhhh… chew… the… daily wire. You know what I mean. Please consider subscribing and sharing The Catch regularly in 2023.

With all of this in mind, to all my subscribers I’d like to thank you for subscribing to The Catch so far. I began this newsletter once Twitter seemed on the brink of total collapse, and I’m a little upset it took this long. While I had published the occasional political/news media analysis on my Medium, I feel this is a much better method of delivery.

If you’re a new reader, that’s great too. Any view my pieces get means a lot to me. I find in the digital media landscape, the focus on high numbers numbs us to the fact that 30 people willingly listening to something I have to say is actually a feat. If there were 30 people in a room to see me play my music, I’d be quite humbled. So I’m humbled that even more read my work, even if it’s not a massive number.

2023 probably won’t be much better, but together, at the very least, we can dissect why that is.