paulcrosstoronto’s Podcast

On media literacy: an introduction to the No Embargo podcast From October 30, 2026 I'm launching Season 10 of Cross Talk during Media Literacy Week in Canada and an international media literacy awareness campaign by UNESCO.  What happened when the War of the Worlds drama was broadcast on the radio in the U-S and Canada on October 30th 1938 is in my view the greatest failure in media literacy of th...

Today: Why are we making No Embargo? Introduction: Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross discuss why we’re making this series No Embargo and how we hope it has value to the listener.  Trevor is a public relations specialist.  Paul is a veteran news broadcaster.  Through our professional and career perspectives we unfilter news and spin examining how some issues come to be in the news, how they’re covered...

Today: Remembering September 11, 2001.  From September 9, 2026. Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross remember the moment they heard about the tragic events in New York and how newsrooms and the public reacted. This episode contains additional material not included in this week's No Embargo Advance Episode 7. Commentary and analysis. Opinions are our own.  No Embargo - Unfiltering news and spin Coming so...

Today: Our first grab-bag of current issues including the trade situation, recent by-election outcomes, a shout-out for good news coverage, and a start at remembering 9-11. From September 9, 2026. No Embargo - Unfiltering news and spin Commentary and analysis.  Opinions are our own. More episodes coming soon with our official launch -- wherever you get your podcasts.

Today: Is it a trade war? And how much of it is news? From September 2, 2026.  As Canada and the United States struggle to re-negotiate a free trade deal, the dispute is being commonly referred to in the news across various platforms as a "trade war". Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross question whether that's an accurate or appropriate description of the situation and examine news judgement around how...

We're getting closer to the formal launch of our new podcast series No Embargo. Today: To block -- or not to block -- a data centre From August 5, 2026: Plans and proposals to build data centres in various communities are sparking controversy. But is the concern more acute because people equate the centres with negative aspects of AI - Artificial Intelligence? While digging into one case currently...

As Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross move closer to the full launch of the No Embargo podcast here's your latest taste of what's coming. No Embargo: the podcast featuring a public relations professional and a radio news pro. Media literacy, narrative strategy, and behind‑the‑scenes truth‑telling from two insiders who unpack how stories develop - honest talk, nothing held back.  Today: A public relati...

Here's another taste of what's coming soon as Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross prepare to launch No Embargo - the podcast featuring a public relations professional and a radio news pro.  Media literacy, narrative strategy, and behind‑the‑scenes truth‑telling from two insiders who unpack how stories develop - honest talk, nothing held back: No Embargo. Today: a good news story from summer 2026 From J...

Teaser from Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross A news guy and a public relations strategist decode what makes news and why.   Media literacy, narrative strategy, and behind‑the‑scenes truth‑telling from two insiders who unpack how stories develop - honest talk, nothing held back: No Embargo.   Today: The end of NHL broadcasts on conventional over-the-air free TV   From June 19, 2026: As we build up co...

Coming soon from Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross: No Embargo A news guy and a public relations strategist decode what makes news and why.   Media literacy, narrative strategy, and behind‑the‑scenes truth‑telling from two insiders who unpack how stories develop - honest talk, nothing held back: No Embargo.   Today:  What’s next after the death of six radio stations From July 10, 2026: Trevor and Pau...

On 25 years of indifference.  On the 25th anniversary of a targeted murder of a young Black man by a racist white gang, during a public celebration in a municipal park, a look back, and links to related resources. I have found no recognition of the story at all today, in a search across news media sites and social media.  It was what I perceived as local news media failings that got me started in...

On the Passing of a Panther.  From January 14, 2026.  Exactly 32 years before this date, I sat with a former member of the Black Panthers Party for Self-Defence in an interview at CHUMFM in Toronto.  We knew him from the 60s as H. Rap Brown.  In 1994, he was known as Jamil al-Amin. On his death in November of 2025, I instantly thought of this interview.  In season five I have been mining my archiv...

On remembering the Quebec referendum of 1995: I was there. From October 30th, 2025. Thirty years ago, voters in Quebec voted narrowly -- narrowly -- to remain in Canada, and against pursuing separation.  It was a tumultuous time 15 years after the previous referendum.  It's one of the rare occasions when I spent an entire week broadcasting the CHUM Radio Network National News on the road; this tim...

On the radio call-in heard around the world: WWL New Orleans and local radio in times of local crisis. On September 2nd 2005 the mayor of New Orleans phones radio station WWL870 after the fifth day of the crisis brought on by Hurricane Katrina. Mayor Ray Nagin's call -- his words on the radio -- are so striking, so significant...the call gets picked up and broadcast around the world.  It's widely...

Forty years ago: Remembering Air India Flight 182. When an Air India jet was bombed over the Atlantic Ocean on June 23rd 1985 hours after taking off from Toronto, it was recognized as the single deadliest incident of terrorism involving a passenger flight in world history.  I remember that day vividly, as I explained in Episode One this season. Today, I'll tell you why it stands out in my memory....

On Air India - in 2025 and 40 years ago. The tragic crash of an Air India jet on June 12, 2025 comes just days before the 40th anniversary of the bombing of an Air India jet on its way from Toronto to India.  I was already planning an episode in time for that stark anniversary, digging into my archives of coverage from the time.  There will be still more to come on that.  But I was getting the imp...

From February 13, 2025: In time for World Radio Day.  But I'm not focused on the annual tribute to radio today.  I'm thinking about the need for better radio in Canada as the very sovereignty of this country is threatened.  Canada needs tougher, bolder, more thoughtful and life-experienced radio.  And mature analysis. Season 9 is coming soon.

On World Radio Day 2024: A century of radio history - entertaining, informing and educating.  From February 13, 2024.  Each year I produce an episode of the pod focused on the themes of World Radio Day - designated by UNESCO. Yes, well into its second century, radio continues to entertain, educate and inform. For educational purposes.  Makes fair dealing use of archive audio from WWL New Orleans,...

How corporate ownership imperils local radio – and the few voices raised to save it. From February 9, 2024.  No company owning radio stations in Canada has ever made a move to shed so many radio stations on the basis of wanting to get out. Forty-five radio stations are being sold off by Bell.  But other companies want them! And they're companies that are about radio! Also, I follow up on my promis...

On getting past a terrible, horrible, really bad year for AM radio in Canada. From January 18, 2024. Canadian listeners lost several AM radio stations in 2023.  Many were heritage stations that had been on the air almost as long as radio itself has been around.  Tuning around on the dial to the places where those radio stations used to be...brings in nothing but static now.  For educational purpos...

On the 85th anniversary of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast. From October 30th, 2023.  This is the sixth in my series of episodes in defence of the Mercury Theatre on the Air broadcast as brilliant radio drama that has been the subject of flawed research and what I perceive as a bias against radio content by both academia and legacy print-oriented media.  For educational purposes.  Makes fair...

On radio and the great power failure of 2003. From August 14, 2023. On the 20th anniversary of a power failure that left 50 million people in Canada and the United States without electricity.  Radio knew exactly what to do. But 20 years later, there are consumers unaware of local radio, failures in broadcasting, and distracted corporate ownership. Commentary. For educational purposes. Makes fair d...

On sports betting ads during play-by-play broadcasts. From May 4, 2023. The preponderance of advertising for sports betting apps -- including apps that let a gambler bet on a game in progress -- is changing the experience of watching live sports such as NHL Hockey.  And it may be having an impact on how young viewers perceive the game and their favourite players.  Commentary.  For educational purp...

On getting caught in the act of staging fake news.  From April 27, 2023 - examining a broadcast of March 19th. If you're going to brand your show as documentary, and title an episode "Fake News?" extra care may be required.  In the age of "fake news" a legitimate show needs to be sure its content is watertight.  So when The Circus on HBO gets called out by a source of "fake news" for staging somet...

In advance of World Radio Day 2023 - February 13th.  The UNESCO theme for World Radio Day this year is Radio and Peace. That seems to have some resonance with students in my RAMP 5504 Program Making - Radio Lab class in the graduate certificate Radio and Media Production program at Humber College in Toronto.  Listen in on our roundtable discussion as the students bring their stories and perspectiv...