A bail-out journalist really, really wants me to think he’s still independent and entrepreneurial

Start your free trial

Access exclusive members only RebelNews+ shows, event footage, and documentaries

Subscribe

I saw this little tweet yesterday:

Meet @the_logic, an unashamedly “wonkish” Canadian news startup led by @dskok. Founded in 2018, its staff has grown from three to 23, including 18 journalists. The Logic publishes one or two impactful stories a day, giving reporters freedom to dig deep. https://t.co/zdKNfZqOIF

— William Turvill (@wturvill) April 28, 2022

But I’ve heard of this news startup. It’s been around for four years, so I’m not sure how long it gets to call itself a start-up. But I remember when it was born — I was excited for them, because I know it’s tough to start something new in journalism.

They were going with a very expensive paywall model — $300 a year. That seemed high to me, especially for something that hadn’t really proven itself yet. I remember that, for the first six months or so, this show, The Ezra Levant Show, was broadcast for free to everyone; the hope was that we would prove ourselves and people would be willing to pay $80 a year for it after that. But even then, we put chunks of the show on YouTube every day for free. So $300 bucks a year, paid in advance — no monthly subscriptions — was a bit bold. But good for him.

And here’s what David Skok, its founder, said back then:

Letter from the editor: Seven ways to bail out the government’s journalism bailout

He was responding to Trudeau’s $600 million dollar bail-out announcement.

On tonight's show, I'll show you my interactions with Skok on Twitter.

The whole thing made me sort of sad. I have to say, I like David Skok, even though I had hard words for him. He seems like someone who is pouring his whole heart into things. He’s failing as a businessman, but he loves his project so much he’s willing to sell out to Trudeau; and soon, to Zuckerberg too. I like that he has a conscience that bothers him. I like that he wants to thought of as an an honest journalist.

According to a clip I'll show you from the Toronto Star, 99 per cent of journalists are now fully embedded into Trudeau’s government.

You’ve just met David Skok, the one journalist who is still publicly uncomfortable with it, enough to pretend he’s not actually who he has become.

GUEST: Security expert T. Lee Humphrey (@TLeeHumphrey) joins to discuss Trudeau's Mother's Day trip to Ukraine, and the hypocrisy of locking down Canadians domestically while there's an ongoing flight ban on the unvaccinated.

FINALLY: Your messages to me!