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Jim Rankin

@jleerankin.bsky.social
737 followers 247 following 33 posts

Reporter-photographer, Toronto Star, www.thestar.com

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Reposted by Jim Rankin
Media Action Plan @mediaactionplan.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Today is World News Day – over 1,000 news organizations from over 100 countries are spreading a campaign calling for fact-based journalism! 📰 According to World Association of News Publishers, disinformation costs the world over $350 billion a year. Journalism is not a cost – it is an investment.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
What happened to Madi Chard? An investigation into her death in a small Ontario town has gone cold. "Somebody knows stuff." www.thestar.com/news/ontario...
thestar.com
What happened to Madi? In small-town Ontario, a family wrestles with a police investigation gone cold
Four years on, Madison Chard's family say they believe somebody in Port Hope, Ont., knows what happened, even if the police investigation has gone cold.
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Carol Off @caroloff.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
My new book describes the journey of a young country finding its place in the world. The story I tell is historic but it's also personal; how I came to truly, patriotically, love this country. On sale October 13 but you can pre-order at your favourite bookstore.
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Ed Tubb @edtubb.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
When Ontario's Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care keeps its patients in locked isolation, this is what it looks like. Jake Gordon, who has schizophrenia, lived like this for five years. Another man has been in seclusion for 20 years and counting. Remarkable journalism from Jacques Gallant.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A pic from 25 years ago, on the US day of mourning, and the original cutline: OLDFLAG -- BOSTON, MASS -- 14/09/01 -- Genetta Giudice watches a prayer service in the streets of Boston's Little Italy yesterday. ...
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Michelle Shephard @michelleshephard.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Our relationship with our pets is so hard to put in words.. I tried in this short essay for @thewalrus.ca about our beloved Parker and what dogs teach us about loss and living. thewalrus.ca/the-trouble-...
thewalrus.ca
The Trouble with Loving a Dog | The Walrus
They will eventually leave you facing a grief few people know how to measure
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Paddy Gurks @paddygurks.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I love Parker too I am probably the most guilty of encouraging her to eat things she shouldn’t but I am not above buying her affection. thewalrus.ca/the-trouble-...
thewalrus.ca
The Trouble with Loving a Dog | The Walrus
They will eventually leave you facing a grief few people know how to measure
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Cathy Crowe, C.M. 🍁 @cathycrowe.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Toronto. Worst AQ in the world today. Take care people. N95 recommended if you have to go outside.
Environment Canada orange alert ‼️ due to smoke. Severe AQ alert.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
Heeeere’s Johnny! Morning backyard Toronto visitor.
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Shawn Micallef @shawnmicallef.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Today is the CN Tower's 50th birthday. The @thestar.com has a package celebrating this milestone, including a column by me. It still helps define the city, even as Toronto has radically changed around it & it's no longer the tallest. Old, but still looks like the future.
thestar.com
Shawn Micallef: 50 years on, why the CN Tower still defines Toronto — even if the definition has changed
Even after five decades, the CN Tower still looks sleek and futuristic with its space shuttle cool stylings.
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Emma McIntosh @emmamci.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
My latest. This story is based on FOI documents released before the Ford government changed the law. Under the new rules, the province will now be able to keep records like this secret.
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Amber Shortt @amber7shortt.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
"According to Rezvany, the TPA asked those in the meeting to sign a nondisclosure agreement, which city staff did but the mayor’s office did not." www.thestar.com/news/gta/may...
thestar.com
Mayor Olivia Chow accuses federally mandated port authority of hiding early plans for Billy Bishop
The Toronto Port Authority has repeatedly promised that all of its stakeholders, including the city, will eventually be consulted before a final version of the Billy Bishop expansion plan is made publ...
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Emma McIntosh @emmamci.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Health Canada has long said glyphosate is safe, even after a major study underpinning that conclusion was retracted in 2025. But soon after that retraction, Health Canada quietly stepped up its oversight of glyphosate, records show. From @fxplante.bsky.social and me: www.thestar.com/news/investi...
thestar.com
Health Canada said this controversial pesticide is safe. Behind the scenes, the agency has ramped up its monitoring
There have long been safety concerns about glyphosate. The WHO concluded in 2015 that it is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
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Richard Warnica @rwarnica.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
I spent some time looking at the company behind a massive lobbying push to have Toronto's island airport expanded. What I found was a deep tangle of corporate and PR webs that all obscured a relatively simple truth. www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Richard Warnica: Who’s behind the massive lobbying campaign to expand the island airport? What I discovered should worry us all
One key player? A large American bank.
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Alexa MacKie @alexaamackie.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Ontario’s Bill 33 gives post-secondary students an opt-out option for certain ancillary fees. For campus media — still haunted by the student choice initiative — preemptive budget cuts may affect their reporting capacities. For @theglobeandmail.com: www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/art...
theglobeandmail.com
Ontario’s Bill 33 raises fears of fresh funding cuts to campus media
The bill comes at a time when student media organizations are being defunded and journalism programs are closing across Canada
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
"He led the Toronto police homicide unit. Now Hank Idsinga is detailing the racism and antisemitism that fueled his exit," via @thestar.com's Jennifer Pagliaro. This memoir is on my list of must reads. www.thestar.com/news/gta/for...
thestar.com
He led the Toronto police homicide unit. Now Hank Idsinga is detailing the racism and antisemitism that fueled his exit
New memoir “The High Road: Confessions of a Homicide Cop” from former homicide boss details 34 year career at Toronto police.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
The @thestar.com's "First Up" free morning newsletter has been around for a while but now you get Edward Keenan @thekeenanwire.bsky.social on what you need to know. www.thestar.com/news/morning...
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Dean Jobb - True Crime Writer @deanjobb.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
An analysis of AI Overviews found they were accurate 9 times out of 10. With Google processing 5 trillion searches a year, it provides tens of millions of erroneous answers every hour - hundreds of thousands every minute How Accurate Are Google’s A.I. Overviews? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/t...
nytimes.com
How Accurate Are Google’s A.I. Overviews?
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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Day 3 of #30DaysofBiking You heard Shawn! Get Outside!! Riding through Corktown and Distillery District to Ookwemin Minising to play at Biidaasige Park. h/t @waterfrontoronto.bsky.social #BikeTO
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The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 25/03/2026
“It’s not my pain; it’s their pain.” Michelle Shephard opens up to Nathan Whitlock about the weight of reporting everywhere—from refugee camps in Sudan to the cells of Guantánamo—and why she refuses to let these stories vanish into the void: ow.ly/qBB150YynIv
On the left: a photo of a woman with blonde hair smiling at the camera while standing in front of a leafy background. On the right: text that reads ““The cruelty right now Is norrific”: A veteran reporter recalls her most challenging assignments. Michelle Shephard has written from Guantánamo, Somalia, and Sudan. How does she cope with the violence she uncovers?.”
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Nick Hune-Brown @nickhunebrown.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Rare, great opportunity to come join The Local as a permanent full-time reporter! Looking for someone who knows and loves Peel Region to join the team.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Journo jobs alert: @thestar.com's storied and well-paid, unionized year-long journalist internship program for 2026-27 is open for applications. Current cohort includes eight reporters and two photogs. Deadline for applying is April 15. jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Torstar/7440...
jobs.smartrecruiters.com
Toronto Star One-Year Reporter Internship 2026-2027 (Temporary)
Company Description: Company DescriptionTorstar Corporation is a progressive media organization with a long, proud history in newspapers and a passion for capitalizing on the fluid world of digital an...
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Police Charter violations by Ontario's major police services persist, years after a @thestar.com investigation flagged hundreds of cases across Canada. Evidence is being excluded and accused are "walking free." www.thestar.com/news/canada/...
thestar.com
Police Charter violations persist years after Star found cops violating rights of accused with alarming frequency: report
The continuing cost of police Charter violations is resulting in people accused of serious crimes seeing charges tossed and the undermining of public trust, according to the report.
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Michelle Shephard @michelleshephard.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The genocide in Sudan hasn’t been ignored or overlooked, it has been willfully ignored. My dispatch from the region … @thewalrus.ca @msf.ca @hrl-yalesph.bsky.social
thewalrus.ca
The Most Accurately Predicted Genocide in History | The Walrus
There was satellite imagery, survivor testimony, and mass graves. Still, the world looked away from Sudan
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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
February 25th of #BlackHistoryMonth Who is Morgan Campbell? Morgan Campbell is an award-winning sports writer, and the author the acclaimed memoir of My Fighting Family: Borders And Bloodlines And The Battles That Made Us. writersunion.ca/member/morga....
"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

Muhammad Ali.
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Lanrick Bennett @lanrickbennett.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Feb 19th of #BHM “For me personally, as a member of the Black community in Toronto, I wanted to also honour the legacy of people who’ve been advocating for this for over 30 years,” Dr. Notisha Massaquoi via Wendy Gillis and @jleerankin.bsky.social www.thestar.com/news/gta/tor... 4/
Toronto police will soon be collecting racial data as a way to identify bias
The Toronto Police Services Board approved a new “historic” policy around the mandated collection of race-based data.
Sept. 19, 2019
 
 
Notisha Massaquoi, co-chair of the board’s anti-racism advisory panel, said a lot of “debate, deliberation and compromises” went into crafting the new police policy.
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 30/01/2026
The “Heated Rivalry” actor Hudson Williams, who pays Shane Hollander, gifted Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada a fictional Olympic Team fleece jacket that his character wore in the show. The home crowd went wild. nyti.ms/4t8OHHr
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Tu Thanh Ha @tuthanhha.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Yesterday, I posted profiles of Canadian soldiers who died in Afghanistan. I hope you will have the time to read each of them. However short and fragmentary, each bears witness to the families, from Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, or Alberta, whose sons and daughters deployed to Kandahar.
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Michelle Shephard @michelleshephard.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
“The man Toronto police won’t stop stopping.” @jleerankin.bsky.social on a proposed class-action lawsuit over historic and racially skewed police practice of “carding” in @thestar.com www.thestar.com/news/gta/why...
thestar.com
Why the legacy of ‘carding’ is now a massive class action lawsuit — and why this man wants Toronto police to ‘leave me alone, please’
Dale James is “the man Toronto police won’t stop stopping.” Even after “carding” was abolished, he says he’s still regularly being stopped.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Journalism jobs alert!
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The Beaverton @thebeaverton.com · 31/12/2025
The Jays near miss in the World Series is only the 4th biggest Beaverton story of 2025. Should it be higher? Ian, Luke, and @clareblackwood.bsky.social open up old wounds.
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Liz Renzetti @lizrenzetti.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
The US is pushing mothers out of the workforce--we shouldn't let it happen here. I'm in @thestar.com today www.thestar.com/opinion/star...
thestar.com
Elizabeth Renzetti: The U.S. might think women ‘ruined’ the workplace — don’t let it happen here
Remote or hybrid work has been a blessing for working parents. Let’s not turn back time on positive conditions
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Mike Wilner @wilnerness.bsky.social · 23/10/2025
We’ve got an all-star fan panel for you on today’s new episode of Deep Left Field!!! @bitterasiandude.bsky.social @clareblackwood.bsky.social and Nick Dika of The Arkells join me to discuss #Bluejays run to the World Series. The Fall Classic starts tomorrow!
podcasts.apple.com
All-Star fan panel Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Nick Dika and Clare Blackwood are fired up about the American League Champion Blue Jays
Podcast Episode · Deep Left Field with Mike Wilner · 2025-10-23 · 55m
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
Why misinformation and disinformation are bad for your health. Q+A w/ @picardonhealth.bsky.social by Adam Hunter on CBC Regina www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... via @cbcnews.ca
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Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) @cajournalists.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
We've extended the deadline for our mentorship program - apply by Oct. 14! Get one-on-one mentoring from some of Canada's top journalists. Apply now: caj.ca/programs/mentorship
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Hey Toronto and area media types, tickets for Newzapalooza 2025 live band karaoke edition with The Approximators now on sale. Show is November 22 at legendary The Duke on Queen St. E. As always, it's a benefit for the Children's Aid Foundation of Canada, and is Media Event of the Year!
tixtree.com
Tixtree
By selling or buying tickets on Tixtree you are leading the way towards a sustainable future.
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André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Jane Goodall, primate expert and conservationist, dies aged 91. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl... Here’s a piece I wrote about her in 2014: Youth give Jane Goodall reason to hope www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nationa... via @theglobeandmail.com
theglobeandmail.com
Youth give Jane Goodall reason to hope
Primatologist is inspired by young people’s desire to live in harmony with one another and nature
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Media Action Plan @mediaactionplan.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Our Fact Check campaign is now live at factcheckhere.ca! On this website you can... -Find credible news sources -Read about the importance of fact-checking -Share our Fact Check campaign content like this ⬇️
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Unifor @unifor.org · 17/09/2025
Unifor’s Media Action Plan launched its hard-hitting Fact Checked campaign today with social media, TV and newspaper spots to bring attention to the fight against misinformation. #canlab #savelocalnews
unifor.org
Unifor’s Fact Checked campaign fights misinformation by boosting Canadian journalism
TORONTO—Unifor’s Media Action Plan launched its hard-hitting Fact Checked campaign today with social media, TV and newspaper spots to bring attention to the fight against misinformation.“The Canadian…
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Toronto Star Bargaining Unit - Unifor Local 87M @torontostarunit.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
This campaign is now live. Check it out! www.factcheckhere.ca
factcheckhere.ca
Home | Facts
check news facts, credible news sources, industry supporters
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
With TIFF on in Toronto, here's a snap of Mike Myers from 35 years ago, for @thestar.com story in which Myers expressed his comfort with being a Toronto guy:
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Toronto Star @thestar.com · 08/08/2025
Female pilots may be more consistent and accurate when flying in high-pressure scenarios, according to a small study out of the University of Waterloo.
thestar.com
Female pilots may perform better in high-pressure scenarios, University of Waterloo study finds
In simulated scenarios, female pilots were faster at identifying an emergency and landing the plane safely.
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Jim Rankin @jleerankin.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
ICYMI, great story!
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The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · 23/07/2025
In June 2023, the Canadian government passed Bill C-18, the Online News Act, mandating that big tech pay media organizations fees to distribute content. Google complied, but Meta refused to pay up. Mostafa Al A’sar examines the fallout: thewalrus.ca/if-you-think-we-...
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aisling murphy @aislingmurph.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Really grateful to Phil Rickaby for having me on @stageworthy.ca, where we had a wide-ranging conversation about slime tutorials, my strange journey from theatre school to my job at The Globe and, of course, Taylor Swift. open.spotify.com/episode/3FPj...
open.spotify.com
#421 – Aisling Murphy
Stageworthy · Episode
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The Biking Lawyer LLP @thebikinglawyer.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
I still feel intense emotion when faced with my assault & survival. I'm thankful for that, it reminds me of the preciousness of life & what I've learned. Incredibly grateful to @jleerankin.bsky.social @thestar.com for sharing some insight into this journey: www.thestar.com/news/gta/how...
thestar.com
How a near-fatal punch on New Year’s six years ago changed a Toronto lawyer’s life — and his assailant’s
David Shellnutt is telling his story to show what he has learned as an assault victim — and highlight what happens when a court case takes so long.
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Heather Mallick @hmallick.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Really touched by this story of the fallout from a violent dispute on a sidewalk on a rainy night in Toronto so many years ago. In the U.S. it might have ended in gunfire. Here, it's insight. Good for Shellnutt. @jleerankin.bsky.social
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Toronto Star @thestar.com · 26/06/2025
Another Toronto high school is being accused of suppressing student voices after all Grade 12 quotes were removed from its yearbook over student submissions related to Palestine and Tibet.
thestar.com
Some Toronto students offered Free Palestine and Free Tibet as yearbook quotes. The school removed quotes from the entire Grade 12
Parkdale Collegiate administration said the decision was made to align with a provincial directive to avoid political biases in the classroom.
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Matt Elliott @graphicmatt.com · 19/06/2025
Cool study from @bikewaysto.bsky.social detailing a traffic count on Bloor Street taken on June 11 with a camera at 412 Bloor West. During the peak of the afternoon rush, bikes outnumbered cars. I repeat: bikes outnumbered cars. drive.google.com/file/d/1ctd4...
Bar chart showing traffic counts on Bloor Street West in Toronto during the afternoon rush on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. For each hour from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., the number of bikes and motor vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles) was recorded. At 4–5 p.m., there were 643 bikes and 849 motor vehicles. At 5–6 p.m., 930 bikes and 832 motor vehicles. At 6–7 p.m., 919 bikes and 909 motor vehicles. At 7–8 p.m., 726 bikes and 935 motor vehicles. Bike counts exceeded car counts from 5 to 7 p.m. The chart was created by Matt Elliott for City Hall Watcher using data from the Toronto Community Bikeways Coalition.
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