Today: the fear economy and marketing fear.
From October 14, 2026.
Are advertising and political rhetoric more impactful when they stoke and exploit fears? Trevor and Paul explore the concept of the fear economy as current election campaigning targets emotional responses around crime (crime rates are down) and question whether the news is helping consumers understand the reality versus the messaging.

Today: If they're not on the news, how do we find out about candidates running in our local elections?
From October 9, 2026.
Municipal election campaigns are in progress in Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.  In some communities, there may be very few candidates for a given office.  But how can a candidate in a big city get themselves into the news? How can voters find out who's running when so much local media has been lost? Are incumbents entrenched when there's little coverage? How about the U-S midterms?

Today: All NHL games are behind a paywall now!
From September 15, 2026.  As the NHL season begins September 29th, many fans across Canada will find they don't get NHL games on tv anymore!
The original announcement that NHL games would be available on screens in Canada only if you pay a sports channel subscription fee (if you already have a "cable" or satellite tv provider) or if you pay for an app or for some non-broadcast streaming access came back in June.  Hockey season was past and way off; and the World Cup was taking place. We were distracted. But now, fans who relied on over-the-air tv reception, or got the games on broadcast channels on basic cable are finding...they don't get NHL games anymore.
Trevor and Paul seized on the issue immediately back in June...and take a dive in again as the new season is set to begin. Should your nearest NHL team's games be available free on tv? If public money goes into facilities they or their players use, should you have to pay for the tv feed? This move is unusual; there may be a U-S border city near you that beams their NHL team's games over-the-air to the Canadian city where you live.  
And here's the link to our No Embargo advance season episode in which we first started to explore this.  
https://noembargopod.podbean.com/e/advance-episode-2/
Commentary and analysis.  Opinions are our own.

Today: Will Artificial Intelligence annihilate us all?
From September 15, 2026.  Social media and the news have been buzzing about the revelations of a former AI worker who went public to voice his fear run-away AI could wipe out humanity.  Perhaps within a decade.
Trevor and Paul dive right in, as the AI industry and politicians were scrambling to respond and stake their claims in the discussion. Good communications? Fearful wording in the news?
Commentary and analysis.  Opinions are our own.

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 and communicated in the news, and the communications approaches or strategies that may be at play in how they become news.
No Embargo - Unfiltering news and spin
Commentary and analysis. Opinions are our own. 

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

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.

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 the story is being framed and reported.
No Embargo 
Commentary and analysis.

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 in the news in Canada, Trevor Campbell and Paul Cross discover there are other data centres already in operation nearby. Why aren't they in the news? Is it successful communication; a communication failure; or is local news media missing the stories?
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. 
Commentary and analysis.  

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 relations worker interrupts a radio interview heard across the country.
From July 29, 2026: What's memorable about a national radio interview on As It Happens on CBC Radio is not the responses of an Ontario cabinet minister being asked about perceived issues with communication to communities affected by forest fires. Instead, it's the moment when a communications staff member interrupts the interview and abruptly shuts it down.  
Commentary and analysis.
The CBC story linked here includes the full audio, as it was heard over the radio on July 21, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/jill-dunlop-as-it-happens-9.7279725

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 July 20, 2026:  Millions of people across Canada and around the world are talking about the hottest music sensation of the moment - Angine de Poitrine. The costumed duo from Quebec is taking the world by storm, show after show, and clip after clip. Is mainstream media catching the story and the phenomenon that's spreading over social media? Is their appearance in each community being recognized as newsworthy? Can they get their music played on the radio?
Commentary and analysis.

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 content and resources for No Embargo here's another example of what the show is about.  The end of free NHL broadcasts is a major change after nearly 75 years.  Starting in fall 2026, NHL games will not be available on free over-the-air conventional TV; so they'll also be gone from channels on basic cable packages.  Viewers will have to pay to see NHL games.  Trevor and Paul agree that's a huge change, and it's an issue of public interest.  We break down the communications approach in the way the information was released by the parties involved and talk about what comes next in this significant change around availability of a cultural product.
 
Commentary and analysis.

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 Paul take a deep dive on what could happen next now that six information-oriented radio stations owned by one corporation have been shut down and taken off the air.  In some of the affected cities that radio station was the only all-news or news and talk station in the market. As the public outcry builds on social media and local business and municipal leaders recognize the loss, where is the broadcast regulator? The Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission – the CRTC – is silent so far.
Commentary and analysis.