MediaToil: database of media content concerning the oil sands

To be honest, I'm really not sure what business or economics class or project might require this resource, but it was just too cool not to share...

MediaToil: Studying the evolution and media struggle over Canada's bituminous sands
Mediatoil is a SSHRC funded research project interested in the competing media representations of Canada’s bituminous sands - also known as oil or tar sands - as seen through the promotional images and documents created by key stakeholders.

Essentially, the researchers behind MediaToil have created a searchable database of "text and images [concerning the oil sands] produced in public documents and campaigns by select industry, government and civil society actors" since the 1960s.

Such material is prone to disappearing quickly, so I'm sure both current and future researchers will be grateful to have such a preserved and well-described collection to analyze.  And the MediaToil team has even thrown in a 70-page comic book discussing the oil sands from multiple perspectives!

For more on MediaToil, check out this detailed DeSmogCanada post: New Public Database Charts Decades of Oilsands Advertising.

Interested in learning more about the oil sands?