The National holds panel on changing nature of media industry
charlottetown
John Andrew was eager to be part of the thought-provoking conversation Friday night about the changing nature of news with some of the most prominent figures in the news industry.
Andrew was one of about 1,000 people at the Homburg Theatre of the Confederation Centre of the Arts to take part in a panel discussion consisting of Peter Mansbridge, Susan Ormiston, Rosemary Barton, Ian Hanomansing, Tom Murphy, Rex Murphy and Mark Critch.
This nationwide conversation is part of a tour around Canada from The National in Conversation series with CBC’s flagship newscast The National with Mansbridge moderating the discussions.
“I thought it was a very significant topic because there is so much happening in the news these days that you wonder what parts of it are actually true and what parts of it are false,” said Andrew of Charlottetown, who feels the news system in Canada is second to none.
The event was also live streamed on YouTube and Facebook, and people from the audience – and through social media – could ask panelists pertinent questions regarding news and its delivery.
They ranged from how journalists
work around their own biases to why news organizations report so much bad news.
“We all have an opinion or a take on things, and the role of journalists is to try and detach yourself from that,” said Tom Murphy. “For me, when I’m reporting it’s about bringing more voices into that conversation.”
“If we are hearing it a lot, we should be paying attention to it because maybe our audience has evolved ...,” said Ormiston on bad news. Maybe we do need
to think about (the commonality of experience) a bit more and look for stories that are going to bring us together.”
Jennifer Wood of Charlottetown thought the discussion was insightful.
“I was most impressed with Rex Murphy’s depiction of what was going on in the Trump rally this year and how he won and the media exposure surrounding (Donald) Trump,” said Wood.
A question from the audience
about journalism covering extreme views, particularly south of the boarder, was posed and whether it contributes to a polarization in society.
Murphy’s answer was also met with applause when he talked about the media outlets not appropriately guessing Trump’s victory.
“The fact that journalists could not perceive on the night of the campaign that it was even possible that he might win, that speaks a lot of problems.”