By Tamara Merritt
It was a conversation that unfolded Friday evening under a “Reimagining Political Journalism” banner stretched wide across the Richcraft Hall auditorium stage at Carleton University. And the three-way panel discussion responding to political columnist Jeet Heer’s provocative keynote address — “Fact-Checking Won’t Save Democracy” — took the weekend-long conference’s first steps toward that reimagining.
Heer, Regina-based national affairs correspondent for The Nation and host of the weekly podcast The Time of Monsters, was joined by Ottawa author and journalist Andrew Cohen and Sarah St-Pierre, a Master of Journalism student at Carleton University.
The three dissected what it means to be a journalist in today’s politically tumultuous world, and the challenge of building trust in journalism and other key institutions beyond communities of educated elites.
In his talk, Heer had argued that the political divide in America is no longer left vs. right but pro-system vs. anti-system. Cohen probed the implications of the shift, highlighting U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to sidestep conventional rules in the U.S. Congress for vetting his highly controversial cabinet selections in recent days.
“We see already the anti-system and pro-system lines are being drawn,” Cohen said, echoing Heer’s analysis of the new political landscape. “The larger story here is, will institutions hold in the United States . . . (And) the media is an institution; what will be its role in this great institutional struggle?”
There were no easy answers.
The panelists discussed an impoverished news industry reeling in an age of digital disruption and widespread distrust, with Heer reiterating his keynote message that mere fact-checking — a symbol of the journalism fundamentals that failed to thwart Trump’s return to power — doesn’t easily grapple with larger, uneasy truths about social and economic divides.
“There’s an actual lived experience that people have and simply citing one set of facts, if it’s not in keeping with their lived experience — it’s not going to get you very far,” Heer said.
I think there is a real tendency to disregard people, and not try to see why they came to where they are. Aligning ourselves with the pro-system people, rather than trying to be independent adjudicators, I think has been really harmful.
— Political columnist Jeet Heer, conference keynote speaker
He highlighted the idea that everyone is subject to their own lived experience, which shapes the way they perceive the world and institutions like the media. Rather than trust what are presented as verified facts, many people default to their own feelings and experiences — and become susceptible to political manipulation and offers of easy solutions.
When asked about combatting mistrust and challenging anti-system politicians, Heer said “we have to try to meet people where they are at.”
He urged changes to worn out narratives aimed at preserving the status quo and “engaging with marginalized communities … trying to tell some of those stories and seeing if there is a way of earning back trust.”
“I think there is a real tendency to disregard people, and not try to see why they came to where they are. Aligning ourselves with the pro-system people, rather than trying to be independent adjudicators, I think has been really harmful,” Jeet said.
“There is a real problem now” for journalists, he added, “where you’ve both alienated the anti-system people but now the pro-system people are angry because you haven’t supported them enough.”
Creating exceptional political journalism that resists partisan alignment is difficult, particularly in a deeply divided social environment where polarization has fueled Trump’s popularity — and sharpened his attacks on traditional news media.
St-Pierre noted how both U.S. presidential contenders, Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, engaged with social media influencers and podcasters to reach audiences — raising questions about how journalism is wrestling with new platforms and the media habits of younger people.
Heer said there was a need for journalists to more effectively embrace new platforms while continuing to produce high-quality journalism.
“I wonder if there is fatigue in the media,” said Cohen, noting a high number of journalists “who don’t want to go back to the White House. I don’t blame them.”
While reporting effectively on politics is not an easy task in a polarized world, the panelists discussed ways for journalists to re-establish their authority and trust with those who have largely tuned them out.
“If we talk more about the process by which we come to truth, I think we can bring people in and earn trust,” Heer said. “We don’t have inherent trust anymore, we have to earn trust, we have to work towards trust.”