By Natasha Baldin
From challenging the “myth” of objectivity and battling misinformation to embracing the work of young journalists and reaching out more directly to citizens, participants in a plenary session titled “Next Steps — An Action Plan” began charting a path forward for political journalism.
Moderated by Carleton journalism professor Trish Audette-Longo, participants in the plenary included journalists from mainstream media, independent outlets and the student press.
The participants were: Carleton instructor and former CTV Power Play producer Caroline O’Neill; Andrew Mrozowski, president of Canadian University Press; Carleton Master of Journalism student Justin Fiacconi; CPAC news anchor and former CBC journalist Omayra Issa; communication strategist and former radio journalist Tim Abray; and Ethan Cox, Montreal-based co-founder and senior editor of Ricochet Media.
Issa emphasized the need to debunk journalism’s objectivity doctrine and acknowledge how the concept maintains ongoing structures of power. She challenged journalists to question which stories the media is upholding, and which voices are left out in the process.
“Objectivity is such an important myth that we have been grappling with as a profession,” Issa said. “Many of us still hold onto it as one of those vestiges of how we should practice the very fundamental function of journalism in holding power to account.”
Cox argued that rather than having objectivity at the forefront of journalism, we should be focusing on fairness.
“We should be advocates and we should care about issues — there’s nothing wrong with this,” Cox said. “We should take the side of the public that we serve and represent and advocate to the best of our ability for the public interest.”
For Fiacconi, the prospect of entering into a political journalism sphere that is increasingly plagued by misinformation and disinformation is something he constantly grapples with.
“As journalism students, we’re trained with the basic skills to … work with facts,” he said. “But I’m not really sure that I’m prepared … to enter into an environment that is polluted by misinformation and disinformation.
“When moving forward into the political journalism space, that’s kind of a daunting thing to think about.”
Also channeling the perspectives of young journalists, Mrozowski — who is also the executive editor of the Silhouette at Hamilton’s McMaster University — emphasized the importance of student journalism.
He highlighted systemic problems student journalists face, such as the news industry’s own skepticism about the legitimacy of campus journalism. Turning a critical eye on the conference itself, he noted the lack of student journalists on panels throughout the weekend.
“I think student journalism isn’t recognized as a real form of journalism by the mainstream media and by legacy media, and that’s a huge issue,” he said.
Mrozowski emphasized the importance of including student coverage of student unions and university administrators as an important component of the broader conversation about political journalism in Canada.
“We’ve talked so much at length about Trudeau this, Poilievre that,” he said. “Political journalism is everything happening at your student union, all the way up to the Hill.”
O’Neill, who teaches in the Media Production and Design program at Carleton, underscored the importance of talking to the Canadian public to properly inform national political journalism.
“Why should the Canadian public trust national political journalism when it has become a conversation about them, yet often without them?” O’Neill asked.
“By not having (the Canadian public) reflected in our national media, we have actually taken away their power,” she added. “Quite frankly, why would someone tune in to hear strategists and lobbyists … when they could actually hear from the nation?”
Abray, who also has a PhD in political science from Queen’s University, said the conference’s main theme was less about reimagining political journalism and more about “rediscovering” it.
He encouraged journalists to spark conversation and revisit the fundamental underpinnings of politics.
“The lifeblood of democracy is conversation,” Abray said. “Journalists help facilitate those conversations across geographical boundaries and across households. If you’re not able to have conversations with prime political actors, you can’t do real journalism.”
He said he challenges everyone in the media industry to encourage debate and challenge common assumptions within the newsroom.
“What encourages me greatly about this conference is it’s driving us to have these conversations and to talk to each other honestly,” he said.