{"id":675,"date":"2024-11-17T19:49:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T19:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/?p=675"},"modified":"2024-11-17T19:49:54","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T19:49:54","slug":"panelists-accentuate-distinct-circumstances-challenges-facing-quebec-journalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/2024\/11\/17\/panelists-accentuate-distinct-circumstances-challenges-facing-quebec-journalists\/","title":{"rendered":"Panelists accentuate distinct circumstances, challenges facing Quebec journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cath\u00e9rine Levesque, Marie Vastel and Emilie Nicolas discuss the state of political journalism in Quebec at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RPJ News Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Sunday panel discussion on the state of political journalism in Quebec highlighted several stark differences between the province\u2019s media culture and how news media operate in the rest of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there was a strong message to all conference participants that gaining a better understanding of the features of Quebec journalism and society will serve all Canadian news professionals \u2014 those in the industry and those aspiring to join it \u2014 as they grapple with issues such as political polarization, misinformation, national unity, Indigenous resilience and a host of other challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conversation was guided by moderator Omayra Issa, Ottawa-based CPAC news anchor and former national reporter with CBC News who began her career with Radio-Canada in Saskatoon and once anchored the program T\u00e9l\u00e9journal Sasktachewan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four panelists were National Post<\/em> reporter Catherine L\u00e9vesque, Le Devoir<\/em> columnist and editorial writer Marie Vastel, Le Devoir<\/em> columnist Emilie Nicolas and Christopher Curtis, the founder and editor of the independent investigative news outlet The Rover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christopher Curtis, founder and editor of the independent investigative publication The Rover, discusses the state of political journalism in Quebec at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

L\u00e9vesque explained that political journalists in Quebec have an expectation of open access to politicians and that, for example, federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has been forced to undergo more questioning from news media in French Canada despite his controversial avoidance of national reporters from major Canadian news outlets on Parliament Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians from Quebec \u201cwill always stop and talk to reporters because there is this expectation,\u201d said L\u00e9vesque, recalling how she once told Poilievre\u2019s handlers prior to an event in Quebec that even if they plan to avoid inquiring journalists \u201cyou are not going to get out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Omayra Issa moderates a panel discussing the state of political journalism in Quebec at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nicolas, an anthropologist who has been a columnist for the Montreal Gazette<\/em>, described how Quebec\u2019s political journalism environment is distinguished by a \u201cstar system\u201d in which politicians frequently appear \u2014 and are directly questioned \u2014 on popular television programs hosted by comedians and actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat translates into really, really blurry lines between journalism and entertainment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that blurry line sometimes poses ethical dilemmas, she added, when hosts are \u201cmaking jokes but they\u2019re also interviewing ministers.\u201d It\u2019s an approach to covering issues and personalities, however, that she said \u201cdrives young people\u2019s interests in politics\u201d more than conventional, high-brow journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Politicians from English Canada who venture into Quebec in search of votes frequently have \u201cno idea what they\u2019re getting themselves into,\u201d said Nicolas. \u201cYou need to be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poilievre, she added, \u201chasn\u2019t figured this out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Emilie Nicolas discusses navigating separatist sentiments in Quebec media at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The panelists were in firm agreement that the federal Conservatives\u2019 relentless talking point in English Canada about defunding the CBC will be a non-starter in Quebec if the slash-and-burn message is extended to include Radio-Canada, which continues to enjoy high levels of public trust in Quebec.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you touch Radio-Canada, you touch on the survival of French news,\u201d said Nicolas, adding that there\u2019s a feeling in Quebec that \u201cwe exist because we have a public sphere in which we exchange ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s that strong attachment to Quebec\u2019s media environment, she added, that serves as a bulwark against the influences of American politics, polarization and rhetoric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Canada is going to have an immune system\u201d against those influences, she said, \u201cit\u2019s Quebec that will be a big part of that immunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vastel highlighted a range of issues \u2014 Medical Assistance in Dying, gun control, public health \u2014 in which Quebec residents have views that sharply diverge from those held in other parts of Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe whole culture of Quebec is misunderstood\u201d by many journalists outside of the province, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vastel expressed concern that while Quebec has so far resisted the worst aspects of conspiratorial thinking and right-wing political extremism, the challenges facing credible news organizations that push back against misinformation makes the province vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marie Vastel discusses the state of political journalism in a panel discussion at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are lacking in fact-checking our stories, in calling experts,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re short-staffed and we don\u2019t have money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quebec residents \u201cstill trust media . . . but that\u2019s not a given for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vastel noted that the strong support shown for the Conservatives in polling across Canada does not currently apply to Quebec. She said the next election could, in fact, see the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois sweep most of Quebec\u2019s seats and even form the official Opposition in the House of Commons, as it did after the 1993 federal election under founding leader and former federal Conservative cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat would be quite the interesting dynamic,\u201d she said, adding that the \u201crivalry\u201d for votes between Poilievre and BQ leader Yves-Fran\u00e7ois Blanchet \u2014 \u201ca very good communicator\u201d \u2014 isn\u2019t likely to play out in Quebec the way it may in other provinces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cath\u00e9rine Levesque discusses political representation in Quebec media at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University on Nov. 17, 2024. [Photo \u00a9 Natasha Baldin]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curtis said Quebec\u2019s historical preoccupation with when to hold the next sovereignty referendum has created vacuums in media coverage of other issues that mean more to citizens\u2019 daily lives: \u201cWe\u2019ve fallen behind on so many other important conversations,\u201d he said, citing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples as a prime example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He summed up the attitude of Quebec residents on that issue with their imagined reaction: \u201cWe\u2019ve benefited from colonialism, too? I thought we were the good guys!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the oversights, he added, have extended to the state of roads, schools, hospitals and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolitics is so much more about who is being affected by policies,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the real shit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RPJ News Team A Sunday panel discussion on the state of political journalism in Quebec highlighted several stark differences between the province\u2019s media culture and how news media operate in the rest of Canada. And there was a strong message to all conference participants that gaining a better understanding of the features of Quebec journalism … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","latest_post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=675"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":683,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/675\/revisions\/683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}