{"id":725,"date":"2024-11-17T23:30:29","date_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:30:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/?p=725"},"modified":"2024-11-17T23:30:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-17T23:30:30","slug":"plenary-participants-sum-up-challenges-and-chart-course-ahead-for-political-journalism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/2024\/11\/17\/plenary-participants-sum-up-challenges-and-chart-course-ahead-for-political-journalism\/","title":{"rendered":"Plenary participants sum up challenges and chart course ahead for political journalism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Plenary participant Caroline O’Neill, an instructor in Carleton University’s Media Production and Design program and former producer with CTV’s Power Play, urged political journalists to reach out more to ordinary citizens in their reporting. [Photo \u00a9 Tamara Merritt]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

By Natasha Baldin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From challenging the \u201cmyth\u201d 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 \u201cNext Steps \u2014 An Action Plan\u201d began charting a path forward for political journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moderated by Carleton journalism professor Trish Audette-Longo, participants in the plenary included journalists from mainstream media, independent outlets and the student press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participants were: Carleton instructor and former CTV Power Play<\/em> producer Caroline O\u2019Neill; 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issa emphasized the need to debunk journalism\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObjectivity is such an important myth that we have been grappling with as a profession,\u201d Issa said. \u201cMany 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ethan Cox, Montreal-based co-founder and senior editor of Ricochet Media, said the pursuit of fairness should be at the centre of political reporting. [Photo \u00a9 Tamara Merritt]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cox argued that rather than having objectivity at the forefront of journalism, we should be focusing on fairness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should be advocates and we should care about issues \u2014 there\u2019s nothing wrong with this,\u201d Cox said. \u201cWe should take the side of the public that we serve and represent and advocate to the best of our ability for the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs journalism students, we\u2019re trained with the basic skills to \u2026 work with facts,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I\u2019m not really sure that I\u2019m prepared \u2026 to enter into an environment that is polluted by misinformation and disinformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen moving forward into the political journalism space, that\u2019s kind of a daunting thing to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also channeling the perspectives of young journalists, Mrozowski \u2014 who is also the executive editor of the Silhouette <\/em>at Hamilton\u2019s McMaster University \u2014 emphasized the importance of student journalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted systemic problems student journalists face, such as the news industry\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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CPAC’s Omayra Issa and Carleton University Master of Journalism student Justin Fiacconi shared their views during a plenary session Sunday at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference at Carleton University. [Photo \u00a9 Tamara Merritt]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think student journalism isn\u2019t recognized as a real form of journalism by the mainstream media and by legacy media, and that\u2019s a huge issue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve talked so much at length about Trudeau this, Poilievre that,\u201d he said. \u201cPolitical journalism is everything happening at your student union, all the way up to the Hill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Andrew Mrozowski, president of Canadian University Press, gestures during the plenary session “Next Steps & An Action Plan” at the Reimagining Political Journalism conference Nov. 17. [Photo \u00a9 Tamara Merritt]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

O\u2019Neill, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy should the Canadian public trust national political journalism when it has become a conversation about them, yet often without them?\u201d O\u2019Neill asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy not having (the Canadian public) reflected in our national media, we have actually taken away their power,\u201d she added. \u201cQuite frankly, why would someone tune in to hear strategists and lobbyists \u2026 when they could actually hear from the nation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abray, who also has a PhD in political science from Queen\u2019s University, said the conference\u2019s main theme was less about reimagining political journalism and more about \u201crediscovering\u201d it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Communication strategist and former radio journalist Tim Abray said the news profession should prioritize the role of facilitating conversations among and between Canadian communities. [Photo \u00a9 Tamara Merritt]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He encouraged journalists to spark conversation and revisit the fundamental underpinnings of politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe lifeblood of democracy is conversation,\u201d Abray said. \u201cJournalists help facilitate those conversations across geographical boundaries and across households. If you\u2019re not able to have conversations with prime political actors, you can\u2019t do real journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he challenges everyone in the media industry to encourage debate and challenge common assumptions within the newsroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat encourages me greatly about this conference is it\u2019s driving us to have these conversations and to talk to each other honestly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Natasha Baldin From challenging the \u201cmyth\u201d 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 \u201cNext Steps \u2014 An Action Plan\u201d began charting a path forward for political journalism. Moderated by Carleton journalism professor Trish Audette-Longo, participants in … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-725","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\/725","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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=725"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":738,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/725\/revisions\/738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/reimagining-political-journalism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}