SuppliedAcross the world, trust in journalism is wavering. “Mainstream media” has become a dirty word. That alone is worrisome, but it’s even more concerning to see politicians weaponize that distrust.
Journalism is meant to be a mechanism of accountability — especially for politicians. It’s not always perfect and no one should blindly accept everything they read. But when politicians start driving distrust, it’s not because they care about the truth and unbiased journalism. It’s because they are shirking accountability.
A video clip from CTV News recently got backlash because it misled viewers to think Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party, was calling for an election over dental care. Poilievre has been pretty consistent in his messaging that the next election will be a “carbon-tax election,” not one over dental care.
CTV undoubtedly made a mistake — not just the journalists that created the clip, but the editors who should have caught that mistake. But that doesn’t mean that CTV as a whole is corrupt and partisan.
CTV made the proper correction and apology. But Poilievre took it even further. He insulted CTV and the CEO of Bell, who owns CTV. On the other side, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau defended CTV and wouldn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing. Neither approach is a good one, for journalists and for readers. Neither did anything to improve CTV’s coverage. It just made it into a partisan issue, which it isn’t.
But Poilievre has made a habit of endlessly lobbying often unfair criticism at individual journalists and news organizations. When asked questions by journalists, Poilievre claims all mainstream media is biased and partisan. And he never answers the questions.
Questioning the media we consume is important. That’s just critical thinking. But politicians accusing journalists and publications of being partisan and biased because they dislike their questions isn’t being critical — it’s undercutting journalism everywhere. And the public gains nothing from it.
And Poilievre’s promise to defund the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) should worry everyone. Even if you dislike or don’t read the CBC. It’s a publicly funded organization that has been committed to covering Canadian stories for decades. It hasn’t always been flawless, and I’ve disagreed with its coverage at times. But it’s a cornerstone of Canadian journalism.
Unfortunately, certain things aren’t exactly helping the argument that CBC deserves public funding. Following major layoffs, CBC gave out millions in bonuses. More recently, speaking at the heritage committee, CBC President Catherine Tait refused to rule out taking more bonuses before her term ends in January.
And we can critique this and be upset. Hopefully, the next president of the CBC will learn from this. But this doesn’t mean we should defund the CBC or paint all mainstream media as evil.
Without mainstream media like CBC or CTV, we are left with publications like True North and Rebel News. Both organizations have a very clear bias towards the right. With only biased media, on either side of the political spectrum, accountability for politicians could depend on partisan interests. It would also likely worsen the existing issue of misinformation and polarization.
We need to hold media outlets accountable, but defunding the CBC or driving distrust isn’t the solution. That will only leave us with fringe outlets that drive polarization and only hold certain public figures accountable. And when politicians are fuelling that distrust, that should raise a red flag for everyone. Politicians are the ones who benefit from undercutting media, not the public.
