Thank you, Tara and David, for this thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation. Your deep dive into the CBC’s history and its challenges resonates strongly, especially your call for a more pluralistic, open approach to journalism that embraces diverse perspectives with humility. As someone passionate about cooperative models (as explored in my Substack, The Great Canadian Reset), I wonder if transforming the CBC into a workers’ cooperative or a producer co-op of journalists and reporters could align with this vision. Such a structure might empower journalists to take collective ownership, fostering a sense of adventure and accountability while creating space for the kind of dynamic, inclusive public forum you describe. It could be a practical step toward reimagining the CBC’s role in a rapidly changing media landscape. Thanks again for sparking this important discussion!
Thank you TH for not 'moving on from that story'. It is surely a watershed, though still an undercurrent. The government response to the trucker convoy, cheered and egged on by the media, was egregious and heartbreaking. The freezing of bank accounts is still talked about by alarmed observers in other western democracies, but not in Canada. My country is broken.
The court decision finding the government's actions unlawful and unconstitutional is ignored and buried. It was thoughtful and well done so instead of dismissal it's treated as if it never happened. The rabid prosecution of so called convoy leaders is indulged by the courts and the outcome is a political saw off leaving the public discourse to matters of degree.
The CBC needs an overhaul that Canada is ill equipped to make.The public is largely apathetic and conditioned. In the CBC clique, indoctrinated by top down populism of the arrogant know it all, condemnation replaces curiosity.
The Canadian way is not to impose change but rather to expect the CBC to see the error of their ways and change from within; an impossibility because they don't see the problem - at all.
The lack of a reckoning or mea culpa will fester, not dissipate the harm. The 'media apocalypse' and an 'emergent public' are hopeful as means to force the issue. Continuing to ignore or dismiss the wrongs ensures the whirlwind.
Professional journalists are NOT going to fix the problem. They've had plenty of warnings in the last 40 years. Lots of outsiders, and a few ex-insiders like Tara, have been telling them what they should do.
The correct advice is just normal business. Listen to the customers, give the customers what they need, build loyalty. Journalists are incapable of normal business.
Journalists occasionally do "soul-searching sessions". The sessions ALWAYS conclude that journalists need to double down HARDER on the self-destructive course that has led to failure and bankruptcy. They need to hate normal people a million times louder, insult and drive away the customers more viciously and nastily.
Here's a nice immediate example. A survey gives a detailed accurate picture of what real people want from local news. The journalist writing about it at Nieman thinks it's "paradoxical" and clearly can't grasp how real people think.
Thank you, Tara and David, for this thoughtful and thought-provoking conversation. Your deep dive into the CBC’s history and its challenges resonates strongly, especially your call for a more pluralistic, open approach to journalism that embraces diverse perspectives with humility. As someone passionate about cooperative models (as explored in my Substack, The Great Canadian Reset), I wonder if transforming the CBC into a workers’ cooperative or a producer co-op of journalists and reporters could align with this vision. Such a structure might empower journalists to take collective ownership, fostering a sense of adventure and accountability while creating space for the kind of dynamic, inclusive public forum you describe. It could be a practical step toward reimagining the CBC’s role in a rapidly changing media landscape. Thanks again for sparking this important discussion!
Thank you TH for not 'moving on from that story'. It is surely a watershed, though still an undercurrent. The government response to the trucker convoy, cheered and egged on by the media, was egregious and heartbreaking. The freezing of bank accounts is still talked about by alarmed observers in other western democracies, but not in Canada. My country is broken.
The court decision finding the government's actions unlawful and unconstitutional is ignored and buried. It was thoughtful and well done so instead of dismissal it's treated as if it never happened. The rabid prosecution of so called convoy leaders is indulged by the courts and the outcome is a political saw off leaving the public discourse to matters of degree.
The CBC needs an overhaul that Canada is ill equipped to make.The public is largely apathetic and conditioned. In the CBC clique, indoctrinated by top down populism of the arrogant know it all, condemnation replaces curiosity.
The Canadian way is not to impose change but rather to expect the CBC to see the error of their ways and change from within; an impossibility because they don't see the problem - at all.
The lack of a reckoning or mea culpa will fester, not dissipate the harm. The 'media apocalypse' and an 'emergent public' are hopeful as means to force the issue. Continuing to ignore or dismiss the wrongs ensures the whirlwind.
Professional journalists are NOT going to fix the problem. They've had plenty of warnings in the last 40 years. Lots of outsiders, and a few ex-insiders like Tara, have been telling them what they should do.
The correct advice is just normal business. Listen to the customers, give the customers what they need, build loyalty. Journalists are incapable of normal business.
Journalists occasionally do "soul-searching sessions". The sessions ALWAYS conclude that journalists need to double down HARDER on the self-destructive course that has led to failure and bankruptcy. They need to hate normal people a million times louder, insult and drive away the customers more viciously and nastily.
Here's a nice immediate example. A survey gives a detailed accurate picture of what real people want from local news. The journalist writing about it at Nieman thinks it's "paradoxical" and clearly can't grasp how real people think.
https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/10/dont-dwell-on-democracy-and-other-new-findings-about-how-to-market-local-news/
Very telling indeed.