Canadian Journalism is Dying
And our democracy could suffer alongside it.
A functional democracy relies on balanced news reporting. But in Canada, both are under threat.
Our only “liberal” daily newspaper — the Toronto Star — is in talks to merge with Postmedia, which is at the opposite end of the political spectrum. That would leave just two owners of major daily newspapers, and one owner of essentially all community newspapers.
Yeah, I get it. The newspaper industry is under pressure to stay afloat, as ad revenues dry up in favour of online campaigns. Citizen journalists are also taking center stage — just like Elon Musk wanted.
People have been so poisoned against the mainstream media that they trust a guy who bought a blue checkmark on Twitter more than a reporter with 20 years of experience. It’s sad, really.
Leftist media under fire
The CBC, Canada’s national broadcaster, reports that the proposed merger of the two media giants “would see The Toronto Star maintain editorial independence through the incorporation of a new company that would manage its editorial operations.”
However, I can’t help but fear that the only big newspaper willing to lean a little left (the Toronto Star) will be pulled hard to the right after…
