The Big Issue

The motto of the Canadian Journalism Foundation is “as journalism goes, so goes democracy.” You could add “so goes accountability.” We see accountability take a backseat with BP’s staid denial of media access to areas affected by the company’s massive oil spill, but also in the company’s refusal to allow executives, oil workers and even rescue workers speak to the media. Now, the U.S. Coast Guard is supporting BP’s iron grip on information with a new rule declaring that no person is allowed within 65 feet of anything BP: that includes the oil boom, the rescue boats, and even those oiled animals we’ve seen flopping along the shoreline. All the while BP repeats the same tired line that they’re doing everything they can – but with no media investigating to ensure they are, in fact, doing everything they can to fix a massive mistake they made, how will we, the public, ever really know? Closer to home, Canadians are calling for a public inquiry into the G20, which saw many journalists arrested, beaten and generally denied access to covering the event. What stories did we miss because of that? Speaking of inquiries, the long-awaited inquiry into the 1984 Air India bombing spent over 60 pages detailing the murder – and subsequent investigation – of Canadian journalist Tara Singh Hayer, who was killed in his home in Surrey B.C. over a decade ago and whose killers remain unpunished, despite the tiring work of journalists like Kim Bolan. Any outsider has got to wonder:  do journalists support impunity, or will we start demanding accountability? 

As journalists trek toward the G8/20 Summit, it may be hard to muster excitement for another round of unmet aid pledges and quickly forgotten PR moments for the hosts. Outside the gates there's perhaps a more interesting story in the showdown between political power and street power. Yet social activists complain the issues at stake seldom get covered, as focus tends to settle on anarchist offshoots like the Black Bloc and Padded Bloc, guaranteed to be wearing the most photogenic attire. Meanwhile, Indigenous land rights are a hot topic at related civil society gatherings, as are migrant workers’ rights in a global economy, and the proposed 'Robin Hood tax.' Journalists who find these things a yawn might want to wake up and take note: time and again, yesterday's fringe issues are tomorrow’s front page.

To get an inside track, the G8/20 Toronto Community Mobilization website is a hub for activities ranging from bike block actions to radical street parties. Rabble.ca has a G8/20 ‘one stop shop’ of alt media coverage, and has published a guide to independent journalists covering the event, including what to do when CSIS comes calling. The Toronto Media Co-op, a division of Dominion News, is reporting on the People's Summit, while OpenFile offers coverage from a local perspective. The G20 Alt Media Centre is already abuzz with reports, tweets, photos and video from the streets. There are also individual activists like Krystalline Kraus and Stefan Christoff blogging and tweeting from ground zero, and a lively online debate about the relationship of the bank bombers to social movements. Journalists who want to dig further into the banquet of issues on offer will find a virtual library of resources at the G8 Information Centre provided by the University of Toronto and Munk School of Global Affairs.

Canadians continue to celebrate excellence in journalism by awarding the country's best print, radio and television stories - and now, for the first time, many awards panels are considering digital content as a category in itself. That's how Dogsincanada.com got the first Best Website award at the National Magazine Awards, while Adviser.Ca took home a similar inaugural prize from the KRW business journalism awards. The Canadian Journalism Foundation, on the other hand, made a conscious decision not to differentiate great digital content from great journalism, and its annual award ceremony this Thursday will treat every story equally - no matter the medium.

But when it comes to day-to-day business of journalism, does digital get any respect? News organizations (and the advertisers that support them) are still looking for ways to make money off the web. Some are toying with paywalls, although reporters don't like the idea of restricted access to their words. Iconic magazines like Esquire are experimenting with augmented reality and electronic ink, while newspapers like The Globe and Mail are trying out radical solutions. Most are pouring money into websites and online innovation or looking for new ways to fund their operations. Journalists, meanwhile, are trying to figure out their own role in an increasingly multi-platform world. Amidst all the speculation of the state of the industry, business carries on as usual. Will journalists loose sight of journalism itself? 

On May 28 the Canadian Association of Journalists opens its national conference amid trying times. The Winter 2010 issue of Media Magazine – the CAJ’s house journal – contains a candid look at how the organization became strapped for cash, including the fall-out of ‘the Stevie Cameron affair.’ In addition to critical financial woes, the CAJ recently seemed out of step over the Supreme Court source protection ruling, declaring defeat where others, like Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, saw victory. When president Mary Agnes Welch published an open letter stating the organization was in crisis, J-Source readers weighed in on what the CAJ should do.

Obviously, people care enough to have an opinion. Over the years, the CAJ has provided quality training, networking and advocacy for its members, in addition to publishing Media Magazine and developing a Code of Ethics. Special educational events like January’s Innovate News conference help journalists stay ahead of the curve. The upcoming Montreal conference will include a full roster of seminars, on topics such as collective action for safety training and story-telling for broadcast.

Whether or not CAJ can maintain its relevancy – and solvency – in the years to come remains in the hands of its members. As Welch put it in her letter: “The CAJ is only as strong as you make it.”