I want to follow up on the discussion of a polarized media. We've been looking at the issue of public broadcasting, what it does well and where there is a challenge in private broadcasting. We talk about drama a lot of the time, but I'm interested in the issue of news media.
If you look at CBC, CTV, or Global, you're going to see a fairly high standard of journalistic integrity that I think people trust. Yet in watching a fair amount of TV lately, I've watched American networks. There has been a phenomenal change there in the quality of news reporting in the last twenty years, from a very high standard to something that's basically similar to a carnival atmosphere right now.
We only have to look at what's happened in the last few years. They have a President who was able to perpetuate a fraud on the American people, based on the fact that the media went along with every crazy, crackpot thing he came out with on Iraq. There was no objective media presence in the U.S. on major television networks to challenge that, unlike in Canada, where we still maintained an objective sense.
I'm looking at three areas where I think Canada's strengths would be right now. I don't think they have anything to do with us being innately more highbrow than our American neighbours, but we have maintained a strong public broadcaster that I think sets a benchmark for other media, we've had a CRTC that has maintained some teeth, and we've had a diversity of competition in the marketplace. I would suggest that all three areas are fairly challenged right now.
Given your experience representing workers in newsrooms across the country, how would you see this polarization of the media in both the private and public spheres?