The quote that you have referenced I don't actually recognize from my own work, but the sentiment I certainly agree with. Basically, I think that the intervention of the government in our industry has caused harm more than it has advanced the interests of the Canadian press. I think that at this point, we need to look at what the media can do to save itself, and I have some ideas on that.
First of all, I think the necessary precondition is for the government to end interventions in the industry, and I would encourage Parliament to think along those lines. At this point, we need full competition, and in order to have full competition, we need that to change.
I also think that we need to have a reform of the CBC. I do believe that we need a strong public broadcaster, particularly in this moment, but in order for the CBC to fulfill its role in society, I think it's important to have a mandate review. I would like to see some of the changes suggested by my colleague Jen Gerson. I would like to see the CBC refocused on local news, on investigative journalism and on filling the gaps in the market that are difficult and expensive to produce.
I would like to see the CBC reorient away from competing with digital innovators and move towards supporting them. There are a lot of ways it could do that. I think it could play a vital role in training the next generation of journalists, as it already does to some extent. I also think that the CBC could use its facilities to allow training journalists to make podcasts. I think the CBC could play a really important role in the digital innovation that's already under way and that needs to continue. It needs to stop being a commercial entity that is competing against these start-ups.
I also think that there needs to be a vast experimentation in business model. We're already seeing that to some extent. We're seeing start-ups like Substack, which is the platform that I'm on, being very successful at monetizing journalism. We're seeing Paul Wells, for example, and Jen Gerson at The Line use that model to much success.
We're also seeing innovation in terms of a charity model. The Hub is one that stands out. I think you're going to see a lot of hybrid models going forward.
The other thing that I think needs to happen is that we need to look to other markets for inspiration, and on that front, I would refer the committee to a book called What Works in Community News. It is just recently out, and it's full of success stories from across the U.S.
Finally, I have four specific suggestions for media. I think we need to decentralize. I think we need to utilize remote work so that journalists can work in their own homes in small communities and not have to move to Toronto. I think we need to stop hiring for university degrees, which I don't think are necessary, and this would also expand the pool of talent and perspectives. I think we need to increase ideological diversity within our press corps, and I think we need to vastly increase public participation. I think we really need to hear more and listen more to the public about what it wants us to do and how it wants us to serve the public interest.