This Just In: Public Distrust of News Media Still Growing

A recent Gallup survey says that public trust in media is down to historical lows. I could have told them that too.

Co-incidentally, in my course on Media Theory I asked my students at the University of Toronto how many of them feel the media is biased. The class has more than 250 students. Almost all raised their hands.

I shouldn't have been surprised. Also in a show of hands, I asked how many actually read a physical newspaper (a few) or watch TV news programs on a regular basis (none). Almost everyone in that classroom live online and get their news that way.

The life of a student these days is not one where they can afford a subscription to a daily paper. Some may have a TV in their dorm, but I doubt that many of them do. Mostly if they watch, it's on the computer. This is not a trend that is going away and even the assumption of media organizations that once these young people get out of university, start to work and settle down, they will adopt more of the media habits of their parents. Those habits are now in assisted-living.

I am doubtful that the old habits will return. My students no longer have the media consumption habits of previous generations, if indeed, they ever did. They prefer information that can be scanned and quickly absorbed. The state of "information deflation" means that there is so much content available, audiences may be declining the option to be informed.

There will be information, of course. And media organizations to pump it out. TV news will be streamed onto cell phones, but like other modes of consumption, news will be further truncated so that headlines and sound bites will be the preferred platform. McLuhan was right: the medium is the message. This will create a new form of "digital democracy" which will have both strengths and dangers.

Not much is heard these days about the British scientist C.P. Snow. He shocked society more than 60 years ago when he claimed that there were now two cultures in Britain - a scientific one and a literary one. Snow lamented just how separate those two views of society had become.

Snow's dystopia* has now evolved into one that we can also recognize in the 21st century: two cultures, one being the computer connected culture. The other sees the digital revolution as a means not an end. 

We just can't see what that end might include.

*dystopia (from ancient Greek: δυσ-: bad-, ill- and: τόπος: place,  an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian.

Ombudsman Position Available: Must Have Thick Skin and Sense of Humor

NPR has announced that it is looking for its next ombudsman. Alicia "Lisa" Shepard has been doing it for almost three years and her term will end in the spring. The link to the posting is here.

I'm not applying. I'm having too much fun teaching at Centennial College and the University of Toronto. But I would urge those of you who are tempted at the prospect of having a front row seat on the First Amendment to seriously consider this position. There isn't a better job anywhere in broadcast and online journalism.

I was NPR's first ombudsman from 2000 until 2006 and although there were times when the pressure was intense, I look back on it now as the best and most fascinating job of journalism in my career.

Setting up the office of the ombudsman was challenging, to say the least; the public was suspicious that I was just a manager in ombudsman's garb. NPR journalists were wary that I was the in-house scold. Some in management thought that my role was to be part of the NPR's p.r. efforts. I had to show that the role was none of these, but rather to get and keep the public inside public radio.

Some days were more rewarding than others. The pace was exhilarating and occasionally exhausting. I ombuds-ed (is that the right word?) through a disputed election, 9/11, the Intifada, the War in Iraq and the rise of Barack Obama.  After six and a half years, I felt it was time to let someone else have the joys.

A few memorable moments: I was invited to a town hall meeting with the local Jewish community in Potomac, Maryland. The rabbi warned me that it would be hot as tensions were high over the perceived anti-Israel bias of all media and of NPR specifically. I told him I was ready but I hoped he would be there as a moderating and calming voice for the evening.

At the first sign of shouting, the rabbi suddenly disappeared. I never saw him again over the course of a three hour shout-fest. Now that was a long evening.

On an phone-in program on the public radio station in Eugene, Oregon, I learned something about different news agendas. It was 2003 and I expected there would be a lot of concern about Iraq and the Bush administration. The first caller was announced: "Mountain Mike is on the line with the NPR Ombudsman. Go ahead Mountain Mike..."

Mountain Mike was furious with what he perceived as NPR's ignoring the lack of reforestation programs in Oregon. He was convinced the logging companies had got to us. It was a good reminder that what's important in DC isn't always the same in the rest of the country.

When I held the position, it was literally a seven-day-a-week job. Emails poured in at all hours. Taking a weekend away from the computer would guarantee that I would be cyber-shoveling out my in tray for all of Monday...

The key to the job (in my opinion) was to take the listeners seriously, but never personally, even when the invective did get a bit personal. Walking away from the computer and the phone for a quick stroll around the block was also therapeutic...But I learned a lot from NPR's devoted listeners whose passion was always inspiring. NPR was (and still is) the civic lifeline for millions of devoted fans around the country and the world.

Lisa has had her share of outraged listeners and I think she's done a great job with what has been described as "the loneliest job in journalism." I know her shoes will be hard to fill.

Is Democracy Finally Coming to West Africa?

This is my script about the coming election in Guinea for the CBC Radio's program on foreign affairs, Dispatches, hosted by one of CBC's most experienced correspondents, Rick Macinnes-Rae.

The report will air (barring unforeseen circumstances, like a coup) on Thursday September 16that 13h00 local time with a repeat on Sunday (Election Day in Guinea) at 19h00 local time.

Check the CBC website for details.

Dispatches/Conakry/Dvorkin


SUGGESTED INTRO:


Africa is seeing a surge in democratic activity. Rwanda is the latest in a number of countries to hold elections. Former French colonies in West Africa are also moving in that direction. Jeffrey Dvorkin is a Toronto journalism professor and former head of CBC Radio and NPR in the US. He recently traveled to Guinea at the request of the US State Department to work with local journalists. Their challenge - and his - how to cover the first free elections since France granted independence to its former colonies in 1958. Here is his report:

---

The first thing you notice when you get to West Africa isn't the heat, or the humidity, or the poverty or the constant energy of the people.

In Guinea, I was struck by the sight of...bedroom furniture...for sale everywhere, outside, on the streets...double beds, headboards, credenzas and closets.

It's as if I'd stumbled on a vast, outdoor showroom at Ikea or The Brick.

Conakry, the capital, is a major international shipping center. Packing crates come and go from all over the world. Sometimes, they just...disappear and are miraculously transformed into ornate pieces of furniture by the dexterous carpenters of Conakry.

That inventiveness was also in evidence in the lead up to this presidential election. They needed a  lot of it. Democracy has not had much success in West Africa, and particularly in Guinea. Only a few months ago, a pro-democracy demonstration was brutally crushed by the presidential guard, known as the Red Berets.

Ordered by the dictator, Moussa Dadis Camara to deal with the protesters, the guards shot and killed 150 demonstrators. This was followed by a Red Beret rampage of rape through the streets of Conakry.

No one knows how many women were raped, but one doctor estimated the number in the hundreds.

This was little noticed in the western media. But according to news reports, intense diplomatic and economic pressures were put on the regime. A month later, the same Red Berets guards turned on Camara, badly wounding him. He fled the country and is recuperating in neighboring Burkino Faso, while an interim government prepares for the elections.

Previous elections in Guinea were marked by fraud, intimidation and violence. What approach could possibly work in a country still reeling from a long tradition of military dictatorship and the brutality of the recently ousted regime? The Red Berets were still around, racing through the streets of Conakry in jeeps with 50 caliber machine guns, trying to intimidate people before the vote. One Guinean journalist assured me that this election would be stolen again.

In the past, ballot boxes simply disappeared. Opposition supporters were beaten and frequently murdered. Could anything be done this time to lessen the intimidation and restore confidence in an untested democracy where the literacy rate is less than 20 per cent for men and half of that for women?

The answer? In a country where newspapers reach few people and television is a luxury, radio is king.

I proposed that radio go on the air immediately after the polls close: a CBC-style election night program. Results to be broadcast twice an hour with analysis in between. Even if few numbers were available, the fact that live radio would be there to report what was happening, might just lessen public anxiety about the possibility of a stolen election.

Not surprisingly, Guinean public radio turned us down. A long tradition of government subservience meant the public broadcaster was too afraid to do a live election program. So we approached commercial radio. They readily agreed to do a national broadcast on election night.

Then, since young Guineans love their cell phones, we asked them to text any examples they witnessed of fraud or intimidation. Confidentiality guaranteed. This appeal was broadcast for three weeks before
the vote. The threat of public scrutiny virtually eliminated the usual election thuggery and thievery. Call it democratic vigilante-ism...

Finally we even asked the national beauty queen, "Miss Guinea" to record public service announcements to get out the non-violent vote. Banners over main intersections in Conakry proclaimed that "Miss Guinea met sa beauté au service de la Paix" - Miss Guinea puts her beauty to serve Peace (it sounds better in French...).

The results? An 80 percent turnout in the first free election in Guinea's history...No violence and the election to be decided in a run-off between the two top contenders on September 19th.

And remember all that bedroom furniture? It might not be put to good use, as Guineans can rest easier knowing that for the first time, they might just finally have their own democracy at last.

For Dispatches, I'm Jeffrey Dvorkin in Conakry, Guinea.

Media Convergence à la canadienne

Some preliminary thoughts on the purchase of Canada's largest and most successful commercial broadcaster CTV by Bell.

This creates a whole new set of complications and opportunities in the Canadian media landscape. Although the purchase still depends on gaining the approval of the regulatory agency, the CRTC, a few facts are emerging:  

The two main commercial networks in English Canada are now owned by multi-platform media organizations which were once telcoms: CanWest Global is owned by Shaw and Bell now owns CTV. 

Financially, this means that the profits from 50 or more specialty channels (more than $1 billion a year) can go directly to Global and CTV to stanch the bleeding in their news divisions thus insuring their profitability. They will have more money than God to do what they do best - buy more American programming.
 
That could leave the CBC with a unique opportunity to reduce its fixation on entertainment programming and sports to return to its mandate to provide programming that is “informative, enlightening and entertaining.” (CBC mandate 1991).


As of last Friday, there are no pure broadcasters left in English Canada except for the CBC.

The CBC is in danger of being perceived as out of this league. It may claim otherwise but it simply cannot compete with these two giant multi-platform entities. So the moment of existential truth is bearing down on the CBC like a freight train...Shaw and Bell will buy more popular US programming and at the same time, create apps to drive traffic away from other broadcasters, especially the CBC.


At the same time, the Toronto Globe and Mail has been sold by CTV back to its original owners, the Thomson family. But in so doing the newspaper appears for the moment to be without the "benefit" of  traditional broadcast partner. Might the CBC be a realistic partner in terms of demographics and audience, even if the Globe has been slagging the public broadcaster for years? Still, business can always find a way to let bygones be bygones...


Both the Globe and the public broadcaster appear suddenly vulnerable by the Bell purchase of CTV.


How does the Globe distribute its product on other platforms? And if the value of old media was based in the concept of scarcity, how can the Globe turn its product based on scarcity into abundance without another partner? Can the CBC still be considered a player in this new media landscape? With the recent departure of Richard Stursburg, the prime creator of entertainment programming at the CBC, what options are now available to the public broadcaster to bolster its diminished reputation? 

Stay tuned.

Old Vs New Media Values

My first lecture in Media Studies at the University of Toronto is in a little more than a week, and I am thinking of how to compare the values of so-called old, or legacy media with the new media landscape that emerges and morphs into yet another iteration on a daily basis. Remember those old films we were shown in junior high? We hoped it was a prelude to sex ed, but instead it was only about cell structure, cell division, miosis and mitosis (don't ask me to remember what they mean...I just remember the words).

New media reminds me of those films: amoebas floating in a Petri dish and suddenly deciding to divide into new forms that more or less resembled the previous generation, yet were entirely new.

What are those differences between the old and the new?

• Old media is defined by scarcity.

• Its production is defined by the tools.

• Production only happens in buildings.

• Expertise has value because it is limited.

• Social relations inside the organizations are highly defined.

 

• New media is defined by abundance.

• New media is post-industrial and non-material.

• Production is defined by the product.

• Production is collaborative, not hierarchical.

• Expertise is based in diversity.

• Social relations are in constant flux.

Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937): "The old world is dying; the new world does not yet know how to be born. In between, some curious deformations occur."