Program Title: The Future of News
Description: With the proliferation of free news on the internet, is the public in the driver's seat when deciding what is news? The days when editorial gatekeepers decided which stories we would see or read are gone.


In this brave new world of widespread access, there are some serious questions for people who value the quality and honesty of news sources: if we only go online for free news, then who will pay the journalists … and can we trust free online news services to provide the information we need?


To explore these issues and the changing landscape of news in Canada, the Canadian Media Research Consortium (CMRC) is holding free public forums across the country, beginning in Vancouver on Monday, September 22nd.

Host(s):
Featured Speakers/Guests: The Vancouver forum will be moderated by CBC TV journalist Ian Hanomansing, with guest speakers from both sides of the new media spectrum:

Vivienne Sosnowski, who worked in Canadian newspapers including the Vancouver Sun, National Post and The Province, is now VP and editorial director of the Baltimore Examiner, the San Francisco Examiner and the Washington Examiner and the papers' associated websites.

Leonard Brody, co-founder and CEO of NowPublic.com, is one of the pioneers in citizen-generated news, which is rapidly becoming one of the largest news agencies in the world, with over 130,000 contributing reporters in 140 countries. The Guardian ranks NowPublic.com as one of top five news sites in the world.

To frame the discussion, Donna Logan, president of the CMRC and founding director of the UBC School of Journalism, will present new national research that discovered only a third of Canadians think the news they receive is 'fair and balanced' and nearly one in three who check online news at least daily has stopped using a media source because of loss of trust. Only 10 percent of news consumers in the 18-24 age group consider newspapers, television or radio news as important sources of information.

Credits: Recorded by Charlotte, edited by Andrew

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