Freedom of the press is one of the foundations of our democracy. However, inthe last decade our business model of journalism has increasingly caused stress on the industry. Newspapers are searching for ways to provide news and make money while the general population is now used to getting their news for free and in real time through internet sites. So much of today's news comes in the form of recycled stories across cities, provinces, and countries, as well as in bite sized tweet form. The rise of the blogger has meant that a flood of opinions now compete with professional news stories for “marketshare.” The reduction in substantive news produced by industryprofessionals presents a potentially major threat to the health of our democracy.
 
How are news articles generated? And what should we be keeping in mind as we read media stories? We invite you to join Suzanna Kelley, Editor in Chief of Ontario News Watch, and Dave Hardy from Hardy Stevenson and Associates on February 17 to discuss the impact of corporate and political communication and the media’s role and responsibility to fostering a healthy democracy.
 
We will be at our NEW HOME at the Wind Up Bird at 382 College St (College and Borden, just West of Spadina). Doors open at 7:00 and the discussion begins at 7:30pm as usual ending at 9pm.