Why the Media Needs Objectivity

A Conversation with Tara Henley about her new book, The Trust Spiral

Trust in journalism has reached a crisis point. Polls consistently show public confidence in the media at record lows—but who is responsible, and what can be done about it? Join us for a conversation with Canadian journalist and author Tara Henley, moderated by National Post Parliamentary Bureau Chief Stuart Thomson, about her new book The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity.

Henley argues that the media's alarmed response to Donald Trump's first election—abandoning long-held standards of objectivity and rigorous reporting—set off a downward cycle that continues to erode public trust today. The roots of the problem run deeper still: an industry weakened by economic precarity, a generation of journalists never properly trained in the fundamentals, and newsrooms increasingly oriented around ideology rather than public service.

Henley's prescription is as direct as her diagnosis. Restoring trust requires honest accountability for coverage failures, a public recommitment to objectivity, and a fundamental reorientation of journalism around the people it is meant to serve, including a long-overdue reckoning with condescending attitudes toward working-class audiences.

Whether you work in media, consume it critically, or simply care about the health of public discourse, this event will give you a richer framework for understanding one of the defining challenges of our time. Guests will enjoy an in-depth conversation with Tara moderated by Stuart Thomson, followed by an audience Q&A. Registrants will also have the opportunity to pre-purchase the book using a special discount code generously provided by the publisher, Polity Press.

We hope you will join us for this critical conversation with one of the world's most incisive thinkers on the state of media today.