Freedom of the Press
The Issue
While freedom of the press is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it is in serious jeopardy. The business model that has sustained the media is failing – resulting in a significant loss of professional journalists and a serious decline in the media’s capacity to do the investigative reporting that is critical for public knowledge and government and corporate accountability. The work of the media in Canada is also imperilled by weak access-to-information laws, court publication bans, vexatious defamation claims, and the chilling effects of mass surveillance.
Why It Matters
Democracy depends on an independent, uncensored, diverse, professional media to inform the public, to ask difficult questions, and to foster transparency and accountability in those who wield power.
Our Work
The Centre for Free Expression promotes public discussion of the importance of freedom of the press, challenges facing the institutional media, and the opportunities and limitations of social media as an alternative. It works in collaboration with journalists, media organizations and public interest groups to evaluate models for the sustainability of independent, adequately financed, investigative journalism, to press for better access-to-information legislation, to limit publication bans and to strengthen protections for free expression.
Resources
JUST FACTS: What's a journalist to do about truth today?
As the meaning of "fact" continues to morph, reporters' routines and assumptions need refreshing, too. One key ingredient: humility
By Ivor Shapiro
UNWANTED QUESTIONS: Skepticism, not objectivity, is what makes journalism matter
Democracies need reporters who follow their curiosity, ask uninhibited questions, and tell unwelcome stories.
By Ivor Shapiro
Ugly voices (continued): can we turn down the volume?
When extremists grab the spotlight, journalists face tough news choices. The question isn't free expression. It's how to do needed reporting while avoiding amplification. A consensus is forming on how to tread that line.
By Ivor Shapiro
Ugly Voices: What's the Point of Covering Hate?
It’s a 44-year-old story that no self-respecting news organization anywhere would publish today—certainly not in the form it took.
And is that a good thing?
By Ivor Shapiro
It’s Complicated: Six Things Worth Discussing About Free Speech
Well, hello again. Having ended last month's column with a candid appeal for readers to "talk back" about free speech, I was grateful to those who took me at my word. They made me think new thoughts, which is, of course, the whole idea.
By Ivor Shapiro
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