Public Trust in Journalism in Dark Times

Public Trust in Journalism in Dark Times

Journalism is at a crossroads. Facing a world of misinformation and disinformation, journalists find themselves attacked by some and distrusted by many more. Yet the need for reliable storytellers is greater than ever when content that looks like news can be created using generative AI, alternative information sources often have little interest in verifiable facts and some political leaders regularly disseminate falsehoods.

How can journalists and news organizations navigate this new and often hostile world and regain the trust of a sometimes-skeptical public?

Join moderator Pauline Dakin and four key leaders in Canadian journalism who will tackle this question at a public roundtable on March 4, hosted by the School of Journalism, Writing & Publishing.

This is a free event, open to the public.

Robert Cribb

Robert Cribb, BA(Hons)’89, is founder and director of the Investigative Journalism Bureau and an investigative reporter at the Toronto Star. He has received reporting awards for investigations into offshore tax evasion, child exploitation, human trafficking, dangerous doctors, environmental threats and public safety. He was part of the international reporting team that produced the Pulitzer Prize-winning Panama Papers investigation in 2017. Cribb is past president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, the first international board member of Investigative Reporters and Editors and currently teaches investigative reporting at the University of Toronto. He is a proud King’s College graduate.

Brodie Fenlon

Brodie Fenlon is the General Manager and Editor in Chief of CBC News.

Fenlon oversees the journalism and standards for all the editorial efforts of CBC’s English Service journalism, and is responsible for CBC’s programs and operations across news, current affairs and local services, including 48 local bureaus and stations, and four international bureaus.

His portfolio includes the flagship newscast The National, the all-news cable channel CBC News Network, the digital site CBCNews.ca and the CBC News App. It also includes FAST channels, podcasts and audio, news programs and radio current affairs programming across Canada.

Photo: CBC

Nicole Feriancek

Nicole Feriancek, BJ(Hons)’12, is the editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Sun. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Nicole is a graduate of the University of King’s College journalism program and tried on a few careers — reporting at rural weekly newspapers, working as an assistant director in the film industry, dabbling in documentary filmmaking — before finding her niche at the Ottawa Citizen.

Feriancek (pronounced Ferry-N-check) is passionate about creative, collaborative storytelling and shining light on stories that matter. She has a cat named Lemon and married her longtime partner Stephane in November. The city of Ottawa has been growing on her since 2015.

Photo: Tony Caldwell/Postmedia

Karyn Pugliese

Karyn Pugliese, aka Pabàmàdiz, is an award-winning journalist and communications specialist who taught for five years at Toronto Metropolitan University. She is known for her work on the national political beat, her work on press freedom issues and her reporting on Indigenous communities. She is a frequent commentator on CBC’s Rosie Barton Live. Her columns in Canada’s National Observer won a National Newspaper Award, and her reporting has been recognized with the Hyman Solomon Award for Public Policy Journalism, Canadian Screen Awards and Canadian Association of Journalism Awards. She was chosen for the 25th Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. Formerly, Karyn worked as the Managing Editor of CBC’s Investigative Unit, overseeing the team at The Fifth Estate and Marketplace. Karyn is probably best known for her work as a Parliament Hill reporter and as the Executive Director of News and Current Affairs at APTN (Aboriginal Peoples Television Network) where she ran the news department for seven years. Karyn has worked in daily news and long-form investigations at other outlets, including ichannel, VisionTV and CTV.

From 2018–2020, Karyn was president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and still sits on the national board of directors. Karyn is a board member of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. She worked as an expert trainer for Journalists for Human Rights in South Sudan in 2018.

Karyn is a citizen of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation in Ontario and is of mixed Algonquin and Italian descent. When she is not engaged in acts of journalism, you’ll find her paddling a canoe, shooting photos and eating frybread.

If you can’t be here, please enjoy the livestream