Why the media abandoned objectivity for activism
About this episode
Tara Henley discusses her book on the shift from journalistic objectivity to activism in media.
Should journalism inform the public or influence it? Independent journalist and podcast host Tara Henley discusses her new book The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity, examining how journalists abandoned objectivity for activism. Henley traces the emergence of journalistic objectivity in the 19th century to more recently, when younger, progressive journalists rejected it for “identitarian moralism”. She argues it is this shift that’s behind falling trust in media, critiquing major Canadian media failures—from pandemic coverage to residential school graves reporting—while defending objectivity as an aspirational standard and part of journalism’s public service. The Hub is Canada’s fastest growing independent digital news outlet. Subscribe to The Hub’s podcast feed to get all our best content: https://tinyurl.com/3a7zpd7e (Apple) https://tinyurl.com/y8akmfn7 (Spotify) Watch a video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHubCanada Follow The Hub on X: https://x.com/thehubcanada?lang=en CREDITS: Amal Attar-Guzman - Producer and Video Editor Harrison Lowman - Host Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Harrison Lowman
Guest: Tara Henley
Topics covered
- journalism
- media objectivity
- activism
- public trust
- Canadian media
- pandemic coverage
- residential schools
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Hub
Books & works: The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity
Places: Canada
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