TORONTO – The future of Canada’s press councils will be the focus of a new study as decreased membership and funds threaten the viability of some media watchdogs.
Ivor Shapiro, the Ryerson University professor who will oversee the study, says the goal is to compare existing models for press councils across the country and figure out how their various stakeholders view the councils’ effectiveness.
He will present initial findings at a national newspaper conference April 28 in Toronto.
Questions about whether Canada’s news organizations are willing to – and capable of – monitoring themselves have been swirling since Sun Media decided to pull out of the Ontario Press Council last summer.
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That move also at came a time when Britain’s phone-hacking scandal sparked worldwide scrutiny of media practices and ethics.
Press councils consider complaints from the public against members in Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic Canada, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia.
“Today, some provincial councils are no longer active, and there appears to be disparity from one council to the next with respect to policies, procedures, and codes of conduct,” said Shapiro, who is also chair of the ethics advisory committee of the Canadian Association of Journalists.
“Meanwhile, information that may start out as local news instantly reaches a national and international audience.”
The rise of the social media also means that members of the public no longer depend on press councils as their only recourse for holding news organizations to account, and may point out issues themselves, he added.
The study’s broader goal is also to examine options for ensuring that public concerns about the practice of journalism are heard and addressed.
The study was launched at the request of Newspapers Canada, the national body representing news organizations which fund provincial press councils.
It will also be supported by an arms-length personal donation from John Honderich, chair of the board of TorStar. Honderich’s father was instrumental in launching Ontario’s press council in 1972.
“It is time to consider better ways to deal with issues involved in the way journalists do their job, based on ethics and accountability to the public,” said Honderich.
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