Help us cover the election!
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Summary
In this episode, Andrew Lutt, the president and CEO of True North Media, discusses the importance of independent and impartial journalism and the need for a dedicated election coverage fund in order to cover the federal election in a fair and honest way.
Transcript
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I've got a question for you. Do you believe that the mainstream media that's receiving
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595 million dollars from the federal government can cover that government fairly? How about CBC
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whose entire existence depends on a 1.3 billion dollar check each year gifted by the federal
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government? Most Canadians are saying no to that question. Media bias is as big an issue as it ever
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has been and this doesn't mean that no reporters in Canada are capable of reporting fairly and
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honestly but as we've demonstrated time and time again there are a large number who are incapable
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of that. It's never been more important to have independent and impartial journalism which is
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precisely what True North is doing on a day-to-day basis but it's significant that we do this
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especially in an election season. True North is a young organization. This will be our first federal
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election coming up in just a couple of short months. It's important for us not just to comment on what's
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happening in the election but to be on the ground doing original reporting, accountable journalism,
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finding the stories that the mainstream media is inadequately covering or isn't covering at all.
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Unfortunately without the budget of the mainstream media this poses a challenge. We're making an appeal
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to you True North supporters on whom our existence depends, not the government, to chip in some money
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to help us cover the election in a fair and honest way. We're launching an election coverage fund. We're
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setting an ambitious goal but an important goal because we know that Canadians need the real story.
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We need to have a war chest so that we can pick up and go wherever the story is. This will be me,
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my colleagues. It will give not just a glimpse into what's happening on a big scale but actually
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in-depth reporting and analysis and true journalism on the stories that are shaping the narrative in the
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election campaign. As I said it's an ambitious goal but we know it's one we can do because you've
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already helped us do this in the past. Earlier this year I covered the Ontario carbon tax constitutional
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case. The only member of the media to attend the entire hearing. We did this because of your support
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and as a result Canadians got to see firsthand the real arguments and what was actually at stake
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during that case. Just earlier this summer I attended the Global Conference for Media Freedom.
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Again you made that happen with your support and by being there we saw profound hypocrisy from the
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current government about its actual commitment to media freedom. A story we were only able to bring
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to light because of our presence on the ground. This is an important election. We've got mounting debt.
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We've got a Canada that's become a joke on the national stage and we've got an immigration system
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that has been based on virtue signaling rather than border security. These are all issues that are at
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stake that we intend to shine a light on throughout this campaign. We are accountable to you. Now we are
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a registered charity. Your donation will get you a tax receipt and it's important that you see it as an
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investment in a quality and caliber of journalism that Canadians need in this election. So please do support us.
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Whether it's $5, $50, $500, we need your help. For True North, I'm Andrew Lutt.