Juno News - Media freedom conference’s first session is closed to the media

00:00:00.040 I'm here at the second annual Global Conference for Media Freedom. Well, sort of. The conference

00:00:11.000 co-hosted by Canada has been moved online this year with all of the festivities taking place

00:00:16.180 in front of a computer screen, but nevertheless I'm tuned in. And just like last year when I

00:00:21.380 covered the first Global Conference for Media Freedom in London, it already looks like much

00:00:26.520 of the theme will be about window dressing. Take a look at the very first session on the

00:00:32.600 agenda, a ministerial meeting of the Media Freedom Coalition. People will be meeting from

00:00:38.200 the governments of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the heads of delegations from other Media

00:00:42.720 Freedom Coalition countries, but it is a closed session. So when all of these delegation leaders

00:00:49.540 from different countries around the world gather together to talk about, quote, key concerns

00:00:54.420 regarding media freedom and identify priorities for the coming year, unquote, a meeting chaired

00:00:59.920 by Canada's foreign minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, it will be in a closed door session.

00:01:06.020 In other words, the very first session for the Media Freedom Conference is closed to the media.

00:01:12.940 Now, I understand the reason for in-camera meetings. I understand why on key issues like perhaps

00:01:18.200 national security or other sensitive matters, you might need to have a meeting that goes behind

00:01:23.180 closed doors. But right now, countries are going to be talking about the issues in their countries

00:01:29.060 and around the world for media freedom, and the media doesn't even get to know what those priorities

00:01:34.040 are going to be. Now, this is very similar to something that happened last year when I was

00:01:38.360 actually kicked out of a session that was, again, a closed session as countries were going to be

00:01:44.340 talking about what really was the most substantive part of the whole conference. Now, there are going to

00:01:49.460 be other events later on that I'll be able to tune into about democracy and free speech and press

00:01:54.980 freedom, and I'll certainly have a report about those as the day goes on. In fact, Prime Minister

00:02:00.220 Justin Trudeau is speaking. But it certainly sends a unique message when the Media Freedom Conference's

00:02:05.340 first agenda item is not actually open to the media. And it makes me wonder whether this is going

00:02:11.440 to be very similar to what happened last year, where a lot of the countries like to talk the big talk,

00:02:15.960 but aren't actually prepared to walk the big walk. Here are the things that I'm interested in learning

00:02:21.160 about. Why is Botswana, one of the countries co-hosting this year's conference, when it actually

00:02:27.020 in the past year in particular, has been using the heavy hand of the state to prosecute journalists for

00:02:33.240 daring to report on the government or even perhaps offering an alternative perspective to the government

00:02:38.660 narrative on COVID-19? Will the Canadian government be committing to press freedom after Justin Trudeau's

00:02:45.320 hand-picked debates commissioner blocked True North and Rebel News, including myself, from covering the

00:02:51.860 official government-sanctioned leaders debates in last year's election? Again, Canada is not perfect

00:02:57.420 when it comes to media freedom, yet Canada is one of the co-hosts of this conference. Will there be

00:03:02.940 any introspection, or will it simply be an opportunity for Canada to tell the world why everyone else has

00:03:08.880 to do better? Reporting from the 2020 Global Conference for Media Freedom, I'm Andrew Lutton.

00:03:14.640 Now, I know I didn't need to fly anywhere to cover this conference, but still, True North is standing

00:03:19.200 up for media freedom and covering these issues, covering the free speech battles in a way the

00:03:24.320 mainstream media is not. If you can chip in a few dollars to support our efforts, it would be very

00:03:29.080 much appreciated. Head on over to tnc.news slash donate.

Juno News - November 16, 2020