News travels fast online. However, so do rumours, shocking photos, veiled advertisements and outright lies. With the rise of social media and citizen journalism, we’ve never had so many messages, from so many sources, available at our fingertips. However, it has become clear in recent years that news shared online comes with serious risks due to its lack of objectivity and its emphasis on speed and volume over fact. Public shaming is one expression of this modern reality, as well as increasing sponsored and promotional content blurring the lines of news and advertisement. Given the absence of context and abundance of competing voices online, how do we know who and what to trust? Can we see past the click-bait headlines and advertorials, and continue to be informed about the world around us? Is there a place for objective journalism anymore?

Recorded March 9, 2016, at Performance Works in Vancouver, BC.

Moderator

Karen Burgess – Executive Producer for News, CBC Vancouver

Panelists

Valerie Casselton, BA’77 – Associate Editor, Integrated Projects for PNG

Farhan Mohamed – Editor-in-Chief and a partner of Vancity Buzz

Paul Watson – Best-selling Writer, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist

Steve Woodward – Sessional Instructor, UBC School of Journalism, Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist