Former CBC producer Tara Henley said independent media is succeeding because it provides viewpoint diversity. .“The numbers are not looking particularly great for the legacy media right now, and independent media is booming,” said Henley in a Thursday interview at the Canada Strong and Free Network National Conference. .“At some point, questions end up having to be asked about what the independent media is offering and how does the legacy media cope with the fact so many people are voting with their dollars and their attention for a different model.” .Henley called independent media “an important counterweight to the legacy press right now.” This is because it is able to cover stories mainstream media will not touch. .The former producer went on to say public attention increases on those controversial stories, and the legacy press has to confront them. Some examples she offered were learning loss during school closures and gender transitions in youth. .Henley said it is a complicated diagnosis for why the mainstream media is declining. She said the first problem is with the business model. .For journalists who do not know when their next shift is or if they are going to have a full-time job, she alleged that breeds a level of anxiety and conformity in the press. She said another problem is how the role of journalists changed after former US president Donald Trump was elected in 2016. .Before 2016, journalism was about collecting all of the facts and viewpoints before publishing a story. Now it has turned into activism. .Henley said the collapse of the business model has led to a skill deficit. In the past, she said people used to start off at small town newspapers before moving to larger publications, but that is not happening anymore. .She said Twitter has harmed journalism by being “a watering hole for liberal opinion.” On Twitter, she said people pile onto others without thinking because of disagreements. .Henley said Substacks from journalists such as Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, and Bari Weiss are changing the industry. She added people have lost trust in traditional journalism..She said there have been major stories the mainstream media has screwed up on in the last few years. For example, she said it did not do its job with COVID-19. .Henley concluded by saying the mainstream media should be looking at the numbers and have some self-reflection. .“And for me, the biggest thing is listening to the public,” she said. .Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis (Haldimand-Norfolk, ON) started off the event by saying many people will remember when a journalist left CBC because she could not put up with its woke editorial agenda. .“That brave journalist, Tara Henley, set the stage for truth in journalism,” said Lewis. .“We know the media plays a role in the battle of the soul of this nation.” .Henley said in 2022 she had resigned from the CBC one month prior because of a lack of journalistic freedom and integrity. .READ MORE: SLOBODIAN: Citing lack of “journalistic integrity,” CBC reporter quits.She exposed the decay in an article called Speaking Freely for her Substack Lean Out with Tara Henley. .“Everyone asks the same thing: What is going on at the CBC?” she said.
