Handful of rural Saskatchewan thoughts
While trust in news media seems to be at an all-time low, rural Saskatchewan residents have differing opinions on how to improve the state of journalism and trust.
“The state of journalism is poor,” said Mason Elford, a third year journalism student at the University of Regina (U of R).
“Some people will never trust journalism for the rest of their lives … I believe the trust could be mended … Outlets should focus most resources into social media platforms, as this is where most young people are attaining their news.”
Adam Crooks, a rancher and grain farmer from RM #74, agreed that trust has been damaged and said he believes a government funded press is too biased and does not deliver the important and relevant information the public needs.
“There are always two sides to every story. In order for the public to make a fair and educated decision, I believe they need to see both sides!” Crooks said in an email.
Alex Kozroski, a fourth year journalism student at the U of R with practical experience with Swift Current Online, believes that publicly funded media is important.
“I think that’s the biggest thing I think about when I’m looking at the future of this country,” Kozroski said.
“I think having publicly funded, not government affiliated, press is the biggest thing, and by keeping it separate from the state and separate from a private entity; they’re going to be the best journalism you’re gonna get, anywhere.”
On the topic of how to better reach their audience Kozroski said, “I want it to be the least entertaining, most boring, bland stuff you’ve ever seen, I want it to be NPR all the way.”
“I’m from a smaller town outside of Regina. The people there are more conservative. They hate media outlets and don’t trust them to be unbiased. On campus, most people are liberal. They also don’t trust people to be unbiased,” said Elford.
Crooks, Elford, and Kozroski did agree on three things: a free and independent press is important, local and Canadian news and investigations need to be prioritized, and trust in the media is low.
“Total accountability is a must. Feelings or beliefs should not have any bearing on truth or actual events that are being reported. Would it not be a better world to report on the true and factual events, while letting the many different people of Canada all have the same information and feel and believe the way they choose,” said Crooks.
“To say that former journalists are the ones to hold the new journalists to account does not seem like the answer. Too much bias in the world with the new woke world we live in. I’m not sure, but I believe that is the current model we are using and it doesn’t seem to be working.” Crooks continued.
Kozroski and Elford agreed, an independent watchdog for publishers would likely improve the journalism landscape.
“I’ve even been told to not seek employment at the CBC because the people think that is the most biased, which blows my mind because I always had it the other way around… I’ve ranched my whole life, and now the people that I was side by side with are the people that oppose my line of work the most,” Kozroski said.
