Conrad Black: Our Media Should Help Sustain a Knowledgeable and Informed Electorate

Commentary I was graciously invited to have a conversation with the Western Association of Broadcasters president, David Craig, at the WAB’s annual meeting at the magnificent Banff Springs Hotel on June 6. David was very articulate and put to me a number of questions whose answers he thought could possibly be of interest to the members, and it was a very cordial exchange. I had the opportunity to reflect on my concerns that standards of education had declined and that this had probably been the principal factor in making the public in Canada and throughout the Western world less demanding of integrity and thoroughness from the media, and that this unfortunate sequence of events had caused a sharp reduction in confidence in media. I said that as a free press is vital to a democracy, that reduction in confidence, although not undeserved, was potentially dangerous....