This was published in the Huffington Post Wednesday January 27, 2016
At a time when our consumption of the news is at an all-time high, the very institutions at the heart of our news media are in crisis -- and demanding the attention of our political leaders.
In just the past week, Postmedia combined newsrooms in Ottawa, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver in a move that not only saw many talented and dedicated journalists pushed out the door, but also saw distinctive voices quieted.
A state of emergency has seized Paris this December, although sometimes it is hard to determine just which emergency is foremost. Armies of police surrounding the Le Bourget Climate Conference and smaller groups at every transit station and downtown shopping centres speak to one emergency. The massive posters and displays on the COP21 and environment and climate themes that dominate public spaces throughout Paris and its underground metro stations point to the other global emergency that brings us here.
