Topics discussed:
(2:56): The culture of Trinity College, University of Toronto in the 1980s. Coyne attended Trinity with Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Balsillie and Atom Egoyan.
(5:10): The role of an Opinion Pages Editor and the power of the media in public discourse.
(6:30): The lack of diversity in the punditry and the preponderance of old white males on the National Post’s columnist roster.
(9:07): The political leanings of the National Post and the increasingly less relevant left-right rhetorical divide.
(11:11): Criticizing the Canadian media’s handling of the Senate Scandal and the Harper government.
(16:34): Why Andrew wants his new job as editor of the Post’s Opinion and Editorial pages.
(18:24): The value of columnists’ voices and what they bring to a newspaper as a product.
(20:27): New media, new content delivery models, Andrew’s [tongue-in-cheek] dream to lead a “print revival,” Andrew’s genuine thoughts on the value of reading as an experience.
(27:14): Andrew’s views on the CBC, public broadcasting and public funding and subsidies for media.
(30:20): Private media, public broadcasting, the free market and how to serve the public interest.
(33:42): The news as a service, and whether or not the industry’s capacity to serve its audience is growing in the face of structural changes to legacy institutions and the rise of new media organizations.
(36:33): Publishing climate change deniers in the pages of the National Post.
(39:53): Andrew’s role as a board member of the Energy Probe Research Foundation, and its views on climate change.
(41:01): Coming from a distinguished family with success in many fields, why Andrew chose to become a pundit.
CANADALAND live taping at Hamilton Public Library, Jan.9. Tix here: (link).
