WEBVTT

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My biography on my Twitter page says

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I am a skeptic and an optimist.

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I believe in science,
and infinite possibilities

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and that kind of sums up what I am going
to be talking about today.

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What a world we could live in

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if we were a truly informed society.

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A society that, by and large,
understood every facet

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of the social, political, environmental,
economic realities that we face everyday.

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Well, a news culture often indicates

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its potential for being truly informed.

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Hi, my name is Coleen Christie.

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I am a news anchor,
a broadcast journalist, if you will,

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and I am a little hesitant to say that
because I recently found out

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that broadcast journalists rank number six
on the list of most despised professions.

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(Laughter)

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We are just above tax auditors.

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That's right,

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most people like tax auditors
better than broadcast journalists.

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(Laughter)

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It sort of feels like when Sally Field
made her Oscar acceptance speech,

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but it is the opposite; 
you hate me, you really hate me.

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(Laughter)

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Not me personally,
give me a few minutes, you might.

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(Laughter)

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But at least we are doing better
than lawyers, they are at number three.

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That gives me hope.

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(Laughter)

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I anchor for CTV Vancouver, an affiliate
of the number one network in Canada.

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I got my start in news
in a rather unusual way.

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I started in marketing and promotion
so it gives me a unique perspective,

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on the business of news;
you see, I have always understood

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that news is a product
that needs to be sold.

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But it is a really important product.

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I grew up in a home
where news was important.

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My mother would pour
over the morning newspaper

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on the days that she was not working.

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She knew all of the issues,
all of the players,

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and she had a grade-8 education.

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As a family, we would watch
the nightly newscast together,

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and we actually paid attention.

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I think that because my parents
came from poverty,

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they were very aware of the importance
of informing us and educating us.

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Conversations over the dinner table
were often political, often heated.

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"Please pass the gravy, I cannot believe
you are such a socialist!

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Would you like more potatoes?"
That sort of thing.

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(Laughter)

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Yeah, back then, our choices
for news sources

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were a little more limited
than they are now, that is for sure,

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but wherever we got our news,

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we pretty much trusted that it would be
trustworthy and dependable.

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Boy! Things have changed, haven't they?

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In this modern news-age,
information is power,

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and never has our ability to leverage
that power been more at risk.

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In the last ten years, there has been
a remarkable change

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in our news consumption habits.

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Due, in large part,
to the explosion of digital media.

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That explosion has created
more competition,

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and it has changed our legacy platforms,
being newspapers and televisions,

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and it has actually changed
what we consider "newsworthy" to be.

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In a recent survey

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- you might find this interesting -

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nearly 90% of North Americans said
they were "hungry for their daily news",

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but get this;

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nearly 50% of them said
they could not trust it.

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Trust is an issue,

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and I think part of that trust issue is
wrapped up in our sense of bias in news.

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Yes. of course, with polarized news
organizations like Fox News on the right,

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and MSNBC on the left, 
it is absolutely clear that bias exists,

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but as a journalist on the inside,

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I think it is an oversimplification
to say that all media is biased.

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In fact, I propose to you today

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that the problem
with media is not bias at all.

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The problem with news today is you.

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The question I put to you
is not which news you can trust,

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but can you trust yourself
to consume it wisely?

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News, in essence, is factual storytelling.

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Everyday, journalists attempt
to share information through stories.

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But let's make something
very clear from the get-go.

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There are essentially
two kinds of sources for news.

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There is mainstream credible news,
and then there is everything else,

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and based on your lack of trust,

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the line between the two must seem
pretty blurry to you.

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Now of course there are exceptions.
There are always exceptions.

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The simplest definition of "credible news"

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is: information reported after
a rigorous series of checks and balances

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to ensure accuracy and fairness.

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Most people consume their news everyday


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without knowing that,
or even thinking about it

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and I think it is important
we understand the process.

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So for example, in television, news ideas
come from anywhere and everywhere.

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It is our assignment editors job
to assemble those ideas

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and create a potential list
of the stories that we will cover.

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The next step in the process
might surprise you.

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We actually debate and discuss
each one of those stories' ideas.

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A group of highly experienced, trained,

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knowledgeable, diverse individuals,

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practically anybody in our news room
who wants to participate,

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weighs the news value merits
of each story.

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Is it something our audience wants?
Is it something our audience needs?

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Next, we assign stories to our reporters,
our "boots on the ground".

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They go out and they find facts,
and they assemble those facts,

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and they provide context for the story.

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Yes, some stories are more complex
than others, but generally speaking,

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if, at the end of the day,

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a new story does not have 
enough news value,

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or if it does not pass the 'sniff test',
it does not make it to air.

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That is how most news rooms
throughout the world work.

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For the most part, that process works.

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The one thing we cannot escape

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is the perception of bias.

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We fight very hard to avoid it,
but we cannot, somehow,

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avoid the perception of bias
in our reporting.

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Let me give you an example.

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We are accused of two things 
whenever we cover an election campaign.

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We are accused

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of simultaneously supporting the incumbent
and supporting the challenger.

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(Laughter)

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It never fails. It never fails,
and of course, we are not doing either.

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You see, mainstream news
has no political agenda.

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"What?" you say.

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It is absolutely true.

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Mainstream news has no political agenda.

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Yes, there is right-wing
conservative news, and yes,

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there is its counter-balance on the left,

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but I am talking about mainstream media.

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For those of us who work in the middle,

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the very notion of partisan conspiracies

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is absolutely ridiculous.

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Except for that lunar landing,
that was a total fake, never happened.

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(Laughter)

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Now, of course, that is not the case

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with organizations
which use narrative journalism

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to promote a particular ideology,
a political perspective.

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No, and they are harder to spot these days

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with the proliferation 
of online news sources

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that do not use
journalistic checks and balances

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and so easily can be passed
off as legitimate.

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And mistakes that can be perceived
as bias, can be made,

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but I believe they are less intentional
than you might think.

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And when those mistakes are made,

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most credible media outlets
adhere to their own self-discipline.

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The news media has been correcting errors
along the way for more than 100 years

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and whether to our general
satisfaction or not,

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it has to be acknowledged
that it certainly does happen.

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Discipline is big part of the job,

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but it is not exactly the toughest part
of the job for me personally.

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In case you did not get this already,
when I go to work in the morning,

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I do not have to worry
about being infected,

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shot, kidnapped, tortured,
raped, or executed

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like some of my colleagues do.

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Shout-out to the colleagues in the field
who risk their lives every day.

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(Applause)

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Yeah, it is a calling, it is a calling.

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No, I got it pretty good,

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considering tough day at the office
for me might be a bad hair day

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(Laughter)

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but it is not tough for me, it is tough
for you because you have to look at it.

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See how that works?

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The hardest part of my job
is keeping my mouth shut.

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I am not talking about afternoon meetings

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where my colleagues would love it
if I kept my mouth shut.

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No, I am talking about
when I am presenting facts,

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I cannot telegraph my own 
personal opinions on divisive matters.

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I cannot let that through.

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I cannot risk it.

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As a communicator, it is my job
to help you understand the story,

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it is not my job
to tell you what to think.

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I cannot risk it, we cannot risk it.

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You see the truth is,

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mainstream media
cannot afford to take sides.

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I use the word "afford" on purpose.

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Bias is bad for business.

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Let me show you
how the money works on that,

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we will just follow the money.

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Our democratic society needs 


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independet news
to keep us informed and free.

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And news, the news industry,
needs consumers to survive.

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So in television, consumers are viewers.

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The more viewers, the higher the ratings,

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the higher the ratings,
the more ad revenues.

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Ad revenues maintain operating budgets,

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operating budgets pay for journalists
to gather information to keep us free.

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That is how it works.

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Any blatant bias on our part
could potentially alienate

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vast numbers of our viewers.

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That is a bad idea.

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Bias is just bad business
in the news business.

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Some recent studies have revealed
some interesting statistics

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on our consumption habits.

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I should note that most of us
still consume our news from television.

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But we are branching out.

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A majority of North Americans now say
they consume news on multiple platforms.

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Still, nearly 90% of us
are consuming that news

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from one single news organization.

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So let me tell you what that looks like,
I will paint a picture for you.

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You are at home,
you have got the TV on to CNN,

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you have the tablet open to CNN's webpage,

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you are following CNN's breaking news
on your Twitter feed on your phone,

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and you have no social life.

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(Laughter)

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Myopic?

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Yeah, perhaps.

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Unless you have got a thing
for Wolf Blitzer. Hey, no judgment.

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(Laughter)

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Here is the ironic part though.

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In a survey done this year,

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North Americans said they feel
more informed than ever before.

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Well of course we feel more informed,
it feels like we are getting more news,

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but what we are getting
is more of the same news.

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It is coming at us faster and faster
and we know statistically,

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that our attention spans
are getting shorter and shorter.

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That is changing the kind
of news we want to consume.

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Trying to keep your attention
has never been harder.

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In television the average news story
is less than two minutes long.

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Sometimes as short as 20 seconds.

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Think about that.

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Wow.

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Boredom is your bias,

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and if we do not keep you engaged,
you are going to leave.

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We do not want you to leave.

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In television, we spend all day gathering
quality information that you can trust,

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even though 50% of you do not trust it.

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(Laughter)

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Your information dinner is served,
and we throw in dessert too.

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Oh yeah, trending videos.

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You know, the bizarre,
the wacky, the funny.

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They make it into 
most major newscasts now,

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and they are among the top rated
segments of those newscasts.

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It is true. It is true. Yeah.

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A caution; we are very aware
of trivializing news,

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and we are very cautious not to.

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But we are competing with Jon Stewart
for goodness' sake.

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(Laughter)

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We are dancing as fast as we can
to keep you entertained and informed

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so that you will stick around.

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But you say, "Hey, digital news gives me
what I want when I want it,"

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and that is absolutely true, scarily so.

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Your online habits are watched,
followed, and fed.

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With each click of the mouse,

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you leave a digital breadcrumb trail
so that you can be fed more of the same.

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And social media is contributing
to your bias, it really is.

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Since 2009,

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traffic to social media news sites
has gone up by 60%.

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A full 70% of people surveyed
recently in North America

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said they used social media
as a news source.

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I got nothing bad to say
about social media, I like it.

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Hey, Twitter is a fantastic tool

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for communicating
and for delivering breaking news.

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But if you are using social media
as your primary news source,

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you have got to be cautious
- because think about it -

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It is your neighbor or the person
who works next to you,

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who likes cat videos,
they are your news director.

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(Laughter)

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And you know what?

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Your editorial team on Facebook

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is only as good
as your friends on Facebook.

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So true.

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And on Twitter, there is no news director.
No, there really is not.

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# Competitive. #Sensational.
#KimKardashian.

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(Laughter)

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I am only throwing in Kim Kardashian

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because I am hoping
that when somebody googles her name,

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this TED talk comes up.

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(Laughter)

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# Shameless.

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You are the subjective news curator
of your world, and we know statistically

00:16:43.158 --> 00:16:48.143
that you like to get news 
from people who think like you do.

00:16:48.144 --> 00:16:49.595
It is a fact.

00:16:49.596 --> 00:16:53.909
And on top of that,
being well-informed online

00:16:56.629 --> 00:17:00.361
requires more effort
and more discipline on your part.

00:17:01.492 --> 00:17:05.801
You are only going to click on the things
that look appealing to you, right?

00:17:05.803 --> 00:17:09.189
Think about it, it is 
kind of like going to a buffet.

00:17:09.190 --> 00:17:11.387
You are not going to get two salads.

00:17:11.387 --> 00:17:13.396
(Laughter)

00:17:13.396 --> 00:17:17.539
But you know, you see those desserts
sitting there, they look pretty good.

00:17:17.540 --> 00:17:19.233
Nobody is watching.

00:17:19.234 --> 00:17:21.077
Take two. What the heck?

00:17:21.078 --> 00:17:22.848
We are human.

00:17:22.848 --> 00:17:25.828
We like pie.

00:17:25.829 --> 00:17:30.359
Our personal preferences feed our biases,

00:17:30.375 --> 00:17:34.190
and our personal content curation
supports them.

00:17:35.831 --> 00:17:40.880
By definition and design, digital media
gives us more of what we already like.

00:17:40.881 --> 00:17:46.791
You create your own 
information playlist, if you will.

00:17:46.792 --> 00:17:51.457
It is kind of like, I do not know,
like the Songza of news.

00:17:51.458 --> 00:17:55.564
The system feeds you 
more of what you want.

00:17:55.565 --> 00:18:00.842
It feels good, but how are you ever going
to be exposed to something new?

00:18:00.843 --> 00:18:04.439
How are you going to see
a different perspective?

00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:06.277
If you keep listening to 8 on the 80s,

00:18:06.277 --> 00:18:08.941
how are you going to hear 
new music for goodness sake?

00:18:08.941 --> 00:18:10.530
Come on. (Laughter)

00:18:10.530 --> 00:18:13.290
Whether we realize it or not,

00:18:13.290 --> 00:18:18.574
our subconscious bias is driving 
our news consumption habits,

00:18:19.375 --> 00:18:22.397
and it is keeping us less informed
than ever before.

00:18:24.277 --> 00:18:27.504
You know what? We know what happens.

00:18:29.174 --> 00:18:33.403
When our trust in media 
is at an all-time low,

00:18:33.403 --> 00:18:35.157
it means that our appetite

00:18:35.157 --> 00:18:41.007
to seek out new and more varied
variety of news sources diminishes,

00:18:41.007 --> 00:18:43.925
and our biases are strengthened.

00:18:45.295 --> 00:18:46.761
We see that every day.

00:18:46.762 --> 00:18:50.984
You get camps over here,
you have got another camp over here.

00:18:51.634 --> 00:18:53.756
These guys are not listening
to these guys.

00:18:53.757 --> 00:18:56.893
They do not want to; there is no trust.

00:18:56.894 --> 00:19:00.424
It is all ego-driven, fear-based,

00:19:00.425 --> 00:19:04.045
heels dug-in, no progress.

00:19:05.915 --> 00:19:10.107
We are behaving like children except
if we were children we would be punished,

00:19:10.108 --> 00:19:14.531
but in this sense, the people
who are behaving this way,

00:19:14.532 --> 00:19:16.406
they get their own TV shows

00:19:16.406 --> 00:19:18.966
or their own constituents, 
as the case may be.

00:19:21.706 --> 00:19:25.464
As artist and activist Ruben Blades
so eloquently put it,

00:19:25.465 --> 00:19:27.178
"We risk becoming

00:19:27.178 --> 00:19:31.598
the best informed society
that ever died of ignorance."

00:19:31.598 --> 00:19:33.173
(Applause)

00:19:34.354 --> 00:19:38.490
So how do we achieve the promise
of being a truly informed society

00:19:38.491 --> 00:19:43.538
when our own personal biases 
keep us locked in a feedback loop,

00:19:43.539 --> 00:19:47.070
giving us more and more of the same?

00:19:47.071 --> 00:19:50.509
What would happen if, for example,

00:19:51.800 --> 00:19:56.918
we chose a second or third news source

00:19:56.918 --> 00:20:01.009
outside of our normal consumption habits?

00:20:02.979 --> 00:20:06.870
Well more news diversity
would make us better informed,

00:20:06.871 --> 00:20:08.756
would certainly make us sound smarter,

00:20:08.757 --> 00:20:12.676
that comes in handy at weddings,
Bar Mitzvahs, TED conferences,

00:20:12.676 --> 00:20:14.257
(Laughter)

00:20:14.258 --> 00:20:18.041
but sounding smart is not the goal.

00:20:18.041 --> 00:20:20.146
That is not what this is all about.

00:20:21.296 --> 00:20:23.473
This is about freedom.

00:20:25.263 --> 00:20:29.683
And the news media
is the guardian of our freedom.

00:20:30.953 --> 00:20:35.122
We hold authority to account,
you hold us to account.

00:20:36.452 --> 00:20:38.933
You are free to choose
whatever news source you like,

00:20:38.934 --> 00:20:42.117
but if you are choosing more
of the same, is that freedom?

00:20:42.118 --> 00:20:47.547
Getting news that reinforces
your own beliefs feels good,

00:20:47.548 --> 00:20:49.428
but it is a false sense of security

00:20:49.428 --> 00:20:54.393
and one that does not promote
greater growth or deeper understanding.

00:20:54.394 --> 00:20:58.007
It certainly does not challenge
us to challenge our own views.

00:20:58.008 --> 00:21:01.377
So how do we know if we are getting
enough variety in our news diet?

00:21:01.378 --> 00:21:05.672
Well, if everything you are consuming
makes you feel great,

00:21:05.672 --> 00:21:08.004
chances are you need
to mix it up a little bit.

00:21:08.005 --> 00:21:11.609
And you know what? 
The news media needs to do its bit too.

00:21:11.610 --> 00:21:17.164
We need to make news more relevant,
particularly my branch of the news.

00:21:17.164 --> 00:21:19.084
We need to help people understand

00:21:19.084 --> 00:21:22.112
why a story is important,
and how it affects them.

00:21:22.113 --> 00:21:24.260
Anybody can collect facts.

00:21:25.351 --> 00:21:28.382
We need to provide context.

00:21:28.383 --> 00:21:32.876
The old notion of, "Eat it, it's good
for you!" just does not work anymore

00:21:32.877 --> 00:21:37.142
when one click away
there is something more tantalizing.

00:21:38.102 --> 00:21:42.702
If we lose you, we lose,

00:21:42.702 --> 00:21:45.668
and then we all lose.

00:21:49.888 --> 00:21:55.534
As iconic broadcast journalist
Charlie Rose so beautifully put it,

00:21:56.674 --> 00:22:00.916
"We learn from each other, 
even when we disagree,

00:22:00.916 --> 00:22:04.006
especially when we disagree."

00:22:05.356 --> 00:22:06.871
The more we strengthen

00:22:06.871 --> 00:22:11.451
the virtues of tolerance, 
diversity, and understanding,

00:22:11.451 --> 00:22:15.069
we will have a bulwark
against the hatred and extremism

00:22:15.070 --> 00:22:18.741
that has wreaked
so much havoc in this world.

00:22:18.742 --> 00:22:23.102
So I implore you, battle your biases.

00:22:23.103 --> 00:22:27.448
Empower yourself with more diverse news.

00:22:27.449 --> 00:22:33.867
And maybe, just maybe,
we will have an informed society,

00:22:33.868 --> 00:22:39.926
a truly informed society,
and enter a new age of enlightenment.

00:22:40.676 --> 00:22:41.705
Thank you.

00:22:41.705 --> 00:22:42.788
(Applause)