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Why the media abandoned objectivity for activism episode artwork

Jul 20, 2026 39 min

Why the media abandoned objectivity for activism

from Hub Podcasts

Should journalism inform the public or influence it? Independent journalist and podcast host Tara Henley discusses her new book The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity, examining how journalists abandoned objectivity for activism. Henley traces the emergence of journalistic objectivity in the 19th century to more recently, when younger, progressive journalists rejected it for “identitarian moralism”. She argues it is this shift that’s behind falling trust in media, critiquing major Canadian media failures—from pandemic coverage to residential school graves reporting—while defending objectivity as an aspirational standard and part of journalism’s public service. The Hub is Canada’s fastest growing independent digital news outlet. Subscribe to The Hub’s podcast feed to get all our best content: https://tinyurl.com/3a7zpd7e (Apple) https://tinyurl.com/y8akmfn7 (Spotify) Watch a video version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheHubCanada Follow The Hub on X: https://x.com/thehubcanada?lang=en CREDITS: Amal Attar-Guzman - Producer and Video Editor Harrison Lowman - Host

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Why the media abandoned objectivity for activism

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This episode is 39 minutes long.

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This episode was published on July 20, 2026.

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