Critical Thinking: Activity 7
Based on your review of the broader history, if you were to nominate ONE event that you see as
most significant to the look and feel of the newspapers you read today, what would it be?
I feel that the most significant historical event that is clear in the newspaper as we see it today
would be the freedom of the press in the second period, being 1807 to 1858. This period was
defined by self-sufficient editors gaining revenue for their print from commercial advertisements,
rather than from the government. Essentially, this meant that newspapers could publish their
political opinions rather than what the government wanted to be printed. This event, however,
led to some editors receiving unpleasant repercussions as a result of their words. For instance,
Joseph Howe wrote a criticism against the Halifax police in his newspaper, which led to him
being tried in court for his exposition. Howe was acquitted in the end despite the harsh backlash
(News Media Canada, 2019). This independence from the government changed the way news
was printed. We now see political opinions and criticism of the government published all over
the world, whether these statements are biased or not, they remain frequent. An example of this
is Fox News. This media outlet has a reputation for misinformation and biased content. Despite
this status, it is a relevant source for this argument. It has been found that Fox News caters
towards Republicans, they often share their views on current events in a right-sided manner.
This results in distrust from most Democratic peoples (John Gramlich, 2020). As such, Fox
News does represent the freedom of the press because of their outward favouritism towards
certain political parties and their scrutinization of others. Alongside political bias, another form of
freedom of the press that can be seen is opposition to people in the legislature. On this point,
the Edmonton Journal wrote an article discussing the education cuts in Alberta made by Jason
Kenney. The title of this article, ‘Students Pay Price for Kenney's Cuts’, clearly criticizes the
decision made by Premier. The Edmonton Journal can also be quoted as saying, “The decision
to reduce education funding because schools are closed due to COVID-19 is despicable and
very shortsighted” (Edmonton Journal, 2020). These examples in our modern print are wholly
due to the event of independence of the press from the government in the second period.
Without such freedom, our informative sources would fail to give true insight on the current
events in our society, and that is why I believe that this is the most significant event in the history
of journalism.
Cited Sources:
Edmonton Journal. (2020, April 01). Wednesday's letters: Students pay price for Kenney's
cuts. Retrieved September 13, 2020, from
https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/wednesdays-letters-cuts-show-ucp-disregard-f
or-education
Gramlich, J. (2020, August 18). 5 facts about Fox News. Retrieved September 13, 2020,
from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/08/five-facts-about-fox-news/
The Evolution of Newspapers. (2019, September 17). Retrieved September 13, 2020,
from https://nmc-mic.ca/about-newspapers/the-evolution-of-newspapers/
