The Future of Media

Media is at a crossroads. Full-time journalists and long-form reporting have been forced to cede public space to click bait news articles, online echo chambers, and disinformation campaigns. It has never been more challenging to inform the public, to bridge political divides, and to stimulate healthy debate. Yet trust in mass media has never been lower, with only 9% of Americans trusting the media “a great deal” and 60% having “little to no trust at all.” From the rise of social media to the erosion of traditional business models to the deep political polarization in American society, how we as citizens consume information has fundamentally changed. This series explores these changes, but more importantly asks where we go from here. How can we restore trust? How do we reconcile evidence-based reporting with the digital age? And above all, how can we reshape the media landscape in the face of these challenges to better society?

The Phil Lind Initiative 2022 series at UBC explored these questions and more, with public events featuring leading intellectuals and authors including Douglas Rushkoff, Soledad O’Brien, Kara Swisher, and Ed Yong.

The 2022 Phil Lind Initiative series was hosted at the UBC Vancouver campus, with live streaming. Each event was open to the public and free to attend.

Subscribe to our Phil Lind Initiative Newsletter for updates on our next series.

The Phil Lind Initiative is hosted by UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.