CAMBRIDGE – Citizen journalism continues to thrive, fueled by wide-open access to information thanks to the Internet and social media, but the modern-day information-gathering phenomenon doesn’t necessarily lead to an informed perspective.
Opinions are all too often formed based on mere snippets and slices of information, worries international scholar and self-professed news junkie Gordon McIvor, without the benefit of exposure to the thought-provoking discussion.
For some, viewpoints on issues regarding economics, culture, health, and politics are founded upon little more than digital hits of 140 characters or less and 30-second viral videos.
“With social media, everybody’s a reporter now,” laments McIvor.
These concerns aren’t just coffee shop food for thought for the longtime Cambridge resident. As president of the Toronto-based The Empire Club of Canada, our nation’s most prestigious speakers’ forum, McIvor is devoted to bringing information to the masses, with the goal of exploring meaningful topics and sparking intelligent debate.
The club’s bid to encourage discussion on vital issues has recently taken on even greater importance, noted McIvor. With revenue disappearing from mainstream media budgets, sparking job losses in print, radio, and TV, the traditional news-sharing machine is eroding, leaving fewer sources of multi-sided education.
This perfect storm – a lack of information and a mountain of misinformation – is a dangerous thing, maintains McIvor.
“Sometimes it seems like you know a lot more than you do when you actually know nothing, and when you begin to understand a subject a little bit, you realize how little you know about it.”
McIvor, who has been working in some capacity for the greater good since he was seven years old, considers his new post at The Empire Club as an opportunity to keep the conversation about important issues going on a national level.
Recent podium topics at the club have ranged from Canada’s economic outlook to the inevitability of technological shifts, like the digital ride-sharing app Uber.
Hosting talks on such topics doesn’t mean imposing opinion, insists McIvor, it means knowing all the information before arriving at one.
“My interest is more in bringing issues to people’s attention so they understand them better,” he explained.
“I find there’s so much information today, and people tend to get a very superficial understanding of a lot of different issues without really necessarily understanding the complexity that would help them make better decisions.”
The speakers’ forum has evolved greatly since its inception in 1903, founded when the greatest deliberation was whether to join the United States, noted McIvor. He still finds it curious that the club didn’t allow women as members until the early 1980s.
The club has undergone a renaissance of sorts in recent decades, however, taking on a more open, broad role of education.
“People look to The Empire Club a lot for understanding what’s behind the news.”
Speakers come from throughout the world – without compensation – knowing the club’s reach will carry much weight.
Not just anyone is invited to the podium, however, said McIvor. The club’s podium committee chooses speakers and topics to provoke thought, not to pitch company marketing.
He saw that first-hand when a high-ranking executive from Uber came to speak recently.
Although there were angry opponents to the ride-sharing app in the audience, the talk brought some perspective to the conversation by appealing to people to “park their emotions”, recalls McIvor.
“At the end of the day, it seems to be something that is within a much larger wave of technology-oriented services that are being offered to the public,” he explained. “And it’s probably inevitable.”
The goal then needs to become how to develop appropriate policies on how to regulate the new technology.
The Cambridge resident takes great satisfaction in helping drive the conversation behind the headlines and the social media hits and make powerful people accessible through The Empire Club’s broadcasts.
“If you’re having an impact on the way people’s conversation is going around issues and events, I think you’ve reached your objective.”
Post Source Here: https://m.cambridgetimes.ca/community-story/6273764-bringing-about-a-greater-understanding/
