In conversation with: Angela Pacienza, Executive Editor, Globe and Mail
The CJF was pleased to host a timely and candid conversation with Richard Gingras, former VP of Google News and one of the most influential thinkers at the intersection of media, technology and democracy. With his recent departure from Google, this moment offered a rare opportunity for an honest, reflective look at how the digital era has reshaped journalism and public life.
The talk explored how the internet disrupted traditional models, rewired information flows, enabled broader expression and shifted distribution control from an army of newspaper carriers to a fragmented, competitive open ecosystem. He will reflect on the broader democratic consequences, including the erosion of trust, the acceleration of misinformation and the new vulnerabilities created by platform-dominated distribution.
Drawing on his insider experience, Richard spoked candidly about what technology companies, publishers, and journalists could have done better: how search engines and social networks might have approached publisher relationships differently, and how traditional newsrooms could have adapted more strategically. He’ll explore the digital ad markets and their impact on traditional publisher business models and local economies, and the paradox of managing free expression and information quality at global scale. The discussion will examine how the publisher–platform relationship evolved, why it became strained and what lessons can be drawn from that period.
Looking forward, the talk considered what is required to create a healthier information ecosystem and will explore what we might do to bring communities together to enable effective self-governance, addressing the role AI could play in strengthening or weakening journalism, what sustainable models for local news might emerge and how platforms, policymakers and publishers can better align around transparency, accountability and the needs of democratic societies.
This conversation shared a clear assessment of where the media landscape stands today and a thoughtful roadmap for where it must go next.
