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Trust is a theme I often touch on in these notes to you, increasingly so as we contemplate what the Age of AI will mean for that essential ingredient in the relationship between readers and what they consume.
Tonight, I am returning to that theme, based on a conversation I had earlier today as part of the rollout of a new chapter for our Religion in the News project.
I was part of a Zoom call that included longtime religion writer John Longhurst, the new reporter on the project, Josiah Neufeld, and representatives from the province’s faith communities.
Some of them were there when we launched the initiative in 2019. Others became involved as the project’s growing body of work made clear the Free Press was doing something no other major Canadian daily newspaper was.
But all talked about how important it was that they could trust the Free Press to cover the often-complicated world of faith in a fair, thoughtful and balanced way.
That trust also translates into funding: donations both big and small that have covered the costs of producing the more than 1,100 stories John Longhurst and Brenda Suderman have produced over the past seven years.
That trust is also key to the new partnership we have with Broadview, an independent Canadian magazine known for its award-winning coverage of progressive Christianity as well as broader reporting on the diversity of religious and spiritual life.
Broadview saw value in what we had delivered and was keen to add to the credibility critical to the coverage we have been producing. That’s why their staff were also on that Zoom call today.
In these increasingly polarized times, religion is often portrayed as a force that divides and inflames. I worry that’s why so many newsrooms treat stories on religion as a no-go zone.
But what I saw on that Zoom call — and heard earlier from representatives of the Jewish and Muslim communities — is that our sustained coverage of what remains a major force in the lives of so many of our readers has restored their faith in what a newspaper can be — and what the Free Press delivers.
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