Fearing for the future of journalism

In this Toronto Star column Tony Burman has a worried look about the future of investigative journalism in light of the BBC scandal. We say don't worry. Journalists have been going over the top in search of the big story since the Washington Post commissioned Woodward and Bernstein to find out what the president knew and when he knew it. They got it just about right. But subsequent generations of scribblers have frequently been blinded by the glory of breaking a "Holy Shit" tale. The BBC's shame is heightened because while journalists went right off the rails seeking a paedophile in the government (there wasn't one, apparently) it firmly ignored a well-documented scandal within its own ranks. It's happened here. A few years ago, the CBC libelled a couple of doctors and fought the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. The Corp lost badly. But, it appears, the fifth estate is still on the air doing useful work. Have no fear. Toronto Star