Andrew Coyne joins Jesse for a wide-ranging conversation before he begins his new job as editor of the National Post’s Opinion and Editorial pages.

Topics discussed:

(2:56): The culture of Trinity College, University of Toronto in the 1980s. Coyne attended Trinity with Malcolm Gladwell, Jim Balsillie and Atom Egoyan.

(5:10): The role of an Opinion Pages Editor and the power of the media in public discourse.

(6:30): The lack of diversity in the punditry and the preponderance of old white males on the National Post’s columnist roster.

(9:07): The political leanings of the National Post and the increasingly less relevant left-right rhetorical divide.

(11:11): Criticizing the Canadian media’s handling of the Senate Scandal and the Harper government.

(16:34): Why Andrew wants his new job as editor of the Post’s Opinion and Editorial pages.

(18:24): The value of columnists’ voices and what they bring to a newspaper as a product.

(20:27): New media, new content delivery models, Andrew’s [tongue-in-cheek] dream to lead a “print revival,” Andrew’s genuine thoughts on the value of reading as an experience.

(27:14): Andrew’s views on the CBC, public broadcasting and public funding and subsidies for media.

(30:20): Private media, public broadcasting, the free market and how to serve the public interest.

(33:42): The news as a service, and whether or not the industry’s capacity to serve its audience is growing in the face of structural changes to legacy institutions and the rise of new media organizations.

(36:33): Publishing climate change deniers in the pages of the National Post.

(39:53): Andrew’s role as a board member of the Energy Probe Research Foundation, and its views on climate change.

(41:01): Coming from a distinguished family with success in many fields, why Andrew chose to become a pundit.

CANADALAND live taping at Hamilton Public Library, Jan.9. Tix here: (link).