or distortion, that plays with people’s minds and leads to bad decisions.... I think that organizations like Al Jazeera, ...that are committed to accurate and full information, ultimately help society." Supporting Democracy: "In the U.S., the broadcast media in particular does a poor job of making crucial issues clear and relevant for Americans to understand. And I think that’s a real threat to a functioning democracy". New Trends: "We have always needed to rely on people in our audiences and in the public to be our eye witnesses. The challenge in our use of social media is to determine how to organize it and marshal it in ways that enrich our content and better serve our audiences. And we can do that by creating ways to double-check and verify the accuracy of this information. We can’t just put things on the air, on the Web or in print". New Trends: "There is so much potential here in North America, compared to the developing world, because computers, smartphones and the Internet are everywhere. It's a way to enrich our coverage and capture a younger audience. But in the developing world, social media are being used far more to help people learn about their societies and figure out how to make them better. We should learn from that". References External links Official bio at AJE Biographical profile by Megan Griffith-Greene, published Spring 2004 in Ryerson Review of Journalism Conversation with Brian Stewart, web feature published July 2009 by The National Updated profile by Deborah Campbell, published October 2009 in The Walrus Full text of speech to the Empire Club of Canada on Privacy and the Media, as part of a two-part presentation with Bob Rae, 25 February 1999. Video of acceptance speech for Excellence in Journalism Award, recognizing the quality of CBC's coverage of the Iraq War. See details here Investor's Business Daily: Breaking News. Broadcaster Magazine article announcing Burman's receipt of the 2004 RTNDA Canada President's Award, "presented annually to honour individuals, stations, companies or groups who have brought distinction to, or have made major contributions to, broadcast journalism." Television and blogger interviews following the announcement of his retirement in 2007, reviewing his career and discussing the challenges of public broadcasting. (See also: Broadcaster Magazine, Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, and National Post.) Interview on Democracy Now, discussing "the media blackout in egypt and the U.S." Comparison of AJE's coverage of