Live Coverage

Owen says week of July 4th was when the phone hacking story a "dramatic and urgent story of interest" ... because it was then that it stopped being about celebrities and instead about the "absolute immorality and what journalists were prepared to do to get the story"

"Many dogs barked and didn't bark in the 18 months before this story" ... at last count something like 4,000 possible [hacking] subjects

Owen: "What to expect? Something well beyond the status quo of self-regulation in British press ... it will give way to something else, but it will stop short of anything that falls short of state regulation of the press ... likely an ombudsman or a press standards commission"

The other question, adds Owen, is whether the victims of phone hacking will feel this is enough.

There are 2,000 members of Quebec's federation of journalists, says Myles

We just want the state to give us the power to self-regular

"I've never seen an issue in English media that's been so ... commented on, but so scarcely reported"

Members of the federation have to have most of their income, etc., from reporting activities, says Myles

If someone starts to make a mockery of reporting, there's nothing for us to step in, says Myles, but certification could change that

The federation issues a survey on certification; most journalists in Quebec said yes. Why, asked Myles? The answer: "We want to distinguish ourselves from other communicators"

"We are not dogmatic about it" This tool would give us a greater sense of belonging to the same community and would establish boundaries, he adds.

"To me the underlying issue ... is that there's a crisis of confidence in journalism today, and I think that's something that should concern all of us."

This is not the first time that's [crisis of journalism] has happened

Q from moderator: What could be wrong with legislation. Think of it as consumer protection regulation. I don't really see what's so different between journalists and the rest; if other businesses can be regulated to protect the public, why not journalists? We as the public know the difference between professionals and the amateurs.

Owen: What I worry about at a time when newspaper jobs are being shedded so disturbingly in great numbers ... so much journalism is being done by freelancers, and by online journalists .. I just don't see how this kind if attempt to define who is a journalist, and to restrict what you can and can't do, and hold them to account is going to work ... if you want to really ensure you have an ethical standard of behavior, enforce it in the newsroom ... make it a club you want to be part of

Honderich: Journalism is different than medicine, dentistry, engineering, etc, because we do have this right in Charter or Rights and Freedoms, but if you do look at these professions, many of them do have a system of self-reg, but the government is incessantly monitoring it...I think at this stage of the game, that's why I think there's a crisis, because we're losing it [confidence] more and more ...unless the media takes steps [to regain confidence], we'll get legislation that will be defined in terms of protecting the public ... You say you've never seen anybody been killed by bad reporting; I've seen it

Myles: Some proponents of the status quo say the best code of ethics you have is your business card; if we create [a code] it's going to be used against us. Past federation president said: Look if we don't regulate ourselves, others will