Canadian commentator David Frum, a notable conservative journalist, spoke this week to a joint meeting of The Canadian Club and the Canadian Journalism Foundation on trends in journalism. He paints a difficult picture of a craft losing some of its moorings and a public lesser served.

Frum identified five principal points:

1. De-monopolization. Frum doesn't suggest this is bad, but he believes it has become easy to participate.
2. De-professionalization. Or, as he puts it: "Who must worry about journalism ethics? Nobody who doesn't want to."
3. Rising demands on the media consumer. The audience is left to fend for itself more often.
4. Information inequality. The informed are better informed, the ill-informed are more so.
5. The increasing importance of strategic communication and miscommunication. Collectively media are stronger than ever, he argues, but individually they are weaker than before.