OTTAWA (Oct. 18, 2010) - The Canadian Association of Journalists is adding its voice to the chorus of those saying an Ontario Justice of the Peace's bail conditions go too far.

The bail conditions set by Justice of the Peace Inderpaul Chandhoke on Alex Hundert, an alleged ringleader of G20 protests in June, include a ban on taking part in, organizing or attending any public event where political views are expressed. Included in the bail conditions is also a ban on speaking to the media while Hundert is out on bail awaiting the continuation of his court hearings on three charges of conspiracy.

Getting media access to the G8 and G20 summits seemed simple: just upload a letter of assignment, a mugshot, and a scanned passport on an online form. In fact, it was easy, it just turned out not to mean much.

While the G8 and G20 meetings at the end of this month will focus on global austerity measures, foreign journalists will be getting the full Muskoka experience, sipping brewskies by a newly constructed man-made lake inside the luxurious G20 Media Center in downtown Toronto at the expense of $1.9 million from Canadian taxpayers.

If, like myself, this strikes you as odd, maybe you should consider getting out there to cover the events yourself -- as an independent journalist.

There is considerable attention paid in the United States to the collapse of journalism -- both in terms of the demise of the business model for corporate commercial news media, and the evermore superficial, shallow, and senseless content that is inadequate for citizens concerned with self-governance. This collapse is part of larger crises in the political and economic spheres, crises rooted in the incompatibility of democracy and capitalism. New journalistic vehicles for storytelling are desperately needed.