The first Arnold Amber Memorial Lecture, presented by the Centre for Labour Management Relations at Ryerson University, and sponsored by CWA Canada, celebrated the life and legacy of the longtime advocate of the right and fair. Buzz Hargrove (right of poster) delivered the keynote address, followed by tributes from (left of poster) Lise Lareau, a former president of the Canadian Media Guild, and Martin O’Hanlon, president of CWA Canada, and (far right) Maurice Mazerolle, director of the CLMR. They are surrounded by members of Arnold’s family, who turned out for the event on Thursday evening, May 10.
Monthly Archives: June 2018
CWA Canada stands with VICE as source protection case goes to Supreme Court
Source: cwacanada.ca
VICE Media’s legal fight with the RCMP over a journalist’s right to protect sources goes before the Supreme Court of Canada today.
Standing alongside VICE will be CWA Canada, the only union in a coalition of news outlets and journalist organizations that has been granted intervener status in the case.
A production order issued by the Mounties against VICE journalist Ben Makuch to hand over all communications between him and an alleged ISIS fighter was upheld by the Ontario Superior Court and the Ontario Court of Appeal.
CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon called the rulings “bad news for journalism and for democracy” and committed the union to continuing the fight to the highest court in the land.
“As a media union, we will speak out loudly to protect freedom of expression and the role of a free press as a pillar of democracy,” O’Hanlon said.
“Police have an important job to do in protecting us from crime, but they cannot expect journalists to do that job for them. The media is not, nor should it ever be, an arm of the state.”
The media union represents workers at VICE’s Canadian news operations through its biggest Local, the Canadian Media Guild.
Vice journalist ‘eager’ on eve of his press-freedom hearing at Supreme Court
“What makes this case different from a confidential source case is that it’s about material a journalist has gathered but keeps to him or herself and uses as the journalist sees fit in a story.”
Paul Schabas, counsel to intervener coalition
The coalition, which recently received approval to act as interveners, also includes the CBC, APTN, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression, the Canadian Association of Journalists, and Reporters Without Borders.
Another case that could make its way to the Supreme Court is that of investigative journalist Marie-Maude Denis. Her employer, Radio-Canada, will appeal a Quebec Superior Court ruling from late March that orders her to reveal her source in a corruption trial.
In response to that ruling, O’Hanlon said: “It’s frustrating that this sort of thing continues to happen, especially with the passage of federal legislation in 2017 that recognizes the right of journalists to protect their sources.”
“It is vital for free speech and democracy that journalists guard the anonymity of their sources. If not, sources, including whistleblowers, will be far less likely to talk to journalists knowing that they could be identified and punished. The result? Canadians will be blocked from important information and stories about matters of vital public interest.”
Media union condemns attempted intimidation of VICE journalists
Source: cwacanada.ca
OTTAWA / TORONTO / MONTREAL – The union that represents staff at VICE Canada is outraged at an attempt by right-wing radicals to intimidate journalists at the news organization’s office in Montreal and calls for police to take action.
CWA Canada and its biggest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), strongly condemn the action as an attack on freedom of the press that must be punished.
Members of the far-right, anti-immigration group Atalante burst into the VICE office Wednesday to protest an article by reporter Simon Coutu.
The men, dressed in black and masked in the colours of the Quebec flag, marched around, shouted and threw papers at workers. They surrounded Coutu and presented him with a mock prize denigrating his work.
Police showed up after the intruders left but it is not clear what, if any, action they plan to take.
“We are clearly talking about bullying, but that will not prevent us from doing our job well,” Coutu vowed.
CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said authorities cannot let the violation go unpunished.
“We cannot allow hooligans to get away with this sort of intimidation or it will encourage more serious and possibly violent incidents,” O’Hanlon said. “It is a threat to freedom of the press and to our democracy.
“Journalists are a force for good in this country and they should not face this kind of harassment.”
Canadian Media Guild President Kamala Rao expressed relief that the journalists, CMG members, are safe.
“Everyone deserves to be safe in their workplace and journalists must be able to report on whatever stories we believe are relevant to our communities, to audiences. That is the job, and that work is central to the core values of our society,” Rao said.
“The work that journalists do often draws attention where it’s not wanted. And that is as it should be. Attacks against journalists for doing this vital work must not be tolerated.”
CMG is following up with its VICE members and the employer to learn from this incident and try to ensure it can’t happen again.
CWA Canada represents about 6,000 media workers at newspapers and other companies coast to coast, including the CBC, The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Halifax Chronicle Herald, and Victoria Times Colonist.
For more information contact:
Martin O’Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
(613) 867-5090
Kamala Rao
President, Canadian Media Guild
(647) 468-2587
Javiera Quintana
Acting President, VICE Branch, Canadian Media Guild
Stephanie Rewjakin
Quebec Director, VICE Branch, Canadian Media Guild
Newsrooms are Forming Unions to Create Better Pay, Better Benefits and Better Journalism
Source: editorandpublisher.com/
After a series of management shake-ups and unpopular policies, the Los Angeles Timesmade history in January when its newsroom voted 248-44 to unionize. It was the first time in the organization’s 136 years of operation.
So, why now?
Sally Davidow, communications director at the NewsGuild-CWA (who helped the Times organize), said the environment is changing in favor of unions for a number of reasons: “The victory at the L.A. Times has certainly sparked interest in other places, but also the atmosphere in general was sort of ripe for before that. The situation in the industry is very dire. People feel they can’t earn a decent living and they have no control over their work schedules. They really want a voice at work and equity for women and people of color. So, there are a lot of very important issues.”