Category Archives: Media & Publishing

On World Press Freedom Day, NewsGuild warns of danger to local news; Urges shareholders to reject Alden’s hostile bid for Gannett

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Source: newsguild.org

May 2, 2019 – On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, The NewsGuild-CWA will warn of the danger to local news coverage in communities across the United States and urge Gannett shareholders to reject a looming hostile takeover bid by Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund.

Alden, reviled as a “destroyer of newspapers,” owns Digital First Media, the second largest U.S. chain by circulation. Alden is backing a slate of three “hopelessly conflicted” candidates running for Gannett’s board at the company’s May 16 shareholder meeting.

NewsGuild members at DFM and Gannett newspapers nationwide will mark the day with rallies in Denver and Detroit and on social media using the hashtag #SaveLocalNews to focus on the threat Alden’s bid poses to local and regional news. Gannett is the nation’s largest newspaper chain and owns the second largest chain in the United Kingdom.

The Detroit rally will begin at 2 p.m. on May 3, outside the offices of the Free Press, which is owned by Gannett, and the Detroit News, which is owned by Digital First Media a subsidiary of Alden Global Capital.

The Denver rally will begin at 11:45 a.m., outside the office of the Denver Post, a DFM paper.

“On World Press Freedom Day, we highlight the crucial role that newspapers play in our democracy, in cities large and small across the country,” said NewsGuild President Bernie Lunzer. “Our campaign has placed a spotlight on the devastating effect that hedge funds in general – and Alden in particular – have had on local and regional news coverage. Gannett shareholders should reject Alden’s attempt to profit from its destructive, asset-stripping strategy at the expense of Gannett’s newspapers and the long-term future of the company.”

Hedge fund ownership of Digital First Media newspapers has resulted in staff cuts at more than twice the national rate. Alden’s cost-cutting has helped spark a new, albeit grim, vocabulary in the newspaper industry: “news deserts” and “ghost newspapers.”

The Washington Post recently reported that Alden is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor for investing more than $250 million of employee pension money into its own accounts.

“Journalists at DFM newspapers continue to do outstanding work, but Alden’s brutal cost-cutting diminishes the scope of coverage and causes incalculable harm to communities,” Lunzer said. “The work done by our members is vitally important for our democracy, and we continue to call for new, responsible owners who will invest in the work our members do each day at DFM.”

 

Over 250 Canadian news media outlets have closed in last 10 years

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H.G. WATSON | J-Source

[~] Over the last 10 years, the number of media outlets in Canada has dwindled — and not enough new media outlets have sprung up to replace them.

According to data collected by the Local News Research Project, using their crowdsourced Local News Map, over 250 Canadian news outlets have closed from 2008 to Oct. 1, 2018, either outright or through mergers with other media outlets.

“The goal of the map is to provide some basic data on what is happening to local journalism outlets across the country – information we’ve never had before,” said April Lindgren, lead investigator of the Local News Research Project and professor at Ryerson University’s School of Journalism, in an email to J-Source. “And of course the data points to trends. One trend is that local news outlets are shutting down at a much greater pace than new ones are appearing.”

Read the whole article at J-Source.ca >>>

Media union condemns attempted intimidation of VICE journalists

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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

L.A. Times Workers Vote Overwhelmingly for Union

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Source: newsguild.org/

Jan. 19, 2018 – The results are in: Newsroom employees at the Los Angeles Times voted 248-44 to join The NewsGuild-CWA, ending 136 years of unfettered rule by management. Those voting in favor of the union captured 85 percent of the vote.

Reporters, copy editors, graphic artists and photographers who organized the union drive were elated.

“Today we made history,” they wrote in a letter to their co-workers. “For the first time since the Los Angeles Times printed its inaugural edition in 1881, our journalists have voted to form a union.

“We’ve long been a proud voice for our readers. Finally, we can be a proud voice for ourselves. Anyone familiar with the history of The Times— and of Los Angeles itself— knows the significance of what we’ve just accomplished.”

Jon Schleuss, a graphics and data reporter who was on the union Organizing Committee, said the vote sends a message to Tronc, the paper’s owner: “You have to work with us and you have to begin working with us today.”

‘My Dream’

The union drive was initiated by newsroom employees, who spent months talking with their co-workers to build support for the union. By the time on-site voting took place on Jan. 4, the newsroom was awash with pro-union signs and the group’s Twitter feed was filled with workers explaining why they were voting “yes.”

“My dream was to work here since middle school. I wanted my communities — Latinos, youths and LGBTQ — reflected in our coverage. That’s why I’m voting today @latguild. Let’s continue to open doors for others,” tweeted digital editor Brian De Los Santos.

“After 136 years of giving a voice to others, it’s time Los Angeles Times journalists had a voice of their own,” wrote Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Bettina Boxall.

Changing Landscape

The workers’ victory is part of a national trend, said NewsGuild President Bernie Lunzer. “The media landscape is changing, with the demands of private profiteers pushing against the hallowed traditions of quality journalism.

“The journalists of the L.A. Times are taking control of their own future,” he said.

Columnist Steve Lopez said, “Maybe unions can’t save the news biz. But they can raise the voices of those who can — journalists. Having written for decades about economic justice, I’m with Los Angeles Times Guild colleagues committed to a mission I share at a newspaper I love.”

Moving Quickly

The Guild is moving quickly to tap into the enthusiasm of the campaign. “We encourage everyone to get involved, even if you were not a part of the union election campaign,” the Organizing Committee’s letter said. “The union we’ve created belongs to everyone. There is no better time to get involved.”

Organizers will soon seek volunteers for a committee to negotiate a first-ever collective bargaining agreement with L.A. Times management. Workers are seeking improved pay, better benefits, pay equity for women and people of color, greater diversity and better working conditions.

More about the decision to vote yes: 

Business reporter Geoffrey Mohan tweeted, “After three decades in journalism, I won’t stand by while outside, nouveau investors try to turn local journalism into a sweatshop. I support @latguild.”

“There’s a lot of emphasis on our ‘independence’ in [management’s] anti-union email. But @latguild isn’t a third party. It’s us, the journalists of the L.A. Times. We’re standing up for each other, together,” tweeted copy editor Kristina Bui.

“When I moved to LA I was shocked at the low morale and high turnover. I was also shocked at how dependent we are on interns, trainees, and contractors who are underpaid, underappreciated and overworked. The ONLY people who are addressing this is @latguild,” wrote designer Bakr Saliq.

“I’m voting YES for the #latguild in tomorrow’s historic election at the L.A. Times to preserve a great institution’s ethical standards and quality of journalism. Any erosion of them and the paper is doomed, including financially,” said investigative reporter Paul Pringle.

“I love the Los Angeles Times, and I want to make it better,” transportation reporter Laura Nelson said. “Big breaking news stories and investigations are proof that we’re at our best when we collaborate. We should stand together to fight for our workplace, too.”

“Our newspaper has no problem pointing out inequalities outside our building,” said reporter Jaweed Kaleem, who covers race and justice. “It’s time to seriously address them inside — locking in pay, benefits and editorial independence.”

Union fights firing of CBC political reporter over book deal

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Source: cwacanada.ca

CWA Canada and its largest Local are going to bat for member Richard Zussman, who was fired by the CBC for allegedly breaching rules governing activities outside of work.

The Canadian Media Guild (CMG ), which represents thousands of employees at the public broadcaster, has taken the case to arbitration and is seeking a ruling from labour mediator Vince Ready.

Zussman, 34, who was the B.C. provincial affairs reporter, based in Victoria, has co-authored a book about the defeat of Christy Clark’s Liberal government and the rise to power of NDP Premier John Horgan. It is to be published this spring.

CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson said in a statement that Zussman’s employment “was not terminated simply for co-authoring a book.”

He said the decision was “based on the findings of a third-party investigation,” which determined that the reporter had violated CBC’s code of conduct, conflict-of-interest rules and the collective agreement with the CMG.

CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon called it a “baffling overreaction by CBC management.”

“Why on Earth would they fire a political journalist for writing a book about politics?” O’Hanlon asked. “They’ve somehow managed the perplexing feat of turning good press into bad press.”

“The union remains solidly behind Richard Zussman and we will continue to devote all resources necessary to protect our members from disproportionate or arbitrary discipline.”

The CMG, noting that members had expressed concern about the situation and “possible overreach by management,” said the collective agreement permits members who work at the CBC to “engage in activities, such as voluntary and/or paid work outside their hours of work …

“There are some restrictions, namely that employees may not work with the competition; that they may not, without permission, exploit their connection with the CBC; and that they cannot take part in activities that will adversely affect their work. Additionally, recognized on-air personnel must discuss any outside activities before engaging in them.”

The CMG said management had, in January 2015, instituted a blanket policy prohibiting all paid outside appearances by on-air journalists. The guild has grieved that policy and plans to pursue the issue during bargaining in 2018.

Zussman, a videojournalist who had previously worked for CityTV in Edmonton and Sun News Network in Vancouver, is described by other journalists as a hard-working and popular legislative reporter. He co-wrote the book about B.C. politics with Vancouver Sun reporter Rob Shaw.

Premier Horgan, in an exclusive interview with Mike Smyth, a columnist with The Province, said the firing of Zussman earlier this month was “outrageous. The guy’s a professional and he’s being treated very, very poorly by an organization that clearly doesn’t understand his value to them.

“They’re burning a very useful asset. As a business decision, it’s a bad one.”

Smyth reported that he was told “Zussman’s sin is that he did not secure proper written approvals from senior CBC management to co-write the book.”

Horgan told Smyth that “For the CBC to come to a conclusion that working as a political reporter on the political story of the year, if not the decade, in British Columbia was somehow diminishing the role of the CBC is ridiculous.

“To be punished for that just staggers me. I don’t understand it.”

Cox: Liberals refuse to ensure media can continue to gather local news

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Source: calgaryherald.com

Read entire story here

 

By Bob Cox

The federal Liberal government has ignored its own members of Parliament – again.

Anyone following the furor over proposed changes to small business taxes won’t be surprised by this. But it was disappointing nonetheless to see how Liberal cabinet ministers responded this week to a report done on local news by the House of Commons committee on Canadian heritage.

MPs on the committee spent 15 months studying what is happening in the rapidly changing news media landscape. They met 44 times and heard from 131 witnesses. Liberals and New Democrats issued a majority report in June that said steps must be taken to help news media navigate this tumultuous period.

Their conclusion: “Given the media’s importance as a reflection of Canada’s diversity and a pillar of our democracy, the government of Canada must implement the necessary measures to support the existence of a free and independent media and local news reporting.”

The government is required to respond to such reports. This week, the response came from Heritage Minister Melanie Joly, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains and Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

With nice words and platitudes, they politely rejected pretty much everything that the heritage committee recommended. They said the federal government is already doing lots to help local news media survive, innovate and transform.

This is laughable……

Read entire story here

‘Hell freezes over’: National Post staff announce union drive at Postmedia’s flagship paper

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Source:globalnews.ca

Editorial staff at the National Post, the flagship publication of Canada’s largest newspaper company, announced Wednesday that they are beginning a union drive with CWA Canada. The paper’s beleaguered parent company Postmedia, which has suffered steep revenue declines affecting the entire print media industry, offered buyouts last week, just months after completing a company-wide salary cost reduction of twenty per cent.

 

To read entire story follow this link

Any funding for newspapers must go to journalism, not executive bonuses

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Source: https://cwacanada.ca/

OTTAWA  – CWA Canada, the country’s only all-media union, is calling on the federal government to ensure that any subsidies for newspapers go to creating journalism jobs, not to executive bonuses or hedge fund lenders.

Today, News Media Canada, which represents the country’s print media industry, released a proposal calling for the creation of a government-financed Canadian Journalism Fund. It recommends a subsidy of 35 cents to newspapers and digital media companies for every dollar spent on journalism.

CWA Canada supports aid for the news media industry but cautions that there must be a mechanism to ensure that any subsidy creates jobs and improves journalism.

“Under the current proposal, there is nothing to stop companies like Postmedia from taking millions of dollars in taxpayer money and not creating a single job,” CWA Canada President Martin O’Hanlon said.

“We must ensure that any government subsidies go toward creating front-line journalism jobs and increasing quality civic journalism. They must not be used for executive bonuses, to feed hedge fund lenders, or to outsource jobs overseas.”

Postmedia, which has cut over 3,000 jobs in the last decade, paid CEO Paul Godfrey and other top executives $2.3 million in “retention” bonuses last year.

“Postmedia has been hurt by its self-created debt and hedge fund ownership as much as by declining print ad revenues and should not get taxpayer money unless it spends that money on journalism,” O’Hanlon said.

CWA Canada represents about 6,000 media workers at companies across the country, including the CBC, The Canadian Press, VICE Canada, Thomson Reuters, and many Postmedia publications.

For more information, contact:
Martin O’Hanlon
President, CWA Canada
(613) 867-5090
mohanlon@cwa-scacanada.ca

Media unions, allies welcome CBC governance reform

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Source:https://cwacanada.ca/

Many years of advocating for a CBC board of directors that’s free of partisan political appointments has paid off for CWA Canada’s largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) and its allies.

Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly announced today the creation of an independent advisory committee, whose members are experts drawn from the media industry, to provide a list of qualified candidates the government can consider to fill vacant positions.

The CMG, which represents most English-language staff at the public broadcaster, commended Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for keeping his election promise to ensure that the board and president will be chosen independently.

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting have run numerous campaigns aimed at preserving the CBC, increasing its funding and getting politics out of its governance. Friends has occasionally joined forces with the CMG and other unions or advocacy groups to bring about changes at the CBC.

CMG noted in a statement that it has “also called for a board that includes employee representatives chosen by CBC’s unions. Ensuring employee representation on boards is a practice that has proven invaluable in other sectors and other countries.

“As journalists and media workers, we have a good sense of what is required to do our jobs well. We know that unrelenting layoffs, smaller newsrooms, and diminished resources have taken their toll. Inevitably, the cuts have an impact not only on our working conditions, but also on what we can offer our audiences. Still, we bring our passion and skill to work and we get the job done. That commitment is also reflected in the work that we do every day in communities all across Canada and around the world.”

During the 2015 federal election, the CMG ran its Champion Public Broadcasting campaign in which it made five proposals and urged their adoption by the national political parties.

NewsGuild-CWA Condemns Arrest of WV Reporter

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This is my job. This is what I’m supposed to do.’

Source http://www.newsguild.org/

Updated May 19, 2017  to include letters of protest.

May 10, 2017 – “The NewsGuild-CWA condemns the arrest of radio reporter Dan Heyman on May 9, 2017,” said President Bernie Lunzer. “This is a chilling attack on the right to report. Every journalist across the country should take notice.”

The arrest is part of a pattern of escalating attacks on the media since the Trump administration took office, Lunzer said, which the union is determined to fight.

“In situations like this, the NewsGuild-CWA stands ready to assist,” he said. The organization is sending letters of protest to the West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, the West Virginia Capitol Police and the Secret Service, Lunzer said, and is joining with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and and other news media associations in a letter to the West Virginia Capitol Police.

Heyman’s crime? The reporter for Public News Service persisted in asking Health & Human Services Secretary Tom Price about the Republican health care bill as Price walked through the West Virginia capitol. Price and Kellyanne Conway, Special Counsel to President Trump, were in Charleston to meet with local and state officials and representatives of addiction treatment groups about the opioid crisis in the state, according to the Associated Press.

Watch the video of Heyman’s news conference after his release.

Heyman repeatedly asked Price whether domestic violence would be considered a pre-existing condition under the health care bill, which passed the House on May 4. “In some cases, before the Affordable Care Act, it was a pre-existing condition,” he said, and women who suffered domestic violence were denied coverage.

“This is my job. This is what I’m supposed to do,” Heyman said immediately after his release on $5,000 bail. “I’m supposed to find out if someone is going to be affected by this healthcare law… I think it’s a question that deserves to be answered. I think it’s my job to ask questions and I think it’s my job to try to get answers.”

Heyman said he was recording audio on his phone, which he reached out toward Price, past his staffers, as he walked down the hall. He asked Price the question repeatedly but Price did not answer.

Heyman said he told police officers he was a reporter at the time of the arrest. He was wearing his press credentials over a shirt bearing the Public News Service’s insignia.

He said he thought state police decided he was being “too persistent” in trying to do his job. Heyman was charged with “willful disruption of state government processes.” But he says, “no one who identified themselves as a peace office of any kind – until I was arrested – told me I should not be where I was,” Heyman told reporters.

The West Virginia ACLU and numerous other organizations immediately denounced the arrest. “Today was a dark day for democracy,” the ACLU of West Virginia said. “But the rule of law will prevail. The First Amendment will prevail.”

“This is a highly unusual case,” Heyman’s attorney, Tim DiPiero, said. “I’ve never had a client get arrested for talking too loud or anything similar to that.”

Heyman has been a reporter for about 30 years, with his work appearing in the New York Times, NPR and other national news outlets, he said. He has worked for Public News Service, which provides content to media outlets and publishes its own stories, since 2009.

#Right2Report
#PressFreedom