Working in the media
can be rewarding, fun and these days dangerous.
Twenty years of service to
a broadcaster or publisher and WHAM! You are out the door -- ownership
squeezing labour for fatter profits. That's why union density is so high in our
industry -- we have ruthless employers.
For many Canadians,
the word media now has in front of it “corporate,” “corporate media,”
“corporate journalism”. Our craft is described by those for whom we
work - large corporations with enormous reach and power, but little commitment
to the information and cultural requirements of our country.
CEP is Canada's
largest media union. We represent men and women in all fields of the media
landscape. We have raised our voice in defense of individuals at the workplace,
stood strong against the dangerous pyramiding of media ownership. We have
appeared in front of parliamentary committees and regulatory hearings. Recent CRTC submissions
We have demonstrated
and we have walked the line. We will continue to do all these things. And
while we have met these challenges, interestingly enough, it has always been
difficult to get our message into the media, I describe this as
the gagging of the media, by the media, for the media. And we now have a
new challenge -- foreign ownership. The stakes are high. We expect the gagging
to become more aggressive.
The Harper
government is hell bent on selling off our media to foreign interests. Some
media corporations already seem to be positioning themselves for the
eventuality. But there is no reason to do this. Our media outlets are healthy
and profitable under the direction and control of Canadians. We need to keep it
that way.
In the coming
months, CEP along with others will begin a campaign to stop - is treachery
too strong a word, no, I don't think so - this treachery, this sell-out of our
cultural sovereignty. The campaign will have many facets but the target is
Stephen Harper's government. Make no mistake we know the engineer
of this steamroller.
Please keep an eye
on this space for details.
In the meantime, we
will be posting news of other issues and campaigns regarding the difficult
challenges we face in the corporate media. Most recently of course, is the
devastating announcement by CanWest regarding the erosion of local programming
across the country, and the loss of jobs for many of our members who had
devoted their careers to this uncaring broadcaster. Stay tuned.
Peter Murdoch
Vice-President, Media
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