Opinion

The Gazette Intifada

When reporters at Montreal's Gazette learned of the conditions placed on their right to speak out, they continued to vent their anger. Due to the fear of being reprimanded, they've chosen to vent their frustration — but anonymously

We've seen the ugly face of censorship at the Gazette and, in case you're
wondering, the face looks an awful lot like Izzy Asper's.

Our corporate masters at CanWest Global Communications Corp. have created an atmosphere where we feel we must censor the news and commentary we produce. Now they've gone one step further: by issuing a memo (please see The Last Word) attempting to limit our right to express opinion, dissent or even engage in that most fundamental journalistic pastime, gossip.

Gazette journalists have been "reminded" of an obligation of primary loyalty to our employer. This is legal concept the company has twisted in an attempt to thwart the right to freedom of expression, enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights.

We aren't alone. Joining us in the battle for autonomy are our colleagues at the CBC, discouraged from covering the contract dispute involving the technicians they work with and black-sheep Radio-Canada reporter Normand Lester, suspended for opinions he voiced in a book written on his own time. In this era of rapid media convergence, the need for diverging opinion and unfettered news reporting has never been greater or more under threat.

But let's backtrack. The Gazette has never been a hotbed of activism.
Political leanings runs the spectrum from left to right, with a broad current
of "Where's my pay cheque?" coursing up the middle.

All that changed on December 12, when word filtered down that a "national"
editorial, written at CanWest head office, had landed. CanWest expected all
14 major-market papers to run the editorial and to hew to the party line
laid out in it from that day forth. Goodbye local editorial independence. So
long diversity of opinion.

Word of the this new edict struck a chord in our newsroom because we had
already witnessed disturbing attempts by CanWest to censor. Perhaps the most
notorious example involved our TV critic Peggy Curran. She saw a column
about Newsworld documentary on Palestinian journalists held for a day while
mysterious forces went over the wording and tried to impose changes — without having viewed the tape.

"National" editorials were the last straw. Gazette journalists rose up. Many of them — not "some" as in the CanWest telling — withheld their bylines for
two days. More than 70 of them signed an open letter condemning the move to
national editorials. Head office tried to portray this groundswell as "union
mischief making" and accused us of trying to damage the paper economically.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The concerned individuals who
joined forces are motivated by a profound loyalty to The Gazette and to the
community we serve. We want our paper to be stronger, not weaker.

A Web site was launched and letters of support from across the country began rolling in. Media contacts were alerted. Volunteers did TV, radio and print interviews. The story got out.

All this proved acutely embarrassing to CanWest, which responded in three
ways. Southam News editor-in-chief, Murdoch Davis, was dispatched to put a happy spin on the situation. He used Orwellian terms like "stimulating national debate" to justify the homogenization of Southam's editorial pages.

Next came David Asper, the ideological pitbull of the Asper clan. During a
speech to an Oakville, Ontario, business audience, he went off like a Roman
candle, quoting REM lyrics and tarring Gazette "riff raff", Globe and Mail
readers and NDPers with one brush. Strange bedfellows, indeed.

The hammer came down on a Friday afternoon, when a two-page
"Reminder/advisory to all staff" appeared on newsroom bulletin boards.
In a blatant attempt to intimidate and muzzle dissent, the memo "reminded"
staff of their "obligation of primary loyalty to the employer."

The memo warned of possible suspension, or even firing, for offenders who
reveal confidential information about the company and its owners, or engage
in gossip or speculation. Reporters forbidden to gossip? What's next,
forbidding jazz players to riff?

Casting the net even wider, the memo said employees are prohibited from calling into question the good faith of the proprietor and of attributing ulterior motives to the Aspers. Let's see, Izzy and company have fired an acclaimed national columnist (they deny it was because they didn't like the way he wrote about their friend the prime minister) and have clamped down on news, criticism or commentary that is anything but 100% pro-Israel.

Their motives seem pretty obvious.

The kicker came in the next paragraph, which warned against "producing written, spoken, visual or web material whether as news or commentary, that violates employee obligations of primary loyalty to The Gazette and its proprietors." It was signed by editor-in-chief Peter Stockland and managing editor Ray Brassard. CanWest's lawyers' fingerprints were all over it.

"Wow. I guess that will shut us up," ink-stained elves murmured as they headed out of the building, quarters, calling cards and copies of the memo in hand. What kind of idiot tries to tell reporters what they are allowed to think? Still, the memo has had a chilling effect. The web site was withdrawn, while the newsroom staff pondered their next move. (It resurrected at www.fpjq.org/canwest) A Big Brother mentality descended on Gazette reporters, compelling people to weigh their words and actions more carefully. None of this has reduced our determination (by) one iota.

The contents of the memo were widely reported. Le Devoir translated it and published it on the op-ed page under a joint Stockland-Brassard byline. There was an outpouring of criticism of the Aspers in the English-language media and we received calls and e-mails from other Southam papers who have experienced the same heavy-handed interference from head office.

Some unlikely supporters emerged as well. Pierre Bourgault, noted separatist firebrand, wrote a column in Le Journal de Montreal, urging others to speak up for the muzzled Gazetters.

By attempting to silence their critics, Gazette management and CanWest have kept the story alive and generated even more negative publicity. Letters to the editor continue to pour in.

We hope that the ongoing media attention and widespread condemnation from
readers will spark a call for a Royal Commission on Media Concentration. Canadians inside and outside the Gazette newsroom clearly have a lot to say on the issue.

In the meantime, we are seeking legal opinions, contemplating our options and keeping in contact with the broad base of support we have across the country. The battle for the soul of The Gazette is not over. The Aspers, through their actions, have ensured that it will continue.

Of course, there is still an honorable way out for CanWest. The Aspers can go down in history as the press barons bent on destroying their papers, or they can listen to the people and reserve their stand. That would restore their reputations. It isn't too late.