Column: Canadian journalists forced to dance to Izzy Asper’s tune

By Julie Gauthier

Canadians got a nasty gift last Christmas from Izzy Asper. A national editorial policy put in place by one of Canada’s media giants threatens democracy and will lead to a loss of diversity within smaller communities.

The monopoly of Canadian news by these companies also compromises freedom of the press.

CanWest Global is a company with substantial holdings in newspapers, television and the Internet. It is responsible for providing Canadians with much of their news on a daily basis, which makes them a primary information source. The concern with a media monopoly, like CanWest, is that Canadians will no longer get the choice on what news they get, because the information will be provided by one company.

Izzy Asper, the head of CanWest Global, made the decision to have one editorial per week, written in the company’s Winnipeg headquarters, appear in fourteen national daily newspapers.

The original plan was to have three editorials appear weekly, but due to outrage by journalists, Asper conceded to only one.

Reporters are now forced to write about issues approved by CanWest and cannot write about their own beliefs.

A main criticism with the editorials is the loss of diversity within the smaller communities. Many individuals in these regions depend on local coverage as their primary source of news, events and issues.

While the national editorials will highlight issues of national importance, the smaller communities will be denied their local and unique take on national affairs.

The Canadian Association of Journalists has been lobbying for a Parliamentary inquiry into the concentration of news in Canada since January, specifically Asper’s policies, calling it a threat to journalism.

Investigations into media monopolies have had very little impact. Two major inquiries, one headed by Liberal Keith Davey in 1969 and one by Tom Kent (also a Liberal) 10 years later, examined Canadian media ownership and recommended ways to diversify this ownership.

Neither resulted in any noticeable improvements.

Asper, however, is confident about his policy. He publicly responded to the criticism and said, “If you don’t like working with us, exercise your freedom to work elsewhere.”

Asper is also a well-known Liberal, and the fear is that the editorials will support Liberal policies. This is especially relevant to Western communities where the Reform Party is much more popular, and Liberal ideology is not widely regarded.

But, Asper disagreed and said,

“We firmly disagree that on some major issues, our readers will welcome a national point of view and not merely a local or parochial perspective.”

The policy sparked anger among Canadian journalists. Many reporters feel that they have a first and foremost responsibility to the audience, not to act as the voice for a corporation.

Reporters from the Montreal Gazette protested by removing their bylines from stories for two days and Stephen Kimber, who worked for the Halifax Daily News for 15 years, resigned after the paper refused to print a critical article on the Asper family.

These examples clearly show the power Asper has over his media holdings.

If Asper’s goal is to monopolize the Canadian press, he is well on his way. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of independence for journalists and democracy for individuals. Christmas is less than 9 months away and Canadians must surely be wondering what other surprises Asper has up his sleeve for this year’s holiday season.