(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a CJFE media release: Freedom of Expression for Newspaper Owners – And For Their Employees: CJFE Freedom of expression includes the rights of proprietors to publish what they want in media that they own – and it includes the rights of employees to speak freely, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression […]
(CJFE/IFEX) – The following is a CJFE media release:
Freedom of Expression for Newspaper Owners – And For Their Employees: CJFE
Freedom of expression includes the rights of proprietors to publish what they want in media that they own – and it includes the rights of employees to speak freely, Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) says in a new report.
The 32-page report, Not in the Newsroom: CanWest Global, Chain Editorials and Freedom of Expression in Canada, takes an exhaustive look at the controversy over CanWest Global Communications Corp. and its handling of editorial disputes with its employees and with outside critics.
“Freedom of expression includes the right of proprietors of news organizations to publish what they want in the media they own, without government interference or regulation and without intimidation from any quarter,” the report says.
But CJFE adds that “CanWest Global has failed to show equal respect for the free-expression rights of its own employees” and in fact has “sought to muzzle its employees.”
The report concludes that CanWest Global should:
a. Cancel all disciplinary action against its employees imposed over this issue;
b. Invite columnists no longer writing for its newspapers as a result of the dispute to return to their regular spots, and;
c. Say publicly that its reporters and editors are encouraged to cover journalistic disputes, including internal ones.
CJFE notes that media organizations – among the chief beneficiaries of free expression – have a “special responsibility to ensure that their activities do not weaken respect for free-expression rights in general.”
CJFE also calls on the Federal Government to create an independent inquiry, under the leadership of an eminent Canadian and with input from senior Canadian journalists, to look into the potential impact on free expression of concentration of media ownership.
Not in the Newsroom: CanWest Global, Chain Editorials and Freedom of Expression in Canada is available on-line at www.cjfe.org.
CJFE is an association of journalists, writers, editors, producers and others who work to defend and promote free expression in Canada and around the world.
