CAJ disappointed over cuts at the Toronto Star

OTTAWA, Nov. 18, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is disappointed to hear the Toronto Star has chosen to cut 72 positions from its ranks.

The cuts were announced on Nov. 14 by publisher John Cruickshank. Those affected include employees in the advertising sales, finance, pre-press and layout whose tasks are being consolidated outside of the Star, and layoffs of editorial assistants in the newsroom.

The announcement indicated some of the jobs and tasks are being outsourced to TorStar subsidiaries. The exact number of positions affected may change as the employee union may yet present alternatives to management that achieve the same reductions in costs.

"Job cuts at the Star and other media organizations - even those not directly affecting journalists - can impact the quality of the content these media are pushing out to their audiences," CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said. "The CAJ understands many media organizations are profit-driven businesses that cannot continue to sustain the impact of shifting revenue. We are concerned that ongoing cuts in the sector will reach a point - if they haven't already - where quality suffers to the extent it starts to impact the size of the audience."

With this latest announcement, Canada's media companies have cut over 1,000 jobs across their operations in the past year. This tally is based on the publicly announced cuts at media companies and doesn't include any unannounced losses.

The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing approximately 600 members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide high-quality professional development for its members and public-interest advocacy.

SOURCE: Canadian Association of Journalists

Hugo Rodrigues, CAJ president - 519-756-2020 ext. 2226, 519-535-8680, [email protected]

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