Canada loses more valuable storytellers: CAJ

OTTAWA, Nov. 7, 2015 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists has written countless press releases in the wake of job cuts at newsrooms across Canada. We continue to watch as journalists and their audiences pay the price when publishers struggle to reconcile years-old industry challenges with their bottom line.

The latest cuts come at Bell Media, where the union representing journalists says 380 employees will be affected in Toronto and Montreal, including 290 from editorial and production operations. Stephane Giroux, a Montreal-based CTV legal affairs reporter, tweeted that the cuts affect all Bell-owned media properties. The company owns CTV, CP24, Business News Network, TSN, RDS, and 106 licensed radio stations.

"We feel for every journalist who loses a job, and every journalist forced to do more with less in a smaller newsroom," said CAJ President Nick Taylor-Vaisey. "The longer media owners struggle, the leaner our newsrooms become. Journalists lose, and so do their readers, listeners, and viewers."

The CAJ is repeating calls for media owners to only cut news operations as a last resort. "Every time a newsroom loses a journalist, its audiences lose a fair and balanced voice," said Taylor-Vaisey. "The hard-working journalists who remain save the day. But media owners shouldn't rely on a strategy that pushes their newsrooms to a breaking point."

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

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SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists

Nick Taylor-Vaisey, CAJ president, 647-968-2393, [email protected]