Readers lose out on the truth because of Postmedia job cuts: CAJ

OTTAWA, Jan. 20, 2016 /CNW/ - Postmedia may have forgotten that each reporting job it cuts means one less truth that won't be told in Canada. But, starting today, the Canadian Association of Journalists will be making sure the company and its readers will be reminded of the fact.

Yesterday, Postmedia laid off 90 journalists at newsrooms in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Windsor, Ont., Toronto and Ottawa.

The list of those cuts includes David Alter, Laura Booth, Jessica Brisson, Ian Busby, Stephanie Coombs, Ryan Cormier, Matt Day, Colleen De Neve, Dave Dormer, Danielle Dube, Margo Goodhand, Con Griwkowsky, Lorraine Hjalte, Chris Hofley, George Johnson, Eric Koreen, Ian Kucerak, Corey Larocque, Julia Lipscombe, John MacKinnon, Bill Mah, Matt McClure, Kaitlyn McGrath, Codie McLachlan, Bryan Passifiume, Jason van Rassel, Gwendolyn Richards, Keaton Robbins, Tony Spears, Randy Sportak, Mike Sutherland-Shaw, Shelley Wallis, John K. White, Don Wilcox, Brent Wittmeier, Alexandra Zabjek, and 53 others.

Many of them file at least one story per day.

As The Globe and Mail's Selena Ross pointed out on Twitter, that amounts to thousands of stories a year that won't be written — and, as Ross added, readers simply won't know what they're missing because readers "don't know what they don't know."

"Cuts of any magnitude, in any newsroom, diminish the public's right to know," says CAJ President Nick Taylor-Vaisey. "Postmedia readers will, without a doubt, be left in the dark more often as a result of these cuts. Full stop."

That's why the Canadian Association of Journalists will be highlighting on Twitter the stories those recently laid-off journalists shared with their readers—something they may never have the opportunity to do again.

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.

www.caj.ca | www.facebook.com/CdnAssocJournalists | www.twitter.com/CAJ

SOURCE Canadian Association of Journalists

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