October 5, 2021 — A strong, diverse media is vital for a well-informed, democratic society. While criticism is an integral part of journalism and democracy, there can be no tolerance for hate and harassment of journalists or for incitement of attacks on journalists for doing their jobs. That these attacks inordinately target women and racialized journalists speaks to the motivation of the people engaging in this behaviour.
We are united in supporting our journalists and newsrooms against those who seek to silence their stories and threaten their safety. Together, we will continue to advocate for industry-wide responses to end this behaviour.
- APTN
- Bell Media
- Brunswick News
- Canada’s National Observer
- Canadaland
- Canadian Association of Black Journalists
- The Canadian Association of Journalists
- The Canadian Journalism Foundation
- The Canadian Press
- CBC/Radio-Canada
- Corus Entertainment
- CWA Canada
- The Discourse
- La Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec
- The Globe and Mail
- Hebdos Québec
- IndigiNews
- Maclean’s
- The Narwhal
- National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada
- News Media Canada / Médias d’Info Canada
- Pattison Media
- PressProgress
- Postmedia
- La Presse
- La Presse canadienne
- Rogers Sports & Media
- RTDNA Canada
- Quebecor
- Torstar
- TVO
- The Tyee
- Unifor
- The Walrus
- The Weather Network / MétéoMédia
- West End Phoenix
- World Press Freedom Canada / Liberté de la presse Canada
Updates and corrections | Corrections policy
This article has been updated to include additional signatories.
October 5th 2021
Canada's National Observer
Comments
This is all fine as far as it goes. In fact, one would hope that the media would support the CRTC imposing community standards on social media such as Facebook and Twitter and holding them accountable for harassment and threats posted on their sites.
However it is disconcerting that this united stand has been issued at exactly the time when legitimate criticisms of the media are being posted on Twitter under the hashtag #CdnMediaFailed with regard to their outrageous, orchestrated reaction to the Prime Minister's recent visit to Tofino. The media should not be immune to criticism and are well advised to listen to their audience and not just preach. The timing of the above announcement gives the impression that, in addition to a justifiable objection to harassment, it is also a deflection of attention away from the media's own poor behavior.