Approximately 200 delegates representing more than 36,000 newspaper and other media workers across North America voted unanimously in favour of a document entitled "The Public Trust." It outlines four policies that would restore traditional journalistic norms and practices to Canada's largest newspaper chain.

For the past two months CanWest has been embroiled in a conflict with many segments of the journalistic community across Canada as well as leaders of community opinion who argue that the imposition of "national" editorials, written under the direction of the company's head office for the chain's 14 major newspapers, limit diversity of opinion, ignore regional sensitivities, and are a potential threat to freedom of expression. As well, a number of columnists have either quit the chain or made public that some of their columns were not printed because of the views they expressed.

Here is the text of the resolution passed by The Newspaper Guild Conference:

The Public Trust

An informed citizenry is the cornerstone of a democratic society.

Recognizing this, the 2002 Sector Conference of The Newspaper Guild-CWA calls on CanWest Global Communications Corp., the largest player in the Canadian media industry, to formally and fully commit itself to the following principles:

• That each newspaper within its chain of holdings retain full autonomy in the choice and formulation of its editorial opinions, specifically those expressed on its editorial pages;
  
• That columnists at all newspapers within that chain retain the freedom to express their opinions fully and without prior restraint, especially by CanWest Global's corporate headquarters. Editing of columns should take place within the newspaper of origin, and be limited to issues of factual accuracy, grammar and style — not the opinions that a columnist puts forward;
  
• That the appropriate editors at each newspaper rely on their news judgment in making story and photo assignments, story and photo selections, and relative placement of layout elements, not on the dictates of CanWest Global;
  
• That the primary and overriding responsibility of any journalist, and of any journalistic enterprise, is to the reader, listener or viewer. All have a right to full and accurate reporting of news within their community, country and world and to a range of viewpoints that will stimulate — not stifle — the healthy debate that is the foundation of democratic choice.

The rigorous adherence to these principles by both journalists and management is not only a public trust, but a precondition for the credibility that is any media outlet's core asset and the only reliable foundation for its financial success.

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