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CanWest
Global Courage & Consequences
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| Lawrence
Martin |
July 2001: Southam News national
affairs columnist Lawrence Martin, a persistent critic of
Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien (long-time friend
of Izzy Asper), is fired. (Details: CanWest Chronicle)
In the absence of any public explanation, Frank
magazine leapt in with its take on what had happened: "(Martin's)
'Shawinigate' roasting of Crouton triggered David Asper’s
hysterical defence of the prime minister* and
venom from Crouton shinegirl Francie Ducros. In reply, Martin
wrote a column describing Ducros as a spinmaster in blunderland,
serving as the PM's “attack-trained sparrow.” This
was too much for Asper’s corporate mouthpiece Gord
Fisher and, per Asper’s orders, he had the column killed."
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| Salam Elmenyawi |
August 2001: Salam Elmenyawi,
chairman of the Muslim Council of Montreal, is informed that
The Montreal Gazette’s board of editorial contributors,
to which he belonged, is being disbanded. He is told, however,
that he would be welcome to contribute several articles a
year.
December 2001: In a Globe
and Mail interview, Elmenyawi says his recent letter to the
Gazette, in which he proposed writing about the new anti-terrorist
bill, had gone unanswered.
"I don't expect I'll be writing anything
for the Gazette anymore,' he tells the Globe. "I suspect
the Muslim approach and point of view is no longer welcome."
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| Michael
Goldbloom |
September 2001: Michael Goldbloom,
former labour lawyer and publisher of The Montreal Gazette
since 1994, quits, cryptically citing differences with CanWest
over the direction the chain is taking.
March 5, 2004: Goldbloom,
who landed at the Toronto Star in July 2003 and became deputy
publisher, is named publisher of Canada's largest daily newspaper
and major rival of CanWest-owned National Post.
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| Peggy Curran |
November 2001: Peggy
Curran, TV critic at The Montreal Gazette, writes about a CBC
documentary on the treatment of journalists in Israel's occupied
territories. Her column is first held, then a rewrite is ordered.
Curran complies, the amended column runs, but she quits her
TV-critic position and takes a leave of absence. |
| Gazette
77 |
December 2001: Journalists
at The Montreal Gazette withhold bylines and issue an open
letter denouncing CanWest's decree that "national
editorials" will now appear regularly in its major
Canadian dailies. The letter, which eventually bore the signatures
of 77 journalists and staff at the Gazette, is published
on a web site, as well as in Toronto and Montreal (French-language)
newspapers. CanWest-owned media ignore the story.
The journalists are ordered to shut down the
web site and a management issues a gag order. It warns employees
they risk disciplinary action, up to and including firing,
for going public with their grievances about CanWest Global.
CanWest subsequently extends gag order to all
of its print and broadcast newsrooms in Canada.
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William Marsden
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May 2002: Montreal Gazette
investigative reporter William Marsden receives an official
Warning from management after he participates in a public
debate about media concentration in Canada. The Warning cites
the Gazette and CanWest gag orders.
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Stephen Kimber
Stephanie Domet
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January 2002: Journalism
professor Stephen
Kimber quits his 20-year relationship with the Halifax
Daily News, after management spikes a column in which he
was critical of CanWest policies. Colleague Stephanie Domet,
whose column defending Kimber is also spiked, follows suit.
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Bill Turpin
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April 2002: Citing philosophical conflicts
with the new owners of the Halifax Daily News, the editor
of 16 years resigns. The last straw was in January, when
Turpin was ordered by his Winnipeg bosses to spike a column
by Stephen Kimber that was critical of CanWest policies.
CanWest editor-in-chief Murdoch Davis later said the decision
to spike the column was made by Turpin on his own authority.
In an interview with hour.ca magazine, Turpin said that he
had consulted with Davis, who warned him that publishing
the Kimber column would put his career at risk. Turpin told
the online magazine he regretted and was sorry for having
made "the wrong decision" (to spike the Kimber
column, as ordered).
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| Doug Cuthand |
January 2002: Saskatchewan-based
columnist Doug
Cuthand, who has been writing for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix
and Regina Leader-Post for more than 10 years, has a column
spiked by editors who deemed it "historically inaccurate." The
well-known aboriginal journalist had compared the Canadian
Indian quest for nationhood with that of the Palestinians.
Cuthand says he was told unofficially that his column was too "anti-Israel." |
| Regina
Leader-Post 10 |
March 2002: Ten journalists
are either reprimanded or suspended for withdrawing bylines
to protest
censorship of an article on Toronto Star columnist Haroon
Siddiqui's speech at the University of Regina, in which he
was critical of earlier censorship at CanWest newspapers.
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| Russell
Mills |
June 2002: Russell Mills,
publisher of The Ottawa Citizen since 1986, is fired by
David Asper after the newspaper runs a series of articles
criticizing Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and an editorial
calling on him to resign. (Mills sues for wrongful dismissal,
settling for an undisclosed sum.) His replacement at the
Citizen carries the title of "general manager."
Leonard Asper, in an interview with
Peter Mansbridge on CBC's The National, insists Mills
was fired for being insubordinate. |
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