A short thread about #cdnmedia the role of journalism (as I see it) and partisanship in Canada. #cdnpoli
Here we have a prominent Ottawa journalist denouncing his union head for taking an anti-Conservative position in the upcoming federal election.
I get it, and I understand it. The media - and "journalists" in particular - have an important role to play in a free and democratic society, particularly in the lead up to an election. Their role is to inform the public.
Ideally, they should be cutting through political rhetoric and party spin, and providing context, so that voters can make their own judgements.
On the other hand, I also understand and empathize with Unifor's position.
Conservative govts have a long history of being against unions, of trying to halt or roll back workers' rights and protections. Ford and Kenney provide recent concrete examples.
Moreover, Unifor represents about 315,000 workers across multiple sectors. So while their 12,000 media members may not like the position they're taking in this election, doesn't Unifor have a responsibility to represent their other 303,000 members?
This brings me to my next point. If journalists feel the need to speak out now to state categorically that their union's position against the CPC is jeopardizing their credibility, why didn't they also speak out when their ownership position itself against the Liberals?
Personally, I'm developing quite a bit of distrust towards media that uses misleading headlines like this
Or inflammatory language without context
And then we have things like *this*
As I said earlier in this thread, I truly believe that media has an important role and I understand why they would want call out their union for playing partisan politics BUT .... where's the balance? Context matters & in many ways, journas have tarnished their own reputations.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.