Gazette Journalists Can Withhold Bylines 'As They See Fit,' Quebec Arbitrator Rules
27 October 2003 - 8:05PM
PR Newswire (US)
Gazette Journalists Can Withhold Bylines 'As They See Fit,' Quebec
Arbitrator Rules MONTREAL, Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- In a landmark
decision, a Quebec labour tribunal has restored voice -- and a
right of protest -- stripped from staff at The Gazette in Montreal
by management decree on Dec. 7, 2001, as turmoil peaked over the
now largely discredited "national editorial" policy. Reporters,
photographers, artists and others at The Gazette -- not local
management or Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications Corp. --
have the absolute right to control use of their bylines and credit
lines on stories, photos and other works. These journalists "have
the right to withhold their byline as they see fit," Arbitrator
Jean-Pierre Lussier ruled, to protest Gazette or CanWest Global
policies or for any other reasons. They can exercise this right
individually or as a group: "If an employee requests that a byline
be withheld, it is withheld. That's all there is to it," the
Arbitrator declared. The decision is immediate and has the force of
law. The Gazette violated its obligations to staff under its
collective agreement with the Montreal Newspaper Guild when the
management tried to quell dissent that flared in early December
2001 against the imposition of "national editorials" by CanWest
Global's owners in Winnipeg, the Arbitrator ruled. The Montreal
Guild represents 297 employees at The Gazette, including 159 in the
newsroom. CanWest Global had planned to run identical "national
editorials," as often as three times a week, in more than a dozen
of Canada's largest newspapers which it acquired with a
$3.2-billion takeover of the Southam newspaper empire. The new
owners' drive to centralize opinion was condemned by journalists as
an unprecedented attempt to reduce the breadth of public debate and
serve narrow corporate interests. In protest, dozens of journalists
withdrew their bylines from Gazette stories for two successive
daily editions in early December 2001. Peter Stockland,
Editor-in-Chief at The Gazette, then ordered all staff in the
Montreal Guild's Editorial bargaining unit to restore their bylines
immediately. Contending that Stockland's action was illegal, the
Montreal Guild launched an immediate grievance under the Employee
Integrity section of the collective agreement. The Arbitrator has
now upheld that grievance in full. The Guild contract "grants the
employee an absolute right" to withdraw bylines and credit lines,
the Arbitrator declared in an 18-page, French- language ruling
following six days of hearings. Contractual provisions covering
bylines have been in effect at The Gazette since 1977. For
newspaper stories other than analyses, columns and opinion pieces,
The Gazette "has the obligation to respect the journalists' choice
where they request to withhold their byline," he wrote, and thus an
obligation not to threaten or impose disciplinary actions. The
Arbitrator accepted the Guild's argument that "the byline is a
reflection of the reporter's personality and belongs to him as
surely as the color of his eyes and other personal features. It
follows that what he does with his name is his business." "The
power, scope and protection offered by our byline clauses has never
been so emphatically affirmed by any Arbitrator anywhere," said
Arnold Amber, Director of TNG Canada/CWA, which is one of Canada's
largest media-industry unions and represents 8,500 members across
the country. This ruling "is a magnificent victory for all who
value public debate and respect reasoned dissent in a civilized
society," said Jan Ravensbergen, First Vice-President of the
Montreal Guild. "We are confident the Arbitrator 's ruling
effectively shields our members from ownership retribution for
protest against CanWest Global policies. This is of particular
importance now that the Senate of Canada has launched an in-depth
examination of media ownership and control issues." The full texts
of the Lussier decision, both in the original French and with the
English translation, will be posted shortly at
http://www.tngcanada.org/ and http://www.newsguild.org/. The
mission of The Newspaper Guild-CWA is to ensure "constant honesty
in news, editorials, advertising, and business practice" and our
constitution obligates officers to "raise the standards of
journalism and ethics of the industry." DATASOURCE: The Newspaper
Guild-CWA CONTACT: Jan Ravensbergen, First Vice-President of the
Montreal Newspaper Guild, +1-514-843-6621, ; or Arnold Amber,
Director of The Newspaper Guild Canada-Communications Workers of
America, +1-416-205-7847, Web site: http://www.cwa-union.org/
http://www.tngcanada.org/ http://www.newsguild.org/
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