Marc-François Bernier (PhD)
Chair for research on the Canadian Francophonie in communication, specializes in ethics of journalism (CYR)
Associate Professor Program Coordinator
Journalism Department of Communication University of Ottawa
mbernier@uottawa.ca
By repeating the scenario of the layoff of its journalists and other Employees of the Journal de Montréal, as it did in the Journal de Quebec, Officer of Quebecor proves once again that she is abusing the immense power and unbalanced, that he gave MPs from Quebec.
Since Quebecor has both two major dailies in Quebec, the main private TV network (VAT) and the main cable company (Videotron), it is obvious that this place its executives in a position of unprecedented dominance in the modern history of Quebec media. Rather than negotiate with its employees rather than working to persuade it to change things, rather than accept that the transformations of journalism should be done under the conditions that promote quality journalism, management the ability to impose strategic confrontation and confrontation.
This opens the door wide to abuse of power in a situation where the balance balance of power is broken because employers can make the streets hundreds of workers, journalists and others, without suffering severe economic losses because it can rely on the work of many officers and a crowd of reporters at the work in other media to try to compensate for the absence of its local employees. If Quebecor combines labor disputes, this can be done only through its oligopolistic media obtained with the consent of a majority of MPs from Quebec, all political parties.
abuse of power by Quebecor is also visible in the requests made recently Freelance journalists so that they yield their full copyright, failing which their services would not be retained by certain entities of the conglomerate.
This scenario of abuse of power was anticipated since 2001, when the Parliamentary Committee on media concentration in Quebec. In turn, many representatives of journalists, independent media and some academics had clearly warned the parliamentarians of such risks.
Some wanted the National Assembly limit the concentration and convergence of media, others wanted more that any increase in concentration and convergence is compensated by increased accountability and the establishment of mechanisms aimed precisely to limit the domination of Quebecor facing journalists who can not always defend themselves against such a conglomerate.
In February 2001, speaking before the Parliamentary Commission, j'enjoignais parliamentarians to limit the dominant position of big media conglomerates face of freelance journalists on the one hand, and faced reporters in the newsroom the other. On
freelancers, I submitted that:
"By Moreover, strong economic strength and extent of their powers, employers are also found advantageous position in the face of freelancers, who are all self-employed status most often precarious. In recent years, these self-employed, real entrepreneurs, had come together in a union (Association of Independent Journalists of Quebec - CSN) in an attempt to oppose the powerful publishers who refuse to recognize a basic right author which would extend beyond the first release or first publication. There is no better indication of what awaits other social actors who will rub shoulders with media barons Quebec in the near future or a better test for judging the ethics of capitalist media owners when they are in a position of dominance. The capitalist ethic is often incompatible with the principles of freedom of thought and expression of the democratic ethic when it might be harmful in any way to conduct business or simply when the exercise of this freedom contradicts the employer and its representatives. The government must intervene to help the disadvantaged players in the concentration and convergence, including quickly giving special status to reporters, a status that recognizes their copyrights and the requirement for media leaders to negotiate with representatives of journalists, following the model of the Union of Artists ".
then I recommended to parliament to grant "legal status independent journalists so they can negotiate and get a better balance of power in their dealings with the leaders of news media .
Regarding situations of strikes and lockouts that involve the equilibrium the balance of power between the parties, there also j'enjoignais parliamentarians to take action to prevent the conglomerates can not abuse of excessive domination
" The same imbalance in favor of media owners is presented in their relation with their unionized employees. The ultimate leverage in the balance of power between management and labor is the use of strike or lockout. In a world like that which looks concentrated in Quebec, the right to strike of unionized media will lose its importance significantly since this medium can easily bridge the information gap by sourcing its other newsrooms. It happened at the Calgary Herald, then owned by Conrad Black, says Anthony Westell, a former columnist for the Globe and Mail and former director of the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University ... We must intervene to necessary to protect the balance of power while promoting peace and social .
I recommended then that the "Government of Quebec media leaders obtain a formal commitment that the newsrooms of media groups will not be used to mitigate the effects of a strike or lockout affecting other media. "
MPs from Quebec, some of whom would love to repatriate the federal powers of communication, then had the power to change the rules of the game in Quebec to promote the conditions that promote better quality information through more equity in the balance of power between the leaders of media conglomerates and journalists. They preferred to the indifference and blind faith in the capitalist ethic that has yet significant weaknesses and limitations when interest are vying with public-interest.
French website for analysis, criticism and scientific research on journalistic practices. 
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