For years, government media-relations staff have resorted to a dodge that allows them to evade awkward questions from journalists. “For that information, you’ll have to make a request under access to information,” they routinely say. Never mind that the federal act explicitly says the ATI system is “not intended to limit in any way access […]
Read MoreWinnipeg journalist Melissa Martin wins WPFC Press Freedom Award WPFC awarded the annual press freedom prize to Winnipeg journalist Melissa Martin, who took a leave in 2023 in order to live in Ukraine and write personal essays about the impact of the war on civilian populations. WPFC’s career achievement award went to The Globe and […]
Read MoreThe Netanyahu government and Israeli Defense Forces are facing a flood of criticism over the death of an unprecedented number of journalists who were reporting from the war zone of Gaza. In an open letter released on February 29, executives from more than 30 leading news organizations from around the world voiced their support for […]
Read MoreAward-winning American journalist and pro-democracy media critic, Margaret Sullivan, will be this year’s keynote speaker for World Press Freedom Canada’s annual awards luncheon on May 2nd at the National Arts Centre. Sullivan is a renowned columnist for The Guardian’s U.S. edition and the author of Newsroom Confidential and Ghosting the News. She is also the […]
Read MoreWPFC Press Freedom Awards open until March 22 Nominations for World Press Freedom Canada’s prizes for the annual press freedom award, career achievement award and student journalism award close on March 22. Click here to learn more about the awards. Understaffing, poor pay undermining student journalism Student journalism at campuses across North America is threatened […]
Read MoreJournalists across the country have been threatened, arrested, removed, or denied access by the police while trying to do their job of reporting the news. Journalist Brandi Morin was the latest high-profile case. Morin was arrested on January 10 while conducting interviews at a homeless encampment in Edmonton. The obstruction charges brought were dropped on […]
Read MoreHundreds of journalists across the country may lose their jobs at the end of March with the expiry of a federal program that supports local media. The Trudeau government created the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) in 2019 to help smaller community news outlets keep their doors open. Funding is due to end on March 31, […]
Read MoreMeta Dug In As of Jan. 1, Meta’s boycott of Canadian news organizations on its Facebook platform continued in response to the federal government’s Bill C-18, which requires online platforms to compensate news organization for use of their content. While Google reached a deal to allocate $100-million to news providers under C-18, Meta has dug […]
Read MoreThe latest annual report on the Access to Information Act indicates that journalists are abandoning this vital transparency tool in record numbers. Treasury Board’s 2022-2023 statistics on use of the Act, released Dec. 20, shows that fewer than 10 per cent of general requests filed that year came from members of the media. That’s less […]
Read MoreIn an industry already facing challenges over public trust, the rise of artificial intelligence is adding yet another threat to press freedom. Erosion of public trust creates conditions in which governments and others in authority can more easily restrict media freedom. Last month, the chief executive of The Arena Group which owns Sports Illustrated, was […]
Read More
