"a fine newspaper of national acclaim." HUH?

Funny, the deafening silence for two weeks among all but two of Mr. Asper's employees at the TC and its sister papers certainly didn't suggest that they shared his "concerns regarding the lines between editorial and advertising"; nor that they were accustomed to "work(ing) vigilantly to ensure our readers are provided with unencumbered journalism..."

Hhmmm... maybe they missed a memo somewhere between working on all those slick advertorials or coordinating coverage for the condo ads.

I notice the CAJ writes their release so as to appear to take some of the credit for Smith's reinstatement, even though they dillied and dallied for so long that their initial long winded and obtuse release condemning the firing hit the wires only after Smith had already been offered her job back...

Re: "Funny, the deafening silence for two weeks among all but two of Mr. Asper's employees at the TC and its sister papers certainly didn't suggest that they shared his "concerns regarding the lines between editorial and advertising" "

...um, how do you think online publications and the CAJ got much of their info about the TC situtation? From journalists working there, that's how.

Thank you Dawn Steele. Obviously some words have very sharp points capable of prompting a reaction even when more powerful forces such as compasion, solidarity or fairness prove unable to roust more than two journalists out of dozens.

Now back to more of that happyface copy at the TC.

Dear Where'sthenews:

While I commend the two journalists who took a stand, obviously it's easier for a free-lance to drop an occasional gig than for full-time journalists to quit their jobs over ethical issues. Especially when it would mean relocating to another (non-Canwest) daily in another city.

I suggest you think harder before you post, especially when it's a complex issue with which you're obviously unfamiliar. You do not know what kind of impact this incident had on the newsroom.

(p.s. And hey, at least we know how to SPELL compassion.)

This is one reason why I can't stand to read the T/C...it's a poor excuse for a newspaper. Scary that the T/C blurs the lines between reporting and advertising. But then again, are we surprised? Seems most mainstream media does it!

Thank you, "whatup", for your insights. It would be valuable for your own readers to understand the tough choices you face between a pay cheque and professional integrity.

I do sympathize with your personal dilemma and certainly don't suggest you or your colleagues are ultimately to blame here. But you support my earlier point, which was that Mr. Asper's attempts to paint this incident as an aberration ring somewhat hollow in the resounding public silence among his editorial employees. The eventual CAJ statement on your behalf notwithstanding, I imagine that you and your colleages would have felt free to respond immediately, vigorously and publicly to Sean's original reports if the policies that Asper described were a reality within your organization. Your comments suggest that's clearly not the case.

This sort of thing goes on all the time, it does so to the extent that reporters and editors go along with it, and it serves neither the public nor the profession. Had Sean not managed to get Ms. Partridge to dish on the record, would we ever have heard of this telling little incident? What if Sean had chosen a steady job at the TC instead of a precarious livelihood in blogging?Would Ms Smith be back on the job today, do you think?

Just exactly how were journalists supposed to respond publicly and vigourously? By writing a story in the Times Colonist about it? By going on television or radio?

Workers for the T-C did endeavor to get the word out. But as you can imagine, individual workers would fear reprisal (suspension or worse) for making an immediate "vigorous" public statements. Look at what happened to Vivian.

Does this mean all journalists - or the ones at the Times Colonist - have no professional integrity? That's a very simplistic way of looking at this issue.

I think the fact that one of the heads of the chain has responded at least indicates this particular incident was taken seriously. Hate Canwest (or all mainstream newspaper chains) if you like, but the fact is that a poor decision was rescinded... even apologized for. The situation could be worse, obviously.

It seems like journalists are damned if they do and damned if they don't in this discussion. They take a hit when one of their own is axed, then are criticised for management's actions.

I'm not saying that incidents such as the Vivian Smith situation never happen (although this is a first during my time at the paper). The notion, however, that mainstream media is rife with corruption and nefarious double dealing is naive... just like saying ALL politicians are corrupt, for example.

It's much easier to have a knee jerk, black-and-white reaction to complex situations, whether it be a right wing knee-jerk or a left wing knee-jerk, than it is to respond intelligently and sympathically to what was obviously a very difficult situation. How would you like it if stories were reported in such a fashion? (Or perhaps you think they are ... part of the mainstream 'conspiracy' no doubt.)

Jeez "whatup"! You expect us to believe that the entire editorial staff at the TC is so cowed as to believe that you'd all be suspended "or worse" for standing up publicly (or even privately!) and stating that it was not acceptable to axe Ms. Smith and her column because she upset the advertisers? I understand the editors decide what gets published at the TC (or do they?), but were they equally terrified or didn't they have any qualms? Did the editorial staff even consider issuing a joint statement? Surely some other news organization would have picked it up to show BC readers that it's not just some professionals in Ottawa who saw this as a problem?

Whatup.

Thanks for the comments. I appreciate your point of view.

I think your issue however is with Mr. McKenzie. He is the one who has dimished my perception of the TC editorial staff to that of advertising copy writers.

You can be angry with those of us who are outraged at this incident or you can help address the problem. I think that the editorial staff can work within the organization and within the bounds of professional conduct. It needs to be made clear to Canwest management that staff have lost confidence in the leadership of Mr. McKenzie as a result of his actions.

Seems like good things happened in the end... mutual respect took the day... good work all round!

CanWest Global's David Asper states that "his company shares the group's concerns regarding the lines between editorial and advertising and work(s) vigilantly to ensure our readers are provided with unencumbered journalism" blah, blah, blah...

I invite Mr. Asper to take a close look at today's Vancouver Sun. He'll read an editorial about this very important news event that has the world on edge: the fireworks festival in Vancouver. In it, the name of a certain bank is mentioned no less than five times.