CAJ calls on student union to rescind proposals that fly in the face of press freedom

November 18, 2024

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) demands Queen’s University’s Alma Mater Society (AMS), the undergraduate student association, rescind its plans to bring forward a sweeping motion that could impinge on the editorial freedom of the university’s independent student-run newspaper, The Queen’s Journal.

In an editorial published on Nov. 15, The Journal editors-in-chief Allie Moustakis and Skylar Soroka, explain how forthcoming motions could impinge on the publication’s editorial autonomy and the principles of free speech and academic freedom on campus. The CAJ agrees that the motions, as currently presented, could lead to potential future cases of censorship.

“Allowing government leaders, of any ilk, to decide what news stories are to be published by any media organization is abhorrent and a full-frontal assault on the democratic role of a free press,” said CAJ president Brent Jolly.

The issue of editorial interference is a subject that has been reviewed by the CAJ’s arm’s-length Ethics Advisory Committee. In a 2007 policy paper on editorial interference, the committee stipulated “editorial content should not be shown to [anyone] prior to publication or broadcast.” While much has changed in the news industry during the past two decades, this basic standard practice has not.

As the editorial notes, The Journal has substantive accountability structures currently in place. For example, the publication is accountable to an editorial advisory board and its board of directors. The Journal is also a member of the National NewsMedia Council, which is a third-party organization that accepts and evaluates editorial complaints from members of the public.

“Implementing policies and practices euphemistically called ‘supports’ but which, in reality, masquerade as opportunities to potentially interfere in journalistic activities is incredibly Orwellian. These are the kinds of exercises that we witness in tinpot dictatorships and authoritarian regimes – not at public institutions of higher learning in Canada.”

The proposed motions are scheduled to be voted on at a meeting on Nov. 18.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is the country’s largest professional organization that serves to advance the interests of journalists from coast to coast to coast. The CAJ’s primary roles are public-interest advocacy work and professional development for its members.

For further information: Brent Jolly, president, Canadian Association of Journalists, brent@caj.ca