TORONTO – A coalition of professional associations, unions and media organizations, including Cartt.ca, have thrown their support behind an advertising campaign highlighting the value and benefits of professional journalism.
The campaign, known as JournalismIS, aims to rally the wider community of journalists, media workers, media corporations, and media consumers to increase awareness, recognition and support for professional journalism. Friday’s launch at the Ryerson University Rogers Communication Centre in Toronto included more than 100 journalists, media employees, and representatives from newspaper publishers and broadcasters.
"News is the lifeblood of our democracy. As the volume of information and the range of opinion available to media consumers increases, the contribution of professional journalism has become more important than ever," said Mary Agnes Welch, campaign spokesperson, former president of the Canadian Association of Journalists and Winnipeg Free Press reporter. "Journalists are thoroughly trained and deeply committed to their profession, and you see the results every day in news stories that are interesting, reliable and always striving for the truth. Our campaign is aimed at initiating a wider conversation about the value of journalism and what we all need to do to support a robust journalistic culture in Canadian society."
The JournalismIs campaign marks the first phase of a longer term effort to mobilize the media industry and the public to support professional journalism in Canada. JournalismIS campaign sponsors include:
– Ryerson School of Journalism;
– Unifor;
– Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ);
– The Globe and Mail;
– Toronto Star and Metroland Papers;
– Bell Media CTV;
– Postmedia;
– Communications Workers of America;
– Newspapers Canada;
– TC Media;
– Winnipeg Free Press;
– Cartt.ca;
– Glacier Media Group; and
– Black Press.
