Quebecor’s founder Pierre Péladeau said that “We aren’t just a big media conglomerate. First and foremost, we are a company that is committed to the community and to culture, run by people who want to make a difference.”
On monday, Union official Paul Morse confirmed rumours (spread on twitter) that Quebecor is planning to cut 400 sun media jobs.According to Morse, about 200 jobs will be eliminated by buyouts, about 100 through layoffs, and the rest through attrition. However, Quebecor has chosen not to comment on the cuts.Quebecor has reported a gain in revenue in this quarter, but a slight loss of news media revenue (from $238.5 million to $235.2 million).The last time Quebecor announced job cuts was in 2008, when they cut 600 jobs, also from Sun Media.
Simultaneously, Sun Media/Quebecor is in a legal battle with the CBC over information release.Both news sources are waging a media war of epic proportions.Sun has never had very kind words for “the state broadcaster”, but more than ever before, the community newspapers owned by Sun Media are filled with editorials about CBC as a money drain that refuses to be transparent.In the Peterborough Examiner, there has been roughly one anti-CBC editorial every week, as well as the occasional slanted article about the legal battle. To their credit, most of the editorial writers openly acknowledge the corporate implications of covering this issue in a Sun Media newspaper.A glance through the Cobourg Daily Star and the Niagara Falls review shows a similar pattern, however, Pierre Péladeau of Quebecor has said, “no one will tell our journalists what to write”.Quebecor has also accused the CBC of boycotting their newspapers by not advertising in them.CBC has released its own stories about Quebecor’s public subsidies, and has made public statements claiming that Quebecor “trying to find out commercial information about [their] competitor to use to your advantage”.
On top of all of this, the queer community is petitioning Sun Media for running transphobic print and television advertisements. Paid for by the Institute for Canadian Values, a group associated with the Canadian Christian College, the ads oppose teaching children about people who are transgendered, transexual, two-spirited, or intersex. Sun Media claims the ads are protected as free speech, and has likened those opposing the ads to bullies.
