From the Globe & Mail:
Free daily, and free writers
A Toronto free daily newspaper has laid off all of its staff writers – but it won’t be without copy for its pages because it will be using non-paid interns instead.
Metro, which has published in Toronto since 2000, terminated four unionized staff writers last week and two managers, citing economic reasons. The paper is owned by Torstar, which publishes the Toronto Star, and Metro International, publisher of giveaways in a half dozen other Canadian centres as well as numerous cities worldwide.
A few days before the layoffs, Metro management brought in the interns. The union representing the laid-off writers says the labour contract allows interns to stay in the event of layoffs; however, it has launched five grievances over this.
Brad Honywill, president of Local 87-M of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (which organized Metro’s staff three years ago), told us: “In this kind of environment, layoffs are inevitable. But we reject the notion they can fill jobs with interns hired three days beforehand.”
Metro’s group publisher for English Canada, Bill McDonald, says: “We made a small adjustment to our staff. We’re managing our business in these economic times.” Copy for the paper will be supplied by “a number of content partnerships,” including the Toronto Star, wire services and extensive use of freelancers, he said. Other Metro papers in Canada have also cut staff.
Andy Murdoch, The Coast’s web editor, asks rhetorically (I think), “What next? Monkeys & typewriters?”
Recall that when the local version of Metro premiered we were told of a “new model” for Metro, and expanded newsroom staff of seven. Now the paper is down to just three reporters.
This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2009.
Hunter gather lessons anyone?
QUESTION.
Who will rule over the fishes of the waters, the plants and the animals of the land?
Saturn devours his children. This whole hiring-of-interns business is pretty short-sighted, because if the media companies keep ruthlessly slashing their staff, then the supply of interns willing to work for free in order to get started in ‘careers’ in the media industry will obviously dry up. Perhaps then we’ll see a ‘small adjustment’ to monkeys and typewriters.
Wow. That’s dirty.
Ummm, how does one go about boycotting a free newspaper?
Glen – simple. Don’t pick up the paper, and don’t take one when someone offers you one. Every one of those rags that gets handed out counts toward Metro’s “circulation”, on which their advertising rates are based. Also consider boycotting their advertisers.
Thanks Mike Hunt!… wait a sec.
I actually quit Metro in Toronto, way back in the early days, when it was suggested by some charming person in Europe that the paper’s business model actually does involve monkeys with typewriters.
I actually quit Metro in Toronto, way back in the early days, when it was suggested by some charming person in Europe that the paper’s business model actually does involve monkeys with typewriters.
Man, talk about ruthless. These interns were probably hired on a Monday, then the real workers were fired, oops, laid off on Friday without notice, so the company didn’t have to deal with them losing their minds. The interns were probably hired on the premise that they would get staff jobs later on, and non-unionized to boot, now that there are no union workers. Little do they know, there won’t be staff jobs, because the precedent has been set for an intern work environment. Saturn devours his children is absolutely correct. Makes me appreciate the Coast more.
Wow. That was greasy. Greasy, greasy, greasy.
Perhaps Ill choose harlequin romance novels over print journalism after all…