Journalists organize the Thomson newspaper chain: A labour union standpoint to news organizations

In this dissertation, I outline a history of the labour union organizing efforts of journalists at the Thomson Newspapers chain in Canada from 1963 to 1995. Such organizing efforts provide an entry point into examining control over employment conditions in the newspaper industry. To undertake this study, I develop an analytical framework that I call a “labour union standpoint to news organizations” and a “labour union standpoint methodology.” I conduct a historical and labour union standpoint analysis of nine labour organizing campaigns, situating them within their broader political, economic, and social-historical contexts. I draw on union archival documents, newspaper content, corporate and government documents, and a critical review of the published body of literature. Between 1963 and 1995, Thomson adopted a long-term strategy of vertical growth, expanding from radio broadcasting and newspapers into other media. The corporation also adopted a strategy of horizontal growth, building a newspaper chain through acquisitions, and typically obtained a monopoly or oligopoly in the markets in which it operated. Thomson consistently had double-digit profit margins and was among the “big three” newspaper chains in Canada with regard to number of daily newspapers owned, share of total daily newspaper circulation, or share of total revenues. In response, Thomson journalists organized labour unions to protect their employment conditions. Accordingly, I consider the labour organizing tactics that journalists’ unions adopted to “bite back” at the corporation and the communication tools that they used to facilitate those tactics.My analysis reveals that journalists’ unions contested and negotiated control over employment conditions within news organizations. The outcomes of union organizing efforts were contingent upon the local circumstances of the journalists, unions, and management at a particular newspaper within the chain. While journalists’ union organizing campaigns were sometimes unsuccessful, journalists were more successful when they focused on building bridges with community members rather than developing communication tools such as strike newspapers. Some journalists’ unions challenged the established social relations and advanced social transformation by mobilizing massive community support, connecting their workplace struggles to broader social issues, and creating publicity campaigns to communicate these struggles to the public.

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