Volume 4, Number 9

October 1991

SUMMER STRIKES: CBC's and CTV's Coverage of Canada Post an PSAC

The summer of 1991 ended with two Canadian unions involved in labour disputes with their employers. First, the postal union went on rotating strikes, then the Public Service Alliance of Canada walked out.

Barbara Frum introduced the 5 September "Journal" with these remarks: "These last days of summer have been marked by bitter disputes between management and labour. The battle between the post office and its largest union is now in mediation, after nearly two weeks of strike action. And today, the Public Service Alliance of Canada took its fight with the federal government to the streets."

This issue of On Balance examines how the networks reported these national labour disputes. It will begin with the first rumblings of discontent in August and end with the resolution of the disputes in October.

This analysis also updates an earlier report done by the National Media Archive which examined CBC's coverage of labour during 1988. That study received negative reaction from some journalists. They thought that our analysis was expecting a balance from CBC that the journalists believed was unattainable. They argued that labour reporters view the issues from a labour perspective. As a result, the slant of the stories will favour the union position-just as business reporters tend to favour the employer's position.

What is not clear in this argument is why CBC assigns its labour specialist, Allen Garr, and not its business (or employer) reporter, Der Hoi Yin, to cover strikes. Both business (or employer) and union interests are at stake in these disputes, yet the network uses only their labour specialist to report on them. Attention to balance in programming requires that strike stories should not favour one side over the other simply because a reporter has his or her own interest. It should be noted that CTV does not have the "specialist" designation for its reporters.

UNION REPRESENTATIVES MOST FREQUENTLY QUOTED

In 1988 we found that on all labour issues, labour sources were interviewed or quoted more frequently than any other source. Little has changed since then. Labour leaders, strikers and union workers provided more statements than the employer. As figure A shows, labour representatives comprised 41 percent of CBC and 51 percent of CTV sources' statements.

Click here to view Figure A: Strike Sources

In contrast, statements from employer sources constituted only 28 percent of CBC and CTV coverage. Employer statements include management, Canada Post spokespersons and government representatives, when government is the employer. Government representatives acting as policy makers comprised less than five percent of network sources' comments.

Labour Sources Receive more Attention in Canada Post Dispute

The use of sources differed between the Canada Post and PSAC disputes. During the Canada Post rotating strike, both networks presented statements from labour almost twice as often as statements from post office management.

In contrast, during the PSAC walkout, CBC balanced the quantity of statements from labour and the employer. One indication of this result is the attention the union president, Daryl Bean, received compared to the minister in charge of the treasury Board, Gilles Loiselle. CBC gave Bean and Loiselle similar access, 10 and 9 percent, respectively. In contrast, CTV used Bean's statements in 14 percent of its sources' statements and Gilles Loiselle received half that attention at 7 percent.

CBC BALANCES ATTENTION TO UNION AND EMPLOYER

Both networks focused over one-quarter of their attention on labour's position. Thirty percent of CBC and 29 percent of CTV overall coverage examined the union stance in both the PSAC and Canada Post disputes. This includes

...if labour sources are given more air time, their issues will be highlighted more frequently.

issues, strategies and concerns. CBC presented the employer's position in roughly the same proportion at 29 percent. However, on CTV, the employer's perspective comprised less than one-fifth the total attention (18 percent).

The difference in attention to the disputing parties on CTV is because that network used more labour sources than did CBC. This finding is consistent with the study done in 1988 and reflects the fact that if labour sources are given more air time, their issues will be highlighted more frequently.

Only five percent of CBC and CTV's overall coverage presented the government's role as policy maker.

LABOUR GIVEN BALANCED EVALUATIONS

Figure B shows that over two-thirds of CBC and half of CTV statements on the union position in both the PSAC and Canada Post disputes were neutral. Of the remainder, the networks presented nearly balanced evaluations.

Click here to view Figure B: Coverage of Disputing Parties

Evaluations favourable to the union position mostly originated from labour representatives and journalists. In terms of balance, reporters' evaluations were slightly more critical than supportive of labour's position.

In contrast, labour provided three times as many positive evaluations of its performance than critical comments toward itself.

A consistent theme in labour's description of itself was the vow that it would not back down. For example on 18 August, CBC's Lynn Widom reported: "The union says it will go to the wall to fight contracting out." Also on CBC, Keith Boag reported on 18 September: "Union leader Daryl Bean promised there will be no surrender, no retreat, there will be fair bargaining or else."

Similarly, on CTV, reporters and union representatives described wide ranging support for the union. On 22 August, Leslie Jones reported: "Eight advocacy groups pledged their support for the union. One representing the unemployed vowed to fight any attempt to replace striking postal workers." On 17 August, Pat Foran reported: "Canada Post employees believe they have public support, while the strike deadline is six days away, they say they are ready, willing and able to hit the picket line."

Despite these stories of support for the union position, reporters such as Allen Garr did relate incidents where some union members crossed the picket line. On 10 September, Garr provided this account: "Thousands of people crossed picket lines today, many members of other unions." A civil servant explained that he had to cross the picket line because his contract had not expired. Garr followed that statement with the following: "Some PSAC members like Linda Martin also crossed." Linda Martin was then quoted: "I need my money. I need my- I have two kids and I have to support them. I'm not for this strike."

EMPLOYER ACTIONS GIVEN NEGATIVE ATTENTION

Criticisms of the employer appeared more frequently than criticisms of labour. About half of the attention the employers received was neutral. The remaining statements, however, were almost three times as likely to be negative as positive on CBC, and over three times as likely on CTV to be negative as positive.

The issues in the postal dispute and in the PSAC walkout differed quite significantly. The following will outline the major events of each dispute.

Reporters and Labour Provide Commentary on Post Office

The majority of statements originating from reporters about Canada Post were neutral. Although reporters presented half of the positive evaluations about labour, reporters made only one quarter of the favourable evaluations about the post office.

Sources critical of Canada Post were labour and reporters. Union members and representatives provided over half of CBC and almost two-thirds of CTV's negative evaluations about Canada Post. Reporters provided two-fifths of CBC and over one-quarter of CTV's negative evaluations about the corporation. Reporters' evaluations were twice as likely to be critical as supportive of Canada Post's position.

Canada Post Criticized For Replacement Workers

Some of the criticisms of Canada Post revolved around conjecture that the corporation would hire replacement workers.

On 16 August Allen Garr speculated on the possible outcome of a strike: "The picket line violence last time around was provoked in part by the use of replacement workers during the strike. The union is concerned that the same thing will happen again. But today, the post office says it has no intention of repeating that strategy...if Canada Post is indeed hiring replacement workers, it could sour the mood at the negotiating table. Labour-management relations at the post office were notoriously bad during the last round of negotiations. The conciliator's report that was issued today says that now they are even worse."

On 22 August CTV's Leslie Jones also reported: "Although Canada Post claims it isn't hiring replacement workers, hundreds of people were signing up for well paying jobs, jobs they confirmed were with the post office."

Despite concerns about replacement workers, the majority of problems with Canada Post's handling of the dispute revolved around the controversy of the public having to pick up their own mail. The networks relayed the general confusion about the system. On 29 August Peter Mansbridge opened the day's news with the following: "Good evening. This was the day Canadians were supposed to get their mail, by picking it up themselves at temporary mail distribution centres across the country. Well, lots of people showed up, but many left frustrated and empty-handed. Canada Post has promised to keep the mail moving in spite of rotating strikes by its sorters and letter carriers. Today, though, the mail wasn't moving, it was crawling, and the distribution centres were scenes of chaos and confusion."

The favourable coverage of Canada Post came from the corporation itself. Fifty-three percent of CBC and 91 percent of CTV positive evaluations came from Canada Post sources.

Government Charged With Playing Double Standard

Labour representatives were one of the sources most frequently critical of government as employer. Slightly over one third of CBC and almost half of CTV's negative attention to the government originated with labour sources. Government representatives and management provided half of the positive coverage which that employer received.

Negative attention towards the government stemmed from union allegations during the PSAC dispute that MPs received raises while members of the Public Service Alliance were to be content with zero percent. On 9 September, Daryl Bean stated on the "Journal": "We are trying to get the message out there to Canadians that we are being treated unfairly because Mr. Loiselle managed to get himself an increase this year, managers got their increase, and Crown corporation heads who make up to $300,000 a year got a 4.2-percent increase the day before the budget."

In the 23 September issue of Maclean's magazine columnist George Bain pointed out that the media uncritically accepted this story. He stated that the government did not give themselves raises in this year or in recent years. "For 15 years, salary increases, not just for the prime minister and cabinet, but for all members of Parliament, have been dealt with according to a formula prescribed in Section 55 of the Parliament of Canada Act...under the proposed legislation, the existing wage formula would be superseded by another formula in which, according to the last budget, they would get no more than 'the average of negotiated settlements in the public service'-which would mean no more than zero, three and three percent.1

Despite Mr. Bain's scolding of the media, Bean's message was repeated during the dispute. On 16 September Allen Garr reported on a rally held on Parliament Hill: "They were angry, because members of parliament got raises this year and they were offered zero."

Similarly, on 27 September, Allen Garr repeated the allegation: "What poured oil on this fire was the union's charge that while the government wants workers to accept a wage freeze, government managers and heads of crown corporations are getting fat bonuses."

On 4 October Lloyd Robertson reported: "Only a day after legislation forced them back to work, public servants turned up again on Parliament Hill. But today, they were on their own time. They were showing their anger at the news that, contrary to earlier reports, senior bureaucrats will be getting bonuses shortly before Christmas. Almost 600 senior managers will be eligible, and the top bonus for one official could be as much as $87,000."

Later in the story Diana Bishop relayed the government's position: "But the government insists the public is being misled. Harvey Andre says top executives and managers will get a bonus for work done in the last fiscal year, but will get nothing next year."

Harvey Andre, Minister: For the period '91-'92, there will be a zero percent increase for senior managers and a zero bonus.

The networks' attempt at balance during this controversy was simply to report the government's stance that no raises were granted to senior managers during the 1991/92 fiscal year. What both networks failed to explain was that the same year in which senior managers received a 3.78 percent increase, civil servants received a 4 percent increase.

Government as Policy Maker

There were negative evaluations about the government as policy-maker, too. For example, Allen Garr paraphrased the union position in a 3 September report: "The union is sceptical too, it says the government is not impartial in this dispute." At the end of that story Garr provided this analysis: "It is unusual for the government to appoint a mediator when neither side wants one and when they are so far apart. But the government may want to show it is making every effort to end this dispute. That will make it easier to bring in back-to-work legislation."

ON CBC, ISSUES GIVEN PRECEDENCE OVER PROCESS

In 1988, CBC's attention to labour focused twice as much on negotiations and strategies as on the issues. A significant change occurred in the coverage of strikes in 1991. This time, CBC discussed the issues more frequently than the process of negotiations (Figure C). Issues comprised over one-quarter of the coverage whereas negotiations were presented in less than one-fifth of the focus. On CTV, issues were reported in less than one-fifth of coverage while negotiations were presented slightly more frequently at one-fifth the coverage.

Click here to view Figure C: General Story Information

VIOLENCE DOWNPLAYED ON CBC

In 1988 we found that coverage of violence on the picket line served an important journalistic requirement for entertainment. Conflict is equated with entertainment because it is easy to identify. Positions are well defined; there are usually only two, at most, three sides. They also usually fit into a tidy story package: there is a beginning, a dramatic middle, and an end.

For CBC, conflict comprised much less attention in 1991 than in 1988. During the 1988 postal dispute, CBC transmitted 98 images of worker vandalism and 62 instances of police involvement where there was violence. Worker violence and police response accounted for 66 separate news clips. In contrast, in 1991 CBC and CTV combined showed only 47 depictions of violence and 42 instances with police present.

Reporters and sources referred to physical conflict 38 times on CBC and 88 times on CTV. On CBC, this comprised 2 percent of total attention and on CTV 7 percent of total coverage.

The strikes in 1991 were less violent than in 1988. Nonetheless, there were differences between the networks when they reported on the violence that did take place. The dissimilarity in attention to conflict by the networks reveals the editing process that journalists engage in on a daily basis.

Comparing days in which one network depicted violence when the other network ignored or downplayed the conflict illustrates how journalists can highlight some events while ignoring or downplaying others. While CBC reporters described fewer conflicts, its labour specialist predicted that violence would erupt. For example, on 23 August Allen Garr closed the sixth story with the following: "But now the workers are out on strike, it seems likely that the conflict that so far has been restricted to the bargaining table, could soon spread to the streets."

What is significant about CBC's under-reporting of violence is that both networks identified these disputes as being fought in terms of public relations. For example, Lloyd Robertson made this comment on 28 August: "Day five in the postal dispute saw an escalation in the public relations war." Similarly, on the next day, CBC's Paul Adams stated: "While the two sides played at public relations, post office customers lined up for hours to see if their mail had made it through."

No doubt the way in which reporters describe the turn of events will have some public relations impact for the conflicting parties. Of note is the finding that CTV always provided descriptions of violence when CBC did. But

... journalists can highlight some events while ignoring or downplaying others.

CBC did not always report violence when CTV did. For example, on two separate occasions, CTV showed how the violence predicated movement in talks. In contrast, CBC's Allen Garr attributed the movement of talks to the effect the strike had in disrupting services.

For example, on 30 August both networks reported that the post office accepted the union's offer to deliver pension cheques. Allen Garr gave credit for this development to the union. He reported: "At 11:00 this morning, the union leader who's been pushing the idea since before the strike began, called the head of Canada Post." Union president Jean-Claude Parrot made the next comment: "They have come to grips with the fact their mail service is not working right now, and therefore they needed the help of the workers who know better." Garr then reported: "The deal was cut in 15 minutes." The remainder of the story described how the deal was reached.

CTV also acknowledge the union's role at reaching an agreement. However after reporting that development Diana Bishop provided this background: "But, there was none of that co-operation in evidence last night in Montreal. Tempers flared, demonstrators attacked sorting plants where managers were working. They lit bonfires, and scattered mail all about. The riot squad was called in, five people were injured, but there were no arrests."

Allen Garr made only vague references to problems with the strike by stating: "Then in Toronto, line-ups seemed endless; cheques were delayed or didn't come at all. Instead, anger and frustration poured out." Nowhere in the story did he tell viewers about the striking workers' violence.

One month later on 30 September, during the Public Service Alliance strike a similar discrepancy occurred. This time the story hook was the government's back to work legislation. CTV's Diana Bishop opened the day's events with the scenes of picket line violence and these comments: "Tempers have reached a boiling point." Shouting and screaming followed, and a woman was heard crying: "Don't hit me!" Then Diana Bishop reported: "Striking public servants back on the picket lines are making it as difficult as possible for anyone to get through." Bishop's comments were dispersed with scenes of violence.

Woman in hockey helmet: Why don't you identify yourself, for god's sake!

Diana Bishop: This is the union's second crack at a national strike and the members are angrier than ever.

Woman striker: We're gonna start punching back this week 'cause we took it last week.

Diana Bishop: Union president, Daryl Bean, says he warned things could turn violent.

Daryl Bean: I hope there's not too many of those incidents, but as anger and frustration increases, those type of things happen.

Diana Bishop: The Treasury Board president has lost his patience. He attacked the union leader, accusing him of not having his members' best interest in mind, especially those who want to go to work.

Gilles Loiselle: These employees who are more vulnerable, are terrorized, literally terrorized-prevented from going to work and remain at home and cry, and are prevented from doing what is not unacceptable; because they have a right to go and work freely in this country.

Diana Bishop: Loiselle says the strike has become too disruptive. He's lowering the boom and reintroducing back to work legislation.

Allen Garr opened his story with scenes of picket line confrontations. However, his story theme focused on how the union managed to close down government services and indicated the lack of violence: "Negotiations were at a stand-off with each side blaming the other. The union did not manage to snarl traffic this time at Toronto's Pearson airport, although some other airports were hit hard. And it did shut down the port of Vancouver with the help of other unions on the West coast. Canada's major grain terminals were shut down. On Parliament Hill, 200 demonstrators did not repeat what happened Friday and crash the barricades. Today there were fewer of them, and a lot more police. The opposition still believes the best way out is to appoint a mediator."

The only reference to the intimidation on the picket lines that day in the entire story was the opening comment from Garr: "Picket line scenes like these today, the government says, proves the union is terrorizing some of the lowest-paid workers who want to cross, although some were not easily blocked." The following clip showed a woman stating: "... Goddamit, don't you tell me what to do. I've been fuckin' workin' since I was 15 years old..."

Nowhere in Garr's account was the violence on the picket lines provided as the reason for introducing back-to-work legislation. What remains unanswered is whether CBC helped to present the union in a more favourable light by downplaying their acts of property damage and intimidation on the picket lines or whether CTV's desire for entertainment unduly emphasized the conflict.

NETWORKS DIFFER ON FOCUS

A common complaint about television news is that networks too often provide the same news in the same frequency. In one respect, this did not hold for CBC and CTV's coverage of labour strife this summer. CBC focused more attention on the PSAC dispute, while CTV provided more coverage on the Canada Post rotating walkout. On CBC, 56 percent of the statements were about the PSAC strike while CTV focused only 42 percent of the its strike coverage on that walkout.

CBC REPORTERS REFRAIN FROM USING UNION RHETORIC

In 1988, we noted that in describing workers brought in to replace striking workers, CBC preferred the union's label of "strike-breaker" or "scab" twice as often as the employers' preferred label of "replacement worker." Table 1 shows how CBC's use of these words has changed. Not only has CBC significantly reduced its use of these terms, but "replacement worker" is now the term preferred by reporters and anchors. Indeed, the only time "scab" or "strike-breaker" are mentioned is when union representatives mention them.

Click here to view Table 1: Word Watch

This change in CBC's coverage of labour disputes reaffirms the view that television news is able to present issues and policies in a fair and balanced manner.

In contrast, CTV's use of these terms during the labour disputes favoured labour's perspective. "Scab" was mentioned in these strikes 10 times compared to 7 mentions of "replacement worker."

METHODOLOGY

Results on the summer strikes are based on census samples of 65 "National", 8 "Journal," and 5 "Sunday Report" as well as 51 "CTV National News" stories reported from 1 August to 31 October 1991. All stories appearing during that time were coded representing a total population rather than a random sample of stories.

Three researchers were employed in coding the news stories. The researchers were selected on the basis of their differing political views. To assess the clarity of the research instrument and measure consistency, tests of inter-coder reliability were conducted throughout the procedure. A high level of intercoder reliability (0.87) was obtained.

Any disagreements in assessments by researchers were discussed, and the rating was changed until consensus was reached on all stories.

Further information or details on the coding design and methods used may be obtained by contacting The National Media Archive.

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