An open letter to Corus Entertainment
On June 24th, Corus Entertainment president Douglas Murphy responded to our open letter. We’re sharing his response here, along with our initial letter below. We will continue to work with Corus to address systemic racism and make newsrooms safe and inclusive spaces for Black journalists.
I want to thank you for taking the time to share the experiences of Black employees at Global News with me directly.
These lived experiences are difficult to hear, but we will not negate or minimize them. We have heard you and we have acted.
We have contracted DiversiPro to conduct an external independent and thorough review of the Corus organization. We are fully committed to unearthing, understanding and meaningfully addressing the issues and concerns of Corus’ employees.
The Calls to Action provided by the CABJ and Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC) have been instructive for all of our internal discussions about how we can do better.
We announced last week that as a start, we will invest immediately to answer the Call to Action in a tangible way by implementing the following:
· More transparent reporting of Indigenous and Racialized groups in our teams, both at the frontline and management levels
· Targeted recruitment to increase the representation of Indigenous and Racialized groups across the organization
· Specific initiatives aimed at removing systemic barriers to improve retention and promotion opportunities
· A renewed commitment to consultation with Indigenous and Racialized communities regarding our news coverage
· Continued support for targeted scholarships, mentorships and sponsorships for aspiring media professionals
The specific recommendations you have provided will be considered in our discussions and ultimate decisions. We have shared them with our Executive Leadership Team and with DiversiPro. We anticipate we will have a fulsome set of recommendations from DiversiPro early in the Fall 2020. We will provide more clarity on timelines, actions, and new commitments in the coming weeks and months.
I strongly encourage employees to participate in the review process currently underway. We are fully committed to hearing all voices as we collectively and collaboratively work toward the path for organizational transformative cultural change and inclusion of our Black employees at Corus.
Doug
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To Douglas Murphy, Corus Entertainment President and CEO,
Over the years, Black employees at Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment, have had to deal with microaggressions, overt racism and a lack of representation at the company. The Canadian Association of Black Journalists stands with Black employees at Global News who have grappled with feelings of defeat, as they've seen white colleagues continually receive promotions despite Black employees being equally qualified. There is also no dedicated support for Black employees, which has left them feeling frustrated and overlooked.
At Global, Black managers and supervisors are non-existent and the executive leadership team is not reflective of the diversity towards which the company claims to be striving. Research studies have shown that diverse teams are beneficial to business. One such study by Boston Consulting Group found “companies that have more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenue due to innovation.” This potential is not seen at Global because diversity is non-existent among the managerial and leadership teams. In addition, there are no full-time on-air Black reporters in the Toronto newsroom or at the national level. Despite Corus Entertainment’s claims surrounding diversity, and its “Uniquely US” internal campaign promoting diversity and inclusion, the company comes up woefully short.
We are also deeply concerned by the lack of knowledge current supervisors and managers have shown regarding stories affecting the Black community. Black employees say there has also been a failure to support journalists on how to tell these stories. For example, an article published on May 31 focused on how white Canadians living in the U.S. felt about the George Floyd protests. In response to internal and public criticism, the story was eventually taken down but it took several days for the piece to be re-written with a focus on anti-Black racism. What was most concerning about this particular case was how it was handled: the responsibility of correcting this article was left to the employees who initially spoke out. The CABJ has also been made aware of instances where Black employees reached out to other colleagues seeking advice on how to cover marginalized communities because they felt their manager was unable to provide any guidance on how to properly do so.
This problem continues to manifest itself in a number of ways. Recently, a white employee told a Black colleague that racism “is only an American problem", as they referred to the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. In another instance, a manager jokingly asked “Where are the real Canadians?”, within earshot of his employees, including a Black employee, as he was interviewing racialized candidates for a job opening. And, at least one employee reports having heard a white colleague use the “n-word” at work.
The Black employees who’ve contacted the CABJ are angry and sad but, most of all, they’re tired. We know their experience is not unique to Global News.
These employees say they have raised concerns about microaggressions in the workplace, but those feelings were dismissed. In one instance, a manager commented that a Black employee "seemed unhappy" and that he "needs people who want to be here". Comments such as these are unacceptable. It’s why some employees report having left the industry altogether. And if Corus Entertainment does not meaningfully address systemic racism within the company, it could lose the few Black employees it has left.
In light of the concerns raised, the Canadian Association of Black Journalists is calling on Corus Entertainment to:
Make a clearer commitment to the regular collection and public release of all relevant demographic data, with a specific focus on the news division. Recently, the company released a statement pledging “more transparent reporting of visible minority representation in our teams, both at the frontline and management levels.” By the end of 2020, we want a definitive timeline to have all recruitment specifically within the news division meeting improved diversity targets, including the addition of full-time Black reporters in the Toronto market and on the national level. We recommend Corus work with the CABJ and Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC) to develop these targets.
Introduce a policy requiring interviews for newsroom, managerial and leadership roles include BIPOC candidates. Furthermore, those conducting the interviews should also reflect the diversity of the candidates.
By the end of 2020, establish a dedicated support system for current and potential future Black employees. This includes, but is not limited to: a mentorship program, recruiting program and a training program to help promote Black employees into leadership positions.
Require everyone in a leadership position undergo regular anti-Black and anti-oppression training, with the first session taking place by Fall 2020.
As outlined in the ‘Calls to Action’ provided by the CABJ and Canadian Journalists of Colour (CJOC), introduce more formal consultation with racialized communities about news coverage on an ongoing basis.
We hope that addressing the concerns in this open letter will lead to the necessary change and progress needed at Global News and throughout Corus in order to better support, encourage and amplify Black voices and employees.
Availble in French here.