TheCustomerisAlwaysRight:

MediaCoverageofthe2009YorkStrikeandDeclineofDemocraticValues

MichaelKristopherAlex

Michael Alex 2009 www.teachlearnchange.org

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Intheendlessdebateaboutwhetherthemainstreamnewsmediatendtoexhibita

leftorright‐wingbias,awidespreadassumptionhasbeenacceptedasreceived

truth:politicsandideologicalcommitmentsareenemiesofhigh‐qualityjournalism.

However,wewoulddowelltointerrogatethisbelief.Instead,onemightask:

comparedtotheclearerosioninpopularandmediasupportfordemocraticvalues,

dothesupposedchallengespresentedbypoliticalbiasinthenewsreallymatter?

Chargesofpoliticalbiasinthemediatendtobemade,unsurprisingly,most

ofteninthecontextofcompetingandhighlychargedpoliticalclaimsaboutthe

substantivecontentofnewsstoriesthemselves.Whenanissueraisespolitical

hacklesanddividespeoplealongoppositionalideologicalramparts,claimsthat

mediacoverageisbiasedonewayortheother–orfrequentlybothsimultaneously–

followinshortorder.

Thiswasamplydemonstratedinthemediacoverageofthestrikethatledto

amonths‐longlabourstalemateandcancellationofclassesatYorkUniversitythis

pastwinter.Alllabouractionsarepoliticallycontentious.Thehighlycontested

natureofstrikesmakesthemapotentsourceofpublicdebate.Becausestrikesso

oftendisruptbusiness‐as‐usualandinconveniencethepublic,theytendtopolarize

supportersandopponentsinshortorder.

Whenastrike,likethisonebyteachingassistantsandcontractfacultyoccurs

withintheperceivedprivilegeoftheivorytower,whentensofthousandsof

studentsfeelthebruntofcancelledclasses,whenastrikesetsrecordsforduration,

publicdebatecanquicklydescendintoclaimsandcounter‐claimsofbias.Nowhere

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aresuchchargesmadeasapparentlyasinandabouttheprintmedia.Thisisno

doubtduetothelongandhighlypartisanhistoryofdailynewspapersinCanada

themselves.TheTorontoStarisapro‐labourmouthpiece.TheGlobeandPost

advocateforbusinessintereststhatarehostiletounions.Thesetropeshavebecome

conventionalwisdom.

Likethestrikeitself,earlycoverageofthestrikeintheprintmediawas

largelyuneventful.Ittendedtofocusonprovidingupdatesonnegotiation,

highlightedafewofthemostcontroversialbargainingissues,orprovidedstock

referencestothepenchantforanactiveandoftendivisivepoliticalclimateatYork

Universityitself.Indeed,inearlyprintstories,fewintelligentquestionswereposed

orcontextualbackgroundwasoffered.Missingwerewell‐researchedpieces

providinginsightintoeitherthestrikeorYork’sreputationasahotbedoffaculty

andstudentradicalism.Instead,reportsoftendescendedtotheleveloflazyrhetoric.

Thestrikewasportrayedmoreasanuisanceorobjectforridiculethanaproblem

deservingseriousattention.

Formostofthestrike’sduration,mostlycursoryupdate‐stylecoveragemade

thisquestionmoot.Storieswererarelylongenoughtoexhibitovertbias.Yetasthe

strikedraggedonandmediaattentionintensifiedinlockstepwithpublicoutrage,

majormediaoutletsoftendebunkedthemythsoftheirownsupposedpolitical

leanings:CarolGoarinparticularintheStararticulatedindignationwiththe

strikersbyrecitingalaundrylistoffree‐marketprescriptionsthatshelabeledas

“strongmedicine.”Because,shereasoned,“Yorkisasickschool.”iMeanwhile,atthe

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Post,CraigOffmanupsetconventionalwisdombyprovidingabalancedanalysisthat

critiquedfundingshortfallsandargueduniversityteachersare“crucialtoCanada’s

economicfuture.”ii

Despitetheamountofenergyspentandinkspiltonperpetualdebatesabout

bias,theyignoreamoreproblematicreality:theshortcutswesooftentakein

labelingparticularpapersaspoliticallybiasedthiswayorthatobscuresafarmore

trenchantproblem.Wehavelostsightofthefundamentalvaluesthatunderpinour

democracy.Instead,wehaveadoptedthelanguageandcadenceofcapitalismatthe

expenseofameaningfulappreciationofandinteractionwitheachotheras

membersofacommonbodypolitic.Thenewsmedia,oneofthefewinstitutions

outsideofpubliceducationthatcanteachandsupportthesevalueshavebeenco‐

optedinwhathasarguablyamountedtoanunacknowledgedwarondemocracy.As

considerationofprintnewstreatmentofthestrikeatYorkUniversitymakesclear,

justbecausesomethingisignoredormisunderstooddoesnotmakeitanyless

powerfulapoliticalreality.

CriticismsofeditorialspininthenewsmediahavedistractedCanadian

journalistsandaudiencesalikefromtherealitythat,whilesomanyhavefought

partisanbattles,democracyitselfhasbeenfundamentallyunderminedbyan

individualistic,consumer‐basedperspectivethatisdeeplyhostiletomanyofthe

valuesinherentinresponsiblecitizenship:acommitmenttoequityandfairness,

membershipandparticipationinalargerpubliccommunity,andawillingnessto

mediateone’sownselfishinterestswithresponsibilitytoandforone’sneighbours.

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Noideologicalpositionhasamonopolyonthesecommitments,orourcommon

failurestomeetthem.

Luckily,inCanada,mostjournalistsandnewscommentatorsemploy

discretiontofaithfullyservethepublictrust.Yes,theyportrayissuesinwaysthat

subtly,evenimperceptiblyshapepublicopinion.Indoingso,theyinevitablybetray

theirownperspectivesandimposethemonthedailynews.Editorsdecidewhat

storiesrun.Reportersdecidewhatquestionstoaskandwhatstoriestochasedown.

Howevercommitted,journaliststodayareconstrainedbythelimitationsof

theirownworkenvironments–Yorkfacultyarehardlytheonlygroupcopingwith

therealitiesofmisplacedprioritiesandtheharshrealitiesofafree‐market

paradigmthatistoooftenunsympathetictothecostsassociatedwithpayingthe

billsfordemocracy.Instead,highqualitypubliceducationandanadequatelyfunded

newsmediahavebeenreducedtofrillssentencedtodeathbyathousandcuts.In

suchanatmosphere–wherejournalistsaresqueezedtomeetthedemandofa

relentlesstwenty‐fourhournewscyclewithfewerandfewerresources–thatany

collectivelabouractionwouldbegivenachillyreceptionshouldnotsurprise.

Also,recentchangesinournewslandscapehavemadethenewsmediathat

muchmorevital.Inthecontextofafewhomogenizedmediaconglomerates

controllingoverwhelmingscopetoproducenews,thesubstanceandtoneof

coveragedoesmuchtoshapethetoneofpoliticaldebatesatdinnertablesandat

watercoolersacrossthecountry.Inademographicallydiverseandgeographically

dispersedcountrylikeCanada,theabilitytoprovideacoherentnationalstorythat

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unifiespublicattentionisprofoundlypowerful.Thisismoreratherthanlessthe

casegiventhespecializationandfragmentationthathasaccompaniedthe

innovationsofInternetnewsdeliveryandtheendlessdiversionsoftheblogosphere.

PrintmediacoverageoftheYorkstrikeborethisout.Asthestrikeworeon,

valuesantitheticaltodemocraticsocietywereevidentthroughoutnewscoverage.

Increasingly,wehavereducededucationtomereaccreditation.Tuitionisthoughtto

buypapersthatareproofsofpurchaseratherthansymbolsofresearchor

reflection.Studentsareportrayedasandbegintoactlikeconsumers,notlearners.

Parentsfretaboutthebillstheymustpayandthefailuretogetsatisfactionfor

servicesrendered.InthecoverageoftheYorkstrike,thesecorruptedvaluestook

theformofpopulistanger,onethatwasasintenseasitwasshallowandpoorly

informed.Mediacoveragetendedtofocusoncontroversysinceangerand

dissatisfactionsellbetterthandepthornuance.

Moreover,byfocusingonparticularindividualvictimsofthestrike(and

thereweremanypeoplewhosuffered,includingthestrikers,manywhomwere

themselvesgraduatestudents),thepresstendedtosupportsimplisticnarratives

abouttheconflict.Ratherthanconsideringthegrowthofclasssizes,thereductionof

well‐supportedfacultyorcutstopost‐secondaryfundingthatcoincidedwitha

decade‐longspikeinenrolment,morecolourfulstorieswereconcocted.These

posedspecializedacademicworkthatisincreasinglydonebycontractemployees

whoenjoylittlejobsecurityasaneasylife.Unionmembersweresimultaneously

lazyandpoliticallyradicalastheypushedformorebenefitswhiletheeconomy

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aroundthemtanked.Criticspointedtotheirunreasonabledemands,accusingthem

ofpursuinganagendaofgreedonbacksofsufferingstudentsandtheirhard

workingfamilies.Thus,thepresslargelyprovidedanoutletforacultureof

complaint.Fromreadingmostmediacoverageofthestrike,onemighthave

wonderedwhystudentswouldbotherattendinguniversityatallgiventhelackof

respectthegeneralpublicandmostcommentatorsseeminglyhadforhigher

educationortherelativevalueofthosewhoworktoprovideit.

Nowherearetheseprioritiesclearerthaninthediscussionboardsforonline

commentarythatnowaccompanymostweb‐basednewsstories.Publicdebateisof

courseonlyasinformedasitsparticipants.Sinceonlyasmallminorityof

commentatorshaveadirectconnectiontoparticularnewsstoriesbeingdiscussed,

onlinerantsare,inturn,areflectionoftherelativeofqualityofmainstreampress

coverageitself.Whenstoriesrecycleoldnews,treatimportantmattersofpublic

policyassport,reducecomplexlabournegotiationstoantagonistiche‐said,she‐said

battles,failtogiveneededcontexttoinformreadersand,mostdamningly,peddle

mythsandangerratherthanelevatingthelevelofdiscussion,democraticdiscourse

asawholesuffers.IfthediscussionoftheYorkstrikeonthenewspaperwebsitesis

anyindication,wearescrapingaverylowpointinthehistoryofpublicdiscourse

indeed.

Ouroverweeningfocusontheindividual,theconsumerknowsnoideological

boundaries,likeapathogen,ithasspreadthroughoutallofthemainstreampress

withlittleregardforparticularpartisanconcern.Ithasinfectedtheverycoreofthe

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bodypolitic.Addressingourselvestofightingthisinfectionofdemocraticprinciples

shouldbethepoliticalprojecttowhichthenewsmediadirecttheirattentionlest

theyfurtheramplifyandcompoundthisdeeplyunhealthyhabit.Itisnocoincidence

thatame‐first,the‐customer‐is‐always‐rightmantraholdsadominant,even

unquestionedpositioninpublicconsciousness.Thepublicneedstobetaughtthe

valueofeducationanddemocracy.Themediacanbeoneofthemosteffective

teachersoftheselessons.

Atthestrike’sconclusion,onethatwasonlyachievedthroughalegislated

back‐to‐workorder,thenewsmediachangedthechannelasquicklyassomanyof

thepreviouslyoutragedcommentatorsontheirmessageboards.Onlyahandfulof

postscriptsonthestrikewererun.Thoughdirewarningsaboutthelastingeffects

thestrikewouldhaveonYorkwerepublished,littlenewcontextwasoffered.No

storiesranonthepremier’ssuggestionthatacommitteebestrucktoavoidsuch

disputesinthefuture.Littlementionwasmadeofthesystemicproblemsthat

underwrotethestrikeconflict:fundingshortfalls,growingdependenceonnon‐

tenuredfacultytoteachuniversitycourses,deterioratingstandardsofquality

educationinuniversityclassroomsfarfromthehallsofYork,nowslowlylumbering

intoaction.Instead,theStarsmirkedatYork’seffortstorecover:“Flunkingout?

YorkU.offersafreedo‐over.”iii

Nowmorethanever,inanageofdecliningnewsreadershipandanemic

ratesofdemocraticparticipation,weneedavigorouslyengagedmedia.Ifthemain

sourceofinformationinasocietyisbeholdentoeconomicvaluesratherthan

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democraticobjectives,attentionspansnarrow,citizensbecomestakeholders,and

equityisreducedtoamerecommodityforexchangeratherthanastatementof

socialvalue.

Onlyacommitmenttodeliveringnewsthatskirtshollowdebatesabout

partisanshipandinsteadfocusesonacriticaldefenseagainstnarcissistic

individualismcanprovidethenecessaryantidotetothesebadhabitsofmindthat

haveovertakenourpublicdiscourse.Thatthecustomerisalwaysrightisrarely

questioned.If,however,weelevatethecustomertoapositionexaltedabovethatof

citizen,whowinsorlosesinaparticularlabourdisputeisofminorimportance.

Yorkhasbeenmuchmalignedforenduringthreestrikesinslightlymorethana

decade.However,ifwedonotrescueournewsmediafromthegraspofamindset

thatishostiledemocracy,itwillbetheCanadianpeoplewhowillhavestruckout.

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Notes:

iCarolGoar.“StrikeatYorkleavesdeepwounds.”TorontoStar.January28,2009.http://www.thestar.com/comment/article/578266iiCraigOffman.“Universitiesfacinglabourtimebomb.”NationalPost.January24,2009.http://www.financialpost.com/news‐sectors/story.html?id=1213174iiiLouiseBrown.“Flunkingout?YorkU.offersafreedo‐over.”TorontoStar.January28,2009.http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/585589

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