Though Gazette vice-president Bernard Asselin described copy editing as a “technical” function, copy editors deal with countless aspects of editorial content that reflect local values. They write headlines, layout pages, choose wire stories, liaise with reporters, and most importantly edit articles to fix mistakes and match editorial policies of the newspaper.

Canwest wishes to replace Gazette copy editors by non-unionized workers at Canwest Editorial Services in Hamilton, Ont., who are not trained on the newspaper’s style guide, are not kept up to speed on design changes, and are not familiar with Montreal’s unique culture. (In December, they misspelled the name of Claude Lamoureux, the former president of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, in a feature headline. Gazette editors were powerless to fix the mistake, which appeared in special Canwest-produced Financial Post pages which local papers are being forced to insert into their business sections.)

Despite Canwest’s claims that this outsourcing is done in the name of efficiency and centralization, the true purpose is to replace unionized professionals in Montreal with cheaper, nonunionized, untrained staff in Hamilton.

One of the functions that copy editors perform is to adapt stories from other sources (such as news wires) to meet the specific needs of the newspaper. At a basic level, that means editing for style and cutting to fit the space available. But it can also involve editing more than one story together, inserting copy provided by local journalists, or adding or highlighting information of local interest. With the outsourcing of editorial work to CES, this process fails.

An example of this failure is in Monday’s Driving section (the Driving section is entirely produced by CES; Gazette editors have no control over its content, headlines, photos or layout). An article originally written for the National Post appears on Page C5 that gives Gazette readers the impression that winter tires are optional:

Obviously, one of the key factors in the equipment category is tires. While the value of using snow tires has been described often on these pages, the supply shortage this winter is forcing many drivers to make do with all-season tires. If you’re stuck having to use the all-season tread, the best advice is to remember that a half-worn all-season tire is the equivalent of a summer tire, and summer tires shouldn’t be used on snow.

If the tread depth on your all-seasons is half gone and winter tires are not available, Cox says you’d be better off getting a replacement set of all-seasons.

“The performance of all-season tires is dramatically reduced compared with winter tires, but if there is no alternative, the deeper the tread the better.

“However, the all-season tire’s rubber compound still can’t cope with lower temperatures, so you should dial back your driving to suit the road conditions. Remember to respect the limits of all-season tires.”

Cox likens the year-round use of all-season tires to wearing tennis shoes every day. “They’ll get the job done, but you’re more comfortable with sandals in the summer and snow boots in winter. You get better performance, comfort and safety.”

At no point does the article mention that winter tires are required by law in Quebec and that drivers with all-season tires in winter face fines of $200-$300.

This is not a “technical” error. It is misinformation being given to Gazette readers that is a direct and foreseeable result of the outsourcing of work outside Quebec.

This is only the beginning. So far, the Driving section is the only one being entirely produced outside The Gazette. If Canwest continues on the path of outsourcing the editorial production of the newspaper, how much more bad information will begin appearing in The Gazette?

Sign our petition, and tell The Gazette that you want your newspaper produced in Montreal, not in southern Ontario.

We think Montrealers deserve a newspaper created by Montrealers who know and love the city.

Canwest is already laying out some Gazette pages and writing some headlines in Hamilton, Ont. Next it would want to outsource the editing of the articles on those pages to Hamilton.

And after that? 

Would you believe having a reporter covering Montreal city politics from another part of Canada? 

That’s just the scenario that emerged when Bernard Asselin, The Gazette’s vice president of marketing and reader sales, was interviewed by Mike Finnerty on Daybreak, CBC Radio’s Montreal morning show.

Asselin was asked what types of Gazette jobs Canwest wants to ship to other parts of Canada.

Asselin: It’s not someone from outside the province going to city hall to cover Mayor Tremblay’s press conference

Finnerty: That’s not going to happen?

Asselin: Well, not at this point. This is the core product

Finnerty: Not at this point or not ever?

Asselin: Not at this point but you know what, the busines model is broken right now in the newspaper industry. … We need to look at all the options and be flexible. 

Click here to listen to the entire Jan. 27 interview, as well as an interview with Guild representative Irwin Block.

Despite constantly claiming the need to reduce costs by cutting down on the amount of space devoted to news and information, The Gazette somehow managed to save space for four full-page excerpts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) from a book about Canwest Global founder Izzy Asper this week, representing over 6,200 words. This does not include a 1,200-word review of the book which dismisses the fact that it was paid for and pre-screened by the Asper Foundation and Asper’s wife.

Since these excerpts appeared in newspapers across the Canwest chain, it seems clear once again that The Gazette exercised no editorial control and that this content was forced upon The Gazette by its Winnipeg-based owners, Asper’s sons, Leonard and David.

Do you believe The Gazette should control what appears in its own newspaper? Take action and keep The Gazette in Montreal.

CBC’s Radio Noon call-in show today focused on the issue of journalistic independence and media diversity. Host Anne Lagacé Dowson talked to Marc Edge, author of Asper Nation.

Among the callers is Charles Shannon, former Gazette copy editor and Montreal Newspaper Guild vice-president, who talks about buyouts and how Canwest shapes your local news.

Listen to the interview in Real Audio format: Part 1, Part 2.