For as long as I can remember, the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has been a colourless, almost invisible organization. Its annual conferences were earnest, politically correct, dull affairs with no glitz or excitement but plenty of workshops like “Nuts and Bolts of Computer-assisted Reporting.” These drab confabs were totally ignored by the public, and even journalists who attended seemed too embarrassed to write about them afterwards.
I’m surprised to report that the CAJ seems headed in a new and more pro-active direction. It all started at this year’s tumultuous and dramatic convention called Deadline ‘99, where the association had to contend with an uninvited but inevitable takeover by Hollinger Inc.
After much rancorous debate, the merger was approved despite the impassioned teeth-gnashing and breast-beating of the vestigial left-wing elements of the organization. A completely revamped CAJ executive promised at the meeting to push strongly for a national system of journalist accreditation.
Incoming CAJ president Dark Vader stated that national journalism standards are a top priority. “The hodge-podge of journalism school drop-outs and self-taught alcoholics just won’t wash for a professional association,” said Vader. “It’s the CAJ’s con-given mission to ensure that each and every young Canadian journalist is properly groomed, and that aging hacks are brought up to snuff or snuffed out.”
Hollinger CEO Conrad Black, who took the stage after the takeover was approved, said he would be gratified if his purchase of the CAJ had brought a new vigour and purpose to the organization’s activities. “If people say we saved the CAJ from irrelevance, fair enough,” said Black.
When asked about the CAJ acquisition itself, Black noted Hollinger already owned the majority of the journalists in the organization, so a takeover was the next obvious step.
“We are always looking to expand our media presence in Canada, but we were running out of things to buy. So when we heard the CAJ was in financial difficulty, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to create a more efficient news environment in Canada,” Black said. “In combination with our controlling interest in Canadian Press and our other properties, we can finally aspire to the vertical integration necessary for a modern information organization.”
The CAJ national standards initiative is already making rapid progress. According to a package I just received from the organization, more than 88 per cent of Canadian daily newspapers have agreed to make CAJ professional accreditation a job requirement. Under this regimen, new recruits and old hands alike will have to complete a set of professional seminars and examinations in order to be eligible for employment.
The package included a sampling of the proposed CAJ curriculum as well as a letter from ultimate CAJ proprietor Conrad Black vehemently denying there was a shred of truth to the odious innuendo that he had influenced the content of the new accreditation exams. The required professional development courses include:
Press Release Toolkit 101 – Introduction to the foundation of modern journalism: the official press release – be it corporate or government. Advanced topics include recycling a series of press releases into an in-depth piece for those increasingly popular “Insight” sections.
Advertorial for Fun and Profit – Survey of recent trends affecting this newspaper golden goose which is a win-win-win solution for corporate customers, cost-cutting editors and deadline-cornered journalists.
Expanding Objectivity – Takeovers by ever-expanding conglomerates will increase journalistic integrity. Being part of a major corporate empire insulates and protects journalists from the insidious influence of non-profit special-interest groups and community activists.
Travelling the Right Road Not a Dead End – The nuts and bolts of balanced reporting: avoiding left-wing pot holes by toeing the dotted corporate line.
