Recognizing, I guess, that despite not having most of its journalists the Journal de Montréal is still putting out a paper every day and people are still reading it, the union representing the 253 locked-out employees has released a new ad comparing the evil newspaper to some sort of drug, and Rue Frontenac to the nicotine patch.
It’s cute, but it just reminds me that people are still reading the Journal. And I don’t think most of them are trying to stop.
Meanwhile, the union has also put up a 13-question FAQ for those who want to learn more about their position and what’s at stake in this conflict.
Sometimes I ask cafe or diner owners who keep it for customers if they know it is a scab paper and almost nobody knows. The Journal has done a great job of making the strike seem invisible.
I hope Rue Frontenac can make a go of it as a business because I don’t see them wining any time soon.
Not sure I get it…
Actual Journal readers haven’t seemed to notice any sort of drop in quality since January 2009 and they keep on reading the paper. And yet, the union still think readers should voluntarily give up a 200-pager in favour of an amateurish (layout-wise anyway) 8-pager they have to print themselves?
The “new” Journal de MTL layout puts the spotlight on its journalists like never before (names, pictures, etc. in column or section mastheads), so much so in fact that the new names are already more familiar than the “old” ones ever were. Sure, the sports section has suffered heavier losses, but nothing close to a showstopper.
So far, all court decisions have confirmed that none of the boss’s contingency plan breaks the law in any way. There’s very little legal leverage left for the union to break the Journal’s momentum. As I see it, every passing day undermines the union’s position.
They just can’t win.
What’s their plan, really? Can they keep on dropping bombs on their employer and their newspaper like that, and then hope for a glorious homecoming?