A recent poll suggests that about a quarter of journalists in major newsrooms in English Canada are of diversity, which roughly matches the proportion of Canadians from visible minorities. Representativeness which is however far from being achieved in Quebec.
At Postmedia, owner among others of National Post, almost 25% of the journalists surveyed claim to be from an ethnic minority group, reveals a study published Thursday by the Canadian Association of Journalists. According to the same probe, about 30% of CBC News newsroom staff are from minority groups, 3% more than the general Canadian population.
It is impossible to have such a precise portrait of the Quebec media ecosystem: neither the major press groups nor the Professional Federation of Quebec Journalists (FPJQ) have conducted this type of survey. Which says a lot about the cultural gap between the two solitudes on this issue, some observers argue.
“There is a lot more diversity at CBC than here. It is normal, we talk about much more diversity in English Canada and for much longer, ”remarks Pierre Tousignant, president of the Union of workers of Radio-Canada.
In the absence of figures, the French-speaking management of the crown corporation still recognizes that its journalists may not yet be enough like Quebec, where visible minorities account for about 13% of the population according to the 2016 census. However, we ensure that every effort is made to recruit journalists of various origins.
“It is fundamental that cultural communities recognize themselves in public service. It brings a better perspective of the issues. I watch everything that is happening in the United States and I am therefore very aware of the importance for people of diversity to reach managerial positions as well, ”insisted the Director General of Information of Radio-Canada. , Luce Julien, interviewed at To have to.
Luce Julien refutes any multiculturalist bias by staunchly defending this approach. For her, promoting diversity of origin does not come at the expense of diversity of points of view, on the contrary. On the other hand, there is no question of assuming a policy of positive discrimination or quotas in due form, Radio-Canada preferring to bet on “targets”. A speech similar to that of the UQAM Media School.
“We have a very limited program with a very strict French test. We accept between 55 and 70 students per year, and we refuse around 200. We will continue to adopt this strategy, but during that time, we have various initiatives to attract students of diversity, in particular Aboriginal students. with scholarships, ”explains Patrick White, head of the journalism program.
Patrick White points out, however, that the representation of cultural communities within the Quebec media cannot be compared to the situation prevailing in English Canada, where language is not an issue.
What is more, the profession of journalist does not have a good press in certain cultural communities, which further complicates the recruitment of young people with an immigrant background.
“Honestly, it’s really tough. It is not as well regarded as engineering or careers in the health field, ”adds Jean-Hugues Roy, also a professor at the School of Media.
Between 2010 and 2019, Jean-Hugues Roy analyzed approximately 522,000 articles published in one of the three main Quebec dailies (The duty, Press and The Journal of Montreal) as part of a study that has not yet been published. He estimated that barely 3% of the texts were written by a journalist who was part of a visible minority.
The Quebec Office for Ethnocultural Diversity (OQDE) carried out roughly the same exercise in 2019, but this time for opinion pieces.
While 13% of Quebecers say they belong to a visible minority, it turned out that half as many columns were signed by a member of diversity.
“The more visible minorities see themselves in the media, the more they feel part of society. And on the other hand, the more the majority group sees visible minorities, the less it tends to discriminate, ”explains Hassan Serraji, director of OQDE.