A federally-subsidized report yesterday complained media are subject to “online abuse” from Canadian social media users and Freedom Convoy sympathizers..According to Blacklock's Reporter, the authors stopped short of endorsing federal censorship of Twitter and Facebook..“We are holding this event here on Parliament Hill, a place where so many journalists have been exposed to trauma and harassment,” said Allan Thompson, associate director of the Carleton University School of Journalism..Thompson, a former Toronto Star reporter, jointed Carleton and CBC staff in publishing the findings of an informal survey on newsroom job stress..“Even before the pandemic, media workers were already encountering a rise in harassment, confrontation and online abuse,” said the survey Taking Care: A Report On Mental Health, Well-Being And Trauma Among Canadian Media Workers..“COVID-19 only made things worse, turning media workers into targets for the public’s frustration with various pandemic-related safety measures. This came to a head during the Freedom Convoy.”.“The Freedom Convoy was a flashpoint for growing anti-media rhetoric,” said the report, adding that Journalists have been increasingly "targeted and intimidated online for doing their jobs.”.The findings were based on 916 questionnaires. Most respondents were Caucasian Ontario women under 40, said Media Workers..“56% of Canadian media workers reported being harassed or threatened on social media and 33% said they also experienced face to face harassment while working in the field,” wrote authors. “But not all of this adversity is delivered by disgruntled citizens; 28% of respondents said they got harassed in the newsroom too.”.Dave Seglins, a CBC Radio host and co-leader of the research project, said hurtful media criticism is growing. “There’s the rise of social media trolling, political polarization, anger directed at the so-called fake news, growing hate and harassment that has been targeting mainstream media online and in the field,” said Seglins..The study was funded by a $22,443 taxpayers’ grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. It was co-sponsored by the Canadian Association of Journalists..The CBC and Association of Journalists last October 1 issued a joint statement that they would “advocate for initiatives to reduce if not prevent online harm.” The Crown broadcaster said it would commission its own complaint-driven survey to document allegations of legal but hurtful internet comments..“We think industry-wide data will help us to advocate for initiatives to reduce if not prevent online harm,” Claude Galipeau, CBC executive vice-president, wrote in a statement at the time. “At the moment there is little Canadian data on the problem.”
