News Orgs Are Placating Far-Right Forces
Domestically and internationally, news orgs benefit from protecting power
Late Sunday night, April 12th, CityNews announced that their reporter Tina Yazdani was no longer with the organization. In an excellent scoop reported by Ahmed Elbayoumi at Policorner, he revealed that at least two of Yazdani stories have disappeared, without comment, from the CityNews website. One of these stories included Education Minister Paul Calandra telling her "Don't interrupt me. Let me finish and then I'll get to you."
Yazdani was with CityNews for two years. Despite the fact that CityNews policy states a story won't be removed unless it was "flawed and indefensible," there has been no explanation as to why Yazdani's stories have been removed, or why she was let go from the organization. However, this would not be the first time that CityNews removed a story without comment. In September of 2024, a story praising vigilante Zionist organizations that displayed symbols associated with FBI-terrorist groups was published and then deleted. No explanation was given.
Scott Martin
Two days later, Joseph Cox at 404Media published a story covering a lawsuit at Thomson Reuters, the parent company of the international news outlet Reuters. The lawsuit alleges the company fired an employee for publicly criticizing the company's policy of "selling data products" to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In a statement shared with 404Media, former Thomson Reuters employee Billie Little said they saw evidence that the company's products were being used to harm people. "I did what anyone would do– I raised the alarm. Thomson Reuters' response was to fire me."
The product in question is CLEAR, a data broker product that includes personal data ranging from Social Security numbers to addresses and ethnicities. This database reinforces tools used by ICE, as reported by 404Media.
At this time, there is no explanation from Rogers or CityNews as to why Yazdani was fired. But her confrontational approach to public figures in the Ontario government being a factor is not out of the question. Ford's government is in the middle of a massive powergrab campaign. They plan to eviscerate Freedom of Information laws primarily to protect official business conducted on Ford's personal cellphone. His government is effectively removing School Trustees from schoolboards and bulldozing municipal and provincial laws with "Special Economic Zone" powers designated in Bill 5. Even for Ford, these pushes are anti-democratic.
Given the benefit of the doubt, a reporter who has repeatedly held Ford government officials to task being fired with no explanation still assists the provincial government. One less voice is now scrutinizing the ministers and institutional powers that are restricting freedoms. At this point, there's no evidence to suggest that this was done at the behest of an official's request to CityNews. But if that's the case, it's an even worse scenario; pre-emptively removing a critical voice without direct interference from the government shows an astounding deference to power. Only time will tell if there's more to this story than what is publicly known at this juncture.
Scott Martin
The lawsuit against Thomson Reuters reflects a different but similar dynamic at play. The company is directly profiting from its association with ICE and their campaign of terror. One employee who raised concerns about this was fired. As the lawsuit plays out, we'll see what, if any, credible defense is deployed to exonerate the company. But I doubt there will be a satisfying explanation.
Two stark examples of employees who were critical of the power structure that dominates their news organizations being fired. The commonalities, especially in this far-right period of political power, are important to grasp. In the Canadian case, a government tightening its grip on democratic processes now has to face one less critical voice in media scrums. The irritation of Calandra in one of the removed stories may give insight into Yazdani's firing. If Rogers and CityNews want to continue to have access to the government and make a profit, it makes logical sense to temper negative coverage of the party in power. In a scenario where Yazdani was let go for other reasons, there is still a benefit to be had in her firing.
Reuters, however, is directly profiting from the financial explosion in ICE. This line of benefit is far more direct, but the firing of both employees shows that corporate interests continue to be the primary motivation for news media companies. As I have written time and time again, this is the true function of the news media. As all corporations in a capitalist system, their purpose is to benefit capital. But news organizations come with the added bonus to shape narratives. That added bonus is very powerful. It's also one that is routinely abused by the pursuit of capital.
