Quebec City’s first free daily newspaper, MédiaMatin Québec, made its appearance this morning. Published from Monday to Friday in a run of 40,000 copies, the new daily is the initiative of locked-out Journal de Québec staff. It plans to cover current events with a special focus on local news.
Denis Bolduc, spokesperson for the Journal de Quebec locked out workers, explains that all locked-out Journal employees will be asked to participate in this endeavour. “Everyone is putting their shoulder to the wheel,” he said. “The expertise of all the locked-out workers, whether journalists or photographers, will be put to good use.” Denis Bolduc also notes that the daily distribution of the newspaper will be handled by the locked out workers, guaranteeing maximum distribution. “And thanks to this collective effort, we can now say to the people of Quebec City: ‘Here is your local news!’”
Bolduc continued to say that what union members really want is to reach an agreement with the management of the Journal de Québec. The creation of the new daily should be viewed as a pressure tactic to return to the bargainning table
Some 280 employees working on the Journal de Québec, a division of Sun Media Corporation, are represented by four unions (Office, Printers, News Room, and Advertising Representatives), all affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-FTQ). Only the union of advertising representatives has reached an agreement with the employer, and that was narrowly ratified by 54.5%. When it is publishing, the Journal de Quebec runs of 104,000 copies on weekdays and 127,000 on Saturdays, it is the largest daily newspaper in Quebec City.
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