¡Viva la Revolución! Away from the noise of Tory Conference, comrades over at the far-left The Canary have staged a coup against their evil capitalist overlords and installed a “worker-owned cooperative“. All previous shareholders of Canary Media Limited have been given the boot, and the new Canary Workers Co-op is now calling the shots:
This week, we are relaunching the Canary as a worker-owned cooperative. This means that all decisions will be made by the workers from now on. There will be no bosses, and everyone will get paid the same for a day’s work. We aim to be an example of radical democracy in action. The Canary has adopted a ‘sociocracy’ structure. It should have been like this from the beginning […] It’s shocking that a media organisation set up to do “courageous”, “campaigning journalism” on the side of the oppressed was set up with a rigid hierarchy and inequality in pay and conditions between the workers and the bosses.”
Now the 15 staff running the show say they are facing “tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid VAT” and National Insurance contributions left behind by the “chaotic and collapsing” previous leadership. They are now promising a “horizontal structure” where everyone receives the same £12-per hour salary. The revolution will be publicised…
Corbynista spin factory The Canary has joined Max Mosley’s state-backed press regulator Impress. It might seem like they were made for each other, but The Canary‘s less than reality-based offerings will surely pose the acid test for Impress’s already laughable claim at impartiality. Interesting how it’s always mad lefty sites who want to sign up to this particular regulator…
Clause 9 of the Impress Standards Code on suicide might cause an issue. It states: “When reporting on suicide or self-harm, publishers must not provide excessive details of the method used or speculate on the motives.” Wonder what they’d think of the Canary‘s now infamous piece publishing lurid details and speculation about a junior doctor’s suicide to bash Jeremy Hunt. With gross disregard for Samaritans reporting advice.
Then there is Clause 1 of the Impress Code on accuracy: “Publishers must always distinguish clearly between statements of fact, conjecture and opinion. Whilst free to be partisan, publishers must not misrepresent or distort the facts.” You can take your pick of previous Canary stories which would have breached this, for example this article still up which wrongly claims a Sun journalist impersonated a Grenfell victim. Not to mention the time they published as fact a debunked pro-Assad conspiracy theory by a discredited author. Look forward to Impress properly holding them to account…
Canary editor Kerry Anne Mendoza clearly didn’t get Jezza’s Brexit-backing memo, telling Question Time she backs a second referendum. Cue a chorus of boos. If she was in the Shadow Cabinet Corbyn would sack her for such insubordination…
