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World News Day – marked on Sept. 28 each year – was founded in 2018 to raise awareness about the critical role journalists play in providing fact-based, credible information, so Canadians can better understand their communities and the world around them.
Today, the world continues to grapple with an alarming decline in press freedom, safety for journalists, and the stability of media organizations. Around the globe, journalists are facing harassment, violence, censorship, disinformation campaigns, and authoritarian crackdowns that silence truth-tellers and weaken democracy.
In 2024, the International Federation of Journalists reported the deaths of 122 journalists, among them 14 women. A record total of 533 journalists are being detained worldwide, according to the annual round-up of violence and abuses against journalists published by Reporters Without Borders.
The number of those killed has increased again this year—to 57—while 65 journalists are being held hostage and 49 are missing.
North America is not immune to these horrific trends. In the United States, political polarization and attacks on the press have accelerated in recent years, eroding public trust and fueling hostility toward journalists.
In Canada, the situation is different but deeply concerning in its own way—financial pressures on the news industry have led to newsroom closures, mass layoffs, and a shrinking of local journalism that threatens accountability in our communities.
Meanwhile, Canadian journalists are increasingly targeted with harassment and abuse, both online and offline while misinformation runs rampant online.
This month, Unifor’s Media Action Plan launched its hard-hitting Fact-Checked campaign, highlighting the need to ensure the public double checks that information is correct using a Canadian credible news source.
Canada has a proud history of strong, independent journalism, from uncovering government scandals to exposing corporate wrongdoing, often at great risk to reporters themselves.
Yet, as history shows us, when the media is weakened, so too is democracy. The decline of traditional financial models in journalism, with advertising revenues gutted by tech giants, public funding under pressure, and consolidation in media ownership, has left media workers and the public alike in a precarious position.
Unifor, Canada’s largest private-sector union, and its media sector—over 10,000 members strong—are on the front lines of defending journalism and media workers.
The union urges governments to prioritize press freedom and safety as core democratic values, ensuring that attacks on journalists are investigated and perpetrators held accountable. Governments must also continue the fight to right the imbalance between global tech giants and Canadian news outlets, ensuring sustainable funding for independent journalism.
Employers must do more to protect media workers from harassment, including digital security measures and mental health supports. Unifor is supporting the Canadian News Industry Peer Support system that gives journalists, including freelancers, access to trained peer supporters. More information can be found at uniformedia.ca/helpishere.
The public can also stand up for media freedom by subscribing, supporting, and engaging with credible news outlets.
Unifor Media is committed to making sure that the voices of journalists and media workers are heard, respected, and protected.
On World News Day, and every day of the year, defending journalism is not just about protecting a profession—it’s about defending the public’s right to know.
