Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs boycotts Winnipeg Free Press for 'insensitive images' of late grand chief
Newspaper apologizes for use of image after premier says it violated Indigenous cultural norm
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs says it is boycotting the Winnipeg Free Press over what it calls the publication of "insensitive images" of the assembly's late grand chief that were taken shortly before her death last week — images the newspaper has now apologized for running.
AMC Grand Chief Cathy Merrick, 63, had been speaking to several media outlets when she collapsed outside Winnipeg's law courts on Friday and was pronounced dead in hospital shortly after.
An image posted on the Free Press website on Friday showed a crowd of staff and supporters gathering around the grand chief lying on the ground. Her upper body was partly visible, while her face was obscured by those crouching around her.
It sparked backlash on social media, including from former Long Plain First Nation Chief Kyra Wilson, who said on Facebook that the media and other individuals "have no right" to post pictures of the "deep loss suffered by our community."
The image was removed from the Free Press's website at 8:51 p.m. on Monday — 72 minutes after the AMC issued a news release announcing its boycott of the news outlet.
A different image of the scene outside the courthouse was printed in the Free Press's physical newspaper on the weekend. It shows several people around Merrick from farther back, though her ribbon skirt and feet are still visible through the crowd.
"After careful deliberation, the executive council has unanimously decided to boycott the publication for its unethical and disrespectful coverage of the tragic passing of our beloved Grand Chief Cathy Merrick," AMC said in a news release Monday.
The AMC, Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak and several First Nations leaders sent multiple requests to remove the images to the Free Press, but the publication refused, the AMC said.
"Their response to our requests was to suggest that the AMC and First Nations leadership should 'see some value' in the images," the AMC said in its release.
"This response is not only an affront to ethical journalism but also to the basic principles of human decency."
The AMC said it will not give any interviews to the Free Press, and the publication will not be invited to any of its events. The AMC also asked that all chiefs and allies refuse interviews with the newspaper, encouraging businesses to cancel subscriptions and advertisements with the outlet until further notice.
"As directed by the executive council, the AMC will uphold this boycott until a satisfactory response is received from the Winnipeg Free Press," a spokesperson told CBC News in an email on Tuesday.
Although the Free Press removed the image from the online article, the AMC said the boycott of the newspaper will continue.
Free Press apologizes for photo
CBC News requested comment from the Free Press but did not receive a response.
On Tuesday evening, the newspaper posted a column recapping the decision-making behind its reporting on Merrick's death and its response to "to concerns that arose from that coverage."
The column, co-written by the Winnipeg Free Press editor Paul Samyn and columnist Niigaan Sinclair, who is Anishinaabe, noted the paper's coverage "included a photograph showing the rush of medical assistance to the grand chief during what it is thought to be the final moments of her life."
It noted the Canadian Association of Journalists' ethical guidelines advise that news coverage should "intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see."
"Based on those guidelines, reporting on the grand chief's sudden death on the steps of the law courts was absolutely newsworthy," the column said, but added, "A picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case, many of the words we heard described it as disrespectful, traumatizing and dishonourable."
It also said the Free Press responded to criticism by making changes to its online story and then "dialing back" the prominence of the image in the print edition the next day.
"But we did not do as our Indigenous columnist initially advised, which was to remove the photograph," the Tuesday column said.
"To those who were upset and traumatized by the photo, you have our sincere apology," it said.
"Adding to the hurt the Indigenous community has already felt from the seismic events of recent headlines was never our intention."
The column said the Free Press resolves "to do better, to work more closely, to listen more."
The column did not specifically mention the AMC boycott.
CBC News reached out to AMC for further comment after the column was published.
'It's complicated': premier
Manitoba's premier weighed in on the controversy earlier in the day, saying "it's complicated."
"There is a real, legitimate cultural norm here that was violated," he told reporters at an unrelated news conference on Tuesday afternoon.
"There is a taboo around bodies and death that exists not just in Cree or Anishinaabe [cultures], but in many Indigenous nations, and I think part of reconciliation means a learning journey to understand why that is important to communities."
The AMC is "calling out a harm" that is not political, he said.
"I was there the next morning, hearing this expressed on a personal level, so this thing is real."
However, Kinew said he's also a government leader meant to represent all people, and he understands that the media's role is to inform the public.
"I'd hope that we can have a conversation so that there can be a learning opportunity for folks to understand what harm and what emotional impact that this decision had," he said.
"I am also very mindful of the chiefs and the AMC staff being in mourning, and I don't want to question anything that they're saying right now out of respect for the fact that they themselves are dealing with grief of not only their leader, but their close friend and co-worker."
'Things have changed'
The situation poses a crucial question for news editorial boards: Should personal loss trump the publication of sensitive images of important political figures?
Nicole Blanchett, an associate professor of journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University, said she can understand the Free Press's reasoning for publishing images of Merrick after she collapsed but also the subsequent backlash.
"I can see the news organization looking at this and saying, 'This is a picture of something happening in real time. There's news relevance to this, because this is an important public figure,'" said Blanchett, who spoke to CBC before the Free Press's Tuesday evening column was published.
She only viewed the image that was printed in the weekend newspaper.
"It's showing this sense of urgency," she said.
"But for anyone who has lost someone, for anyone who has a relationship with the person who's lying on the ground, it's a very different experience looking at this photo."
The Free Press's perception of the images of Merrick likely differs from the perception of Indigenous people, who have faced a long history of "bad journalism," Blanchett said.
"We do need to listen [particularly to] the Indigenous community about how their images are being used and whether or not we should be using them," she said.
The fact the Free Press removed the image from its online article is a sign that "things have changed," Blanchett said.
"It really represents a shift in the idea that newsrooms and journalism organizations are the only ones who have control over what's acceptable journalistic practice," she said.
"Now there's enough pushback that it's actually changing the practice in newsrooms."
Blanchett said what's clear is that the Free Press's relationship with AMC needs to be repaired.
"I think that really it's just a situation that's going to lead to a whole lot of conversations about journalistic practice and … how best to build community, especially with, you know, underserved communities [who have] not always been served well by journalism to begin with," she said.
The AMC previously boycotted the Winnipeg Sun newspaper and its parent company, Sun Media, in 2014, under former grand chief Derek Nepinak, for what it called "discriminatory reporting and biased editorial against Indigenous peoples," following coverage of the death of Tina Fontaine.
WATCH | AMC says it's boycotting Winnipeg Free Press:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Bartley Kives and Santiago Arias Orozco