Calgary Herald strike chapter from “Leaving Dublin”

4 Responses to Calgary Herald strike chapter from “Leaving Dublin”

1. Eugene Plawiuk | August 27, 2021 at 11:59 am | Reply

   thanks for this great article I have posted it on my Facebook page. I walked the picket line in 99 and did online support with my websites.

2. Brian Brennan | August 27, 2021 at 12:11 pm | Reply

   Thanks for the support, Eugene. If it hadn’t been for people like you, we wouldn’t have endured for as long as we did.

3. Bobbie Saga | May 21, 2021 at 5:45 pm | Reply

   Brian,

   I’m about two years late reading your book. I was not aware of it until today.

   At the time of the 1999 strike, I was just finishing my stint at Mount Royal’s journalism school. I had high hopes of becoming a hard news reporter. My first glimpse of what was ahead for me, however, came on that picket line, one I proudly walked with those who came before. Andy M taught me much about the realities of working in a news room.

   I went on to work for Conrad, only to have my hopes for a career dashed by giving fair coverage, writing balanced copy, and doing something akin to what an instructor referred to as “real news.”

   Thank you very much for your reflections about that very dark time in Canada’s journalism history. It was a turning point to something I no longer recognize.

   • Brian Brennan | May 21, 2021 at 5:59 pm | Reply

     Thank you for your comment, Bobbie. I hope journalism has proved to be as rewarding for you as it was for me during most of the 25 years I worked at the Herald. Like you, I no longer recognize the business as the one I signed up for when I was a 24-year-old with stars in my eyes.