Virgin Mobile Canada has turned on Virgin TV for Virgin Internet subscribers in Ontario and Québec. The app-based service doesn’t require a traditional TV set-top box or installation, and works on any iOS or Android device, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Android TV, Apple TV and Google Chromecast. The core package includes more than 50 channels, including CTV Drama Channel, CP24, Food Network, HGTV, TLC and all the major Canadian and U.S. networks with à la carte packages available to add like Crave + Movies + HBO and Starz. The subscription-based service is available exclusively to Virgin Internet members with 15 Mbps or higher Unlimited Virgin Internet plans. Current members can add the service starting from $35. Virgin Internet + TV starts at $85.
MTM Junior has released a new report focused on the use of social media by Canadian teens, aged 12 to 17, including a deeper dive into teens using Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok. Some top findings from the Teens and Social Media report include that 87% are using social media; girls are more likely to use social media at 92%, compared to boys at 82%; and Instagram is far more popular among teens than among older Canadians (18+) who use social media (67% versus 47%). The difference in Snapchat use is even more pronounced (57% versus 23%).
Canadaland staff have filed for union certification with CWA Canada after all non-management workers signed union cards. “Over the past seven years, Canadaland has grown into one of the country’s premier podcast companies and one of its few sustainable journalism start-ups. We, the workers of Canadaland, are proud of the effort and creativity that have gone into making this possible,” asserted staff in a Canadaland Union Mission Statement, released by CWA. In order to ensure that success continues, we believe that forming a union is the best path forward — not just for us, but for the company as a whole.” The statement goes on to say that alongside that growth, it believes unionizing will help “implement systems and standards to reduce turnover and burnout” and assist in establishing “clear policies setting out organizational structure, editorial vision, and concrete measures for achieving greater diversity in our workplace and programming.” Read more here.
The Winnipeg Free Press is ending online comments on articles as part of anti-racism pledge. In a July 3 article from editor Paul Samyn entitled ‘An apology for marginalizing people of colour; and a promise to atone for our past’, he explores the paper’s history, including ownership and leadership rooted in racism, its demonization of the Metis in the 1950s, silence on Jewish segregation, and the paper’s failure to dig into the deaths of Helen Betty Osborne, J.J. Harper, Brian Sinclair and Tina Fontaine. “That’s also why we are closing down our online commenting section as of July 14. While much of the conversation involving our readers is healthy, we all too frequently have to shut down comments on certain stories that can be magnets for racist commentary. We want no part of spreading such opinions and will instead introduce new ways to engage with readers and to share their voices,” writes Samyn.
