Unifor members at CTV Ottawa ratified a new three-year deal with their employer last week. The 25 members of Local 715-M work as Technical Production Coordinators/Directors, Multi-skilled Journalists, VTR Ingest Coordinator/Editors, Creator Services Producer/Editors and Electronic Graphic Artists. Unifor said given the state of the media industry, the biggest challenge in negotiations was obtaining wage increases, with conciliation required to achieve 2% annual increases. The gains include protection against job erosion due to the use of viewer social media content. There were also improvements to existing clothing allowances for outerwear. The contract expires Dec. 31, 2026.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Whale Protection Unit, Fraser Coastal Detachment, has resulted in a hefty fine for Vancouver-based River Road Films and their drone operator for operating a drone too close to Northern Resident Killer Whales (NRKWs). On July 2, the company pleaded guilty to unlawfully capturing drone footage of NRKW activity by operating too close to a pod at a rubbing beach on Vancouver Island. River Road Films was fined $25,000 and prohibited from using or distributing the footage. The drone operator, Mathew Hood, was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. Both the film company and the drone operator are first time offenders. This was the first time a fine has been issued in Canada for unlawful use of a drone to capture killer whale footage. Under Marine Mammal Regulations, it is illegal to approach marine mammals with an aerial drone at an altitude below 1,000 ft. and within a half nautical mile.
Jordan Michael Smith, a contributor to The New Republic and a Fellow at Columbia University’s Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights, has won the 2024 Dalton Camp Award for his essay A Synagogue and a Mosque, reflecting on the role of a healthy media sector amid divisive historical moments. The $10,000 prize for the best essay on the link between media and democracy, is presented annually by Friends of Canadian Media. A second prize of $2,500 for the best essay by a post-secondary student is awarded to Dana Cramer for When Youth Don’t See the News, a commentary on the hazards of restricting journalistic content on social media. Cramer is a PhD Candidate in the joint Communication & Culture program at Toronto Metropolitan and York Universities. The award was created in 2002 to honour the memory of public affairs commentator Dalton Camp. Winners were chosen from over 300 entries. The winning essays can be read here.
