Regulatory, Telecom & Media News – Wireless, home internet prices on downward trend

Innovation, Science and Industry has published the 2022 Price Comparison Study of Telecom Services, an annual report that tracks the prices for wireless and home internet services. The report shows Canadian wireless prices declined by an average of 2.6%, with declines of up to 16% for the largest data plans in 2022. For home internet, prices declined or were stable, with an 11% decline recorded for mid-range plans. The report also found that regional competitors are offering prices up to 39% lower than the major national service providers. In another indication of declining prices, in January 2023, Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index showed that prices for cellular services declined by almost 30% from 2019 to 2022. Minister François-Philippe Champagne says despite that progress, Canadians are still paying too much for telecom services.

Richard Oliver has been sentenced to 12 months probation and ordered to undergo counseling after pleading guilty to criminal harassment for sending 980 CKNW Vancouver and CHEK TV talk show host Jody Vance more than 100 abusive emails over a seven-year period. A no-contact order remains in place for several other broadcasters. Vance called the sentence “fit for shoplifting, not years of harassment.”

RTDNA Canada (Radio Television Digital News Association) has announced a new 28-member Board of Directors as it pushes forward with an ambitious plan to boost its membership. Inclusive of leaders in broadcast and digital newsrooms from coast-to-coast, new directors for 2022-23 are Donna Carreiro, Producer, CBC Radio Manitoba; Espe Currie, Supervising Producer, CityNews Vancouver; Ramneek Gill, General Manager, CTV News Toronto/CP24; Michael Goldberg, Executive Producer, Global News Ottawa; Bhupinder Hundal, News Director/Station Manager, Corus Entertainment, BC; Trevor Koroll, Lead Digital Producer, Thomson Reuters; Sarah Mills, Provincial News Director, 980 CJME/650 CKOM; Janice Neil, Associate Professor, Toronto Metropolitan University; Mary Nersessian, Executive Producer, Audience Growth & Development, CTV News; Jumy Ogunsola, Journalist and Producer, CTV Vancouver; and Mark Solnoky, Executive Producer, APTN. President Lis Travers says each board member brings a unique perspective to the association at a time when journalism is being challenged by evolving news industry models. The organization has been focused on aggressively boosting its membership, which has surged from a low of just over 100 at the start of the year to 720 active members. Read more here.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation’s next J-Talk Live event will tackle the challenge of connecting with and engaging underserved audiences, including young people, racialized communities, news avoiders and news detractors. “We Can’t Keep Doing Things the Same Way,” on Thursday, March 23 at 1 p.m. ET, will bring together journalists and editors with demonstrated success at reaching and fostering relationships with new and underserved communities. Participating in the panel discussion are Juleyka Lantigua, founder and CEO of LWC Studios, Phoebe Connelly, director of Next-Generation Audience Development at The Washington Post, and Priyanka Vora, Director, Audience at Axios. Rebecca Zamon of The Globe and Mail will moderate.

The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma has announced the winners of its Mindset Awards for excellence in mental health reporting in 2022. The Globe and Mail’s Carly Weeks was named the winner of the Mindset Award for Workplace Mental Health Reporting for: “As COVID-19 misinformation spreads, threats at home and burnout at work take toll on health care workers.” The winner of the Mindset Award for Reporting on the Mental Health of Young People is freelance writer Leyland Cecco for his story in The Walrus: “How a Tourette’s Diagnosis Helped Me Understand Who I Am.” Winners will be celebrated on April 14 at the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) national conference in Vancouver, discussing their work with broadcast journalist and mental health advocate Shelagh Rogers.

Corus Entertainment has announced the launch of the so.da Social Marketing Scholarship and Internship under the Corus.Futures banner. With a focus on supporting students from underrepresented communities, the so.da scholarship opportunity has been established to foster the next generation of social media leaders, available to students who identify as racialized, Indigenous, living with disability and/or 2SLGBTQ+, and entering their final year of post-secondary diploma, advanced diploma or degree program with a focus on Marketing, Advertising, Advertising & Graphic Design, Advertising and Marketing Communications, Multimedia Design and Development, or Communications. Students entering their final year in September 2023 are eligible to apply by May 26.