CBC/Radio-Canada says it will consider “all possible measures” to manage its financial pressures, following criticism from current and former journalists that the public broadcaster wasn’t considering cuts to executive bonuses as it looks for $125 million in savings. The public broadcaster announced last week that it would eliminate 800 positions as part of that cost-cutting, amounting to about 10% of its workforce, and reduce its English and French programming budgets. An appearance by President & CEO Catherine Tait on The National fueled further outrage when she refused to clarify whether cutting executive compensation was being considered, as chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault touted data from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation indicating that in 2022, the CBC paid out more than $16 million in bonuses. Read more here. As reported by Global News, the House of Commons heritage committee, which Tait will appear before in the New Year, has deemed it “inappropriate for the CBC to grant bonuses to executive members.”
CBC/Radio-Canada’s latest Environmental Sustainability Report is highlighted by a 35% reduction in business travel and an annual energy consumption reduction of 7%. The report is the second since the launch of the public broadcaster’s 2021–26 environmental strategy, Greening Our Story, and covers key initiatives from April 2022 to March 2023. The corporation also reduced its annual water consumption by 4% and completed two renewable energy projects in Point La Nim, NB and Carp, ON with Point La Nim becoming CBC’s first carbon-neutral transmission site.
Corus Entertainment has released its 2023 Sustainability Report, which outlines the company’s ongoing advancement of sustainability initiatives anchored by its Planet, People and Responsibility goals. Corus reported a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2022, with a 73% waste capture rate at Corus Quay. The report also includes diversity data, indicating 21.3% of employees identify as a visible minority, 16.4% in positions at director and above.
CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) has announced an investment in Cogeco Communications following the investment group’s purchase of the entirety of Rogers Communications holdings in the company. Upon the closing of the transaction, CDPQ will hold $350 million in Cogeco capital. CDPQ first invested in the company in 2013 by providing a CAD $50 million loan. In 2017, it also contributed USD $315 million toward Cogeco’s $1.4B acquisition of MetroCast cable systems in the U.S.
The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) has announced it’s wrapping up operations after more than 55 years. Conceived in 1967 as a Centennial Broadcast Museum project, with initial funding from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), a physical museum was first considered before CCF Chairman and retired All-Canada and Selkirk Communications executive Ross McCreath moved in 1994 to make the internet the home of Canadian broadcasting history. Since then, through industry donations and volunteer support, CCF has published a comprehensive database of radio and television station histories, ownership, networks, and programming. The CCF’s collected materials will continue to be available online through archive.org, while York University will continue the work of studying and cataloguing the history of Canadian broadcasting at broadcasting-history.ca. Read more here.
The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF), in partnership with Narcity Media Group, has launched the new CJF-Narcity News Creator Fellowship dedicated to nurturing the growth of emerging video storytelling talent. Sponsored by YouTube Canada and the Google News Initiative, the six-week fellowship offered to six emerging news-content creators, will provide training and mentorship from Narcity editors and journalists, focusing on the creation of local news videos for publication on both Narcity and the creator’s YouTube and social channels. Fellows will receive a $5,500 stipend. The deadline for submissions is Jan. 26.
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) invites members of the media to submit stories for the association’s annual Media Awards competition. A committee of reporters and nurses, selected by RNAO, will judge stories published or broadcast in Ontario in 2023. Previous winners include The Ottawa Citizen, CBC Toronto, CityNews, and Latinos Magazine, focused on a variety of topics including COVID vaccinations, a peek behind the scenes of an emergency room, and the health-care obstacles faced by Black women. Nominations must be received via the online submission form no later than March 1.
