Regulatory, Telecom & Media News – Wireless and home internet prices on decline, says federal report

Innovation, Science and Industry has released the 2023 Price Comparison Study of Telecom Services. The report shows wireless prices declined an average of 18.2% for data plans in 2023, consistent with the annual 18.6% price decline reported by Statistics Canada (Monthly change in cellular services price index) for the same time period. For home internet, the report found prices decreased across all service plans last year with significant decreases on plans up to 100 Mbps, including decreases of 8.6% for plans offering the universal access target of 50 Mbps.

CTV News and Chief Anchor and Senior Editor Omar Sachedina have announced the creation of the new Sachedina ∙ CTV News Fellowship, in partnership with RTDNF Canada and the University of Toronto’s Massey College. The fellowship will provide the opportunity for a journalism student from a Canadian university or college who has recently graduated or is within one year from graduation to receive a stipend of $10,000 to produce a substantial and original piece of journalism that will be considered for publication on a CTV News platform. Read more here.

The Michener Awards Foundation has announced the finalists for the 2023 Michener Award for meritorious public service journalism. This year’s finalists are The Canadian Press, CBC/Radio-Canada, The Globe and Mail, The Montreal Gazette, and The Narwhal + The Toronto Star. The foundation has also announced its Michener-Deacon Fellowship has been awarded to Ève Lévesque and Marie-Christine Noël, who will lead an investigation into food security in Canada for L’Actualité. The Michener-L. Richard O’Hagan Fellowship goes to Jean-Hugues Roy and Naël Shiab to create a free online course on data journalism. The recipients will be honoured at the annual Michener Awards ceremony at Rideau Hall on June 14, hosted by the Governor General of Canada.

Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), in partnership with the federal government, is launching an initiative dedicated to empowering independent Russian and Belarusian journalists facing severe censorship. The project will work to assist independent journalists in combating information manipulation and further empower them with up-to-date skills to produce fact-based, human rights-centered reporting. The project will provide digital security training, investigative journalism workshops, and mental health support, among other resources.

Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) will welcome JUNO-winning, Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer songwriter Aysanabee to its annual conference, June 5-6 at Fairmont Banff Springs. From Sandy Lake First Nation, a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario, Aysanabee won the coveted Songwriter of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year awards for Here and Now, the first Indigenous artist to win in either of those categories. Set to appear at WAB’s Gold Medal Awards dinner, he joins a speakers’ lineup that includes Conrad Black, Valerie Geller, Pat Bryson, and more.

B.C. Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) is still accepting last-minute registrations ahead of its May 7 conference at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond. This year’s speakers lineup includes broadcast veteran George Stroumboulopoulos in conversation with Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) morning show host Willy Percy, music programmer Sean Ross of Ross on Radio, and representation from the CRTC, Canadian Association of Broadcasters, Radio Connects, and more. Read more here.