Pelmorex has confirmed it’s laid off 14 staff across the organization. The parent company of The Weather Network and MétéoMédia says changes to the business have resulted in the elimination of 14 roles across various business units. In an email to Broadcast Dialogue, the company said “Decisions to eliminate roles are always difficult and are not taken lightly. Last week’s announcement does not change our TWN/MM team’s purpose to tell the most compelling weather stories. Pelmorex is and continues to be focused on delivering engaging, multi-platform weather news and information to consumers and businesses across Canada.”
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has issued a last call for applications for the CAB Emergency Relief Fund. CAB will be accepting first round applications for the federal $22.5 million independent private broadcaster emergency relief fund until Friday, Oct. 30. Independent private radio, local TV or discretionary TV services that provide news and information programming, and have not yet applied, are encouraged to visit the CAB’s Guidelines and Attestation for details. Since the launch of the fund on Sept. 8, the CAB, in its capacity as administrator, has distributed funding to over 50 independent broadcast groups. A second round of funding is expected to begin in November.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is condemning an Oct. 7 incident in which Winnipeg Police information officer Rob Carver seized a phone from a bystander at the scene of a police-involved shooting. Winnipeg Free Press reporter Ryan Thorpe was in the process of procuring a video from the bystander when Carver took the phone to prevent the video from being made public. Thorpe says he then went about his job of knocking on doors in the vicinity of the shooting to try and interview possible witnesses. Another officer tried to prevent Thorpe from doing this and when Thorpe ignored officers, they expanded the police-cordoned area to prevent him from further door knocking in the immediate area. CAJ says this is not the first complaint of interference it’s received in reference to the Winnipeg Police Service, including but not limited to an incident in 2015 where WPS confiscated a camera and footage belonging to APTN.
