CTV News restructuring, cutting jobs in five provinces, says union
Posted May 9, 2019 1:57 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO — The union representing staff at CTV News says restructuring announced today has impacted jobs at stations in at least five provinces, and will result in a net reduction of staffing.
Unifor says the stations affected by restructuring include the CTV1 stations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
The union, which represents local television staff across the media chain, says CTV News’ parent company Bell Media has told journalists and field technicians to expect a mix of retraining, layoffs and new “digital” jobs.
Unifor National President Jerry Dias says retooling local news for the digital world is “necessary” and is “hopefully, a successful business plan.”
He adds in a release that local television is being “starved” for advertising revenues and anything that brings in more viewers and ad revenue is “welcome.”
However, Dias says Unifor has told Bell Media that the restructuring cannot leave media workers out in the cold, stressing it has a responsibility to guide news staff through the technological changes.
“We are going to ensure no media worker is left behind,” he said in a statement. “Bell knows us pretty well and they know we mean it.”
A spokesman for CTV News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Canadian Press
