The media blog written by Steve Faguy, reports that staff at CTV News departments across the country were called into mandatory meetings on Thursday and told that they have to carry a camera as well as tell a story. “I don’t have specifics or numbers (I’ve asked CTV News for comment), but the headline is that journalists will be transformed into “videojournalists” who do not only their own reporting but also their own camerawork, editing and even writing for the web,” says Faguy. “As a result, editors and cameramen will be offered buyout packages or laid off. Layoff notices have been issued in Montreal and Toronto, I’m told, but not everywhere. In Montreal, 15 jobs are being cut and an unspecified number of online jobs added.
UNION CRIES POOR FOR BELL MEDIA
“CTV News already employs some videojournalists (there are four at CTV Montreal, all of them young), and they’re used at other networks as well, notably Citytv, which relies almost exclusively on them. “Today’s announcement from CTV of its shift to ‘digital-first’ airing of local news stories on the Internet was inevitable,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Retooling local news for digital is necessary and, hopefully, a successful business plan because local TV is being starved for advertising revenues and anything that brings in a bigger audience and more ad revenue is welcome.” Dias cautioned Bell Media of its responsibility to guide news staff through the technological change — Peter Rehak’s Media Matters.
