Bell Media cuts CTV Calgary sports reporter positions

As part of a nationwide restructuring by parent company Bell Media, CTV Calgary is losing three sports reporter/anchor positions in Calgary, Peter Shokeir of the Calgary Herald reports.
Local athletes, other members of Calgary’s sports media and viewers took to social media to show support for Glenn Campbell, Lisa Bowes and Heath Brown, whose positions were affected at CTV Calgary, although what happens to them could ultimately depend on local union procedures.
Canadian hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser tweeted:
“Very sorry to hear this news. @CTVGCampbell @CTVHeathBrown @CTVLisaBowes . . . great people who did a lot for #yycsports,” Canadian hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser tweeted.
MORE

Globe and Mail suspends columnist Leah McLaren after breastfeeding controversy

A source told the Star that McLaren, who wrote about her attempt to breastfeed Tory Leadership candidate Michael Chong’s baby without his knowledge and at a time when she was not lactating herself, has been forbidden to comment on her controversial column or on her suspension.

Calls and e-mails to the newspaper were not immediately returned Thursday. McLaren told the Star by email on Thursday that she could not comment.

The story

Former Star medical reporter Marilyn Dunlop dead at 88

Marilyn Dunlop, long-time Toronto Star medical science writer has died at age 88, the Star reports. Dunlop, who studied journalism at the University of Western Ontario, began what would become a 28-year-long career at the Star in 1964.

Star obit

 

 

Author of Maclean’s Quebec malaise piece steps down from post at McGill

The author of a controversial article about Quebec that appeared in Maclean’s magazine this week has stepped down from his post at McGill University, the Canadian Press reports.

Andrew Potter said in a social media post Thursday his resignation as director of the Institute for the Study of Canada was effective immediately.

Potter described Quebec in the article as a “pathologically alienated and low-trust society” with a glaring absence of solidarity.

It stated the events surrounding the recent massive snowstorm that saw 300 cars stranded overnight on a major Montreal highway revealed a malaise that is “eating away at the foundations of Quebec society.”

McGill University said it accepted the resignation but that Potter will remain an associate professor in the faculty of arts.

Full CP story

Vice journalist must turn over materials to RCMP, appeals court rules

The Star's Alyshah Hasham writes:

After VICE Media reporter Ben Makuch published three stories about accused terrorist Farah Shirdon in 2014, the RCMP demanded he hand over all his communications with Shirdon.

The ensuing legal battle that set press freedom against the interests of law enforcement reached the Court of Appeal, which on Wednesday upheld a lower court’s decision not to quash the order to produce the documents.

The ruling is being criticized by press freedom and civil liberties organizations for putting a “chilling effect” on public interest reporting and free expression.

FULL Story

Canadian Press story

Betty Kennedy dead at 91

Journalist and television personality Betty Kennedy, famed for her work on CBC's long-running current affairs quiz show Front Page Challenge, has died at 91. Kennedy, who was born and raised in Ottawa, died on Monday, according to a statement from her family.
Link to CBC obit

Jimmy Breslin, chronicler of wise guys and underdogs, dies at 88

Jimmy Breslin, who died Sunday at 88, was a fixture for decades in New York journalism, notably with the New York Daily News, and he won a Pulitzer Prize for pieces that, among others, exposed police torture in Queens and took a sympathetic look at the life of an AIDS patient.
AP obit

Subway seeking $210-million in lawsuit against CBC after 'factually incorrect' chicken report

Subway, the fast food chain, has filed a lawsuit seeking $210-million in damages against the CBC after a Marketplace report aired that alleged close to 50% of the chicken it uses in sandwiches is actually soy.
“Despite our efforts to share the facts with the CBC about the high quality of our chicken and to express our strong objections to their inaccurate claims, they have not issued a retraction, as we requested,” Subway said in a Thursday statement, according to the New York Post. “Serving high-quality food to our customers is our top priority, and we are committed to seeing that this factually incorrect report is corrected.”
The Post report said the CBC has been notified of the lawsuit but has not received a copy of it.
“We believe our journalism to be sound and there is no evidence that we’ve seen that would lead us to change our position,” a CBC spokeswoman told the Post.
More

Brit newspaper has staff working from home; good piece on the subject

By Jessica Caparini of University of King's College writes in The Signal: (excerpt)

"The shift to telecommuting has been controversial. While embraced by organizations in many industries, some companies ban working from home entirely. Yahoo is the most prominent. And France last year passed a new law that forbids companies from forcing employees to check work emails in their off-hours.

"Telecommuting is appealing because it saves companies the costs of operating a building, saves employees commute time and, because people feel they must be available all the time, it makes people more engaged with their work. Most companies find that employees are more productive when they telecommute."

The story as picked up by J-Source

CNN, Daily Caller seek press gallery membership amid growing global interest in Canadian politics

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s global advocacy for liberal pluralism in an era of growing right-wing populism is sparking renewed interest among international news outlets in covering Canadian politics, says columnist Andrew Cohen, as CNN rejoins the Parliamentary Press Gallery for the first time in two decades, the Hill Times reports.
CNN correspondent Paula Newton was granted a temporary six-month membership in the Canadian Parliamentary Press gallery last month, as was David Krayden, a reporter for U.S.-based The Daily Caller, an online news service founded by conservative pundit Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel, a former chief policy adviser to Republican vice-president Dick Cheney.

Vince Coglianese, editor of The Daily Caller, described Mr. Krayden’s temporary membership and expanding coverage of Canada’s Parliament as a “natural fit,” with the website already attracting many Canadian readers each month.
Full story

Famous AP photog Nick Ut retiring

Nick Ut, the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer most famous for the stunning black-and-white image from the Vietnam War that’s become known  as “Napalm Girl,” is retiring this month after 51 years with The Associated Press.
The story

 

Postmedia announces 54 layoffs at Vancouver Sun and Province subsidiary

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. has announced 54 layoffs at its British Columbia subsidiary, which owns the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province, the Financial Post reports.The company told staff Friday that the layoffs at Pacific Newspaper Group are part of a previously announced plan to reduce salary costs by 20 per cent across the company’s nationwide operations.
Unifor Local 2000, which represents employees at Pacific Newspaper Group, said that the layoffs, combined with the departure of 38 staff who took voluntary buyouts in January, “would reduce the entire staff by 42 per cent.” Postmedia had roughly 4,000 employees across Canada.
Full story

CBC's The National going digital

CBC News has announced a new organizational structure, with a heavy emphasis on digital as well as changes to The National, CP reports.

In a memo distributed to staff on Tuesday, editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire said digital will now be a part of everything CBC News does and “not a stand-alone pillar” of its service.

She also said the public broadcaster plans to push “the visual and audience experience” of The National, making the flagship nightly news brand “more than just a one-hour program at 10 p.m.”

McGuire said the show’s team “will create digital native content as well as content for the destination newscast.”

In September, The National anchor Peter Mansbridge announced he would step down from the show after taking part in the CBC’s Canada Day coverage for the country’s 150th birthday.

Journalist Steve Ladurantaye, who was Twitter Canada’s head of news and government partnerships before joining the CBC last May, has been appointed the new managing editor of The National, and tasked with “redefining The National for the next generation.”

John Boynton picked as new Torstar CEO

The Star's Francine Kopun writes:

"A business executive who delivered the Toronto Star as a boy has been appointed Torstar Corporation’s new president and chief executive officer.

John Boynton, a seasoned marketer and turnaround agent, will also take on the role of publisher of the Toronto Star.

“'I am here to unlock value and get some growth going,' said Boynton, 53, whose specialty is working with companies in industries and sectors — such as the newspaper industry — undergoing radical change."

The full story