OMNI wants money for ethnic media!

 A group of producers who make content for OMNI Television has launched a campaign urging the federal government to offer millions of dollars in funding to protect struggling multilingual and multicultural programming.

The producers, who represent 62 programs across 50 ethnic communities, say they risk having to cancel a chunk of their programing because of dwindling ad revenue and lack of government funding.

“The systematic marginalization and lack of support for this ethnic media sector contradict the official policy of multiculturalism,” said Madeline Ziniak, chair of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association (CEMA), which is involved in the campaign. She added that one in four Canadians speak a language at home other than English or French.

Programs on OMNI are ineligible to access the Canada Media Fund (CMF), which is the main source of funding for Canadian television production and is financed jointly by the federal government and private broadcasters.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-omni-television-producers-want-access-to-canadian-media-fund-for/

(Globe and Mail)

Corus Entertainment announces layoffs at Global News

 Corus Entertainment Inc. is cutting jobs at its Global News division as it seeks efficiencies across the company and battles adverse trends in the media industry.

The cuts came a few days after Corus said it stands to lose programming next year due to an arrangement struck between Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. 

“As part of our ongoing evaluation of our business and continued enterprise efficiency review across Corus, we have made some changes at Global News today, and as a result, certain roles have been impacted,” Corus spokesperson Anna Arnone said in a statement.

“These changes correlate with the current economic and regulatory reality we, and other media organizations, find ourselves in. We are continuously working to improve the way we gather, produce and deliver award winning content.”

Corus shares have been in a tailspin in recent years, slumping to just 24 cents Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, down from levels above $6 in 2021.