Police shouldn't deceive the news media – even to catch a killer- Ottawa Citizen writer

Randy Boswell of the Ottawa Citizen writes:
"We learned recently that the Ottawa police issued a false press release in April 2014 about the supposed discovery of a blood-stained metal bar during its probe into the death of Barrhaven woman Jagtar Gill in January 2014.
"Some may be tempted to applaud the fake news alert as part of an enterprising series of “investigative prompts” designed to trigger incriminating actions by the two suspects under police watch at the time. Indeed, both were found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder."
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Shaw Communications hikes rates, triples Q3 profits

While its profits have more than tripled from the same time last year, Shaw Communications is raising rates for residential TV, internet and phone customers starting in August.
The Calgary-based company says customers can expect to see a monthly fee increase of up to $5 for television, $2-3 for internet and $1 for phone services, depending on the services they subscribe to.
"This rate adjustment is due to both rising operational costs and investing in our network and technology advancements" as "more people connect with more devices, more often," Shaw said on its website.
The company will work with customers "on a one-on-one basis" to review their packages and address concerns, it added. (CBC/CP)
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Corus reports deepened losses from Shaw purchase

Corus Entertainment Inc. lost nearly $16 million in its fiscal third quarter, the first reporting period since the TV, radio and animation company acquired Shaw Media for $2.65 billion in cash and stock, CP reports.

The Toronto-based Corus says its loss for the three months ended May 31 amounted to $15.8 million or 10 cents per share, which included debt refinancing costs and expenses related to acquisition and restructuring. That compares with a year-earlier loss of $8.1 million or nine cents per share.

Revenues were $360.8 million — up 78 per cent from $203.1 million — helped by advertising, subscription fees and merchandising.

Since the quarter ended, Corus has cancelled the Global TV investigative news program 16X9 after eight seasons and has let go The Morning Show co-host Liza Fromer at the end of her contract.

Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy said the company is pleased with progress since the Shaw Media acquisition.

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Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno charged with assault

Long-time Toronto Star columnist Rosie DiManno has been charged with assault, the Star's Alex Ballingal reports.

Ontario Provincial Police in Bancroft allege there was a “physical altercation” involving two people who were visiting nearby Wollaston Township Tuesday night, according to a police press release. The alleged altercation occurred near Finnegan Lake, about 100 km north of Belleville.

As a result of an investigation into the incident, 60-year-old DiManno was charged with one count of assault, the release stated.

DiManno is scheduled to appear in a Bancroft court July 26.

Bell Media not suffering without NHL

The Globe and Mail's David Shoals writes:

"By their own admission, Bell Media and TSN were sad to see the end of their relationship with the NHL, but their first fiscal year without the league’s national broadcasts was still a success.

"In financial numbers released recently by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), TSN made a pretax profit of almost $100-million in the 2015 fiscal year, down 3.4-per-cent from $103.5-million the previous year. This includes results from the 2014-15 NHL season, the first under chief competitor Rogers Media's 12-year, $5.2-billion national broadcast contract with the league.

"Rogers Media’s profits were also healthy in that first season, despite all of the gloomy news about falling ratings and ad revenue and the job losses that followed in year two. According to the CRTC’s numbers, the networks operating under the Sportsnet umbrella – Sportsnet, Sportsnet One and Sportsnet 360 – earned a pretax profit of $84.8-million. That represented a jump of 20.3 per cent from 2014, when the CRTC reported Sportsnet made $70.4-million."

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