MAP Condemns Layoffs at Rogers & Corus

Courtesy: Evan Mitsui & Tijana Martin

The elimination of local news and sports media in Canada continues at an alarming rate.  On July 7^th, Rogers Sports and Media announced they have shuttered 6 radio stations, resulting directly in 80 job losses. In total, 230 employees were dismissed by Rogers in this round of cuts, and 60 Unifor members were among those impacted. On July 16^th, Corus announced they are moving technical production of their shows in Calgary & Edmonton, to Toronto – a move that will result in dozens of layoffs, including 43 Unifor members. MAP condemns these decisions to minimize local news, and we stand in solidarity with those impacted by the layoffs.

Unifor National President Lana Payne was quick to slam both corporations for these decisions, saying this regarding the Rogers cuts:: “Rogers spends $4.35b to be the sole owner of MSLE. In the next breath, it guts newsrooms, closes radio stations, kills media jobs. This country is becoming a news desert and the systems designed to protect local news and journalism are failing all of us.” The cancellation of the Rogers stations comes one day after they became the sole owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.

Payne had this to say regarding to consolidation from Corus: "This is a domino effect of policy failures and corporate decisions that have steadily weakened local journalism and now, media workers are paying for it. We warned that consolidation would come at the expense of local news, particularly in Western Canada, and that is exactly what we're seeing."

These media institutions are not easily replaced, which is why MAP and other media advocacy groups will continue fighting to protect them. According to Local News Research Project, Canada has seen almost 200 local news outlets close since 2008. These reductions have a disproportionate impact on rural communities, leaving them uniformed about environmental emergencies and more vulnerable to corporate interests.

The manner in which Rogers closed their radio stations – without giving employees or listeners any notice, is very disturbing. Traffic reporter Alex Carrigan heard of his layoff over a recorded message on the radio as he drove to his office.  He can attest his station still had tremendous value to the community: "I know through working with the traffic centre, we were getting dozens, if not hundreds of calls every single day. I know that people relied on specifically the traffic service, of course, and there were a lot of very passionate news listeners as well."

Rogers released a statement saying the cuts were due to "declining audience and revenue trends." The company added that this was a "difficult but necessary decision and followed a thorough review of our radio stations across the country." The news radio stations that impacted were in Calgary (660 NewsRadio Calgary), Halifax (95.7 News Radio Halifax), Kitchener (570 NewsRadio Kitchener) and Vancouver (1130 NewsRadio Vancouver), along with sports radio in Vancouver and Calgary (Sportsnet 650 and 960).

Local MP Stephanie Kusie strongly criticized Corus in a statement saying, "Albertans working in media have lost their livelihoods - and residents have lost a valuable resource: their local news." The layoffs at Corus come as they are seeking CRTC approval on a recapitalization plan, that would give control of the company to a newly created parent corporation, NewCo. Corus reportedly holds over $1 billion in debt.

All these layoffs are happening as uncertainty surrounds the federal government’s review of the Online Streaming Act. There are also ongoing delays in extending journalism tax credits, putting the industry in a state of turmoil.

MAP will continue to push back against these moves of consolidation and cuts, which reduce and diminish the quality of local news. The industry needs more government support, or we will see a weakened democracy and misinformation spread.