Corus Entertainment making changes to its Global Network division

By Lethbridge Herald on June 14, 2024.

Al Beeber
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

Corus Entertainment has made changes to its Global Network which it says has impacted certain roles.

“These changes co-relate 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,” Cathy Paine of Corus told The Herald Thursday in an email response to a question about whether staff at the Lethbridge station would be impacted.

“Specific to Alberta, we’re transitioning our news production model to reflect what we’ve been doing in our eastern news stations since 2015 without cutting any local hours of programming. 

“We will be investing in new roles that better position us for the future,” wote Paine, adding no further details would be released. 

CBC reported on Wednesday that 25 positions were cut in western Canada including 13 in Calgary, eight in Edmonton and three in Lethbridge.

But The Herald has learned that only one local news position has actually been terminated.

Website broadcastdialogue.com states that the Lethbridge weekend newscast will now be produced in Calgary.

A Global spokesperson told The Canadian Press in a story on the wire service’s feed that the changes come as part of an efficiency review and an ongoing evaluation of its business.

“These changes correlate with the current economic and regulatory reality we, and other media organizations, find ourselves in,” The Canadian Press reported that Anna Arnone said to that organization  in an emailed statement.

“We are continuously working to improve the way we gather, produce and deliver award winning content.”

CP stated that in May “Canada’s broadcasting regulator granted Corus’ request to ease some of its Canadian content spending requirements after the company warned of an increasingly dire financial situation.

 “The broadcaster had asked the CRTC to “urgently” make the changes last October, saying they would provide “much needed flexibility” amid programming and advertising uncertainty, as well as “severely constrained” finances,” says the CP story.