CAJ disappointed over cuts at Rogers Media

OTTAWA, Nov. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is disappointed to hear Rogers Media has decided to cut 94 jobs from across its operations.

The cuts were announced on Nov. 4 by Rogers Media president Keith Pelley. Those affected include journalists working in the company's broadcast stations and print properties. Rogers indicated the 94 positions are equivalent to two percent of its employees in the media division.

"When jobs are cut within a media company, content suffers and it's the audience that ends up being ultimately impacted," CAJ president Hugo Rodrigues said. "The CAJ understands technological changes in our industry are leading to constant revisions in how content is produced and distributed to audiences across all platforms—but cutting jobs in those areas that produce that content seems counter-productive."

With fewer people responsible for producing content, the variety, diversity and quality of that content could suffer—only further driving the move to smaller audiences.

With this latest announcement, Canada's media companies have cut approximately 1,000 jobs across their operations in the past year. This tally is based on the publicly announced cuts at media companies and doesn't include any unannounced losses.

The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing approximately 600 members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide high-quality professional development for its members and public-interest advocacy.

SOURCE: Canadian Association of Journalists

Hugo Rodrigues, CAJ president - 519-756-2020 ext. 2226, 519-535-8680, [email protected]

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