Achi news desk-
Bell Media president Sean Cohan says the recent layoffs and programming cuts are something he doesn’t take lightly, but are necessary to accelerate the company’s goals in the digital media landscape.
On Tuesday, Cohan made his first public appearance since stepping into the executive role by speaking at the first Black Screen Bureau Symposium in Toronto, where he used a keynote address to outline Bell Media’s ongoing commitment to diversity.
In an interview after the speech, Cohan said he disagreed with how layoffs across the country by parent company Bell Inc. have been characterized as “killing journalism.”
In February, Bell announced 4,800 job cuts at all levels of the company, less than 10 percent of which affected Bell Media specifically. Bell Media also announced the end of several local newscasts across the country and said CTV’s flagship investigative series “W5” would no longer be a stand-alone program.
Cohan said Bell Media now has “more dedicated journalists in more territories” in Canada than ever before as a result of the restructuring. The company says “CTV National News” will soon have dedicated newsgathering staff in all 10 Canadian provinces, a first for the newscast.
While BCE Inc., announced it was selling 45 of Bell’s 103 radio stations as part of the restructuring, Cohan said he believes radio is still a “viable business going forward.”
He said the company sold those stations to “dedicated local players” who he felt were “better homes.”
In his keynote address at the BSO Symposium, Cohan said an important part of his mandate is to create more diversity within Bell Media, adding that diversity makes for “great business.”
He said the company wanted half of the English and French programs it commissioned this year to be produced by creative people from Black, Indigenous, colored and underrepresented groups.
Cohan, who started in November, said he is committed to ensuring the company provides “different storytelling” by having a “diverse, inclusive workforce.”
This report was first published by The Canadian Press on April 2, 2024.
BNN Bloomberg is part of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE
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