Public broadcaster says it will hire up to 30 new journalists
CBC News announced Wednesday it will hire up to 30 new permanent journalists in 22 underserved communities across Canada, following the CRTC’s approval of Google’s plan to compensate Canadian news organization for use of their content.
Google has committed to providing a $100-million fund to host news content from news organizations across Canada, allowing it to be exempted under the Online News Act. CBC, which obtains funding from both private and public sources, is allowed to draw up to a maximum of seven per cent from Google’s fund, according to the rules established by Canadian Heritage.
The 22 locations of the new journalist roles at CBC include six locations in B.C. (Fraser Valley, North Island, Interior East, Peace Region, Penticton, and Sea to Sky), one in the North (based in Yellowknife), nine across the Prairies (Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Hinton/Jasper, Medicine Hat and Banff in Alberta; Lloydminster/Battlefords in Alberta/Saskatchewan; Prince Albert in Saskatchewan; and Steinbach/Hanover in Manitoba), three in Ontario (Oshawa, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Catharines) and one location each in Quebec (Off-Island Montreal, the Laurentians and Lanaudière), New Brunswick (Northern New Brunswick), and Nova Scotia (Cumberland and Colchester Counties).
A CBC press release said job postings for the new positions will be published in the coming weeks.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to provide underserved news markets across the country with the local journalism they need,” Brodie Fenlon, general manager and editor in chief of CBC News, said in the press release. “These additional roles will ensure that more Canadians have access to crucial information about their community and the world around them, and share significant stories from these communities with national audiences.”
