Bell Media president Sean Cohan says layoffs were necessary to reach company’s goals

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TORONTO — Bell Media president Sean Cohan says latest layoffs and programming cuts are one thing he doesn’t take frivolously, however have been essential to speed up the corporate’s targets within the digital media panorama.

On Tuesday, Cohan made his first public look since moving into the chief position by talking on the inaugural Black Display Workplace Symposium in Toronto, the place he used a keynote tackle to stipulate Bell Media’s continued dedication to variety.

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In an interview after the speech, Cohan stated he takes difficulty with how layoffs throughout the nation by guardian firm Bell Inc., have been characterised as “killing journalism.”

In February, Bell introduced 4,800 job cuts in any respect ranges of the corporate, of which fewer than 10 per cent have affected Bell Media particularly. Bell Media additionally introduced the tip of a number of native newscasts throughout the nation and stated CTV’s flagship investigative collection “W5” would not be a standalone program.

Cohan stated Bell Media now has “extra devoted journalists in additional territories” in Canada than ever earlier than because of the restructuring. The corporate says “CTV Nationwide Information” will quickly have devoted newsgathering employees in all 10 Canadian provinces, a primary for the newscast.

Whereas BCE Inc., introduced it was promoting off 45 of 103 Bell radio stations as a part of the restructuring, Cohan stated he thinks radio continues to be “a viable enterprise going ahead.”

He stated the corporate bought these stations to “dedicated native gamers” it felt have been “higher properties.”

In his keynote tackle on the BSO Symposium, Cohan stated an vital a part of his mandate is to create better variety inside Bell Media, including that variety makes for “nice enterprise.”

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He stated the corporate needs half of the English and French language applications it commissions this yr to be generated by creatives from Black, Indigenous, folks of color and under-represented teams. A publicist later stated Cohan misspoke and was referring to English-language commissions solely.

Cohan, who started his publish in November, stated he’s dedicated to creating certain the corporate delivers “differentiated storytelling” by having a “numerous, inclusive workforce.”

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