19 lose jobs at Winnipeg’s Bell Media radio, TV stations

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This article was published 18/11/2015 (3593 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg television and radio airwaves were hit this week after Bell Media dropped the axe on several employees.

At least 19 people have been cut at CTV Winnipeg, 103.1 Virgin Radio and 99.9 BOB FM as Bell Media, which owns TV and radio stations across the country, continued the nationwide restructuring it began in August.

Pamela Roz, 103.1 Virgin Radio’s host on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., was cut, along with Kristin Marand, 99.9 BOB FM’s midday host.

Roz tweeted on Wednesday that “to use a #sports term, I’m a free-agent, friends! No longer on-air, but full of fun skills to use as I please. Thx for all the support.”

Marand tweeted earlier this week that “the great @halanderson once told me “kid, you’re no one in this business until you’ve been fired at least six times.”

Seven other employees in radio production, sales, street team and engineering are also gone.

At CTV Winnipeg, no on-air staff were cut, but the TV station lost its operations manager and payroll manager, as well as a camera operator, editor, floor editor, feed and play operator, web producer, traffic manager and receptionist.

Bell Media had announced earlier this month it planned to eliminate 380 positions across the country, including 270 in Toronto.

A spokesperson for Unifor, the union that represents the workers, said at the time that 220 of the positions would be in editorial and production, 45 in sales and marketing and five in administration.

A local spokesperson for Unifor and another for Bell Media could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Across the country, other notable cuts included CTV News Channel anchors Dan Matheson and Amanda Blitz, and TSN co-host David Bastl. TSN’s Off The Record was also cancelled, but its host, Michael Landsberg, will continue producing shorter pieces for the station.

Bell Media owns 30 local TV stations, 34 specialty channels like TSN, and 106 radio stations across the country.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca