Corus announces changes to Global News

Corus has unveiled countrywide changes to its news operations on Thursday as part of an effort to transform into what it calls a “digital-first organization.” As a result, close to 80 positions across the country will be eliminated. Most of those positions are tied to traditional TV production. Global News and Corus Radio will shift its resources from areas of traditional television production into more “frontline journalism,” opening four new local bureaus in Ontario (Ottawa, Kitchener, Guelph and Barrie). Troy Reeb, SVP of Global News and Corus Radio, said in a statement that these are markets where local newspapers have been consolidated. Reeb said the company would be adding multiplatform journalists to these markets, but would not confirm how many.

Reeb said in a statement that Corus’ move was not a reaction to Corus Entertainment’s stock price, which took a fairly dramatic fall on Tuesday. Corus recently concluded Q1 with softer-than-expected television ad revenue. Reeb also added that Global News will not be producing less content or fewer hours of television news. Corus will also launch a podcast production team that will work with international radio and television talent, as well as third-party producers.

Corus responded to MiC‘s request for comment with a link to the original release.

CSA hosts announced

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, together with the CBC, announced the two hosts of the upcoming Canadian Screen Awards. Jonny Harris of Still Standing and Murdoch Mysteries and Emma Hunter of The Beaverton and Mr. D will share the stage during the broadcast gala on March 11. The two bodies have also announced their production partner for the gala, Insight Production Company.

During Canadian Screen Week leading up to the awards, a number of Canadian stars will bring their talents to the stage as they present at three non-broadcast galas. Hosts will include The Beaverton co-anchor Migues Rivas (hosting the Gala Honouring Excellence in Non-Fiction Programming), Kim’s Convenience star Andrew Phung (hosting the Gala Honouring Excellence in Creative Fiction Storytelling) and Mind Fudge’s Jon Simonassi and Justine Nelson, who will serve as “virtual hosts” for the Gala Honouring Excellence in Digital and Immersive Storytelling. ET Canada’s Carlos Bustamante will host Family Fan Day on March 10.

Adobe adds chatbot marketing platform

Adobe has announced a new integration with chatbot platform Snaps. Snaps, one of Facebook’s preferred “Platform Development Providers” for bots on its Messenger platform, has previously worked with brands including Nike and Marriott. The platform will be integrated with Adobe Marketing Cloud’s tool Adobe campaign in an effort to yield a more complete picture of Adobe’s customers.

This brief originally appears in strategy from Josh Kolm