“On Canada’s public service broadcaster, the local is the lens of everything we do,” said Susan Marjetti, general manager of CBC News, Current Affairs & Local in a press release. “Prioritizing local connections will help us tell more of the stories that matter most to people.” The network will expand the CBC Indigenous unit, adding journalists to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. A Native Journalist position will also be made permanent in Quebec and two new positions will be created in Iqaluit to support Indigenous language programming. The expansion will also see recruitment in several smaller communities across the country. Two video reporters will be hired in British Columbia – one based in Cranbrook and the other in Nanaimo – while two more Alberta-based journalists will be added, one in Lethbridge and the other in the Grand Prix. Two new full-time reporters will be hired in Ontario, in Brampton and Kingston, while a community producer will be working from the London office to build links and boost coverage across southwestern Ontario. The Quebec and Atlantic Canada regions will each acquire a new community reporter to focus specifically on stories from traditionally underserved communities. “These recently announced positions across the country are aimed at expanding and deepening our journalism, while building relationships with regional and cultural communities,” Marjetti said. Recruitment for the new positions will begin in the coming weeks.
