New OMNI Television National Scholarships Build on Rogers Sports & Media’s Commitment to Increasing Diverse Voices
– PLUS: Sportsnet and Ryerson University’s Faculty of Communications & Design (FCAD) celebrate Ella Bonaldi, Joshua Kim, Rania Elihali, and Vanessa Catanzaro as the first scholarship recipients as part of the Sportsnet Diversity and Gender Equity Initiative –
Cultivating the next generation of journalists and empowering upcoming content creators to tell stories – in their voices – that are relevant to Canada’s diverse communities is a key area of focus for Rogers Sports & Media. As part of this ongoing commitment, OMNI Television will award $60,000 in scholarships over the next three years to post-secondary students across Canada who are pursuing careers in ethnic and third-language journalism.
“The global pandemic has reinforced how critical ethnic and third-language media is when it comes to engaging Canada’s multicultural communities with the latest news and information, and we believe the OMNI scholarship program will inspire more diverse young talent to pursue this important genre of news,” said Jake Dheer, Senior Manager, OMNI Television.
The new national scholarship program will award 10 scholarships of $2,000 each annually to students at universities and colleges. Students can visit omnitv.ca/scholarships to find out details and how to apply. This year’s scholarships will be awarded in August.
In addition to the launch of OMNI’s national scholarship program, Sportsnet also celebrates the first recipients of the Sportsnet Diversity and Gender Equity Initiative in partnership with Ryerson University’s Faculty of Communications & Design (FCAD) – home to the RTA School of Media, Global Experiential Sport Lab (GXSLab) and sport media research. Announced last January and launched in Fall 2020, the initiative empowers students from diverse backgrounds to pursue careers in sport media. Sportsnet committed $100,000 to provide scholarships to four students – two high-performing third-year students and two students entering the program – who identify as a woman, Indigenous, and/or a member of an equity-seeking group. The recipients of the 2020 Sportsnet Diversity and Gender Equity Initiative scholarships are Ella Bonaldi, Joshua Kim, Rania Elihali and Vanessa Catanzaro.
Today’s announcements highlight Rogers Sports & Media’s proud role in teaming up with Canadian universities and colleges to support and empower future media talent. Other partnerships include OMNI scholarships with the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser University, and KiSS 92.5’s GenNOW internship program with Seneca College.
The Rogers Sports & Media scholarships complement the robust Ted Rogers Scholarships program at Rogers which supports 1,400 Canadian youth attending post-secondary education. Building on the legacy of Rogers founder Ted Rogers, these scholarships are a meaningful way to help young Canadians discover their potential, strengthen our communities, and build a brighter future by overcoming the barriers to accessing post-secondary education.
About Rogers Sports & Media
Rogers Sports & Media is a diverse sports and content company that engages more than 30 million Canadians each week. The company’s multimedia offerings include 54 radio stations, 29 local TV stations, 23 conventional and specialty television stations, podcasts, digital and e-commerce websites, and sporting events. Rogers Sports & Media delivers unique storytelling through its range of powerful brands: Citytv, OMNI Television, FX, TSC, 680 NEWS, 98.1 CHFI, KiSS, Breakfast Television, Cityline, CityNews, Sportsnet – Canada’s #1 sports network, and the Blue Jays – Canada’s only Major League Baseball team. Rogers Sports & Media is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX, NYSE: RCI). Visit RogersSportsandMedia.com.