Stingray has introduced a syndicated morning show across its The Breeze easy-listening stations in Vancouver, Edmonton and Halifax and syndicated evening programming on its Classic Rock stations in the west. The Morning Breeze with Brad & Deb, hosted by Brad Dryden and Deb Smith out of 96.5 The Breeze (CKUL-FM) Halifax, is airing on 96.3 The Breeze (CKRA-FM) Edmonton and 104.3 The Breeze (CHLG-FM) Vancouver from 6 – 10 a.m. local time. Each market also has a reporter dedicated to covering traffic, weather, and breaking news. Stingray has also launched “Rock of The West,” weeknights on Stingray Classic Rock stations across Western Canada including K-97 (CIRK-FM) Edmonton, K96-3 (CKKO-FM) Kelowna, and Zed 98.9 (CIZZ-FM) Red Deer. Travis Currah, the afternoon host at Zed 98.9 Red Deer, is hosting the show. The new shows follow a round of restructuring that included The Breeze Edmonton morning show host Sean Burke and The Breeze Vancouver’s Kelly Latremouille.
The Canadian Podcast Awards are open for nominations across 29 categories, in addition to the Bob Goyetche Award, recognizing podcasters who’ve made an impact and helped grow the community, and the People’s Choice Award, open to the top nominated podcasts across all categories and awarded to the audience favourite. Podcasts eligible for the awards must be recorded with the intent for first run distribution through RSS. Radio and video redistributed as podcasts do not qualify. Podcasts must have five episodes released in the preceding year and meet Canadian content requirements for inclusion in the Canadian Podcast Awards Directory. Podcasts can be nominated by any registered member of the Canadian Podcast Awards.
Hot Docs’ new year-round Podcast Development Lab has issued a call for submissions. In partnership with Inspirit Foundation, the lab will offer five fellowships for emerging BIPOC storytellers with non-fiction series ideas in early development. Fellows will have the opportunity to develop their podcast ideas and create a proof-of-concept sample that will help take their work to the next level. Each project will also receive a $1,000 creator grant to support the development of their work. Podcast Development Lab fellows will be selected via an open application process. Find guidelines here. The deadline for applications is May 13.
MTM JR has released a report on Canadian kids, aged 2-17, and their podcast consumption. Findings from the report include that kids who listen to podcasts tend to do so frequently. Three-quarters of kids who listen to podcasts do so at least once a week and nearly a quarter listen to podcasts daily. Younger podcast listeners (aged 2-11) are more likely to listen to podcasts on a daily basis than teens. Music podcasts represent the most popular genre among kids, followed by family podcasts and comedy. The family genre is most popular among kids aged 2-11, while teens are more likely to listen to podcasts about music and comedy. Podcasts are not as popular as streaming music services or audio content on YouTube with about 11% of 2-17 year olds listening to podcast content.
TVO’s latest podcast, Unascertained, is a six-part series that debuted this week, delving into the troubling story of Soleiman Faqiri, a young man whose 2016 death in an Ontario prison has yet to be explained. It follows a family’s search for justice and how the prison system has failed people with mental health issues. New episodes will be posted each week on TVO.org, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere podcasts are available.
LISTEN: Steve Kowch was at CJAD 800AM in Montreal in 1997 when the station announced that all tombstones in the province would need to be changed to French within a year. On the latest episode of the Sound Off Podcast, Kowch recounts one of radio’s best April Fool’s Day pranks ever (even if the joke hit a little too close to home for most listeners). Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
