The Canadian Press has announced it will be scaling back its French-language radio headlines service and closing the CP video desk by the end of February, with plans to outsource video editing. The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) says between the Toronto and Montreal bureaus, the cuts affect eight full-time employees and several part-time employees. Among them are Ben Singer, Dane Coote, Shetu Modi, Kat McCallum, and Marie-Esperance Cerda.
Jean-François Pruneau is the new head of Videotron, succeeding Manon Brouillette, who announced in October she would step down at the end of the year for personal reasons after helming the company since 2014. Pruneau has been with Quebecor since 2001, most recently as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Quebecor also announced two senior management appointments. Marc M. Tremblay becomes Chief Operating Officer while retaining his responsibilities as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, and Hugues Simard, who was with Quebecor from 1998 to 2017, becomes Chief Financial Officer. Tremblay has been with Quebecor since 2007. He’ll now assist president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau in managing operations and continue to be involved in business development, in addition to his responsibilities as head of Legal Affairs, Public Affairs, Human Resources, Real Estate, Environmental Affairs and the Corporate Secretariat. Over a period of nearly 20 years, Hugues Simard occupied a series of key positions with Quebecor, including SVP and CFO of Videotron from 2014-17; SVP, Development & Strategy of Quebecor Media, and VP, Finance and CFO of Sun Media from 2007 to 2014. Until recently, he was EVP and CFO of Indigo Books & Music in Toronto.
Adam Wylde and TJ O’Halloran have been unveiled as the new morning show team at Virgin Radio 99.9 (CKFM-FM) Toronto. Wylde left Rogers’ KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) and Breakfast Television Toronto in June and now works down the hall from mom Marilyn Denis, who continues to co-host CHUM-FM mornings with Jamar McNeil. The Virgin Radio 99.9 morning show’s previous incarnation Tucker in the Morning, including Scott Tucker, Maura Grierson and Andy Wilson, were caught up in a November round of layoffs at Bell Media.
Greg Stremlaw, CBC/Radio-Canada’s head of sports and Chef de Mission for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, is leaving the public broadcaster at the end of the month to become president and CEO of a yet-to-be-named professional sports franchise. Stremlaw has been with the CBC since 2015 and led Hockey Night in Canada operations, among other duties. He was previously CEO of Curling Canada.
Tanya Fletcher is CBC B.C.’s new provincial affairs reporter. Fletcher has been with CBC Vancouver since 2016.
Lisa Yuzda is leaving CKNW Newstalk 980 Vancouver to launch a B.C. Legislative bureau in Victoria for News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver. Yuzda had been with NW for the last eight and a half years.
Claire Allen is stepping away as lead producer on The Simi Sara Show on CKNW-AM Vancouver to produce her own content for the Corus station. Allen had been producing the show for the last seven years. Alan Regan will fill her role.
Amelia John has left News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver to relocate to Sydney, Australia. John first came to News 1130 as an intern prior to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and was eventually hired permanently as an overnight anchor/editor. She left the station in 2013 to dabble in marketing and then returned to News 1130 in 2015 after stints as a producer at NewsTalk 980 CKNW-AM and Global News. She’s been morning show co-anchor since June 2016.
Ria Renouf is the new afternoon drive anchor on News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver. Renouf arrives at News 1130 from the BC SPCA, where she’s been working in communications for the last seven months. She spent the previous five years as an anchor and reporter at NewsTalk 980 CKNW-AM Vancouver. She takes over from Amanda Warwyck who is replacing Amelia John on the morning show.
Paul Larsen assumed the role of news director and station manager for Global Okanagan, effective Jan. 8. For the last 12 years, Larsen co-founded and served as CEO of Clear Sky Radio, which was sold to Vista Radio last month. Larsen started his career at age 16 at CKNL Radio Fort St. John, BC, and went on to management stints with Nornet Communications, overseeing its 12 small market stations in Alberta; Corus Calgary; and Island Radio, a group of six stations on Vancouver Island.
Tamara Baluja is on sabbatical from the social media editor’s desk at CBC Vancouver for the next four months. As the Michener-Deacon Journalism Education Fellow, Baluja will serve as the journalist-in-residence at the University of British Columbia this semester.
Winston Sih has left Citytv Toronto, saying he’s decided to “step back and tackle some new challenges.” Sih had been a contributor with the station since 2011, and a host and digital media correspondent for Breakfast Television and CityNews for the last five and a half years.
Brandon Gonez has left CTV Your Morning to join CP24 Toronto. Gonez had been with the show since Aug. 2017 as a co-host and weather anchor. His first day with CP24 was Jan. 7.
Dave Perry, founding partner and CEO of Investigative Solutions Network (ISN), headquartered in Pickering, ON, has joined Global News as a Crime and Security Analyst, providing commentary and opinion on current events. Prior to ISN, Perry spent 28 years with the Toronto Police Service, where he retired as a Detective Sergeant.
Laura Collins is joining The Rebel 101.7 (CIDG-FM) Ottawa as the promotions/marketing director. Collins’ first day with Torres Media is Jan. 16.
Sangita Patel is the newest Canadian face of COVERGIRL’s Simply Ageless Collection. Patel, 40, Entertainment Tonight Canada personality and host of HGTV’s Home to Win, joins 70 year-old model and dietician Maye Musk, popstar Katy Perry, cookbook author and TV personality Ayesha Curry, and actress and producer Issa Rae.
Hillary Johnson has joined CFTK-TV Terrace as a reporter and host of Week in Review. Johnson, who hails from Orillia, ON, has been working as a photographer and video editor since graduating from Broadcast Journalism at Sheridan College. She’s also a longtime volunteer with CogecoTV in Burlington.
Dean Blundell returned to Toronto radio in December as a fill-in host for Jim Richards on Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM). It marked his first time back on Toronto airwaves in two years, since a Feb. 2017 shakeup at Rogers Sportsnet 590 The FAN (CJCL). Blundell recently relaunched his website deanblundell.com and continues to host a podcast with hockey broadcaster Daren Millard.
Eddie Matthews retires from 107.1 Juice FM (CJCS-FM) Stratford this Friday. After 20 years on-air at the Juice FM, many as morning show host, Matthews is leaving to become GM of the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce. He’s been in radio for a total of 40 years with previous stops at CHGK-FM Stratford and CJBK 1290 and FM96 (CFPL-FM) London.
Jessica Galang has left Canadian startup and tech news site BetaKit to report for digital publication The Logic. Galang had been news editor with BetaKit since 2015.
Ryan Dodge is joining CBC as Communications Manager, Digital & Social Media, based in Toronto. Dodge has been with the Royal Ontario Museum for the last 12 years, most recently as Digital Engagement Strategist.
Dana Filek-Gibson and Todd Aalgaard are the newest permanent additions to Global News’ centralized copy desk in Toronto. The team edits content from newsrooms across the country seven days a week.
Damien Cox is no longer at Rogers Sportsnet. It’s unclear if his contract was up or if Cox has simply parted ways with the network.
Scaachi Koul is relocating from BuzzFeed Canada’s Toronto office to BuzzFeed headquarters in New York City. She’s been with BuzzFeed Canada since 2015.
TJ, one half of Andy (James) and TJ In The Morning on 101.5 EZ Rock (CILK-FM) Kelowna, continues to recover from surgery after being diagnosed with breast cancer in November. In a post on the married co-host’s Facebook page Jan. 7, she wrote: “Andy and I found out today that I have more battles ahead. I’ve never felt more scared and more loved, all at the same time. Given that I won’t be back in the ‘on air’ saddle for a bit, I wanted to let you know why.” The couple have been hosting the morning show since 2003. Chanine Carr will be filling in.
Peter Watts, veteran Calgary sportscaster, is out of the ICU after suffering an aneurysm a week before Christmas. For the last two decades, he has been the producer and host of The Alberta Morning News, a weekend morning show that airs on Corus talk radio stations News Talk 770 (CHQR-AM) Calgary and 630 CHED Edmonton.
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