Brian McKenna, 77, on May 5, after a short illness. McKenna’s start in media began at Concordia University where he was editor of the campus newspaper. From there, he joined the Montreal Star as a parliamentary reporter. In 1975, McKenna became the founding producer of CBC’s The Fifth Estate where he worked until 1988. During his 37-year career with the public broadcaster, he produced numerous documentaries, sometimes in concert with his brother, Terence, including award-winning, but controversial series The Valour and the Horror (1992), exploring Canada’s involvement in three battles during WWII. Other documentaries included Pierre Elliot Trudeau: Memoirs (1994); The Bribe or the Bullet (1996) on narco-trafficking and corruption in Mexico for CBC’s Witness; Fire and Ice: The Rocket Richard Riot (2000) on the seven-hour long riot that took place in 1955 after the president of the NHL suspended the Montreal Canadiens legend; Korea: The Unfinished War (2003) looking into North Korean allegations the U.S. attempted biological warfare; and Big Sugar (2005) on the sugar industry. Among other accolades, McKenna received the Gordon Sinclair Award For Broadcast Journalism in 1993, the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media in 2007, and a combined nine Gemini and prix Gemeaux awards, as well as the Pierre Berton Prize for Canadian History. He was also a co-founder of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).
Dwayne Keen, 57, on May 5, after a long battle with cancer. Keen worked at The Calgary Sun before transitioning to radio sales and joining the Calgary Radio Group in 2005 as an account manager. Sales and marketing positions followed at Corus Calgary and Fabmar Communications’ 89.5 The Hawk (CHWK-FM) Chilliwack. After a detour working for NuVista Homes and Inland Audio Visual, he returned to radio in 2014 to work with Newcap’s Calgary stations. For the last seven years, he’d been in business and creative development.
