Originally published in the May 16, 2024 of The Weekly Briefing
Claire Anderson has been reappointed CRTC commissioner for British Columbia and Yukon for a second five-year term. The official order in council says her reappointment is effective Aug. 26. A citizen of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and based in Whitehorse, Anderson is the first Indigenous woman and first Yukon resident to be appointed a commissioner.
Joyce Napier has been appointed Canada’s Ambassador to the Holy See. The longtime foreign correspondent and Parliament Hill reporter, 65, replaces diplomat Paul Gibbard, who had held the role since September 2021. Up until last June when she was caught up in Bell’s layoff of 1,300 staff in the media division, she had most recently been serving as CTV News’ Parliamentary Bureau Chief, capping a 40-year journalism career that began in Montreal in 1981. Read more here.
I will never take these last 15 years working together for granted. Thank you for sharing your humour, heart and honesty with us @chrisscheetz 💜 You are truly one in a million 🥹 @CISNCountry pic.twitter.com/ILUdQsH1cF
— Jacqueline Sweeney (@CISN_Jack) May 10, 2024
Jacqueline (Jack) Sweeney and Matt DeBeurs will debut new morning show “Jack and Matt” on Edmonton’s CISN Country, starting May 21. Veteran morning host Chris Scheetz signed off Friday after more than three decades with the station. Leaving exactly 35 years to the day he started with CISN in 1989, Scheetz’s final broadcast took place live from Cook County Saloon with special guests that included Dallas Smith, Brett Kissel, Clayton Bellamy, Martin Kerr, and Chad Klinger. Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi also declared May 10 as “Chris Scheetz Day.” Read more here.
Life update: I am happy to announce I am the new host of APTN National News’s brand new midday news show that airs Monday to Friday at 12pm Winnipeg time! Winnipeg is me and my family’s new home and we are already loving it here. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iN7smpeoht
— Creeson Agecoutay (@CreesonAgecouta) May 15, 2024
Creeson Agecoutay is the new host of APTN National News’ new midday news show, airing weekdays at noon CT. Agecoutay was most recently Atlantic Bureau Chief for CTV National News and a casualty of Bell Media’s latest round of layoffs in February.
Alex Cooke has joined the Nova Scotia NDP as a communications officer. Cooke arrives from Global News in Halifax where she was an online web producer for the past three years. Prior to that, she was a reporter/editor with CBC Nova Scotia.
Joe Bongiorno has joined The Canadian Press (CP). Bongiorno had most recently been working as a web journalist for the last three years with CBC Montreal.
Mack Lamoureux, who was released by VICE Media in February’s round of layoffs, has joined ISD, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, as the think tank’s senior communications manager in the U.S. Lamoureux had been a senior reporter with VICE since 2016.
Jeremy White has added Country 99.9 The Wolf (WTHT-FM) to his voice tracking remit. He’ll be heard on the Portland, Maine station from 2 – 6 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.
Patrick O’Rourke is stepping down at Mobile Syrup after almost a decade. The consumer technology-focused publication’s Editor-in-Chief, O’Rourke first joined the publication in 2015 as a Senior Editor. He previously served as Technology Editor at Postmedia Network from 2012-15.
Erica Ehm is stepping away from YMC.ca and Ehm & Co, the mommy blog and digital agency she launched in 2006 and sold two years ago to private equity investment firm, Putnam Investments, where she stayed on as Chief Innovation Officer. Ehm is still running a Parents of Teens Survival Group community and Erica Ehm’s Empty Nest, a Facebook group for those looking for advice about work, retirement, aging well and the art of raising young adults. In addition to keynote speaking, she’s working with DDM Group as their fractional Director of Culture and Communication.
Lindsay Doyle has assumed the role of Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy in Canada for YouTube. Doyle was previously the Manager of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Google Canada, before taking a year of parental leave. Based in Ottawa, she takes over the role from Jeanette Patell, who moves into the role of Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Google Canada. YouTube and Google are both owned by Alphabet Inc.
Sylvie Lalande has been appointed Chair of the Board of Quebecor, succeeding the late Brian Mulroney, while André P. Brosseau has been appointed Vice‑Chair. A member of the Board since 2011, Lalande has a track record in media, communications, marketing, telecommunications and governance, including as Vice‑Chair and Lead Director of the corporation since 2018. Brosseau has been a director since 2016.
Sylvain Lafrance has begun a five-year term as the Chair of Telefilm’s board of directors, succeeding Robert Spickler. Lafrance formerly spent more than three decades at CBC/Radio-Canada, where before leaving the organization in 2011, he held the position of Executive Vice-President, French Services. He later joined HEC Montréal as Adjunct Professor and Director of the Media Management Hub and is also the Director of Gestion, a quarterly publication on major trends in the management world. Currently Chair of TV5 Numérique, he’ll step down once a replacement is appointed.
Bruce Smith, best known as the creator and showrunner of CBC’s Street Legal, has been elected President of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC). Succeeding Alex Levine, the Montreal-based writer/showrunner and Quebec Region member will serve in the position through April 2026. Central Region member Amanda Smith (Travelers) was elected Vice President, and Atlantic Region member Michael Amo (Pure) was re-elected as treasurer. Other WGC council members include Central Region councillors Jeremy Boxen (Killjoys) and Anthony Q. Farrell (Shelved), as well as Pacific Western Region councillors Sarah Dodd (Cardinal) and Jason Filiatrault (Young Drunk Punk).
Catherine Davies has joined The Protocol Group, encompassing Canadian global media rights distributor Protocol Sports Marketing; transmission/production company TV2GO; and direct-to-consumer sports platform MIDPRO. Appointed to the newly-created role of Director of Special Projects, Davies most recently served as Senior Manager at MEDIAPRO Canada. Previously, she had been the Head of Research and Intelligence at MP & Silva, the Italian sports marketing and media rights multinational.
