Originally published in the Oct. 10, 2024 edition of The Weekly Briefing
Maxime Bertrand is the new CBC Ombudsman, appointed for a five-year term. She will officially assume her new duties on Nov. 18, succeeding Jack Nagler, who has served in the role since 2018. Bertrand is currently the Director of Community Relations for Radio-Canada, responsible for reviewing and responding to complaints and comments from members of the public. She previously spent more than 30 years as a journalist for the public broadcaster, reporting in both English and French in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, Sudbury, and Windsor.
Meg Roberts is joining Mike Kakuk as the new co-host of Mornings with Mike and Meg on AM800 CKLW Windsor-Essex, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 15. Mornings with Mike and Meg will air weekday mornings from 5 – 9 a.m. ET. Roberts, who grew up on a farm in the heart of Essex County, started her broadcast career as a video journalist at CBC Windsor. She later moved on to reporting roles with the public broadcaster in St. John’s, NL and Toronto, most recently anchoring CBC Windsor’s 6 p.m. newscast. Roberts steps into the role vacated by Lisa Williams, who retired earlier this year after 38 years with the station.
Jennifer Jones is joining Sportsnet’s Grand Slam of Curling broadcast crew full-time. Jones, an Olympic and six-time Canadian women’s curling champion, replaces Joan McCusker. The skip, who retired from competition last spring, joins host Rob Faulds, Mike Harris and Kevin Martin. Jones had previously made select appearances as a Sportsnet analyst over the past two seasons. She’s also a strategic advisor to The Curling Group, which acquired the Grand Slam series from Rogers earlier this year.
Karyn Pugliese has parted ways with Canadaland. Pugliese was named the podcast network’s Editor-in-Chief in May 2023 as founder and publisher Jesse Brown took a step back from the chief editorial post. Prior to joining Canadaland, Pugliese had most recently served as EIC at Canada’s National Observer.
Sheldon Spackman has moved into the role of Alberta News Director at Pattison Media, overseeing the news departments in Grande Prairie, Central Alberta, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Cranbrook. Spackman has been with Pattison Media since 2017, working as a radio and online news reporter and anchor for rdnewsNOW.com in Red Deer, and has served as News Director since 2021.
Samantha Edwards is the Globe and Mail’s new online culture reporter, a newly-created beat covering the online landscape and its effects on society, politics, work and more. Edwards has served as the Globe’s Audience Growth Editor for the last three years.
