RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Katie Summers, one half of AMP Mornings with Katie & Ed on 90.3 AMP Radio (CKMP-FM) Calgary, shared her #MeToo allegations about Hedley singer Jacob Hoggard live on-air last week. Summers says she was just 23 when Hoggard made comments of a sexual nature toward her and grabbed her backside seven years ago, following an interview at the station. Summers is our guest on this week’s Broadcast Dialogue podcast.

The Connecting to Care Radiothon, broadcast on 104.9 myFM (CIMY-FM) Pembroke, raised $41,616 for the Pembroke Regional Hospital Foundation’s Cutting Edge Campaign. Dollars raised will fund the upgrade and modernization of the hospital’s surgical floor and support the orthopedic program.

Cabin Radio NWT officially launched its livestream online on Mar. 5. Covering Yellowknife and area, the independent, commercial venture is already selling advertising and says it’s working toward a long-term goal of securing FM licences for Yellowknife and a range of NWT communities.

Country 93.3 (CJOK-FM) Fort McMurray afternoon host Mike Jones took advantage of Brett Kissel’s ANTHEM tour stop in Fort McMurray to challenge the country crooner and his dachshund Charlie to a race. It turns out four other station staff also own the breed, including station morning host Brad Karp, 97.9 ROCK (CKYX-FM) morning guy Pete Potipcoe, and sales supervisor Troy Dickson. In the end, it was Dickson’s pooch Little Foot who beat Kissel’s Charlie by a nose.

The North Shore News has paid tribute to the 60th anniversary of the famous Woodward’s department store $1.49 Day jingle. Tony Antonias wrote the ditty in Feb. 1958 for the now-defunct chain, while working as creative director at CKNW-AM Vancouver. Read more here.

NuVoodoo Media Services says its latest Ratings Prospects Study shows smart speaker ownership has nearly doubled in the last six months. Of 3,041 respondents, ages 14-54, across all PPM markets, one-third now report having a smart speaker at home. That’s up from less than a quarter in the previous study last August. NuVoodoo further found that 48 per cent of likely PPM participants now own a smart speaker.    

The 2018 Canadian Podcast Awards honourees have been announced. The Beaverton Weekly Report won in the Political Series category, while The Curling Legends podcast won for Best Sports Series. A Command Of Her Own: A Star Trek Discovery Podcast won in the Television category. Find the full list of winners and nominees by category here.

REVOLVING DOOR:

Elizabeth Bradley, vice-president of content at Netflix, has left the streaming giant. Bradley was behind Netflix co-commissions with Canadian broadcasters, including CBC’s Anne and the Alias Grace miniseries. Bradley also oft served as Netflix’s voice in the debate over how the service is taxed and regulated in Canada. She had been with Netflix since 2006 and VP of content since 2012.

Nil Köksal has been named host of CBC Radio’s World Report. Köksal was most recently based in Istanbul, covering Turkey and the Syrian conflict.

Lisa Blackburn will temporarily rejoin BJ & The Q Morning Crew on Q104 (CFRQ-FM) Halifax, as a news reader and co-host. Blackburn was part of the show for 19 years, up until 2009.  She’ll juggle both the show and her duties as the Halifax Regional Councillor for District 14, the seat she’s held since 2016. Current co-host Kate Peardon is returning to a position with the provincial government.

Geoff Stickle has retired from Global Edmonton after 42 years as a news photographer with the station. ENG photographer Bradley Gowan has also left. He’s been with Global since 2006.

John Sexsmith has returned to the Global Edmonton sports department after taking some time off to focus on his health, following a cancer diagnosis. Sexsmith has been with the station since 1997.

Casey Kenny is leaving News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver after just five months to return to Ontario. Kenny is taking up an anchoring position with Vista Radio, based in Stratford.  

SIGN-OFFS:

Ronnie Prophet, 80, on Mar. 2, following a heart attack. Prophet made his debut on CFRA Ottawa country music program The Happy Wanderers, after performing at area clubs as a youth. He appeared at Montreal nightclubs in the 1960s, before moving to Nashville in 1969. Prophet went on to host Canadian television shows The Ronnie Prophet Show, Grand Ole Country, Rocky Mountain Inn and Ronnie ‘N The Browns. He won Juno Awards in 1978 and ‘79 for country male vocalist of the year. Over the years, five of his singles reached the Billboard country charts. In more recent years, he was based in Branson, Missouri.

Franklin Delaney, 77, on Mar. 1. Born on the Island of Havre-aux-Maisons in the Magdalen Islands, Delaney left at age 13 to pursue studies at Bathurst College, then obtained his law degree from the University of Ottawa, and was admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1968. Delaney held the positions of assistant secretary and secretary at the CRTC, before becoming the owner of a group of regional radio stations in Quebec, starting in 1971. In the early 1980s, he joined the CBC as an advisor to the president, becoming vice-president of French television in 1986 and then founding president of TV5 Québec-Canada and member of the board of TV5 Europe. His contribution to the promotion of Francophone culture through the development of the TV network earned him the honor of the insignia of Chevalier and Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. La France. Since 2000, he had been chair of the Board of Directors of the Quebecor Foundation. In 2012, he received the Order of Canada for his role in the development of the telecommunications industry and his community involvement in the Magdalen Islands.

Prowse Jerrett, 92, on Mar. 2, in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Jerrett was one of the earliest employees of CBYT Corner Brook, NL, CBC’s first full time operation in the province, joining the staff in 1960. He worked as an announcer/operator hosting various radio programs, the midday television news and interviews with local, national and international celebrities. He is best remembered for his work at the weather board on the suppertime “Here and Now” program, until his retirement in 1985. Jerrett moved to Sault Ste. Marie in 2000 to be closer to family.

Neil Colin, 84, on Feb. 28. Known as “the Mouth of the Peel,” Colin was a legendary Tetlit Gwich’in storyteller. The Fort McPherson elder contributed to CBQM-AM radio in Fort McPherson, as well as CBC Radio’s Northwind. In recent years, he’d been living in Yellowknife after being diagnosed with dementia.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

CBC was the big winner at Tuesday night’s Canadian Screen Awards gala, one of several being held leading up to this Sunday’s awards show broadcast on CBC. The public broadcaster and its talent took home 18 awards, including Heather Hiscox, who won Best National News Anchor. The Fifth Estate’s Gillian Findlay was named Best Host of a News or Information Program or Series. CTV won 10 awards, including Best National Newscast for CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme. TSN won seven awards, including bragging rights for James Duthie, who was named Best Sports Host. Global Edmonton won the 2018 Best News Special Award for their story Fort McMurray: The Road Back.

2018 Oscar winners included several Canadians connected to the Guillermo del Toro-directed Best Picture winner The Shape of Water. Toronto producer J. Miles Dale shared in the big prize of the night, while three other Canadians connected to the film also won, including Shane Vieau, Paul Austerberry, and Jeffrey A. Melvin, who accepted the Oscar for Best Production Design.

Anthony McLachlan, Scott Russell, Andi Petrillo, and Stephanie DixonThe Canadian Paralympic Committee Media Consortium, including CBC/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet, AMI, Twitter and Facebook, will broadcast every minute of the Paralympic Games from Pyeongchang, including 125 hours on television throughout its 10 days. CBC/Radio-Canada will air live coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in English and French and live coverage early Saturday and Sunday mornings, in addition to coverage weekdays from 4-6 p.m. in local time zones, and weekend afternoons. Radio-Canada will air a daily French-language highlights show, while Sportsnet One will air daily re-broadcasts of the competition. AMI will air daily shows, in addition to re-broadcasting CBC coverage with descriptive video with reporter/host Anthony McLachlan. CBC’s broadcast team includes Scott Russell, Andi Petrillo and Stephanie Dixon, joined by reporters (and Para alpine skiers) Lauren Woolstencroft and Josh Dueck. Doing commentary will be Chris Daw, Paul Rosen and Rob Snoek. On the French side, host Marie-Jose Turcotte will be joined by Chantal Petitclerc, Jean St-Onge and Benoit Huot. Play-by-play and analysis will be provided by Michel Chabot, Rodrigue Gilbert, Gilles Gagnon, Jean-Thomas Boily, Philippe Crepeau, Jocelyn Huot, Christian Hrab, Justine Boutet and Carl Marquis.

The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) has filed a complaint with the CRTC accusing Rogers Media of violating a number of policies in refusing to let its members launch or re-package channels. The CCSA has asked the regulator to direct Rogers to immediately allow repackaging and relaunch of Sportsnet, Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, OLN, Viceland, FX and FXX. The CRTC has been supervising an ongoing dispute over renewal of the CCSA’s distribution agreement for Rogers channels. The complaint says Rogers refusal runs contrary to the CRTC Discretionary Services Regulations as well as the TV Wholesale Code.

The CRTC is open to comments on whether to allow U.S.-based cable TV shopping service QVC into Canada after previously denying an application from VMedia Inc. In September, the Federal Court of Appeal referred the matter back to the commission for reconsideration. The deadline for comments is Mar. 29.

RNC Media will cease broadcasting CKRN-TV in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, its Radio-Canada affiliate station, at midnight on Mar. 25. CKRN-TV went on the air on Dec. 25, 1957. Affiliated with both the French and English CBC network, the station was known as Canal 4, offering bilingual programming. It went French only in 1962.

Corus has shut down the Sundance Channel Canada (formerly Drive-In Classics) as of Mar. 1. A post on the channel’s website directs viewers to “enjoy similar content” on Corus speciality channels IFC and MovieTime.

CBC and SundanceTV have announced casting for dramatic eight-part miniseries Unspeakable, chronicling the tainted blood scandal in the 1980’s. Sarah Wayne Callies (Colony, The Walking Dead), Shawn Doyle (Bellevue, Big Love), Michael Shanks (Stargate SG-1, Saving Hope) and Camille Sullivan (The Disappearance) will lead the series. Production begins this spring in Vancouver. The series is a passion project for creator and executive producer Robert C. Cooper, who himself was a victim, having contracted Hepatitis C from tainted blood.

TVA Group Inc. has announced Q4 2017 operating highlights, recording net income attributable to shareholders in the amount of $9.2 million or $0.21 per share, compared with net income attributable to shareholders of $5.7 million or $0.13 per share in the same quarter of 2016. The Broadcasting & Production segment recorded $16,232,000 adjusted operating income, an unfavourable variance of $1,213,000 mainly due to a 9.5 per cent decrease in the adjusted operating income of TVA Network. The company cites an adjustment made following the CRTC decision on the rate payable by Bell for distribution of the TVA Sports channel.

Cinespace Film Studios has announced plans to lease the former Marine Terminal 51 from PortsToronto and convert it into a 165,000 square foot studio that will become a hub for its downtown productions. Cinespace has recently hosted high-profile productions like TV series The Handmaid’s Tale and the Oscar-winning The Shape of Water.

NFB has achieved its parity objectives two years ahead of schedule for the number of productions directed by women (which stood at 47 per cent in 2017–2018), the portion of the production budget allocated to women (46 per cent), and the key creative position of screenwriter (47 per cent). NFB says work remains to be done in positions related to cinematography and music composition, where the ratio of men to women is still unequal.

City has greenlit Season 2 of original drama Bad Blood, starring Canadian Kim Coates. Produced in partnership with New Metric Media and Sphère Média Plus, in association with distributors DHX Media and Skyvision, writing on the new season is currently underway with production slated to begin this summer for a Fall 2018 premiere.

CBC has renewed comedy series Schitt’s Creek for a fifth season (14 x 30). Created by and starring Eugene and Daniel Levy, CBC says the show has a total reach of more than 1.4 million weekly and an average audience of 742,000 (2+ AMA) this season, with 41 per cent of viewers in the 25-54 demographic.

ONLINE/DIGITAL:

DAZN has partnered with MLS to livestream U.S. matches for Canadian soccer fans. Games featuring the three Canadian clubs will continue to be broadcast on TSN, but will be available on DAZN, either in full or condensed form, 48 hours after the match. Under terms of the three-year deal with MLS LIVE, a minimum of 262 regular season games featuring the league’s 19 American clubs, will be available on the platform.

Rogers Media has expanded its digital news offering in the Ottawa-Gatineau region with the debut of OttawaMatters.com. With editorial coverage led by 1310 NEWS (CIWW-AM) Ottawa, the site also features live stream video from Rogers tv Ottawa. OttawaMatters.com marks the second collaboration between Rogers Media and Village Media, following last October’s launch of HalifaxToday.ca.

Facebook has set parameters around the ability to label “Breaking News.” In Canada, the CBC, Global News, CityNews, and Journal de Montreal alone, will have the capability to start. The move is an expansion of a test by the social platform allowing just a small group of national publishers to use the indicator once a day.

Macleans.ca has closed comments, encouraging readers to move the conversation over to its social platforms. A post to readers says the vast majority of comments it receives are already coming from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It also cites similar moves by NPR, CNN, the Toronto Star and The Atlantic, to close their comment sections.

The Athletic has raised $20 million to double its staff and expand to 45 markets. The subscription-based sports media startup, which launched two years ago, previously raised $10 million in two separate funding rounds. Currently in 23 markets in the U.S. and Canada, The Athletic is moving to establish a presence in every U.S. market with a professional sports team by the end of the year and expand its current staff of 120 to between 200 and 350 employees.

Open Media says its Feb. 28 drive to collect comments against the Fairplay Coalition’s anti-piracy website blocking proposal was successful. With the support of more than 30 organizations and businesses, including digital rights groups, library associations, independent Internet service providers and civil liberties organizations, Open Media says by the end of the day more than 50,000 comments had been registered with the CRTC. The commenting period has been extended to Mar. 29.

BlackBerry has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram apps. The Canadian-based company argues technology and features from BlackBerry Messenger were copied. Facebook says it intends to fight the lawsuit. Blackberry has more than 40,000 global patents on everything from operating systems to networking infrastructure and cybersecurity.

GENERAL:

Shaw Communications has announced a new initiative that will see the company fund student-led, anti-bullying initiatives. Shaw Kindness Sticks Youth grants will fund up to $5,000 for “student-led projects that promote positivity and inclusivity at their school.” Students can apply online between Feb. 28 and Apr. 30.

CBC Ombudsman Esther Enkin says there was no violation of policy when the f-word was used during a CBC Radio One episode of The Current. The complainant objected to the use of the word in an interview with two of the women who accused Albert Schultz of sexual misconduct. A warning from the host mentioned strong language and disturbing subject matter. In her review, Enkin writes “I do not find a violation of journalistic policy, nor can I recommend that swear words never be used in broadcasts. I can only emphasize the importance of consideration of the impact on the audience versus the potential to offend or upset some people. The nature of journalism is that this is an equation that is often needed and assessed.”

The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) has announced the winners of its annual Media Awards, honouring Ontario journalists who bring important nursing, health and health-care stories to light. CBC Ottawa, CBC Radio’s Now or Never, and Postmedia are among this year’s winners. Find the full list here.

The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) has opened applications for the 2018 EU-Canada Young Journalist Fellowship. Since 2001, three candidates have been selected each year to participate in a week-long study tour to experience the EU institutions, the Canadian Mission to the EU, and media outlets in Brussels. In order to be eligible, applicants must be actively enrolled in a Canadian university/post-secondary institution or active in the field of journalism, be between ages 18-30, and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Applications close on May 15.

The Western Association of Broadcasters (WAB) will hold a special panel as part of its 84th Annual Conference. Sponsored by Zipwhip, the panel will explore creating advertising that delivers credibility and sells products and services, without feeling like a typical commercial spot. Featured panelists include Rob Farina (Bell Media), Ronnie Stanton (Alpha Media), Steve Jones (Newcap Radio), Barrie Vice (Golden West Broadcasting) and Paul Kaye (Rogers Media). John Vos of Corus Entertainment will moderate the panel. This year’s conference takes place June 6-7 in Banff.