Jenny West named Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year

Jenny West, the co-host of afternoon drive on Pattison Media’s The Zone @ 91-3 (CJZN-FM) in Victoria, has been named the 2023 Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year.

The 14^th year for the award, presented in memory of the late Steve Young, West is a 2014 graduate of BCIT’s Technology, Radio Arts & Entertainment program. She first worked with The Zone on a month-long internship before officially joining the station the following fall as an announcer and producer. For the last few years, she’s been one-half of the Pol & Jenny afternoon drive show, alongside Pol Plastino.

Outside of her afternoon show gig, West is an avid podcast producer where she explores edgier topics, including a series called “The Rag: The Period Posse Podcast” featuring her cohorts from non-profit community group, the Period Posse, focused on eradicating period stigma. She also donates her time to charitable causes as a regular volunteer with Our Place Society, a Greater Victoria organization serving the city’s most vulnerable. In 2016, she participated in The Fight 4 The Cause Charity Boxing Classic, a black-tie boxing event that sees members of the community with little to no boxing experience go through a two-month bootcamp to compete in the ring, in the name of charity. Since then, she’s continued to train and is now set to compete in one of the country’s five all-female boxing cards, West Coast Wonder Women.

West will be recognized during the Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame Awards Luncheon on June 8 as part of the upcoming Radiodays North America conference during Canadian Music Week (CMW) in Toronto.

“We applaud this year’s Allan Waters winner, who is so active in her community. Jenny West is a creative force on air, online and in person,” said Neill Dixon, President of Canadian Music Week. “Her approachable social media outreach, excellent on air talent, and ongoing involvement in public causes sound like the work of multiple nominees, rather than one dynamic young broadcaster.”

This year’s runners up are Brock Lewis, co-host of the Brock & Dalby Show, which airs on Rogers Sports & Media’s K-Rock (CIKR-FM) Kingston, 92.7 Rock (CJRQ-FM) Sudbury, 101.9 Rock (CKFX-FM) North Bay, and 92.1 Rock (CJQQ-FM) Timmins; and Roxanne Guérin from Torres Media’s Max 103 (CKOD-FM) Valleyfield, Que.

Subscribe Now – Free!

Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 30 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.

The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.

Let’s get started right now.