Jim Pattison among Canadians to receive star on Canada’s Walk of Fame this year

Jim Pattison, founder of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, is among the Canadians who’ll receive a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame later this year. Inductions will be held at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto on Dec. 1, and are set to air on CTV. SCTV alum Andrea Martin, actor Seth Rogen and writing/producing partner Evan Goldberg; figure skating duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir; astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield; singer-songwriters Leonard Cohen and Andy Kim; and Dr. Joanne Liu, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières are also set to be recognized.

Numeris is launching a Video Audience Measurement (VAM) solution that will measure audience viewing habits across linear and digital platforms and devices. Partnering with Kantar Media and ComScore, Numeris plans to begin recruiting the panel this fall with initial analyses of the data to begin in Spring 2019.

CBC/Radio-Canada says it increased its diverse hiring to 27.8 per cent between 2014 and 2018, with women making up 48.9 per cent of staff currently employed across the network – six per cent higher than the national average. As part of measures to develop a more diversified workforce, the public broadcaster has updated its online career section Working With Us to include details on employee initiatives and memberships with business networks like IndigenousLink, Catalyst, and SenseAbility to foster greater inclusiveness. CBC/Radio-Canada will publish its 2018-2021 Diversity and Inclusion Plan this fall.

Robert Holiday and Ken Shaw have been elected to the Canadian News Hall of Fame for 2018. Holiday spent 50 years in radio news, working in stations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec, including 16 years teaching at the Humber College School of Media Studies before retiring in 2006. Shaw started his broadcasting career at Baton Broadcasting in 1972, joined CTV Toronto as a reporter in 1979 and has been co-anchoring CTV News programs since 2001. They’ll be honoured at a gala banquet at The National Club in Toronto on Nov. 20.

Vividata has partnered with Kantar on the release of the Trust in News study which shows radio is still the most trusted source of news (82 per cent). The study also looks at Canadians’ willingness to pay for news, and finds that while 65 per cent of news audiences feel they can access everything they want for free, there is a direct relationship between how trustworthy a source is and the public’s willingness to pay for it. Adults under age 55, make up 59 per cent of those paying for online news, while one in four adults aged 18-34 pay for online news. Other findings from Trust in News include: 65 per cent use a mobile device or tablet to access news; 38 per cent of Canadians used Facebook for news in the past week, while 16 per cent used YouTube. Based on a representative sample of 2,000 Canadians, the Trust in News study was fielded in April 2018.

The CRTC is inviting Canadians to share their personal experiences with misleading or aggressive sales practices used by the big telecom companies. Until Aug. 30, Canadians can participate by filling out an online form; writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa K1A ON2; sending a fax to (819) 994-0218, or using the secure My CRTC Account. Current and former employees of telecommunications service providers are also encouraged to share their experiences and can apply for confidentiality as needed. Canadians can also share their views through a public opinion survey, to be announced at a later date. Additionally, the commission will conduct focus groups across the country and hold a public hearing, starting Oct. 22. The consultation arises from the government’s request that the CRTC submit a report on the use of aggressive sales tactics and their impact on consumers, as well as potential solutions to strengthen existing consumer protections.

Distinct Infrastructure Group Inc. (DIG) has signed on to a joint venture with Clear Sky Connections Inc. (CSC) and Broadband Communications North Inc. (BCN) to bring high speed internet to Northern Manitoba First Nations. Clear Sky Indigenous Network was formed to submit a proposal to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for the design, engineering, construction and maintenance of the proposed Manitoba Backbone Network. Under the agreement, DIG and its wholly owned subsidiary Crown Utilities will design and engineer the project in conjunction with Manitoba Hydro, and perform all construction, maintenance and testing work between Manitoba Hydro’s fibre backbone and the 28 communities to be served. CSC will act as the project developer, while BCN will be the internet service provider, and undertake ‘last mile’ construction and connection to individual customers. The project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year, and be completed in Dec. 2021.

Rogers is growing its Moncton, NB call centre with the addition of 215 new jobs. The new hires will bring Rogers’ staff contingent in the area to more than 1,000, including call centre agents, sales reps, technicians and corporate positions.

Lucky Mobile, Bell’s low-cost, prepaid mobile service, is now available in all provinces. The service has arrived in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, following its late 2017 rollout in Ontario, Alberta, BC, and later Manitoba and Saskatchewan in March. Lucky Mobile offers nationwide talk and text plans starting at $10/month. Lucky says it plans to launch an app later this year that will offer customers talk and text over Wi-Fi outside of their monthly plans.

Shaw Cable workers in Metro Vancouver have voted 98 per cent in favour of strike action. The United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1944 says job security, wages and charging employees for work devices are among the issues to be resolved despite intervention from a federal conciliator. The Local represents about 500 Shaw employees in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and 10,000 workers in the telecommunications sector across the country.

Kate Beirness hosted the second annual Her Mark summit on July 14 aimed at empowering the next generation of Canadian female leaders. The TSN Sportscentre anchor is the founder of the one-day event, sponsored by TSN, MLSE and Under Armour, which was attended by 200 female high school students from across the country who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in their schools and communities.

The Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) annual fall conference Connection ‘18 will be held Nov. 8 at the Marriott Toronto Airport Hotel. While the agenda is still being finalized, this year’s event will feature radio futurologist James Cridland; Rogers Radio VP of Talent & Product Development Paul Kaye; international broadcast consultant Valerie Geller and strategic radio researcher Mark Kassof.