Stingray has joined forces with a coalition of 20 independent broadcasters to compel the federal government to allocate a greater share of its advertising spend to local media. The call is supported by Acadia Broadcasting, Arsenal Media, Bayshore Broadcasting, Blackburn Media, Byrnes Communications, Central Ontario Broadcasting, Dougall Media, Durham Radio, Evanov Communications, Golden West Broadcasting, Local Radio Labs, MBS Radio, Pattison Media, Quinte Broadcasting, Rawlco Radio, Starboard Communications, Torres Media, Vista Radio, and Whiteoaks Communications Group. A letter sent to Finance Min. Chrystia Freeland and Canadian Heritage Min. Pascale St-Onge appeals for government intervention to aid the local radio sector, which has been challenged by the loss of advertising dollars to online platforms. During fiscal 2022-23, the federal government spent $86.09 million on advertising, 71% of that with digital media. Just 14% or $2.68 million was spent with radio. The radio groups are proposing a commitment from the feds to dedicate at least 70% of government advertising expenditures to local media in the upcoming budget, ensuring even distribution across radio, television, print, and Canadian-owned digital media. Read more here.
OP-ED: The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) is calling for the immediate renewal of the Local Journalism Initiative. “This program is not merely a lifeline for community-based journalism; it is the very scaffolding upon which the future of informed, local discourse must be built,” writes NCRA Executive Director Barry Rooke. “Failure to do so will see hundreds more journalists leave the industry. Additionally, redirecting government advertising funds towards Canadian media organizations, particularly community media, is a pragmatic approach that would require no new spending.” Read more here.
CBC has announced new additions to its winter audio schedule that include the debut of a live Saturday afternoon call-in show on CBC Radio One and CBC Listen. Just Asking is airing live across the country at 5 p.m. ET, hosted by Saroja Coelho. The former foreign correspondent is joined by guest experts, aiming to help listeners make decisions about tech, money, their careers and health, drawing from the week’s news and latest trends. New CBC Podcasts making their debut in March include Who Replaced Avril Lavigne? Joanne McNally Investigates, a six-episode co-production with BBC Sounds, exploring the conspiracy theory claiming the Canadian pop singer was replaced by a look-alike at the height of her fame. The Pornhub Empire: Understood, launching March 11, pulls back the curtain on the Montreal startup and the massive scandal that exposed non-consensual sharing and underage images on the platform. Read more here.
Canadaland has released its 2024 podcast slate after opening its first-ever call for pitch submissions last summer. Four new original series are set to be introduced over the next nine months including: Pretendians (premiering May 14), exploring Indigenous identity fraud, co-hosted by Robert Jago and Angel Ellis; A Field Guide to Gay Animals (June 13) looking at sexuality and gender in the animal world, hosted by Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson; The Worst Podcast (Sept. 4), billed as Canadaland’s first celebrity podcast, hosted by documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig and inviting comedians, pop stars, TikTok influencers, and others to share their worst failures; and The Copernic Affair (late 2024) revisiting the French court’s pursuit of Lebanese-Canadian sociologist Hassan Diab, convicted in absentia of masterminding the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing. Read more here.
Spotify and journalist Connie Walker’s Pulitzer and Peabody winning podcast Stolen returns for Season 3 with Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater on March 5. Premiering on the heels of the critically acclaimed Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s, this season takes listeners to The Navajo Nation, 27,000 sq. miles of remote terrain with just over 200 tribal police officers, as Walker investigates the disappearance of two women in a place where people say you can get away with murder. Stolen: Trouble in Sweetwater was supported by the International Women’s Media Foundation’s (IWMF) Fund for Indigenous Journalists, reporting on issues related to Missing & Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP).
Bumper has made Podcast X-Ray, its solution offering answers to common podcast research questions, free to the podcast community. An internal Bumper tool for the last year and a half, the company enlisted the help of Stephen Hallgren (now Bumper’s fractional CTO) to significantly expand Podcast X-Ray’s capabilities. Among other info, it captures data on publishing trends, technical details, and episode breakdowns.
The International Women’s Podcast Awards are now open to entries. Set to take place at The IET: Savoy Place in London, there’ll be an accompanying global livestream for international guests. The entry window is open until March 28. Check out the categories here.
Radio Trailblazers is extending the deadline for nominations for the annual Rosalie Award, recognizing women who’ve blazed new trails in radio, to be presented at Radiodays North America. Submissions will now be accepted until March 11 at 5 p.m. ET. Learn more here.
The Pro Bono Group has a new food bank PSA launching nationally, not to be confused with its separate campaign for Feed Ontario. The PSA, titled “Help You,” is a follow-up to their Canadian Radio Award-winning series in support of Canadian food banks that ran in 2022-23. The new spot features former Toronto and Vancouver radio personality turned voiceover pro Kat Carter (aka ‘The Radio Nerd’), sharing her own struggle with food insecurity.
LISTEN: Craig Baird, host of Canadian History Ehx, is on the Sound Off Podcast. Baird’s podcast is dedicated to proving that Canadian history isn’t nearly as boring as everyone thinks it is. Among other things, Baird and Matt Cundill talk about the failings of the Canadian education system in teaching our history. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
