CBC Radio’s The Current has made the 2024 International Women’s Podcast Awards shortlist. The Current: The Next War, produced by freelancer Sarah Lawrynuik and CBC documentary producer Liz Hoath, explores allegations of sexual violence in wartime Ukraine. The audio doc is nominated for the “Award for Changing The World One Moment at a Time” and “Moment of Compelling Storytelling.” Radio-Canada’s Je demande pour un ami : Parlons sexe avec Varda (Varda Étienne, Stéphanie Mignacca , Sara Hébert, Isabel Tardif, Annie Reeves) also received a nod in the category for “Moment of Podcasting Panache in a Language Other Than English.” This year’s program received over 700 submissions from 34 different countries, of which almost a third were made using the IWPA Bursary Fund. Check out the full shortlist here.
Soundwave Summit, an inaugural event bringing together independent Canadian podcasters, is set to follow Radiodays North America, on June 6. Founded by Michael Mongiardi of Sonar Network, Sherley Joseph of Chonilla Network, and Amanda Cupido from Lead Podcasting, the summit will also include representation from Canadaland, Vocal Fry Studios and Kattie Laur, founder of the Pod The North newsletter, among others. It aims to showcase Canada’s indie podcast scene, with daytime sessions arming creators with information on monetization, pitching, and building community. A separately-ticketed evening lineup will feature four live podcast performances, highlighted by a live recording of The Women of Ill Repute podcast with Wendy Mesley and Maureen Holloway. Read more here.
LISTEN: Amanda Cupido is on the Sound Off Podcast this week talking about the Soundwave Summit. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
Lead Podcasting and Sonar Network have launched their first joint podcast called How To Fall Asleep Fast. A podcast “backed by science to inspire sleep” is comprised mostly of ambient music composed by music producer Boris Kurtzman, who happens to be the husband of Lead Podcasting founder Amanda Cupido. She lends her voice to the project.
Vista Radio is celebrating 100 years of radio in Stratford, ON with CJCS 107.1. The company is marking a century of service for the city with a yearlong event under the umbrella of “The CJCS Century of Community.” Most recently, the studios welcomed a visit from former employee and Canadian broadcast legend Lloyd Robertson, who started his career at the station in 1952. Following a studio interview, the Canadian icon credited Vista with “resetting radio on the course for the times.” “CJCS is so well established as an iconic Stratford brand it’s heartening to see dedicated people giving it so much love and care,” remarked Robertson. “Personally, I owe it so much and will always be among the first in line to support it.”
107.9 Go Rock (CFLB-FM), the forthcoming Lunenburg County, NS rock station, is currently offering a digital-only preview at gorock.ca and the Go Rock app, to sample the station playlist before it hits the airwaves. Radio and music industry veteran Scott Clements, who is behind the independent commercial radio station, tells Broadcast Dialogue an air date has yet to be determined.
MILESTONES: Gido Gigliotti, Program Director at Evanov Communications’ Winnipeg Multilingual Station, 92.7 CKJS, is celebrating her 40th anniversary with the station this month. Gigliotti started his career as an operator and producer in 1984. Also celebrating a milestone at the station is morning show personality Donna Arenas, who is marking her 20th work anniversary at CKJS.
Chris Stapleton will launch an exclusive year-round SiriusXM channel, Chris Stapleton Radio, on Thursday, May 23. SiriusXM’s newest 24/7 channel will be available to subscribers across North America in their cars on channel 63 or on the go via the SiriusXM app. The channel will be curated and presented by Stapleton and his band The Honchos, and feature music spanning his career; the stories behind his songs; and music that has influenced his career like Tom Petty, George Jones, John Prine, Lainey Wilson, Mavis Staples, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, Tyler Childers, Bob Dylan, and more.
Canadian Music Week (CMW) has announced multi-platinum, JUNO Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Canadian artist deadmau5 will be inducted into the Music Industry Hall of Fame, during the Canadian Live Music Industry Awards, in partnership with the Canadian Live Music Association. deadmau5, aka Joel Zimmerman, is also a co-founder of gaming venture PIXELYNX and an executive of HD streaming platform StreamVoodoo.
LISTEN: Veteran radio programmer Ronnie Stanton joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about his new gig as Virgin Radio International’s Chief Content Officer and why it’s reinvigorated his optimism about the future of radio. Ronnie also teases two upcoming sessions he’ll host at Radiodays North America in Toronto, June 2-4, highlighting some of radio’s successes in his native Australia.
