Blackburn Radio Inc. is the latest broadcast group to announce it’s dropping “radio” from its corporate brand. Going forward, the company will be known as Blackburn Media Inc., following the lead of Pattison Media (formerly Jim Pattison Broadcast Group) and Evanov Communications (formerly Evanov Radio Group). “As the news, entertainment and digital engagements with our company partners and communities grow and evolve, the name change signifies the ongoing evolution of the Blackburn Company to provide the level of content and engagement they expect,” said Blackburn President Ron Dann, in a company announcement. Read more here.
Rogers Sports & Media news radio stations haveannounced the date they will officially rebrand under the CityNews banner. Starting Oct. 18, the so-called “green brand” stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Kitchener, and Halifax, will align their branding with CityNews across all platforms to become CityNews 680, CityNews 1130, CityNews 660, CityNews 570, and CityNews 95.7. Previouslyannounced in June, the stations join CityNews Ottawa(CIWW-AM, formerly 1310 News), which Rogersmoved to rebrand last December and simulcast on the FM frequency formerly used by Country 101.1 (CKBY-FM). Read more here.
The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) has announced the winners of its annual awards, led by University of Victoria campus station CFUV-FM, which claimed Best in News, Documentary, Pop Music, and Country or Folk programming. Trent University’s 92.7 CFFF-FM Peterborough, the University of Alberta’s CJSR-FM, and Smithers community radio CICK 93.9 also won multiple awards.
The Canadian Podcast Awards have announced their 2021 winners. On A Dark, Cold Night took home multiple awards, winning Outstanding Main Title Theme and Outstanding Original Music. Elamin Abdelmahmoud won Best Host In A Series with the CBC political podcast he co-hosts, Partylines, also winning Outstanding News and Current Affairs Series. The People’s Choice Award went to I Hate It But I Love It, while Ken Bole was honoured with this year’s Bob Goyetche Award, which recognizes podcasters who’ve made an impact and helped grow the community.
Frequency Podcast Network has unveiled its slate of new and returning titles for fall 2021 that leverages the talent of Rogers Sports & Media’s journalists to introduce the network’s first bilingual podcast and a true crime series focused on Ontario cold cases. New to the lineup are The Reheat, hosted by Sadaf Ahsan and Sarah Sahagian, which looks at pop culture stories of yesteryear, re-examining them through the lens of today; Pinoy Nation – Frequency’s first bilingual podcast, produced in partnership with OMNI News: Filipino Edition, and available in both English and Tagalog; and Tracking a Killer: The Cold Case Files, hosted by CityNews reporters Fil Martino and Madison Fitzpatrick. Read more here.
Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has announced its AMI-audio lineup for the 2021-22 broadcast season, starting Sept. 7. New programming includes The Globe and Mail Today, Monday-Friday at 8 a.m. ET, which sees Mike Ross and Corinne Van Dusen deliver news, editorials, business, sports and entertainment stories; Maclean’s Magazine, Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET, hosted by Matt Speirs; AMI Audiobook Review, Saturdays at 2 p.m. ET, hosted by Ramya Amuthan and Nisreen Abdel-Majid, reviewing new content in the audiobook realm; My Life in Books, Sundays at 2 p.m. ET hosted by broadcaster Red Széll, featuring one-on-one interviews with authors. New AMI-audio podcasts include In Buzz with Bill, hosted by AMI’s longest tenured employee, Bill Shackleton; Shaun of the Shed where Double Tap Canada’sShaun Preece breaks down new software or hardware; Connecting Disability, in which accessibility reporter Meagan Gillmore and her guests consider how experiences of disability help us connect with others and society; and Triple Vision, produced in partnership with the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians in which host David Best brings together members of the blind and partially-sighted community to reflect on life as a person with a disability and the challenges they continue to face today.
Soleiman Faqiri’s case, whose death was chronicled in TVO podcast Unascertained, has seen a major development. Michael Pollanen, Ontario’s chief forensic pathologist, has concluded that Faqiri’s 2016 death at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, ON was the result of actions taken by correctional officers. The finding contradicts a 2017 coroner’s report, which found the cause of death “unascertained.” The case will now be referred to Ontario Provincial Police, the third time the force has been asked to investigate the death. Launched this past April and hosted by documentary filmmaker Yusuf Zine, Unascertained reconstructs the events leading up to Faqiri’s death.
Waze! has introduced a collaboration with PAW Patrol in conjunction with the franchise’s theatrical release that allows parents to turn each drive into a mission. “Ride into Adventure with PAW Patrol” features Ryder and his team of Pups, who help navigate around obstacles, traffic, and more. The experience is available in English for a limited time.
MRC Data’s latest release indicates that Hip Hop/R&B is losing its foothold in on-demand streaming, with the genre’s market share down 1.3% at mid-year. MRC says Latin and Country are the likely culprits, which are up 0.38% and 0.42% respectively. Hip Hop/R&B still retains a 31% streaming share.
LISTEN: Wayne Harrett, who founded Eastern Passage, NS community radio station Seaside FM in 2002, lost a lengthy battle with cancer earlier this month. The latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast is for anyone who has been told they don’t have a voice for or a future in radio, because Harrett didn’t let that stop him from starting and growing his own station, fuelled by his sheer passion for the medium. Among the voices featured in this episode are Nova Scotia singer-songwriter Adam Baldwin, Halifax Regional Councillor and radio veteran Lisa Blackburn, MOVE 100 (CIOO-FM) Halifax personality and former Seaside FM volunteer Erin Hopkins, Wayne’s sister and Seaside FM board member Cindy Harrett, and Seaside FM afternoon drive host Noah Widmeyer.
LISTEN: On the latest Sound Off Podcast, Morgan McCarthy – host of The 715 Newsroom, a local Wisconsin online radio news source serving the Chippewa Valley area. In this episode, McCarthy talks about her not-at-all planned saunter into working in radio through her serendipitous acceptance to Emerson College, how radio became her passion, her love for the Green Bay Packers, and more. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
