Steve Pratt and Chris Boyce have announced their respective departures from Pacific Content, the Rogers Sports & Media-owned branded podcast studio they co-founded. Pratt, who was formerly Director of Digital for CBC Music for a decade, founded Pacific Content in 2014 with fellow CBC alum Jennifer Ouano. Boyce, the former Executive Director of Radio & Audio, for CBC English Services, came on board in 2016 as an owner and principal, in addition to business consultant Rob Leadley. An early entrant into the branded audio space, the company quickly established itself with big name clients like McAfee, Dell, Charles Schwab, Slack, Shopify and Facebook. Rogers acquired Pacific Content in 2019. Boyce says with Pacific Content now employing more than 50 people, he has an opportunity to get back to his startup roots and in the short term will be helping his wife Suzanne build her Mail Order Mystery business, which creates mystery experiences for kids. Pratt told Broadcast Dialogue that their respective decisions to leave within weeks of each other was purely coincidental. Read more here.
Patricia Lovett-Reid is stepping away from her on-air duties at CTV after a decade as a financial commentator for the network. The former TD Bank SVP started hosting The Pattie Lovett-Reid Show on CTV News Channel in 2012, in addition to discussing the markets, economy and personal finance across CTV properties, including CTV Your Morning. She’ll continue to contribute online columns.
Nicole Lampa has left CTV Kitchener after 18 years as a reporter with the station to move on to CTV Edmonton. Prior to joining the network in 2004, she started her career as a producer at BNN right out of Ryerson.
Colin D’Mello will join Global News as the network’s new Queen’s Park Bureau Chief. He’s held the same position with CTV for the last four years and been with Bell Media since 2011. He started his career with Rogers Sports & Media’s all-news stations News 91.9 (CKNI-FM) Moncton, 1310 News (CIWW-AM) Ottawa and 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto.
Ted Chernecki has signed off from Global BC after 50 years on-air. He started his career as an operator at CKX-TV in Brandon, MB and then headed to Australia, working as a newsreader and host on 4CD Gladstone and 7BU Burnie, before returning to Canada and joining CKCK-TV Regina as a reporter and later CKNW Vancouver. Chernecki then worked for CBC-TV Vancouver, as evening news anchor and then a writer/producer for CBC NewsWorld. He also did a stint as a reporter for The National in London in the late ‘80s. Chernecki returned to BC in 1992 to work with BCTV (now Global) as an anchor and producer.
Lisa VanderMey has left Global BC after 20 years as a Director, among other roles. VanderMey also freelances under the banner of VanderMedia Productions, including working as an Associate Director on Vancouver Canucks broadcasts for Sportsnet.
Avis Favaro will be the first journalist in residence at McMaster University’s Faculty of Science, starting this fall. Favaro will spend four weeks on campus, with an eye to strengthening the communication skills of faculty, postdoctoral fellows and students. Favaro, who received an honorary doctorate from McMaster in 2018, announced in March she was leaving journalism full-time. Favaro has been in broadcasting for 40 years, initially at Global News for a decade, and for the last 30 years at CTV as the network’s national medical correspondent.
Reshmi Nair and Scott MacArthur have been named the new co-hosts of Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto afternoon drive show, The Rush, starting Monday, April 11. Nair arrives from CP24 where she’s been anchoring CP24 Tonight for the last year, following a brief stint as one of the anchors of Bell Media’s Quibi content. Prior to that, she was a CBC News Network anchor for a decade. MacArthur was most recently co-hosting The Leadoff with Ziggy and Scotty Mac on Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM), up until last September. Read more here.
Mahnoor Yawar is leaving CityNews Toronto where she’s been a producer on the supper hour newscasts since 2019, to join CBC News Network’s Morning Live. Yawar was a producer and reporter for OMNI prior to joining CityNews.
Monika Gul has left her morning reporter gig at CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver to move over to the television side full-time. Her first day as a videojournalist with CityNews Vancouver is April 11. Gul has been with Rogers Sports & Media since late 2017.
Laurie Carr-Hall is retiring after 30+ years with CHEK-TV Victoria. Carr-Hall started with CHEK in 1989 as a producer, studio director, and graphics artist. She transitioned into promotions in 1993 and has also handled traffic and community relations, among other duties. Jessica McCool has been hired as the station’s new Community Relations Coordinator.
Al Tompson has parted ways with Stingray after a combined 17 years with Stingray/Newcap. Up until restructuring last March, Tompson had served as Director of FM Programming for Calgary and Edmonton, as well as Operations Manager for Calgary and Program Director of XL 103 (CFXL-FM). He had most recently been assigned to a corporate Director of Programming role.
Heather Prosak, former Program Director and morning show host at Stingray’s XL 103 (CFXL-FM) Calgary has launched Knowledge Media, a podcast and newsletter sharing her perspective on current events. Prosak, a 20-year radio veteran, posted a series of live reports from Ottawa in February in support of the “Freedom Convoy.” Up until last month, she’d been hosting the morning show at XL 103 since 2017. She had also handled PD duties since April of last year.
MK Bowyer is the new swing announcer at 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto. Bowyer has most recently been filling in on middays at CFOX Vancouver during Carmen Cruz’s maternity leave. Prior to that, she was the afternoon drive host and music director at Harvard Broadcasting’s X100.7 (CKEX-FM) Red Deer.
Nicole Welsh, who currently hosts afternoons on Pattison Media’s 98.3 CIFM Kamloops, has announced she’s leaving to join the new Power 97 (CJBK-FM) morning show in Winnipeg, with a yet-to-be announced co-host. Her last day on-air will be April 22.
Lyndsay Armstrong is joining The Canadian Press on a year-long fellowship in Halifax as a reporter-editor. Armstrong has been a reporter with Halifax alt-weekly The Coast for the last year and prior to that was with allNovaScotia.com.
Jean Bureau is stepping down as President and CEO of Incendo after 21 years at the helm of the Montreal film and television content producer and distributor. Jean-Philippe Normandeau will stay on as Chief Operating Officer and will maintain continuity in the development of Incendo. Acquired by Quebecor Media in 2019, the company announced this week that to optimize operations, Incendo and Quebecor Content are establishing a new distribution unit. Cynthia Kennedy steps into the role of Vice-President, Distribution of Incendo and Quebecor Content. Kennedy is a native Montrealer with a 25-year track record working with international broadcasters and distributors, including Talpa Global, BBC Studios, A+E Networks, Channel 4 International and Keshet International. She began her career with Canadian animation company, Cinar.
Phil King, the former president of CTV, Sports and Entertainment, is retiring from Sony Pictures Television Canada where he’s been Senior VP of Distribution since 2016. Victoria Valius and Stephanie Shinkoda have been named Co-Territory Managers. Valius has been with Sony since 2012, while Shinkoda joined the company last October from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment where she was Director, Content Distribution.
Marcia Douglas has been promoted to the position of Vice-President, Industry and Business Affairs at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Douglas joined the CMPA as Director of Digital Strategy and Business Affairs in 2015, bringing experience as an analyst at the Cogeco Fund, Independent Production Fund, and Program Manager at the Bell Fund. In 2018, she was promoted to Senior Director, Business Affairs.
Norm Wilner has left NOW Toronto, where he’d been the Senior Film Critic since 2008, to join TIFF as a programmer in digital releasing. Wilner is also the host of the Someone Else’s Movie podcast on the Frequency Podcast Network, which each week features an actor, director, or other industry figure discussing a film they admire, but had no hand in making.
Alan Black, Director of Operations for the Hot Docs Festival and Managing Director of Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, is stepping down following this year’s festival. Black first joined Hot Docs in 2003, starting out as Box Office Manager. He’s held the Managing Director role for the last 10 years. Black is also a documentary filmmaker, including 2009’s Jackpot about regulars at a Toronto bingo hall.
Martha Cooley is the incoming Executive Director of FIN Atlantic International Film Festival, effective April 25. Cooley has been with AFCOOP (Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative) for the past 14 years, the last nine as Executive Director. She succeeds Wayne Carter, who retires after a decade at the helm of the festival.
