Neetu Garcha joins Global National as its new correspondent, starting May 9. Garcha has been with Corus Entertainment since 2013, working as a producer and anchor at 980 CKNW Vancouver while studying Broadcast Journalism at BCIT. She went on to intern with Global Okanagan in 2014, where she worked for two years before joining the Vancouver Island bureau as a video journalist. She joined Global BC in 2017 where she is currently a weekday reporter and anchor of Global News Hour at 6 on weekends. Originally from Penticton, Garcha has carved out a reputation for navigating political double speak, including her dogged 2021 interview with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in which he admonished the journalist for not asking “the right questions.” Read more here.
Reta Ismail is the incoming anchor of CTV News at Six in London, ON, starting June 6. Ismail is well known to CTV London viewers, having spent the last seven years as a reporter and more recently the anchor and producer of the bureau’s weekend newscasts. A graduate of Mohawk College, Ismail started her career at CKTB St. Catharines, making the jump to television as an Assignment Editor with CityNews Toronto.
Christa Dickenson will join Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective Sept. 12. Dickenson, who recently announced her exit from Telefilm Canada, worked behind-the-scenes at CPAC early in her career, before going on to spend 15 years at Rogers, and later serve as President & CEO of Interactive Ontario. She’s been at the helm of Telefilm since 2018. Dickenson succeeds Colette Watson, who was appointed President of Rogers Sports & Media in January, following the departure of Jordan Banks. Read more here.
Heaton Dyer is the new Chief Growth Officer at Pink Triangle Press (PTP), effective June 13. Dyer arrives at the LGBTQ publisher from CBC/Radio Canada where for the last three years he has been Executive Director of Strategy and International Relations. Dyer will be responsible for the growth of the organization, the reach of its audiences and its revenues. Beyond CBC, he has worked for both public and private media in Australia, New Zealand, and in Europe, responsible for the launch of a pan-European channel for Dow Jones, launching the New Zealand version of 60 Minutes, and is credited with wooing George Stromboulopoulos to CBC from Much Music.
Tom Webster, SVP, Edison Research, has announced he’ll be stepping down at the end of May to devote more time to digital audio and podcasting. Webster has been with Edison for 18 years. In a blog post, he says he’ll still be partnering with the company, in addition to continuing his tech blog “I Hear Things.”
Dennis Beyak has retired as the play-by-play voice of the Winnipeg Jets, but will continue to contribute to TSN international hockey coverage. Beyak has been the team’s play-by-play voice since 2011 when the Jets returned to the city from Atlanta. He has also done television play-by-play for the Edmonton Oilers and was the primary radio voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1997-98 and 2010-11 seasons.
Luke Smith has a new role as Station Manager at CIUT 89.5 FM Toronto. Smith has been with the National Campus & Community Radio Association (NCRA) as Director of Learning and Development for the last seven years. He also runs his own media and community engagement consultancy.
Alyssa Golbeck has joined Bell Media Edmonton as a Digital Content Producer. With a background in graphic design, Golbeck has most recently held roles with Ski Marmot Basin and FleetFX Graphics.
Ashley Pirhonen (aka AJ) has left Move 97.1 (CJMJ-FM) Penticton where she’s been heard in afternoon drive since late 2021. Pirhonen was previously the morning host at 99.5 Moose FM (CFBG-FM) Muskoka where she landed straight out of the BCIT Radio Arts & Entertainment program.
Martha Troian has walked away from new Canadaland podcast Canadalandback. Troian cites unexplained “allegations” against the show’s host Ryan McMahon. A freelance investigative journalist and producer, Troian has previously worked on projects for VICE Canada, Muskrat Magazine, iPolitics, and CBC Indigenous.
Nick Logan is leaving Global National. Logan has been with Global News since 2011, initially as a web producer for Global Maritimes before joining the network’s flagship newscast in 2013 as a producer. He’ll be signing on with CBC as a casual, multiplatform journalist.
Lasia Kretzel has left CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver to join Global BC as Social Media Coordinator. Kretzel had been a Digital Reporter and Producer with CityNews since 2016. Prior to that, she spent nearly four years with 650 CKOM Saskatoon.
Jeff Slack has left CityNews 660 (CFFR-AM) Calgary. Slack had been a multimedia journalist with the station since 2018, most recently serving as evening reporter.
Steve Cassar has joined the Story Studio Network, the branded podcast studio founded by newstalk veterans Dave Trafford and daughter Erin Trafford. Cassar, a former CTV Toronto News Director and Sportsnet Executive Producer, is signing on as Senior Executive Producer. He’s most recently been freelancing as a Supervising Producer for Olympic Broadcasting Services.
Drew Garner is joining Story Studio Network as Senior Production Engineer. Garner was previously a Technical Producer with Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto for the last 18 years, in addition to working as a freelance podcast editor.
so.da, Corus Entertainment’s social-first agency, has added five new senior leadership roles to its team to support growth and a new PR offering. Chaman Sandhu joins so.da as Director of Audience Development, leading the strategy and operations of so.da’s owned social and digital editorial content properties, and overseeing the performance analytics team. Prior to joining so.da, Sandhu was the Brand Management Lead at Truss Beverage Co., a joint venture between Molson and HEXO. Kelly Duffy has been promoted to Director, Client Accounts. She will also be hiring for six additional roles designed to further power client work. Elana Schachter joins as the new Head of so.da creator agency, Kin Community Canada. After soft launching PR services last year to bring more integrated campaigns to clients, so.da is adding Ashley Applebaum as Head of Publicity and Michelle McTeague as Director of PR for so.da.
Louis Pearson has been named Senior Director, Acquisitions & Original Film, at Quebecor, tasked with acquiring content for TVA Group, Club illico and Vrai. Pearson has been Director, Fiction Acquisitions & Quebec Film Development since 2018. He’ll retain responsibility for Quebec film production and promotion.
Genevieve Brodeur has been appointed Vice-President, Studios & Business Development, at MELS. Reporting to President Martin Carrier, she’ll manage studio operations, business development, and marketing. Brodeur has been with Quebecor since 2015, most recently as Director, Client Solutions. Prior to that, she held a similar role with Radio-Canada.
Youssef Ben-Youssef, Head of Ad Platform and Partnerships at Roku, has been appointed as an independent director at WildBrain, effective May 5. Ben-Youssef fills a seat on the board vacated by Steven Landry, who remains one of the largest individual shareholders of the company. Ben-Youssef is an ad-tech veteran with an extensive background in strategy and business management. Prior to Roku, he led the Publishers Solutions team at IPONWEB where he launched a monetization platform.
Luisa Alvarez Restrepo has been named ACTRA Toronto’s Manager: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging. Formerly Project Manager at WarnerMedia Access Canada, she led all film festival initiatives and launched Access Festivals, a first-of-its-kind international program that provides filmmakers from underrepresented communities access to a more robust and engaging film festival experience. Prior to WarnerMedia, she was at TIFF, where she launched the Amplify Voices Award highlighting excellence in filmmaking by Canadian and BIPOC filmmakers. As a creator, her short film Forbidden Tikka Masala won seven awards internationally, and was licensed by TIFF and CBC.
