Originally printed in the March 9, 2023 Weekly Briefing
Rachel Gilmore, Irelyne Lavery, Heidi Lee and Teresa Wright are among the national online reporters caught up in a round of layoffs at Global News last week as Corus Entertainment undertakes “an enterprise-wide cost review.” Unifor confirms 10 of its members were impacted outside restructuring and attrition, with that number not including non-union or management. Ontario Online Manager Brian McKechnie was also caught up in the layoffs, as were members of the Edmonton sports department, along with staff in other bureaus.
Shelby Thom (Alexander) has announced her departure from Global Okanagan. Thom says she’s leaving journalism after a decade “in pursuit of a new career path” as she dedicates more time to raising her child. She had been with Global for the last six years and prior to that was a reporter and producer with 980 CKNW Vancouver and CHNL Kamloops.
Meghan Groff, Editor at Halifax Today; Blair Adams, Editor at CityNews Kitchener; and Anil Jhalli, Editor at CityNews Ottawa, have parted ways with Village Media, following Rogers Sports & Media’s cancellation of its contract with the digital publisher. Three part-time positions were also eliminated. Groff had been with CityNews Halifax since 2010 and in her current position with Halifax Today since 2017. Adams had been with Rogers since 1999 and in his current role for the last five years, while Jhalli had been in his position for the last year.
Michael Johnston has left Corus Entertainment to join Village Media’s Cambridge Today as an account executive. Johnston had been with Corus for the last six and a half years. Prior to that, he was a senior account executive with The Guelph Mercury.
Phil Perkins has announced his departure from CHCH-TV Hamilton to join CP24. Perkins has been with CHCH since 2012 and an anchor for the last six as co-host of the Evening News at 6 & 11. Prior to joining CHCH, he pursued sports broadcasting, dabbling in play-by-play with Tennis Canada and Rogerstv in Toronto.
Scott Fee has departed CHEK News Victoria as News Director. Fee, who was previously an anchor at CHEK from 2005–11, had been with the station since 2019 following a seven-year stint with Global Calgary.
Christy Somos has left CTV National News where she’s been a journalist and producer for the last four years. Prior to joining Bell Media’s short-lived Quibi project as a producer in 2020, Somos was a freelancer for VICE Media.
Josh Grant is leaving CBC Vancouver to join the provincial health authority in a communications position. Grant has been a multi-platform reporter for the public broadcaster for the last four years with stops in Montreal and Quebec City, in addition to the West Coast.
Madeline Smith is joining CBC Edmonton as a reporter. She arrives from the Edmonton Journal where she’d been a health reporter for the past year. She’s also reported for the Calgary Herald and Star Metro Calgary, among other publications.
Adel Ahmed has joined the CFJC Kamloops newsroom as a multimedia journalist. He joins the station from Lloydminster where he got his feet wet in play-by-play as a commentator for the Lloydminster U18 AAA Steelers.
Stephanie Villella, the CTV Kitchener reporter struck by a vehicle while covering a crash near Guelph, remained in hospital as of earlier this week. The newsroom has posted a statement saying to allow Villella and her family to focus on her recovery, they’ll only be providing updates when new details are available from her doctors. Villella has been with CTV Kitchener since 2019 and with the network since 2017, previously working with CTV as a video journalist in both Prince Albert and Saskatoon.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has announced the appointments of Marcia Douglas as Vice President, Growth & Inclusion and Janine Steele as Director, Interactive Digital Media. Most recently the CMF’s Director of English Content, International and Export, Douglas will take up her new role in April, reporting to Mathieu Chantelois, EVP of Marketing & Public Affairs. She’ll lead the organization’s growth and inclusion strategy, building on Tamara Dawit’s work as she returns to filmmaking. Steele joins the CMF as its first Director of Interactive Digital Media (IDM). Based in Vancouver, over the past 20 years she has held senior roles provincially with Creative BC and federally with the National Film Board (NFB). Most recently, she was a programs manager at Creative BC, responsible for the Domestic Motion Picture Fund and the Interactive Fund.
