Jessica Mulroney series I Do, Redo has been dropped by CTV following an online spat between the host and Black social media influencer Sasha Exeter, that ended in the media personality and stylist threatening to tarnish Exeter’s name with consumer brands she partners with. CTV issued a statement last Thursday saying it encourages its “entire team including our on-air talent to practice respect, inclusivity, and allyship…and more openly to listen to and amplify Black voices, and not to minimize them” and that Mulroney’s conduct “conflicts with our commitment to diversity and equality.” Similar statements from Cityline, which Mulroney has been a contributor on, and Hudson’s Bay Company, where Mulroney has been a bridal specialist and ambassador for Kleinfeld Bridal, followed. Mulroney, who is married to Etalk anchor Ben Mulroney, issued her own statement saying “the events that have transpired over the last few days have made it clear that I have work to do…I respect the decision of CTV and have decided to step away from my professional engagements at this time.” Read more here.
CBC Yukon Morning host Christine Genier has resigned. In a powerful and personal statement at the close of the June 8 edition of the show, Genier talked about the restriction of Indigenous and Black voices on the radio, saying “it is difficult to have a voice as strong as mine…and not be able to speak the truth is difficult. It contradicts and conflicts with the Journalistic Standards and Practices of the CBC. This is painful and makes the job difficult and makes it ineffective.” In a goodbye note later posted to Facebook, Genier said her hope had been to be part of the change from the inside.
Nana aba Duncan is taking a leave of absence from CBC after being selected as a Massey College William Southam Journalism Fellow. She’ll be researching the experiences of racialized and women leaders in Canadian media and plans to feature her work in Season 3 of the Media Girlfriends podcast. Duncan has hosted CBC Ontario weekend morning show, Fresh Air, since 2017, in addition to a range of other shows, including Podcast Playlist.
Duncan McCue, host of CBC Radio One’s Cross County Checkup and a Toronto-based correspondent for The National, has announced he’ll be on sabbatical next year. McCue has also been accepted as a Massey College William Southam Journalism Fellow and will be devoting more time to studying the Anishinaabemowin language.
Mike Wise is leaving CBC News Toronto to join Humber College full-time as a professor and program coordinator for the post-graduate Journalism program. Wise has been with the public broadcaster for 26 years and the late night CBC Toronto News at 11 anchor since 2010. He started teaching part-time at Humber in 2016.
Jen Moroz is leaving CBC to join Toronto podcast production house, Antica Productions, as Executive Producer of Growth and Operations. Moroz has been with the public broadcaster for 12 years, most recently as Executive Producer of Program Development for CBC News. She’s also a past EP of q and The Current, among other shows.
Jean-Philippe Pineault has been appointed to the newly-created role of General Manager, News and Information, for V Media, effective July 27. Reporting to Suzane Landry, Vice-President, French-Language Content Development and Programming, Bell Media, Pineault will be responsible for establishing and leading operations and strategic vision for the new V newsroom, set to launch in 2021, as well as it’s ongoing newsgathering strategy. Pineault was most recently news director at Cogeco Media, where he oversaw Cogeco’s news talk radio stations. He previously held similar management roles at The Canadian Press and TC Media.
Joey Slattery has joined CTV Winnipeg as the station’s sports director. Slattery has been a VJ and anchor for CTV Edmonton for the past year. He’s been with the network since 2013 with previous stops in North Bay and Regina.
Daryl Holien, General Manager of Harvard Broadcasting’s Red Deer operation for the last decade, is retiring. Holien has been with Harvard since 2000, and was previously Director of FM Programming, based in Regina. His career started in 1976 as an overnight announcer for Rawlco in Regina. From there, he worked at CKDA Victoria, CKXL and CHFM Calgary, and 98.5 The Ocean (CJVI-FM) Victoria, among other stops.
Travis Stewart is moving from Harvard Broadcasting’s 100.5 CRUZ FM (CHFT-FM) Fort McMurray to its Regina station, 104.9 The Wolf (CFWF-FM). Stewart has been hosting the CRUZ FM morning show for the past two years. He moves to afternoons at The Wolf, in addition to taking on music director duties.
Laura Mainella has joined Cat Country 98 (CIAT-FM) Assiniboia, SK as morning show host. Mainella has previously hosted at Giant FM (CIXL-FM) Niagara, Hot 89.9 (CIHT-FM) Ottawa, and Magic 94.9 (CKGE-FM) Oshawa, among other stations.
