Originally published in the Jan. 11, 2024 edition of The Weekly Briefing
Alicia Barin has stepped down as the CRTC’s Vice Chair of Broadcasting to focus on her personal life following the sudden passing of her husband last summer. Barin was appointed Interim Chair in August 2022 and officially moved into the position last February for a five-year term. She was first appointed to the CRTC in 2019 as Regional Commissioner for Quebec, previously spending over 20 years in the broadcast industry as Vice-President of Strategic Planning for Astral Media, prior to its acquisition by Bell Media.
Sarah Crosbie is the new host of The Drive on QR Calgary (CHQR-AM, CFGQ-FM), weekdays from 3 to 6 p.m. A chase and technical producer with the station for the last few months, Crosbie previously worked for Corus Radio Calgary as morning show co-host on Q107 from 2012-19. She also co-hosted the morning show on JACK 96.9 (CJAQ-FM) Calgary for four years.
Diana Swain has launched Diana Swain Strategies, an executive coaching business. Swain, who most recently held the title of Managing Editor, Investigative Journalism, at CBC News, ended her 30-year run with the public broadcaster as of this month.
Renée Filippone is stepping into the role of Managing Editor of Daily News at CBC Vancouver. Filippone has been with the public broadcaster for 19 years, most recently as a senior reporter in the Vancouver bureau. She’s also served as a London, UK correspondent and senior business reporter for CBC TV. Filippone succeeds Tinnie Chow, who parted ways with CBC Vancouver as Senior Manager for News and Programs in September.
Arti Patel is filling the role of Executive Producer of Social and Audience Development for the next 15 months at CBC News. Patel was most recently seconded as Executive Producer, Digital, and served as Senior Producer, Education and Entertainment.
Scott Fee is returning to CHEK News in Victoria as weekend anchor. The station’s former news director from 2019 to early 2023, Fee had most recently been working as Director of Engagement for the Esquimalt Chamber of Commerce. He returns to the weekend anchor position 17 years after he first held the role, replacing Hannah Lepine, who joined CTV Calgary as a reporter/producer in December.
Aaron Bronsteter is returning to Sportsnet as an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) reporter as UFC makes its return to the network. Bronsteter began his career 18 years ago as an intern with Sportsnet The FAN 590 (CJCL-AM) Toronto. He’d been with TSN for the last 12 years and reporting on MMA since 2016. He was recently nominated for Mixed Martial Arts Journalist of the Year for the second consecutive year at the World MMA Awards. Bronsteter will appear across all UFC on Sportsnet platforms, starting with extensive Fight Week coverage leading into UFC Fight Night: Ankalaev vs Walker 2 on Jan. 13 on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet+.
Jordan Cicchelli has parted ways with TSN. Cicchelli had been a content creator with the network for the last three and a half years, working with BarDown and SportsCentre, among other programming, with a focus on baseball.
Sherry Haaima has joined My Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) Ottawa Valley news team, based in Renfrew, ON. Haaima arrives from Metroland Media Group where she’s been a reporter and editor for the last 25 years.
Harrison Lowman is now Managing Editor at The Hub Canada. Lowman had most recently been producing The Lean Out with Tara Henley podcast after leaving his role as a producer on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin.
Peter Mansbridge has been engaged as a Strategic Communications Consultant by HomeEquity Bank. The company says the intent of the collaboration is to help HomeEquity Bank refresh the conversation about the CHIP Reverse Mortgage. In a new campaign that launched this month, the retired CBC Chief Correspondent and The National anchor takes aim at the idea that retirement is a time to “hang it all up.” Watch the launch spot “Ask Yourself” here.
Jean-Philippe Normandeau and Marie-Claude Desjardins have been appointed to the management team of MELS Studios and Postproduction, part of Quebecor’s TVA Group. Normandeau has been appointed to the position of Vice-President of Studios and International Development. He will also oversee MELS’s studio operations, with the support of Mathieu Palmieri and Marianna Del Gioacco, while continuing to serve as chief operating officer at Incendo, a position he has held since 2013 at the TVA television production and distribution subsidiary. Desjardins has been named Senior Director of Business Development. For the past eight years, she’s been working with Quebecor Media Expertise and is now tasked with raising MELS profile outside Quebec. Prior to Quebecor, she worked with CBC/Radio-Canada in content marketing.
Francesca Accinelli has been appointed to the position of Senior Vice-President, Program Strategy and Industry Development, at Telefilm for a five-year term. The announcement marks the grouping of two sectors: Cultural Portfolio Management and Promotion and International Relations. Within Telefilm, Accinelli was first entrusted with management of the English-speaking market under the Canadian Television Fund (CTF), followed by oversight of national and international promotion and communications as Vice-President. Most recently, she served as Interim Executive Director & CEO. She succeeds René Bourdages, who had held the position of Vice-President, Cultural Portfolio Management since November 2019.
