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REVOLVING DOOR:
Ronnie Stanton is leaving his role as VP of radio programming for Corus Radio at month’s end. He’s on his way to the U.S. to build his radio consulting business, and adds Corus as his exclusive Canadian client. Dustin Collins, program director for Vancouver’s Rock 101, will add programming duties for CFOX, effective Nov. 25.
Meghan Sanchez-Warner has been appointed executive producer at Toronto content creation company Bristow Global Media Inc. (BGM). Based in New York, she’ll develop projects for the global market. Megan’s executive producer stints include W Network, BRAVO, VH1, A&E, MTV and TLC. Her producing credits include The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Hockey Wives, Love & Hip Hop Hollywood, I Dream of NeNe, I’m From Rolling Stone and Parole Board: Victims Speak.
Peter O’Brian has been re-appointed by the Ontario Government to serve as chair of the TVO board of directors for a two-year term. O’Brian, an independent film producer, has served as chair since 2005. He is a founding board member and former executive director of the Canadian Film Centre.
Lisa Purdy is leaving BC’s Knowledge Network on Nov. 18 after five years as director of BBC Kids and Knowledge Kids. She has been responsible for brand, marketing, operations and affiliate relations for BBC Kids since the channel was acquired by Knowledge Network in 2011. Her contributions also helped propel Knowledge Kids to its best-ever viewing figures in 2015/16. Purdy is the current vice president of CTAM Canada, an industry organization dedicated to research, education and networking opportunities for the Canadian television content distribution industry.
Charles Adler returns to Corus Radio with a new evening show, Charles Adler Tonight. The program launches Nov. 14 on CKNW AM 980 Vancouver, News Talk 770 Calgary, 630 CHED Edmonton and 680 CJOB Winnipeg from 7-10 p.m. PT. Kicking off his return to Corus, he’ll host America Votes 2016, a U.S. election night special. Adler most recently had been a host on SiriusXM.
Sonia Sunger is the new anchor of the Global Morning News at Global BC. Sunger crosses the hall from BC1 where she had been presenting weekday morning news. She is also a former CTV Edmonton weekend anchor. The Oct. 28 announcement follows the layoff of longtime morning news anchor Steve Darling and the departure of co-host Randene Neill.
Former Global TV reporter Jas Johal has been recruited by the BC Liberals to run in the next provincial election in the new riding of Richmond-Queensborough. Johal spent two decades as a reporter and served as Global’s Beijing-based Asia Bureau Chief and South Asia Bureau Chief, based in Delhi. He joined the BC LNG Alliance as communications director in 2014, a position he quit last month.
Rob Brimacombe has been promoted to manager, retail sales for Corus Vancouver from his senior account manager position. Brimacombe began his media sales career at CFOX and LG73 (CKLG) Vancouver and then moved to Hong Kong and Singapore for ten years. His time in Asia was spent in the fast-growing specialty television business across ten Asian countries. Upon his return to Vancouver and Corus Radio in 2002 and he spent six and seven years respectively as GSM for CKNW and News1130 (CKWX).
Neil Morrison moved from afternoon drive to host Mornings with Morrison on 107.7 Pulse FM (CISF-FM) Surrey, BC, effective Oct. 24. He has been with the South Fraser Broadcasting station since it signed on in February and previously worked as Brother Bill at CFOX Vancouver and 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto. Returning to afternoons are Leah Holiove and Kyle Balzer who had been co-hosting mornings.
Barry Taylor is no longer music director at 96.9 JACKfm (CJAX-FM) after restructuring at Rogers Vancouver. Corbet Rutzer has re-assumed the position he held from 2010 to 2012. Rutzer is former co-producer of the weekend remix show Midnight City on Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto.
Neil O’Brien is back reporting traffic at CKWX News1130, just weeks after getting cut in restructuring at Corus Vancouver. O’Brien previously worked for Rogers Vancouver before two separate stints at CKNW Newstalk 980 and AM730 (CHMJ-AM).
Matthew Berkowitz has been named head of development at Atomic Cartoons, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Thunderbird Entertainment. Berkowitz, who has spent time at Arc Productions, Film Roman and Strike Entertainment, has been brought in to grow the studio’s expanding IP and co-production slate and will be running development operations on the ground in Los Angeles.
Radio veteran Sharon Taylor has joined Byrnes Media as a broadcast consultant. Taylor has spent the last 20 years as GM at broadcast clusters including Newcap Edmonton, Astral Media Winnipeg, Standard Broadcasting Winnipeg, and Rawlco Radio in Toronto.
Trevor Dineen and Ify Chiwetelu will co-host CBC Radio One’s Now or Never, featuring stories of Canadians making real change in their lives. Dineen is a traffic anchor with CBC Winnipeg Information Morning and Chiweteleu is a former financial analyst who has also written for CBC’s Baroness von Sketch Show. The show premiered nationally on Oct. 30.
David Drake will start in the role of PD at 94.3 The Drive (CHIQ-FM) Winnipeg, effective Monday, Nov. 14. Drake comes to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group from Corus Winnipeg. Prior to that he spent many years as the PD of 99.9 BOB FM (CFWM-FM) Winnipeg.
Mix 101FM (CHQX-FM) in Prince Albert has flipped formats and rebranded. After 15 years, the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group station becomes classic rock XFM. The new PD is Alex White, a former consultant and program director of FOX FM (CFGW-FM) Yorkton, SK. Comedian Kelly Taylor will team up with Lew Harrison in the mornings.
Former CFNY host Brad McNally is retiring after a 44-year career spanning three continents. Recently diagnosed with brain cancer, he will relocate to Perth to focus on his health. Growing up in Canada, Australia and the UK, Brad started on-air at 4SB in Australia in 1972, in spite of his Canadian accent. He returned to Toronto in the late 70s and worked around Ontario, including CFOR in Orillia, before hearing CFNY and knowing that’s where he wanted to be. In 1998, McNally became the group program director at SBS Broadcasters in Stockholm, Sweden. Other stops include JAZZ FM London, UK and Hot Tomato 102.9 on the Gold Coast.
