CBC’s The National will relaunch Nov. 6. New hosts, including Rosemary Barton who has signed off from Power and Politics, will move from their existing roles into program development by Sept. 18. Beginning Oct. 16, Carole MacNeil will host CBC News Network programming from Toronto at 7-9 p.m. ET weeknights. On The Money with Peter Armstrong will become a live program weekdays at 4 p.m. ET, beginning Oct. 16. Robert Lack will be executive producer of both programs. Daily News executive producer Mark Ross will also help develop both programs.
The new CBC News Central Desk will launch Oct. 23, which will see a team of dedicated senior producers write, edit, publish, chase and manage live hits and breaking news for the big stories of the day across all platforms and programs. Set to begin over September and October, overseeing story teams will be senior producers David Michael Lamb, currently SP of World Report; Andrew Davidson, currently SP on the Assignment Desk; and Terry Auciello and Heather McLennan, currently SPs on The National. Avril Sequeira from the CBC News Network weekend team will also be seconded as a senior producer. As previously announced, Derek DeSouza and Andrew Pepper will be their executive producers, with Aubrey Silverberg quarterbacking weekend coverage. Overseeing Breaking, Alert, Chase and Lives will be senior producers Carolyn Ryan, currently on the Alert Desk, and Mark Tapper, currently SP at CBCNews.ca. Mandy Luk will oversee the team. Alison Masemann continues as interim executive producer of Syndicated Audio. Waqas Chughtai will take over as weekday senior producer of World Report.
Jody Vance will cross the street to Vancouver’s Roundhouse Radio, 98.3 (CIRH-FM) where she will host middays 10am-3pm starting Sept. 25. Vance exits CKNW, where she has been filling in for the past year since being let go by Rogers in 2016 as part of cost cutting measures.
Jessica Johnson has been promoted to the new combined role of executive editor and creative director of The Walrus. Formerly senior editor and creative director, Johnson has an extensive editing background with stints at Saturday Night magazine, the National Post and Fashion Quarterly. She’ll oversee art and editorial content on all platforms.
CRTC secretary general Danielle May-Cuconato has moved to another department, leaving another senior staff opening. Until the position is filled, a number of staff will rotate through in the interim including Claude Doucet, executive director of communications and external relations, broadcasting executive director Scott Hutton and Chris Seidl, executive director of telecommunications. May-Cuconato joined the CRTC in Nov. 2015.
Wow Unlimited Media Inc. has named John Vandervelde its chief financial officer and corporate secretary. Vandervelde previously worked at Nelvana, DHX Media Ltd.’s Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc. and was most recently GM at InterMedia Finance Corp.
Davicom’s new technical sales rep for the U.S. and Canada is Louis-Charles Cuierrier. Cuierrier has extensive sales experience in the wireless market and recently completed a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering at Laval University. Diana Ortega has been named the new technical sales representative for Latin America.
Marc Antoine Godin has been named the senior writer and managing editor of Athlétique Montréal, the French arm of new online sports startup The Athletic, helmed by former LNH.com managing editor Arpon Basu. Emma Achour is the new associate editor. Marc Dumont of Montreal Canadiens blog Habs Eyes on the Prize has also been named an editor. Additional contributors include TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) personalities Mitch Melnick, Joey Alfieri and Robin Flynn; Olivier Bouchard, longtime baseball writer for Le Journal de Montréal; and former Montreal Impact player Lloyd Barker.