Ross Porter has stepped down as CEO of JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto following a third-party workplace investigation into sexual harassment allegations. The former CBC radio host, who took over as head of the not-for-profit station in 2004, became the subject of the probe following a letter signed by more than a dozen current and former employees, alleging he had sexually harassed staff and created a toxic workplace. Porter has been granted the honorary title of president emeritus and will continue to host his Saturday morning show Music to Listen to Jazz By. Charles Cutts, former president and CEO of the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, has been appointed interim CEO.
Roger Millions is retiring from Sportsnet after a 39-year career in sports broadcasting. Millions says he wants to spend more time with family in Alberta and has his sights set on pursuing politics. He joined Sportsnet in 2002, calling and covering regional Calgary Flames games, in addition to a range of other sporting events. Millions began his broadcast career in 1977, calling Alberta College Athletic conference basketball and hockey at Mount Royal College. He went on to stints at CKO Calgary, CHRB High River, AB, CFQC-TV & Radio Saskatoon, CKCK Regina, STV Saskatoon and CFRN-TV Edmonton. Watch his Sportsnet signoff here.
Susan Lunn is leaving reporting after 32 years to join Agriculture Canada. Lunn joined CBC’s Parliament Hill bureau in 2002 and has previously worked for CBC Radio across the country including Saskatoon, Regina, Toronto, Sudbury and Halifax.
Doug Collins will step back from his management duties at CFJC Kamloops in September, but will stay on to read morning news. Collins, director of News, Information and Television Operations, has been on-air in Kamloops since April 1970.
Brent Johnston is the new president of the Rogers’ Wireless Services division. Johnston was most recently senior managing director at Apple Canada and before that held various roles with the Telus wireless division, including VP of mobility solutions and senior VP of consumer marketing.
Estefania Duran is joining the News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver digital team. Duran has been Digital Content Coordinator at News Talk 980 (CKNW-AM) since Aug. 2016 and is a former freelance web producer for Global BC.
Ron Tarrant is joining Seattle-based Reelworld as senior director. Tarrant, who has been heading imaging and sound design for the Howard Stern Show, will continue as the imaging voice for SiriusXM’s Howard 100 and Howard 101 channels. Prior to his two and half years in New York City, Tarrant was national imaging producer and sound designer for the Rogers Radio KiSS, Sonic, Bounce and JACK FM brands.
Aalia Adam has moved from online video producer to national online video journalist with Global Toronto. Adam has been with Global Toronto since Oct. 2017 after stints with CTV and Breakfast Television in Montreal.
Stephanie Coombs will take over from retiring CBC Edmonton managing director Gary Cunliffe at the end of the month. Coombs has been director of communications for the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation for the past year, but previously was managing editor at the Edmonton Journal. Cunliffe had been managing editor in Edmonton since 2010 with previous CBC posts in Windsor, P.E.I. and Toronto.
Alex Lalonde has jumped to Toronto’s New Metric Media in the newly-created role of VP, business affairs & operations. Previously the COO of Digital Howard, Lalonde produced cutting-edge AR/VR adventure game Terracosm and won back to back Canadian Screen Awards for Wynonna Earp Interactive for Seasons 1 and 2.
The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has appointed Dave Forget as new national executive director, effective July 1. Forget has served as the guild’s director of policy the last three years, following a 14-year career with Telefilm. Outgoing national executive director Brian Baker will take on the role of senior advisor based out of the guild’s Montreal office.
Lindsey Ramey has been named director of content development and production for Toronto-headquartered Wattpad Studios, based out of its Los Angeles offices. Ramey was previously producing consultant for Super Deluxe and Fullscreen and has held VP posts at Heyday Films and Hypnotic.
Waubgeshig Rice, an Anishinaabe journalist and author, is the new host of CBC’s Up North, heard weekday afternoons on CBC Radio One in northern Ontario. Originally from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound, ON, Rice has previously worked with The Weather Network, and CBC in Manitoba, Toronto and Ottawa.
Lorraine Mansbridge is saying goodbye to Global Edmonton after 36 years with the station. Mansbridge was working as a model in 1977 when she decided to attend a casting call for a commercial for a Winnipeg radio station. That led to work as a DJ and television host and her eventual move to Edmonton in 1982 when she became host and producer of the ITV morning show. Watch some of her career highlights here.
Rachel Gilmore is joining CTV’s Power Play with Don Martin as a chase producer later this month. Gilmore has been with ipolitics.ca since 2016.
Katie O’Connor, retail sales manager for the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group in Nanaimo/Oceanside, is now also director of sales for Non-Metro Markets. O’Connor has been with Pattison for eight years and previously worked with Rogers and the OK Radio Group.
Connie Thiessen, editor/reporter for Broadcast Dialogue, will transition in-house and relocate to Vancouver from Halifax in July. In addition to overseeing the publication, she’ll contribute as a host for Broadcast Dialogue the podcast and work on PR and special content initiatives across the agency and networks divisions of the company. Thiessen has worked coast to coast in broadcast and digital media with stints at Rogers Radio and CBC Halifax, Corus and Rogers Vancouver, Newcap Edmonton and Golden West Broadcasting’s stations in Manitoba.
Michael Olstrom has been named COO of Momentum Media Networks. Based in New Jersey, he will be responsible for day-to-day Canadian management, sales, and operations of the network and manage relationships stateside with the company’s American content partners. Olstrom joined Momentum in 2016 and was previously VP & GM for Bell Media, Astral and Harvard Broadcasting in Regina.
