Jordan Banks, former managing director of Facebook and Instagram Canada, will succeed the retiring Rick Brace as president of Rogers Media. Banks will take up the role effective Sept. 9, with the pair working together in a transition period until the end of the year. In addition to Facebook, Banks, 51, has also held roles with JumpTV, an internet broadcaster of sports and international television; was managing director at eBay Canada; and worked with the NHL Players’ Association in international business and licensing. Brace caps a more than 40-year broadcasting career that started at CBC in 1975. Prior to joining Rogers in 2015, Brace was with Bell Media/CTVglobemedia for 13 years in senior leadership roles, including president of CTV and president of Specialty TV. He also played a founding role at TSN, joining the network in 1984 as deputy head of sports and serving as president of the network from 1998 to 2000. Read more here.
CTV Vancouver has experienced another round of layoffs resulting in the loss of several long-serving behind-the-scenes employees. Among those impacted are ENG/SNG flight camera operator Murray Titus, who had been with CTV since 1997; David Alexander, who had been ENG Operations Manager since 1998; crew chief/floor director Jim Walsh, who had been with CTV for more than 21 years; VJ Steve Saunders; and cameraman Christian Adler. Read more here.
Lisa Dutton will be the new anchor of the Global News Winnipeg 6 p.m. news as of July 30. Dutton replaces longtime anchor Heather Steele, whose last day on-air was July 12. Steele is joining Corus sister radio station Global News 680 CJOB as executive producer. Dutton previously hosted Global News Morning Saskatoon, until relocating with her family to Winnipeg in 2015.
Andy Neal is the new host of CHEK-TV Victoria’s 10 p.m. weeknight newscasts. Neal has been working with CHEK since 2011, most recently hosting the station’s online-only morning newscast.
Calvin To has anchored his last CHEK newscast. To has been a weekend anchor and weekday reporter with the station since 2016.
It’s official! After a career in broadcast journalism that has spanned three provinces, it’s time to start something new. Nine years ago, I became a journalist so I could help make this world a better place… pic.twitter.com/bUUuLixZWU
— Calvin To (@CalvinToLaw) July 24, 2019
Cyril Lunney is no longer a co-host on the CTV Atlantic morning show after alleged inappropriate online behaviour. A brief announcement was made on Breakfast Television Tuesday morning. Lunney started his career with CTV in 1988 as a cameraman in Moncton.
Alyson Walker, former vice-president of Brand Partnerships and Client Strategy at Bell Media, and Tyler Keenan, former Nike brand lead, are joining Toronto-based global esports entertainment company OverActive Media. Walker becomes the new Senior VP of Business, while Keenan takes up the role of VP of Global Partnerships.
Coleton MacDonald is joining the Rebel 101.7 (CIDG-FM) Ottawa sales team, starting Aug. 16 as an account manager. A Loyalist College grad, MacDonald was most recently morning/midday host on Stingray’s Real Country 93.5 (CKVH-FM) High Prairie and Boom 95.3 (CJXK-FM) Cold Lake.
Ron Clark is back on-air in Edmonton, doing weekend mornings on 96.3 The Breeze (CKRA-FM). Clark did various dayparts on EZ Rock (CFMG-FM) Edmonton before its rebrand to Virgin Radio in 2011. Since then, he’s been running his own contracting company.
Fred Hutton has parted ways with CBC St. John’s, NL. The former longtime VOCM/NTV news director and anchor is leaving to pursue another opportunity. Hutton had been part of the CBC morning show for the past two years.
George Gordon is pinch hitting at Bell Media’s Okanagan stations part-time. The News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver and 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto veteran is doing vacation relief, filling in for Dale Cory on EZ Rock (CILK-FM) mornings and reading afternoon news on AM 1150 (CKFR-AM) Kelowna.
Britt Prendergast has left EZ Rock (CFTK-FM) Terrace and Kitimat and is now a free agent. Prendergast had been hosting the morning show for the past year. Grant Scott, program director for the Bell Media B.C. North group, has taken over the show.
Diana Cina is leaving Corus Entertainment to take a position with CBC. Based in Toronto, Cina was the program coordinator for brands including YTV, Teletoon, the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. She’d held the role for the last five years.
Dexter Nyuurnibe will join the team at Global’s The West Block in Ottawa for the upcoming federal election. A recent Nova Scotia Community College Broadcast Journalism grad, Nyuurnibe interned with Global Halifax and has been freelancing with the bureau as an online digital producer this summer.
Arti Patel is now the national online supervising editor for lifestyle at Global News. Patel has been with Global online since 2017.
Kathleen Goldhar is leaving CBC Radio One, where she’s been working on The Current for the last 16 years, most recently as executive producer. She’ll join Antica Productions as a podcast producer.
Stephen Hoff is leaving CBC Ottawa to join CTV Ottawa Morning Live as a producer. Hoff had been freelancing with the public broadcaster for the last six months.
Victoria DiPlacido is the new digital director at ELLE Canada. DiPlacido has been with ELLE since 2015, most recently as Beauty Director, overseeing content across all platforms.
Scott Moore, former president of Sportsnet, will lead the expansion of athlete empowerment brand Uninterrupted in Canada, founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Launching in Canada in partnership with Toronto’s favourite son Drake, this is the first international expansion of the brand, launched in the U.S. in 2015. Uninterrupted is built on the idea that athletes should have a platform to express themselves without intermediaries through content, merchandise, events, partnerships and educational opportunities. Moore, who stepped down from Rogers at the end of October after eight years in the role, will focus on business operations and development as well as brand partnerships. Chief Content Officer Vinay Virmani, will lead creative operations and content development. Virmani has a background as an actor, film producer, and director (Dr. Cabbie, The Steps, Breakaway). Read more here.
Xavier Leclercq has been appointed vice-president of business development for content delivery and streaming solutions provider Broadpeak. Leclercq will be responsible for expanding the company’s presence across new markets and new applications for Broadpeak technologies, with a focus on next-generation solutions for OTT across any networks including 5G. Leclercq was previously director of IP video at Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent, where he led teams in consulting and business development.
Frank Kunkle has joined SMPTE, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, as its new director of marketing. Kunkle, who officially assumed the role July 22, was most recently marketing manager at the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Nick Crowe has joined Blue Ant Studios’ Toronto-based production company, Saloon Media, as Production Executive. Crowe will focus on developing new series and specials for the global market in factual entertainment. He joins Saloon Media after three years working in independent production where he developed and oversaw series like Thank You, Canada (History), Northern Gold (TVO) and Spaceman (CBC). Crowe was formerly Director of Original Factual Content at Shaw Media.
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