Revolving Door

Originally published in the May 9, 2024 edition of The Weekly Briefing

Lori Graham is leaving CTV Montreal. The longtime weather anchor is stepping away from her role after more than 25 years on May 30. Graham started her career at CJAD 800, moving into television in 1998. Her tenure with the network has included hosting national weekend morning show, Good Morning Canada, and stints presenting the weather on Canada AM and Your Morning.

Cynthia Mulligan has a new title at CityNews Toronto as Chief Correspondent and 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. anchor. More recently focused on investigative journalism and politics, Mulligan says she’ll still continue to report on “critical issues.”

Caryn Ceolin is joining Breakfast Television as a reporter. Ceolin has been with Rogers Sports & Media for the last seven years, initially as an anchor and reporter at 570 News (CKGL-AM) Kitchener and 680 News (CFTR-AM) Toronto. She’s held various producing roles with CityNews since 2019.

Paul Withers has announced his retirement from CBC Nova Scotia after 37 years with the public broadcaster. Withers, who started his career as a cartoonist in the 1970s, went on to cover politics, industry and the environment. He was nominated for Best Local Reporter at the 2019 Canadian Screen Awards, among other accolades he’s earned over the years.

Katie DeRosa is joining CBC Vancouver as its new provincial affairs reporter. A print reporter for the last 16 years, DeRosa arrives from the Vancouver Sun and Province. Prior to that, she was with the Victoria Times Colonist.

Tara Weber, who was part of layoffs at Bell Media earlier this year, has joined Suncor as Manager, Media Relations. Up until this past February, Weber served as Western Bureau Chief for BNN Bloomberg for almost nine years. Prior to that, she was a reporter for CBC in Calgary, Windsor and Toronto, as well as Citytv Toronto.

Sam McDaid is the host of Country Nights, airing weeknights from 6 – 10 p.m. on Rogers Sports & Media Country stations across the country. McDaid was formerly heard on The Morning Pickup with Gord & Sam, alongside Gord St. Denis, on Pure Country 94 (CKKL-FM) Ottawa and Pure Country 99 (CKLC-FM) Kingston.

Gregger is back at 98 Cool (CJMK-FM) Saskatoon, alongside his former co-host Sarah Wallace in mornings. He left the show in late 2021 to join Global Saskatoon as a tech producer for the morning show. 

Bruce Walchuk has retired from Acadia Broadcasting’s CKDR-FM Dryden, ON after five decades. Walchuk has held roles from station manager to sales, writer, and on-air personality over the last 50 years.

Kattie Laur has announced she’s joining Bumper. Laur, the editor of the Pod the North newsletter and a freelance podcast producer, is joining the startup – helmed by former Pacific Content leads Dan Misener and Jonas Woost – as a Podcast Growth Strategist. 

Steve Ladurantaye is now Senior VP and Editor-in-Chief at Zonda, the housing market intelligence provider. The former CBC Managing Editor of News and Programming has been with the organization since 2021 and is upped from serving as VP of Content.

Matthew Berkowitz is leaving his role as President and Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Thunderbird Entertainment Group, effective May 31, after accepting a new opportunity. Berkowitz’s responsibilities overseeing the development of new animated and scripted IPs will be split between Aaron Behl and Kristin Cummings, both SVP, Originals at Atomic Cartoons, and Hillary Zwick Turner, SVP of Scripted Content, Thunderbird. The three execs will now report to Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO, Atomic Cartoons/Thunderbird and Thunderbird Chair. Thunderbird’s leadership team is now composed of Twiner McCarron, CFO Simon Bodymore, and Richard Goldsmith, President of Global Distribution and Consumer Products. David Way has been appointed CEO of Great Pacific Media (GPM), the company’s unscripted subsidiary. Lindsay Macadam has been promoted into the role of President at GPM. Read more here.

Brandon Best has been appointed Director, Program Content at Super Channel. He’ll continue to be based in Edmonton, reporting to Kim Ball, Chief Content and Communications Officer. Best will be responsible for supporting Ball in executing the company’s content strategy, assisting with acquisitions and production development for its linear broadcast channels, On Demand and FAST channels. He’ll also continue to oversee contract management and add supervision of content scheduling to his responsibilities. He initially joined Super Channel in May 2008 as Programming Assistant and was promoted to Contracts Manager in March 2010, after a brief hiatus to manage Live Event Merchandise Sales at Edmonton’s historic Rexall Place.

Christian Kelley is joining Toronto’s Counterfeit Pictures as Director of Scripted TV, effective May 21. A 14-year Bell Media executive, Kelley has most recently held the title of Production Executive – Comedy, overseeing development and production of shows like Letterkenny, JANN, and Children Ruin Everything.

John Roman has been named the new Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs at the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), which represents 100 independent communications companies. Roman was founder and principal of JPR Consulting, providing counsel and support in regulatory proceedings, industry and policy direction and development. He was previously Director of Research and Contracts for the Canadian Broadcasting Museum Foundation and a senior policy analyst for Kealy Wilkinson Enterprises.