Originally published in the Aug. 1, 2024 edition of The Weekly Briefing
Liesel Unger has been appointed to the new position of Director of National Sales and Partnerships at Vista Radio. Vista says the new role is another strategic move for the company to optimize revenue and identify opportunities on a regional and national level. Unger was most recently at Bell Media where she held the role of Director of National Sales, Western Canada. Prior to joining Bell in 2008, she was a National Account Executive at CBC Television. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the BCAMA, a non-profit connecting marketers from all industries and disciplines.
After 13 great years at Sportsnet, I’m moving on. It’s been an incredible journey and I’m thankful to have worked alongside so many great people and played a role in bringing sports and hockey news to fans across Canada and the world. More to come soon.
– Jeff— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) July 26, 2024
Jeff Marek has parted ways with Sportsnet. Marek, 55, was last on-air during the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in June. First joining Sportsnet in 2011, he hosted The Jeff Marek Show and the 32 Thoughts podcast alongside Elliotte Friedman, among other programs.
Britt Prendergast has joined Global Edmonton as weekend weather anchor. Prendergast formerly held the same position at CTV Edmonton, up until layoffs in February. She’s also worked as a host and producer at Bell Media’s TSN 1260 (CFRN-AM) and Virgin Radio (CFMG-FM) in Edmonton.
Taylor Smith has joined the Garner Andrews Show on SONiC 102.9 (CHDI-FM) Edmonton, following Bryce Kelley’s departure from the show to pursue an opportunity outside of radio. Smith has been an announcer with SONiC for the last nine years, most recently heard in middays.
Matt Barron has left KiSS 102.3 (CKY-FM) Winnipeg as he moves his family to his home province of Newfoundland. Barron had been with the station for the last two and a half years and in the Winnipeg market since 2016 when he joined Evanov’s Energy 106 (CHWE-FM). Listen to his last break here. Pamela Roz officially moves into middays, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Roz, who had been out of the industry for the last few years running her own PR firm, has been filling in since the beginning of the summer.
Pierre-Yves McSween has parted ways with Cogeco’s 98.5 (CHMP-FM) Montréal. The company says following a review of “Le Québec maintenant,” it has terminated his contract “in the context of an amicable agreement.” McSween had been with the station since 2015. He wrote in a post to Facebook that he’ll be focusing on other projects and developing new ones.
Mike Chaar has joined Virgin Radio (CJFM-FM) Montreal as a weekend host. He’ll be heard Saturdays from 4 – 7 p.m. and Sundays from 6 – 10 a.m., starting Aug. 10, in addition to working with the station’s social media team. Chaar has been an editor with Narcity’s MTL Blog for the last three years.
Pete Dalliday has left Corus Radio after 38 years, including 12 as the morning announcer on 100.5 Fresh Radio (CKRU-FM) Peterborough. Dalliday took personal leave in May, and made the decision to sign off from the station in mid-July, unrelated to the ongoing workforce reduction within the company. Dalliday, who followed in the footsteps of his CHEX sportscaster father Gary Dalliday, will continue to provide play-by-play for the Peterborough Petes and Lakers YourTV broadcasts.
Sheldon MacLeod is joining the MBS Radio news team, contributing to coverage across its stations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. MacLeod, who is best known in the Halifax market for his almost seven-year run hosting talk on Rogers Sports & Media’s News 95.7 (CJNI-FM), arrives from the Saltwire Network where he’s been a multimedia producer and host for the last three years.
Jack Farrell has joined The Canadian Press (CP) Prairies’ bureau in Edmonton. Farrell, a 2022 graduate of the Journalism program at MacEwan University, arrives from the St. Albert Gazette where he’s been covering City Hall.
Julia Qiwen Zhu is the National Film Board’s new Chief Financial Officer and Director General, Finance and Administration, effective Aug. 19. Prior to joining the NFB, Julia was VP Finance (CFO) of Montreal-based CM Labs Simulations. She’s also held roles as Director of Finance Transformation at the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), and served as Controller, Technology Finance, and Global Director, Commercial Performance and Transformation, for Technicolor Creative Studios.
David Phillips has a new title at Environics Analytics. Phillips is now Chief Media & Activation Officer, helping clients move from insights to activation and measurement. Phillips joined Environics early last year as Chief Product Officer after departing his role as President and COO of NLogic Canada.
