Originally published in the Jan. 22, 2026 edition of The Weekly Briefing
Douglas Smith has been appointed Executive Vice-President at CBC. Smith will succeed the retiring Barb Williams in the role, beginning Feb. 2. He recently departed Paramount after four years, where he served as Senior Vice-President of Streaming & Content Licensing/Regional Lead and was instrumental in the Canadian launches of Paramount+ and Pluto TV. In addition to Paramount, Smith has held roles with ViacomCBS, CBS Studios International, Rogers and Alliance Atlantis. Read more here.
Kristy Werner has been appointed President of Rawlco Radio, succeeding Pam Leyland, who is stepping back from the role after 24 years. Werner, who previously held the role of Executive Vice-President, has been with Rawlco Radio for more than two decades. Her career with Rawlco began in 2001 as a Creative Writer in Regina. She went on to manage multiple departments including Interactive, Promotions, and Programming, including serving as Program Director for Z99 (CIZL-FM) Regina, before moving to Saskatoon in 2007 to program C95 (CFMC-FM). In 2011, she was appointed General Manager of Rawlco Radio Saskatoon, expanding her leadership scope in 2017 when she became Vice-President of Newstalk Programming while continuing as Saskatoon GM. In 2021, she was named General Manager of Rawlco Radio Saskatchewan, and in 2022 promoted to Executive Vice-President. Read more here.
Darren Matassa has been promoted at MBC (My Broadcasting Corporation) to GM/GSM in Napanee, ON. Matassa joined MBC on the sales side with a regional sales and business development focus across the Quinte Region, including Belleville and Trenton. Prior to joining MBC, he spent more than 25 years with Starboard Communications in Belleville, where he served as General Manager of Sales and Marketing.
Heather Barrett has announced her retirement from CBC Radio at the end of March. The host and producer of Weekend AM in St. John’s, NL, Barrett has worked with the public broadcaster for 32 years, starting as a writer on the Central Newfoundland morning show. She’s hosted weekend mornings for the last decade.
David Topping has parted ways with Zoomer Media after just six months as Chief Content Officer, overseeing the company’s digital newsrooms across the country. Topping was previously Director of Newsletters for Torstar for seven years and prior to that held roles with SJC, among other publishers.
Louis Therrien-Galasso has been named Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at TV5 Québec. Therrien-Galasso has previously held roles in marketing, partnerships and management at ARTV, CBC/Radio-Canada, Groupe TVA and Bell Media, most recently serving as Director of Programming, Marketing and Sales at the Centre culturel de l’Université de Sherbrooke.
Michele Austin has been named president and managing director of the Canadian affiliate of the Motion Picture Association (MPA-C). She succeeds Wendy Noss, who leaves the helm of the trade group after 15 years. Austin will lead strategic advocacy on priority issues, including copyright law, production incentives, digital media policy, and content protection. Austin was most recently VP of Public Affairs at Bell, and prior to that served as Director of Public Policy at X/Twitter for Canada and the U.S.
Jeff Detweiler is retiring from Xperi where he’s served as Executive Director, Broadcast Business Development for the last nine years. Detweiler wraps up a 47-year career in broadcasting that started in 1979 at WNBT-FM and WGCR-FM Wellsboro, PA where he served as program director and morning man. He went on to serve as PD and Chief Engineer at WSUS-FM New Jersey and later held engineering roles in Princeton, NJ and Cleveland, before moving on to sales, marketing and business development positions at QEI Corporation, iBiquity Digital and DTS.
