Bell Media layoffs continued through last week with new names to emerge including CTV Toronto weather anchor Tom Brown; weather anchor/reporter Anwar Knight; Joanne Clancy, Assistant News Director & Senior Producer, CTV Atlantic; Virgin Radio Toronto midday host Robyn Gerson and senior imaging producer Adam Kecskemeti; Virgin Radio Victoria midday host Ceara K; Pure Country 93 London morning co-host Forman (Andrew Gordon); CKLW Windsor sports director Steve Bell (who’d been with the station 41 years); and BNN Bloomberg host Catherine Murray. TSN also lost high-profile talent like Dan O’Toole, co-host Sportscentre with Jay and Dan; Sportscentre anchor Natasha Staniszewski, and soccer analyst Kristian Jack. We’ve compiled a partial list of those impacted by this round of layoffs.
As part of Bell Media’s new structure, Exploration Production Inc. (EPI), Discovery Canada’s in-house production company is being consolidated with Bell Media Studios. Kelly McKeown, EPI Director of Production, and Tony Leadman, Head, International Program Distribution, are gone. Justin Stockman takes on the new title of VP, Content Development & Programming, overseeing all English TV Programming including CTV, Crave and Bell Media’s English language specialty channels, while as previously announced Dave Daigle, VP Local Radio & TV, also assumes leadership of Bell Media Studios. In his first memo to employees since assuming operational leadership of the company in January, Bell Media President Wade Oosterman assured staff on Tuesday that restructuring is now “completed.”
Louis Douville has announced his retirement after more than 35 years with CTV/Bell Media. Douville first joined CTV Edmonton in sales in 1985. From there, he held General Sales Manager and GM roles with the company in Saskatchewan and Ottawa, before landing in Montreal in 2013 as GM and Executive Producer of Bell Local. He went on to serve as Vice-President & GM of CTV Montreal for a decade. Most recently, he’d held the title of Regional Director, Local Sales, Quebec.
Brenna Rose has left CTV Calgary to head to the U.S. for a media opportunity there. Rose had been a videojournalist and anchor with the station since 2018.
Carl Larouche is retiring from TVA Quebec after 32 years. Larouche started his career in the 1970s as a host on Radio CKPB Ville Sagenuay. He moved into television sports in 1984 at CHAU-TV Carleton-sur-Mer and joined TVA in 1989. He’ll host his final “L’Esprit Sportif” on Friday.
Anne Gaviola has joined Global News as the network’s new Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist. Gaviola will report on the top business news stories for all local and national Global News platforms, and anchor a daily business segment on Global’s OTT platform. She was most recently a multi-platform reporter with BNN Bloomberg and prior to that was with VICE Canada as Economics & Money Editor. She’s also worked as a producer with CBC, anchored on The Weather Network, and been a reporter with CTV Ottawa.
MILESTONE: Sharon Murphy, Manager, Network Resources, for Global News is celebrating 35 years with Global Toronto. Murphy first joined the network in Feb. 1986.
Everyone (hopefully) works with at least one person who serves as the glue that keeps the fabric of the team together. For us at @GlobalNews that person is @SMurphyGlobal. This week we marked Sharon’s incredible 35th anniversary at Global. Congrats Sharon! https://t.co/Zq3aDpaowg
— Mackay Taggart (@mackaytaggart) February 5, 2021
Karl Casselman has retired after 40 years as a cameraman with Global News/BCTV Vancouver. Watch a highlight reel of Casselman’s four decades with the station, here.
Aaron Guillen is joining Victoria’s Capital Daily as a reporter covering the city’s West Shore. A 2019 BCIT Broadcast and Online Journalism grad, Guillen has been a multimedia journalist with Black Press Media in Victoria for the last year and a half.
Heather Marcoux is helming CBC’s new “pop-up” bureau in Red Deer, AB. Marcoux is the founding editor of independent journalism site, The Centre, and previously produced and reported for Global News in Winnipeg and Calgary, CityTV Calgary and CTV Saskatoon.
CBC has announced a new scripted content team to lead dedicated development and production units for comedy and drama. Banger Films former Head of Content Jennifer Shin (Mouthpiece, Paper Year) has been appointed Director of Development, Comedy, while award-winning NFB producer Lea Marin (Stateless, Unarmed Verses) is now Director of Development, Drama. CBC comedy executive Sandra Picheca (Kim’s Convenience, Workin’ Moms) is promoted to Director of Current Production, Comedy and CBC drama executive Sarah Adams (Coroner, Feudal) is promoted to Director of Current Production, Drama. Ty Hyland has also been appointed to the expanded role of Senior Advisor, Production and Business Planning for the CBC scripted team. A line producer with more than 20 years of experience on series like Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie, Hyland joined CBC in 2013 as an in-house strategist in production planning across scripted and digital programming.
Deb Nathan is Shaftesbury’s new Senior Director of Creative. Up until last November, Nathan had been CBC’s Executive in Charge of Production for the last five years, shepherding productions like Diggstown, Fortunate Son and Alias Grace. She’ll report to VP, Creative Affairs Julie Lacey.
