Christian Hall will be joining Rogers Sports & Media as National Content Director, JACK and Content Director for Vancouver stations JACK 96.9 (CJAX-FM) & KiSS RADiO (CKKS-FM). Hall, currently VP, Brands & Content for Harvard Broadcasting’s 13 stations across Alberta and Saskatchewan, will join Rogers’ “Music Brands” leadership team and be responsible for leading its portfolio of JACK stations, including JACK 96.9 (CJAQ-FM) Calgary, JACK 102.3 (CHST-FM) London, JACK 92.9 (CFLT-FM) Halifax, JACK 103.1 (CHTT-FM) Victoria and JACK 102.1 (CJCY-FM) Medicine Hat. Hall has been with Harvard Broadcasting since 2006, holding roles from National Program Manager to serving as the founding program director at X92.9 (CFEX-FM) Calgary for the last 15 years. Read more here.
Jeff Winskell has parted ways with Rogers Sports & Media and his position as Content Director for Jack 96.9 (CJAX-FM) Vancouver. In the position since Jan. 2019, Winskell was previously with Bell Media in various roles in Kelowna, St. Catharines, and prior to joining Rogers, Regional Program Director for Bell’s 21 radio stations in the B.C. Interior.
Mike Killeen will anchor his final newscast on CBC Vancouver’s News at 6 on May 21, announcing a departure from the industry after 40+ years in broadcasting. Killeen has been co-hosting the newscast, alongside Anita Bathe, since Nov. 2018. He began his broadcasting career at Mountain FM (CISQ-FM) Squamish, before moving to CKWX-AM (now News 1130) and CKNW Vancouver. He moved into TV news in 1987 at CKVU-TV, leaving in 1991 to do a stint in Hong Kong media. He rejoined CKVU/Global Vancouver in 1995. In 2001, Killeen signed on with CTV British Columbia as a senior reporter and weekend anchor, going on to co-anchor the flagship 6 p.m. newscast from 2011 up until 2018, when station management undertook a major lineup shuffle. CBC Vancouver says it won’t be recruiting a new co-anchor for the News at 6, with Bathe to fly solo on the show following Killeen’s departure. Read more here.
Diana Swain is taking on the role of Executive Producer of CBC’s The Fifth Estate after leading the CBC News Investigative Unit for the past two years. Swain has been with the public broadcaster since 1990.
Frank Seravalli has left TSN. Seravalli joined the network in 2015 as a Senior Hockey Reporter and has regularly appeared on TSN Radio, SportsCentre, and That’s Hockey, among other programs. Prior to joining TSN, Seravalli covered the Philadelphia Flyers for the Philadelphia Daily News for six seasons.
Avi Lewis has announced his intention to seek the federal NDP nomination in the B.C. riding of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country. Lewis is the grandson of former federal NDP leader David Lewis and the son of former Ontario NDP leader and diplomat Stephen Lewis. The former MuchMusic and CBC host has been focused in documentary filmmaking since the mid-2000s, including several collaborations with his wife, author Naomi Klein.
Gosia Kamela, the former Bell Media Production Executive in charge of Original Programming, Drama Series & Feature Film, has joined CBC. Kamela, who had been with Bell since 2012, will be the Executive of Current Production, Drama.
Bernadette Vanneste is joining Global News in the newly-created position of Show Producer for The West Block. With more than 20 years of broadcast journalism experience, Vanneste built her career at the CBC where she produced national news and current affairs programs, including Midday, CBC News Morning, and The National. In her new role, she’ll lead the production of the Sunday morning political affairs program, working closely with Mercedes Stephenson. Her first day is May 25.
Emma Paling, who was formerly with Huff Post Canada, has joined CBC News as a writer. Based in Toronto, Paling had been a front page editor and reporter with the online publication since 2015. She’ll also be continuing to freelance.
Curtis Pon has joined Evanov Communications as a Digital Account Manager with the Toronto CMA Sales Team, encompassing Z103.5 (CIDC-FM), PROUD FM (CIRR-FM), Jewel 88.5 (CKDX-FM) and AM 530 (CHLO-AM). Pon was most recently an Account Executive for Rogers Sports and Media in Toronto.
Gordon Wiebe, the voice of morning news at CJWW Saskatoon, is retiring Aug. 31. Upon his retirement, Wiebe will have been with the CJWW newsroom for 41 years and will have spent 43 years in radio.
Amy Aust, who was part of Bell Media layoffs in February at Pure Country 106 (CICX-FM) Orillia is joining Corus Entertainment. Aust takes over middays (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.) on 95.1 The Peak (CKCB-FM) Collingwood, in addition to hosting weekends on Fresh Radio 93.1 (CHAY-FM) Barrie.
Casey-Jo Loos is being heard weekends on CFOX Vancouver. Loos, who has been a freelance content creator for the last few years, was formerly on-air in various dayparts at 102.7 The Peak (CKPK-FM), including two years hosting afternoon drive from 2017-19.
Abby Jo Neufeld has joined CTV Toronto as a multi-platform writer. Neufeld also fills the role of Managing Editor at The New Twenties and is the Outreach Manager for young journalism startup The Pigeon.
Tahmina Aziz is joining CHEK-TV Victoria as a multimedia journalist. Aziz has been with CBC for the last four years, working as both a VJ and associate producer in Windsor and Toronto.
Nathalie Sturgeon is joining Global News in Fredericton as a videojournalist at the end of May. Sturgeon has been reporting for Brunswick News for the last two years. She was previously based in Fredericton as a reporter with CBC.
Michela Di Mondo has been promoted within Fremantle International to EVP, Distribution and Sales, Canada. Di Mondo remains head of Fremantle’s Canadian office, reporting to Lisa Honig, SEVP for International Distribution in North America. Di Mondo joined Fremantle in 2014 and has overseen brands including America’s Got Talent, American Idol, Family Feud, and Project Runway.
Denis Rozon is joining Sphere Media as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer. Rozon served as Vice-President and CFO at Groupe TVA from 2006 until 2019 when he moved into the position of VP, Productions, Operations and Technologies, and also served as Chief Operating Officer of MELS. Rozon was also formerly VP, Finance & Business Development at Astral Media Radio.
Sonia Hosko is joining Cineflix Studios as VP, Current, where she’ll source and develop scripted IP for the Canadian market. Based in Toronto, she’ll report to Brett Burlock, SVP. The newly-created role supports the expansion of Cineflix Studios’ scripted activities, building on the success of Coroner, Wynonna Earp, and Pure. Hosko previously served as co-executive producer on Saving Hope and Rookie Blue, as well as The Detail and Burden of Truth.
Andrew Barnsley, CEO of Project 10 Productions, has been appointed the new President of Toronto Film School (TFS). Barnsley, an Executive Producer on Schitt’s Creek, served as the school’s Executive Producer in Residence for the past four years, mentoring students and working alongside staff and faculty. Barnsley will maintain his position with Project 10 where he is a producer on Jann and the reboot of classic sketch comedy show, Kids in the Hall, among other projects in development.
Julie Grenier is the newly-appointed chairperson of APTN’s board of directors, succeeding Jocelyn Formsma, who will continue to serve as a board member. Grenier is from Kuujjuaq, a small community in Nunavik, northern Quebec and the director general of Taqramiut Nipingat Inc. (TNI), a regional television and radio producer. Over the course of her six years on APTN’s board of directors, she served as vice-chair and secretary, and appeared in front of the CRTC under the TNI banner to support APTN’s broadcast licence renewal.
Jeremy Vianna is joining Rogers Sports & Media as the Head of Digital Products, responsible for product strategy and user experience across news, entertainment and sports. Vianna arrives at Rogers from Twitter where he was Head of Automotive, Government & Travel, leading the development of client advertising solutions for brands like Ford, General Motors, Volkswagen, and Air Canada.
Janet Lo is the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) new Assistant Commissioner of Legal, Regulatory and Stakeholder affairs. Lo was most recently the VP of Privacy and Consumer Legal Affairs at TekSavvy Solutions.
