Conference, Awards & Regulatory News – OAB opens award nominations

The Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) has opened nominations for its annual awards, with the addition this year of the Inspiring Women Award, recognizing and developing female leadership. Presented to a woman from an OAB member station, the recipient must demonstrate excellent work ethic and leadership qualities, a passion for the industry and community service, a willingness to grow and develop beyond their current role, and a willingness to mentor other female broadcasters. Among the perks of the award will be full delegate passes to this fall’s OAB Conference, Canadian Music Week (CMW), and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Radio Show or NAB 2020 in Las Vegas. The OAB awards program is also accepting nominations for the Best In Class Sales Award, Creative Award, Community Service Campaign(s) Award, and Promotion Award. The winners will be announced at the OAB Conference and Gala Awards on Nov. 7 in Toronto. Link to more information and the OAB Awards Entry Form here. 

The B.C. Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) has released the speaker lineup for this year’s conference, Oct. 2-3 in Victoria. Among those speaking are media strategist Fred Jacobs; Jeff Vidler of Audience Insights Inc., who will host a panel exploring the media consumption habits of Generation X; and Broadcast Dialogue publisher Shawn Smith, in addition to Numeris, nlogic, and others. Learn more here.

Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau says Bell Media’s move to acquire conventional French-language TV network ‘V’ would amount to giving the media giant a monopoly if allowed to proceed. Bell revealed last week, it has entered into an agreement with the shareholders of Groupe V Média to acquire the network and related digital assets, including ad-supported VOD service Noovo.ca, subject to regulatory approval. Adding fuel to a mounting series of ongoing legal fires burning between Quebecor and Bell, Peladeau has weighed in on the proposed transaction, issuing a press release entitled “Bell Media one step closer to becoming a monopoly again.” Peladeau says allowing Bell to acquire V and its digital assets will further undermine an already precarious ecosystem by allowing the largest vertically integrated provider of telecommunications and broadcasting services in Canada to “dramatically increase its power and dominance in the French-language market in terms of competitive posture, advertising revenues and content offerings, ultimately at the expense of the consumer.” Read more here.

Dawn Marie Paley, a Canadian freelance journalist and author based in Mexico, is this year’s winner of the Portenier Human Rights Bursary. Presented by the Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma, the $3,000 award provides hostile environment safety training designed for journalists who cover armed conflict and other crisis situations. Based in Puebla, Mexico, Paley is currently writing a book, under contract to Verso Books New York, on social issues and human rights concerns facing Mexico in the first year of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s tenure. The Canadian Journalism Forum on Violence and Trauma is a charity whose work to further the physical and emotional care of journalists is supported by The Globe and Mail, CBC News, Radio-Canada, Cision and individual donors.

Not A Subscriber? – Subscribe Now – Free!

Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 25 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.

The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.

Let’s get started right now.