The Weekly Briefing

 RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:

Randy Lennox will be awarded the 2017 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). Currently president of broadcasting and content for Bell Media, Lennox was previously the president and CEO of Universal Music. The award recognizes industry leaders who have vastly contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry. It will be presented at the 46th Annual JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards on Apr. 1 in Ottawa.

Alberta’s newest radio station Real Country 104.9 (CFHI-FM) Hinton is air testing. Playing contemporary country, the Newcap-owned station’s line-up includes the Real Wake-up with Stevie de la Rose, Suzy Burge on afternoons and Casey Clarke and Roo Phelps in the evening.

Canada’s National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) and New Zealand’s Association of Community Access Broadcasters (ACAB) have announced a new program sharing agreement. Starting this month, ACAB members will will make up to six weekly radio shows available for Canadian campus and community stations. The NCRA/ANREC will make more than 37 hours of top Canadian programs available for New Zealand community radio stations.

840 CFCW-AM Edmonton’s Critters Hockey Team has passed the $1 million mark in its fundraising. Started in 1993, the team of CFCW staff and friends of the Newcap-owned country station, has played in hundreds of communities throughout North Central Alberta. Money raised over the years has supported everything from minor hockey and rink repairs to local charities, with all funds staying in the community. On Nov. 3, 2016, the CFCW Critters Million Dollar Tour surpassed $1 million in funds raised during a game in the town of Westlock.

Nominations are now open for 2017 The Rosalie Award from the Radio Trailblazers. The award recognizes Canadian women who have blazed new trails in radio and is named after Rosalie Trombley, renowned music director at The Big 8 (CKLW-AM) Windsor/Detroit and the first-ever recipient of the Rosalie Award in 2005. The deadline is Feb 3. The nomination form can be found here.

SIGN-OFFS:

Russ Thompson, 82, Jan. 16 of cancer. Born in Montreal, Russ had a 40-year career in Toronto radio and was a well-known TV spokesperson. Over the years, Russ worked for CKEY-AM, CBC Radio Toronto and CKFM-FM, wrapping up his career at Easy 97 (CJEZ-FM) in 1992. Throughout his career, Russ also represented brands as a commercial spokesperson for GM, Timex, CN/CP, Belvedere and Proctor and Gamble, among others.

Greg Hinton, 54, Jan. 24, peacefully in his sleep at his home on Howe Island, ON, after a two-year battle with cancer. Hinton started working in broadcasting in 1986 and started a nearly 30-year career with CHUM Radio (now Bell Media Radio) in 1988. For the past 13 years, he served as vice-president and general manager of Bell Media’s two Brockville radio stations 104.9 JRfm (CFJR-FM), 103.7 BOB FM (CJPT-FM) and Kingston stations 98.3 Fly FM (CFLY-FM), 98.9 The Drive (CKLC-FM). He was responsible for helping transform 98.3 FLY FM into a perennial #1 radio station in Kingston and for overseeing the launch of 98.9 The Drive, Kingston’s Essential Alternative in 2007. Hinton’s earlier career highlights included time as an on-air personality for various formats and as a program director, music director, promotions director and station manager. A graduate of both the University of Windsor and the radio broadcasting program at Fanshawe College, Hinton was heavily involved in the Kingston, Brockville and 1000 Islands communities, including the Algonquin College Radio Advisory Committee, the Loyalist College Radio Advisory Committee, the Greater Brockville and Area Ad & Sales Club and the Brockville Chamber of Commerce, among many other organizations.

TV/FILM/VIDEO:

Nine Canadians are among those nominated for the 89th Academy Awards. They include Howard Barish, co-producer (13th), Documentary (Feature); Sylvain Bellemare (Arrival), Sound Editing; Bernard Gariépy Strobl and Claude La Haye (Arrival), Sound Mixing; Ryan Gosling (La La Land), Actor in a Leading Role; Shawn Levy, co-producer (Arrival), Best Picture; Theodore Ushev (Blind Vaysha), Short Film (Animated), National Film Board of Canada; Patrice Vermette (Arrival), Production Design; and Denis Villeneuve (Arrival), Directing. CTV will carry the Oscars live on Feb. 26.

Canada’s LGBTQ network, OUTtv, has been nominated for a 2017 Canadian Screen Award for Best Reality/Competition Program or Series. Knock Knock Ghost, produced by Convergent Productions, follows psychic-medium Jim Hunt, comedian Richard Ryder and trembling assistant Brian Doyle, as they travel the country visiting some of Canada’s most-haunted locations while keeping their sense of humour.

Michael Landsberg is being awarded a Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division) for his mental health advocacy. Landsberg will be presented with the honour by Governor General David Johnston at a ceremony at Rideau Hall at a later date. The Meritorious Service Medal is awarded to Canadians who have performed exceptional deeds or activities that set an example for others to follow, improve the quality of life of a community and bring benefit or honour to Canada. Landsberg has spoken publicly about his personal battle with depression since 2009 and considers his ability to help reduce the stigma of mental illness as his most important professional calling. A recognizable on-air personality at TSN since its launch in 1984, Landsberg can be heard every weekday morning on TSN 1050 Radio (CHUM-AM) in Toronto as the co-host of Naylor & Landsberg.

CraveTV’s third Canadian Original series What Would Sal Do? begins streaming March 24. From New Metric Media, the producers of CraveTV comedy Letterkenny, the eight-episode, half-hour comedy follows an underachiever who discovers he’s the second coming of Christ. The series received three Canadian Screen Award nominations last week including Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role (Jennifer Dale); Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role or Guest Role in a Comedic Series (Ryan McDonald); and Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series (Andrew De Angelis).

Walt Disney Company network Freeform put the entire 10-episode season of new sci-fi drama Beyond on digital and on-demand platforms on Jan. 2 following its two-hour television premiere, as conventional TV networks continue to experiment with the Netflix binge-release model. In its earnings report last week, Netflix made note of competition from rivals using the strategy, including BBC which has announced it will release full seasons of major series on its digital platform ahead of their episodic run on traditional television.

CBC Radio One’s The Current continues to host public forums around the public broadcaster’s first-ever short, virtual reality documentary that takes the viewer to British Columbia’s notorious Highway 16 where it’s believed as many as 50 women have gone missing since 1969. The four-minute doc, directed by Anishinaabe filmmaker Lisa Jackson, can be experienced using the CBC VR Android or CBC VR iOS app. Alternately, you can watch the 360 video using the YouTube or Facebook apps on a smartphone.

In honour of the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation and Telefilm Canada’s upcoming 50th anniversary, multiplatform “discoverability” initiatives are being launched to promote English- and French-language Canadian movies. They include a specially curated Canada First selection of 150 Canadian feature films on iTunes; a complimentary selection of Canadian films offered to travellers along VIA Rail Canada’s Quebec City–Windsor corridor; and the international digital distribution and marketing of Canadian films on VoD platforms.

ONLINE CHANNELS:

YouTube’s new video sharing feature is available first in Canada. Google started testing the feature last week. YouTube users will notice a new “shared” tab appear within the Android and iOS mobile app which allows those signed into their Google accounts to add friends and family as contacts, giving them an easier way to share videos as well as an additional chat outlet. According to the company, Canadians share videos 15 per cent more than other global users.

DHX Media’s WildBrain online kids’ network continues to make inroads as a YouTube influencer. WildBrain has been appointed the exclusive global manager of Moose Toys’ YouTube channels for the Shopkins, Happy Places, Grossery Gang and Twozies brands.

WildBrain will focus on growing watch times, views and revenue.

Facebook was the top non-TV news source during the U.S. election, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. Eight per cent of Clinton voters and seven per cent of Trump voters named Facebook as their main source of election news. Pew found 40 per cent of Trump voters surveyed, cited Fox News Channel as their main source of campaign news, trailed by CNN with eight per cent. CNN was the top news source named by Clinton supporters at 18 per cent, double that of secondary choice MSNBC.

A one-day conference entitled Digital Media at the Crossroads is happening at the University of Toronto this Saturday, Jan. 28. Speakers include Wattpad founder and CEO Allen Lau, BuzzAngle Music CEO Jim Lidestri, Canadian Media Producers Association president and CEO Reynolds Mastin and CRTC chief consumer officer Barbara Motzney. Speakers will address technological disruption in the digital media sector, how to find and measure digital content, consumption and dollars, and the development of creative clusters.

 GENERAL:

Four vacancies at the CRTC have been posted, including that of the commission’s chair. Jean-Pierre Blais’ five-year term is up this June, but there has been speculation he could be considered for renewal. Candidates are being sought for Ontario regional commissioner. The regional commissioner’s post for Manitoba and Saskatchewan is also vacant following the expiration of Candice Molnar’s term. The vice-chair broadcasting position is also posted which is temporarily being filled by Judith LaRocque. The deadline for applications is Feb. 20.

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is calling on the federal government to update a 20-year-old interpretation of tax laws so that online advertising expenses are deducted like those for print and television. A study, commissioned by the public interest group, says the move would inject ad dollars into hard-pressed Canadian media outlets and generate up to $1B annually in new federal revenue. The group wants the feds to close a loophole allowing advertisers to deduct the cost of ads placed on foreign internet media platforms like YouTube and Google. Friends estimates closing that loophole would divert about $500 million in annual online ad spending back to Canadian online platforms. Spokesperson Ian Morrison argues the move would also provide the government with enough revenue to nudge CBC away from its dependence on advertising.

CBC/Radio-Canada has been named premier media partner for the upcoming 2017 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). The eight-day, multi-sport and cultural event will be held in Toronto from July 16-23. CBC/Radio-Canada will provide coverage of the ninth NAIG on multiple platforms including streaming a minimum of 100 hours of live and on-demand competition coverage. More than 5,000 Indigenous youth, aged 13-19, are expected to participate representing all 13 Canadian provinces and territories and up to 13 regions in the U.S.

Bell Canada is hiking monthly fees for a number of its home TV and internet packages beginning in February, with the increases primarily affecting customers in Ontario and Quebec. The company is linking the price hikes to infrastructure investments. The move comes as third-party, Ontario-based ISP TekSavvy lowers its rates in response to an October ruling from the CRTC. The ruling ordered big providers like Bell to stop charging smaller competitors too much for access to parts of their network infrastructure. A 2010 ruling mandated big companies should charge no more than their own costs plus a 10 per cent markup, however the CRTC found far more was being charged.

The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is welcoming submissions for its 2017 awards program until Feb. 24. The annual awards recognize the contributions and achievements of news organizations large and small, and both young and veteran journalists. The annual CJF Awards will be held in Toronto on June 8. Get all the info here.

Maria McLean, former afternoon radio host at K93 FM (CIKX-FM) in Grand Falls, NB, went public on Bell Let’s Talk Day, claiming she was fired from the Bell Media-owned radio station earlier this month, just one hour after allegedly sharing her struggles with depression and anxiety and handing her supervisor a doctor’s note ordering her off work to adjust to new medication. The 24-year-old had been with the station since last March and says the day before she was fired had been asked if she would be interested in hosting the station’s morning show starting in June. Bell Media has not commented on the story.