REVOLVING DOOR:
Pary Bell is joining TVO Media Education Group as CEO, starting Jan. 12. Bell was most recently CEO of The Podcast Exchange (TPX). He’s best known for his eight-year run with Rogers Sports & Media where he ended his tenure in 2017 as Vice President & General Manager of Rogers Media, Sportsnet & NHL. He’s also held roles with Torstar, Canwest, Alliance Atlantis and CBC. Bell succeeds Jeffrey Orridge who stepped away from TVO in August. Read more here.
Peter Angione has departed Bell Media Ottawa to take up the role of Director, Broadcast Content Creation at CP24/CTV News Toronto. Angione had been the Director of News and Information Programming for CTV Ottawa and 580 CFRA for 11 years and News Director on the TV side for 22, starting in 2004.
Katie O’Connor has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer and Director of Sales, Metro Markets at Pattison Media as Mike Jean, current Director of Sales, Metro Markets, gets set to retire in April. Jean joined the organization in 2001 as an Account Executive in Victoria, promoted to Retail Sales Manager for Victoria and later Director of Metro Sales. O’Connor has been with Pattison since 2010, most recently holding the role of Director of Sales, Non-Metro Markets.
Ronnie Stanton returns to his on-air roots, starting Jan. 12, joining Melanie Martin on the Z103.5 (CIDC-FM) Toronto morning show. Stanton joined Evanov Communications last fall as Senior Brand Manager for the company’s GTA stations Z103.5 and Lite 92.1 (CKPC-FM). Moving forward, he’ll now be part of refreshed morning show, The Z Morning Zoo with Mel and Ronnie, airing weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Read more here.
Hannah Witherbee and Jonny Parks have made the move from 93.9 Virgin Radio (CIDR-FM) Windsor to Bell Media sister station 89X (CIMX-FM). Parks began helming The Morning X with Hannah & Jonny on Jan. 6, while Witherbee will join as co-host in September, following her return from maternity leave. The duo had formerly been heard on 93.9 Virgin Radio since May 2021, where Kim Scott and Lexie Farrer, will takeover mornings starting Jan. 19. Read more here.
Peter Kash has left Virgin Radio (CFMG-FM) Edmonton to move back to Toronto to be closer to family. Kash had been heard in mornings on the station since early 2024, alongside Jenna Winterburn. He’s best known for his run co-hosting the morning show on Toronto’s former Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM).
Brian Hinz has retired from Blackburn Media as of Dec. 31. Hinz retires after nearly 50 years in the broadcast industry, starting in 1976 at CFCO Chatham. Following college, he started working full-time in Toronto for 590 CKEY and subsequently served as Senior Network Engineer for CKO/NewsRadio. He moved to Sarnia in 1989 and concluded his career at Blackburn Media as Senior Engineering Manager, a position he held for the past 36 years. He was awarded the CAB Gold Ribbon Engineering Achievement Award in 1994 and the CCBE Engineering Excellence Award in 2022.
Jay Westman has joined MBC (My Broadcasting Corporation) in the dual role of General Manager and General Sales Manager for 99.9 myFM (CJGM-FM) Gananoque and the Thousand Islands. Westman previously had a long career with Corus Entertainment, most recently as the Manager of News & Television Operations at Global News Kingston, up until August 2024.
Sumran Bhan has been named Executive Producer for Global News Toronto. Bhan has worked with Global since 2021 as Supervising Producer. She previously held producing roles with CBC News Network, CTV News Channel, and Sun Media.
Jazan Grewal has departed 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM) and CityNews Toronto. Grewal had been an anchor, reporter and writer with the stations for the last five years.
Mike Lloyd is making the move from Rogers Sports & Media’s 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) Vancouver to CityNews. Lloyd, who joined 1130 in 1997, is a two-time winner of the RTDNA Dave Rogers Award for his “On the Offbeat” segment. He’ll join CityNews as a writer and editor.
Colton Praill has departed CTV National News for spark* advocacy. The former parliamentary correspondent will serve as a Public Relations Strategist. Praill had been with CTV since 2023 and with Bell Media since 2021, starting as a news writer and producer for Ottawa’s 580 CFRA.
Cam Wiebe has retired after 30 years with CTV Edmonton. A news videographer and photo supervisor, Wiebe joined CTV Edmonton in 1996 after holding similar roles at Global Edmonton and CTV Prince Albert.
Morgan Black has joined CBC Edmonton as a reporter. Black arrives from 880 CHED where she’d been a community reporter and digital journalist and producer since 2017.
Jeff Code is joining MBC’s New Country 98.9 (CKLC-FM) Kingston, bringing his long-running request show Sunday in the Country to the station, starting Jan. 11. The show will air live every Sunday from 6 a.m. to noon, featuring phone calls, music requests and on-air dedications. Code previously hosted the show on Rogers Sports & Media’s Country 93.5 (CKXC-FM) for two decades.
Lisa Blackburn is returning to radio for a limited engagement on 95.7 NewsRadio (CJNI-FM) Halifax. During the weeks of Jan. 12th and 19th, the radio veteran will helm of The Todd Veinotte Show while Veinotte is off on medical leave. Other than fill-in appearances, Blackburn’s last stint in news radio was with CBC Halifax from 2014-16. Prior to that, she co-hosted the morning show on Lite 92.9 (Now Jack FM) Halifax, with the bulk of her career spent at Q104 (CFRQ-FM) as part of the morning show for almost two decades. She stepped away from media in 2016 to serve as a Halifax Regional Councillor for eight years. She’s currently a Senior Project Manager with Atlantic Canada’s Forward Group and segment contributor to Meidas Canada.
Steve Young has started a new job as Professor, Journalism-MultiMedia at Fanshawe College. The former CTV London News Director has more recently been working in communications at London Health Sciences Centre and the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors.
Michael Stoparcyzk has moved into a new position at Fanshawe College with the closure of the live learning lab at campus station, 106.9 The X (CIXX-FM). He’s now serving as an Enrolment Services Representative in the Office of the Registrar. He had worked in the School of Media and Digital Arts for 21 years.
Marla Boltman has stepped away from the helm of not-for-profit advocacy group, Friends of Canadian Media. Boltman took up the role as the organization’s Executive Director in early 2022. Prior to Friends, Boltman served as Senior Vice President, Business Affairs & Operations at Halfire Entertainment and served as Vice President, Business & Legal Affairs and General Counsel at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA).
RADIO & PODCAST:
Vista Radio has expanded the reach of its Rock and Hit Music brands to Grande Prairie, announcing the relaunch Monday of CJGY-FM and CFRI-FM in the market. The radio group received approval to acquire CJGY-FM Grande Prairie, AB and its rebroadcasting transmitters CJGY-FM-1 Fort St. John and CJGY-FM-2 Dawson Creek, BC from Golden West Broadcasting in November. The station was formerly branded as Reach FM and carried a Christian radio format. As of this week, CJGY-FM moves forward as 96.3 SUN FM. Vista already operated 104.7 2day FM (CFRI-FM) in the market, which has been rebranded as 104.7 The Goat, Everything that Rocks!, focused on the music of the ’90s and 2000s. Read more here.
View this post on Instagram
The University of Ottawa’s CHUO 89.1 FM has gone off-the-air after nearly 50 years due to funding issues. While live broadcasts have come to an end, CHUO is continuing to share music and other programming online.
LISTEN: The Pro Bono Group’s latest PSA is a call to action, asking Canadian advertisers to apply the “Buy Canadian” message to their media buying. A merging of the not-for-profit creative agency’s Pro Canada Project – which has been running for the past year urging Canadians to “shop as if your country depends on it” – and their Pro Radio Project, promoting the value of radio, The Pro Bono Group has enlisted one of its founders Terry O’Reilly to make their case. O’Reilly, alongside Pro Bono Group creative leads Mike Occomore and Larry MacInnis join us on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast.
Canadian History Ehx, Mental Health is Horrifying and No Quest for the Wicked led wins at the 2025 Canadian Podcast Awards. Founded in 2018 by the organizers behind PodCamp Toronto, the awards celebrate outstanding achievements in podcasting, recognizing both independent creators and established media. Other winners included Toronto Mike’d: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast, which was named Outstanding News & Current Affairs Series, while The Powder Room, hosted by Canada’s Drag Race alumni Aurora Matrix, Perla and Van Goth, claimed the People’s Choice Award. Ashley Lanna was named Best Host in a Series for Lullaby: The Fear Podcast. Read more here.
Triton Digital has released its latest Canada Podcast Ranker for the reporting period from Nov. 3 – 30 as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. The Top Sales Networks for November saw CBC/Radio-Canada at #1 with 2.2M Average Weekly Downloads, followed again by Audioboom at #2 with 1.1M Average Weekly Downloads. Sliding into the #3 spot was BBC with 596K Average Weekly Downloads. Maintaining the leaderboard for another consecutive month in both Top Canada Podcasts and Top Canada-Originated English-Language Podcasts were CBC’s Front Burner at #1, The World This Hour at #2, and World Report at #3.
Stingray has announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to bring its Stingray Music and Stingray Karaoke applications to all vehicles equipped with the latest generation of infotainment system MBUX. The applications will be natively pre-installed in the vehicle’s Music & Audio section and are expected to launch in the first half of 2026. The services will be available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, including access to up to 100 curated music channels and four million podcasts.
The boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto and Stu Jeffries Make-A-Wish Minute raised over $740,000. The record-breaking total means 74 wishes will come true for sick kids and their families. Funds raised mark 125% of the station’s $600,000 goal.
93.5 MooseFM (CFZN-FM) Haliburton held its annual Christmas Radiothon for the Food Banks of Haliburton County on Dec. 12 where morning show host Rick Lowes was on-air from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. Cottage Country listeners raised over $65,000.
97.9 the Bruce (CFPS-FM) Port Elgin hosted the 10th annual Light the Way Radiothon on Dec. 11 in support of the Saugeen Memorial Hospital Foundation which supports Brightshores Hospital in Southampton, ON. Longy and Bruffer took to the airwaves from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m, joined by listeners, local businesses and service clubs. By midday, the radiothon had reached a 10-year fundraising total of $1.5 million and by 6 p.m., the day’s donations hit $195,000.
LISTEN: Kendall Breitman, Community Manager at Riverside.fm, is on the Sound Off Podcast, discussing her transition from political journalism to podcasting, emphasizing the importance of community engagement and storytelling. She highlights Riverside’s tools, including the CO-creator (nicknamed Coco) for marketing materials and Magic Audio for audio enhancement. Breitman also talks about the potential for in-person recording, the benefits of live streaming on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, and the importance of community support and ease of use in podcasting, aiming to make content creation more accessible for all.
SIGN OFFS:
André Provencher, 76, on Jan. 1, of pancreatic cancer. A veteran media manager, Provencher’s experience spanned television, publishing, radio and digital media across companies including TVA, Quebecor Media, Télé-Québec, Cogeco and Gesca Ltée. During his tenure as Executive Vice President of Programming at TVA Group from 1995-99, TVA network market share rose from 32 to 41%, which Provencher counted as one of the strongest achievements of his working life. In 1999, he served as the first president of TVA International, which specialized in TV movie production and distribution. Provencher turned to publishing in 2001, serving as president and publisher at Le Nouvelliste in Trois-Rivières from 2001-02 and at Gesca’s Le Soleil in Quebec City from 2004-07, leading the digital transformation of both dailies. As a producer, he founded Gesca’s La Presse Télé in 2002 and oversaw the creation of multiple hit TV series, including “Les Parent,” which aired in more than 20 countries. From 2011-13, he oversaw implementation of the Fonds Capital Culture Québec as President and General Manager, going on to serve as VP of Creation and International Development for Quebecor Content from 2013-16. Since 2016, he’d been working as a consultant for the media and creative industries, in addition to serving as a member of NFB’s board of trustees for seven years.
Mandy Wood, 45, on Dec. 25, after a year-long battle with vulvar cancer. Wood studied at Dalhousie University in Halifax for a year before entering the Radio and Television Arts (RTA) program at NSCC Kingstec in Kentville, NS. Before her graduation, she was hired by what is now Cat Country 99.5 (CKTY-FM) Truro where she spent the entirety of her 24-year radio career, best known for her time as morning show co-host, alongside Rod DeViller for 17 years. Diagnosed with stage 3 vulvar cancer in December 2024, Wood spent much of 2025 advocating for women’s health.
Michelle Jones, 72, on Dec. 22. Jones’ broadcast career spanned both radio and television, starting at CBC Yellowknife, followed by CFGP-FM Grande Prairie, CKRD-FM Red Deer, CKXL-AM Calgary, and ultimately CTV Edmonton. Jones established herself as a respected CFRN reporter, working across general assignment, in addition to covering courts and the health beat.
Lawrence “Larry” Bennett, 71, on Dec. 16, at Western Memorial Regional Hospital. From a young age, Bennett dreamt of working in radio while growing up in St. George’s, NL. That dream became a reality at CFSX Radio Stephenville where he hosted the morning show for 42 years. He went on to host the weekly “Gold Rush” program on Corner Brook community station, BayFM (CKVB-FM).
Pierre Trudel, 82, on Dec. 12, after battling Parkinson’s. A familiar voice to Montreal sports fans, starting in 1979, Trudel spent nearly three decades at CKAC. He went on to host call-in show “Parlons Sports” on CJMS, alongside Ron Fournier and former NHL’er Mario Tremblay in the late 1980s. He also contributed regularly to Mario Langlois’ “Les Amateurs de sports” on 98.5 (CHMP-FM). Trudel wrapped up his radio career in 2015 as a columnist at Montreal’s Radio 9 (CKLX-FM), now part of the BPM Sports network.
Bruce Bowie, 72, on Nov. 20. Bowie grew up on a cattle ranch in the hamlet of Piapot, SK, starting his radio career in 1972 at CKSA Lloydminster. Opportunities in Lethbridge and CHAB Moose Jaw followed, before Bowie arrived at CHED Edmonton in 1974. He would host the station’s morning show for 12 years before leaving in 1986 for oldies startup KING FM (CKNG-FM) Edmonton in 1986. A two-year stint at CISS-FM Calgary followed, before Bowie returned to Edmonton and CISN Country (CISN-FM). He remained at the helm of the CISN morning show for 21 years before returning to CHED in 2010 to replace the retiring Gord Whitehead in mornings, up until his retirement in August 2019 after 47 years in broadcasting. Among the awards he received over the years are the 2017 Goodwill Greatness Award, 2010 Canadian Country Music Award for Morning Show of the Year and the 2004 Strathcona Award for Volunteer of the Year. He was honoured in 2016 with a Community Enrichment Award for his work on the Salvation Army Advisory Board, which he sat on for more than a decade.
Broadcast Dialogue pays tribute to Broadcasters We Lost in 2025. Find a compilation of our Sign Offs columns here.
TV & FILM:
WildBrain has signed an agreement to sell its 41% stake in Peanuts’ IP to Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) and Sony Pictures Entertainment for CDN $630 million cash. WildBrain acquired 80% of Peanuts and 100% of Strawberry Shortcake for $448 million in 2017, selling 39% of its stake in Peanuts to Sony a year later for $236 million. The company’s EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) directly attributable to its Peanuts ownership stake was $27 million in Fiscal 2025. WildBrain says net proceeds from the transaction will fully pay down the company’s line of credit, leaving it with a more than $40 million cash surplus, allowing it to grow its other wholly owned franchises. Read more here.
Quebecor and TVA Group have announced that the operations of TVA Films, previously part of TVA Group, will be centralized in new business unit, Quebecor Films. Quebecor says the strategic move will enhance its leadership in the Québec film distribution market by uniting its expertise within a dedicated entity for the distribution of domestic and international films. Luana Ann Church, Vice President, Development, Acquisitions & Distribution, at Quebecor, said in a company announcement that the new structure will also support its mission of showcasing Québec talent and bringing high-quality films to audiences.
Telefilm Canada has published its Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIA) Report 2024-25, reflecting the results of self-identification data collected over the last fiscal year for the agency’s development and production programs. Highlights include increased representation between the application stage and funding stage for women directors, directors of diverse genders, 2SLGBTQIA+ creators, Indigenous creators, and members of Official‑Language Minority Communities (OLMC), in addition to strengthened representation in the role of producer for Black women and women of colour, both in number of projects and funding volume, rising respectively from 5% to 9%, and from 3% to 5%. Telefilm also reported growth in representation for Indigenous producers, reaching 9% of funded projects compared to 7% previously, and more significantly, 11% of total funding compared to 5% previously.
APTN has premiered the highly-anticipated fifth season of Taken, encouraging viewers to share information about unsolved cases of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, men, boys, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse individuals. Episodes air Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on APTN and 9 p.m. ET on APTN Languages, available for same-day streaming on APTN+. Taken returns after going on hiatus in 2019 — the same year the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Girls concluded. The first episode of Season 5, “The Search Continues,” explores the challenges that persist. Co-creator Lisa Meeches hosts the series in English, alongside Eagle Vision’s production team, including executive producer Dinae Robinson, while Vera Houle hosts in Anishinaabemowin.
Bell Media says Crave Original series led viewing across the platform nationally, Dec. 19-31. Six of the Top 10 most-watched series on Crave over the holiday period were Canadian originals, led by hit hockey romance Heated Rivalry, followed by Shoresy, Canada’s Drag Race, Project Runway Canada, OD: Tentations Au Soleil, and Le Calendrier de L’Avent. More than half of active Crave subscribers watched Canadian content over the holiday period.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMASA) founder Bert Crowfoot, and former CBC North host Rassi Nashalik are among 80 new appointees to the Order of Canada. Crowfoot, a member of Alberta’s Siksika First Nation, is CEO of Edmonton-based AMMASA, which operates CFWE-FM and Indigenous news publications, Windspeaker.com, Raven’s Eye, Alberta Sweetgrass, Ontario Birchback, Saskatchewan Sage, and Buffalo Spirit. He was appointed as an Officer of the Order. Television and radio personality Nardwuar (aka John Ruskin) was named to the Order as a Member, in addition to Nashalik, inaugural host of CBC’s Igalaaq, the first Inuktitut-language daily television newscast. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment has been granted an interim order by Ontario Superior Court in connection with the company’s proposed recapitalization transaction. The interim order authorizes the holding of two meetings of senior noteholders and shareholders on Jan. 30 via an online webcast, to consider and potentially pass a resolution approving the Plan of Arrangement. The debt-for-equity swap involves a share exchange with creditors, in which noteholders would trade some existing notes for a mix of new secured notes and a large amount of new common shares in a newly-formed holding company. Current shareholders (both Class A and Class B) would also have their shares exchanged for shares in the new holding company on a 1-for-1 basis. The noteholders’ exchange would result in them owning an estimated 99% of the new company’s equity, while existing shareholders would own the remaining one per cent.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review the 20% minimum copyright ownership threshold set by the CRTC that the creative group argues fails to give Canadians effective control to exploit their works as required by law. The trade group, which represents over 600 creative companies, argues in a leave application that the regulator, in its Nov. 18 decision defining Canadian programming, did not explain how that minimum 20% Canadian control over intellectual property translates to Canadians controlling and benefiting “from the exploitation of their programs in a significant and equitable manner” as required by the Online Streaming Act. Read more in our sister publication, CARTT.ca.
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), the University of King’s College in Halifax, and the Canadian Media Lawyers Association (CMLA) are joining forces to launch Lawyers for Reporters Canada, an initiative that will provide a range of pro bono legal services to newsrooms. The partnership between the three organizations will bring together a network of pro bono lawyers who can provide clients with pre-publication review, legal guidance on matters ranging from business operations to newsgathering liability, and responses to organizations that file subpoenas or production orders that interfere with public service journalism. Read more here.
The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is inviting members of the media to submit their nursing or healthcare stories for consideration in its annual Media Awards competition. An independent committee of reporters and nurses selected by RNAO will judge stories published or broadcast in Ontario in 2025. Nominations must be received via the online submission form no later than Feb. 27.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
The Audio Engineering Society (AES) is encouraging broadcasters, streaming platforms, content creators and audio engineers to apply new recommendations to enhance speech clarity as TV audience complaints increase around intelligible speech amid cinematic-style wide dynamic range digital multichannel productions. The AES Technical Committee for Broadcast and Online Delivery has published technical document (TD1009), “Improving Dialogue Intelligibility in Media,” which diagnoses the intelligibility problem and presents solutions, including fostering a culture of dialogue intelligibility in the post-production process; addressing the limitations of TV sets, set top boxes and audio/video receivers; and identifying what can go wrong in distribution.
NAB Show 2026 is scheduled to take place, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, with a focus on AI, media asset protection, streaming and sports innovation. New for 2026, NAB Show will feature an expanded, four-day Sports Summit, “The Future of Sports Rights and Fan Engagement.” Open to all attendees for the first time, programming will explore production, rights, distribution, investment and policy while highlighting how teams, broadcasters and technology partners are reshaping fan engagement and reinventing live sports experiences. Returning with a dramatically expanded footprint in the newly-completed Central Hall, the Creator Lab will serve as a destination for creators, studios, broadcasters and brands seeking hands-on learning and next-generation storytelling tools. Read more in Broadcast Dialogue’s Events section, here.
