REVOLVING DOOR:
A message from new host of Power & Politics @DavidWCochrane on how he sees his role as host on an “important show at an important time.” https://t.co/cKo1xklUNP pic.twitter.com/q867S3a7Rn
— Power & Politics (@PnPCBC) February 17, 2023
David Cochrane has been named the new host of CBC News Network’s flagship daily political program, Power & Politics. Airing Monday to Friday at 5 p.m. ET, Cochrane fills the seat vacated by Vassy Kapelos in November when she joined CTV News as Chief Political Correspondent and host of CTV News Channel’s daily political program, Power Play, and the weekly, Question Period. Originally from St. John’s, NL, Cochrane spent two decades covering politics in Newfoundland and Labrador before joining the CBC Parliamentary Bureau in 2016. Read more here.
Kathleen Harris is leaving CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau to join Ottawa public relations firm, Compass Rose. Most recently a Senior Producer and writer for cbc.ca, Harris had been with the public broadcaster since 2012.
Harry Forestell, host of CBC New Brunswick News at 6 and former network foreign correspondent, has detailed undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment for his Parkinson’s. Forestell returned to the anchor desk in early February after four months away on medical leave. Diagnosed in 2015, he was one of approximately 400 Canadians who had the treatment last year, which relieves motor symptoms of the disease.
Miriam Valdes-Carletti, weekend anchor and multimedia reporter at CTV Saskatoon, will join CTV Edmonton in March. Valdes-Carletti has been with CTV Saskatoon for the past two years and with Bell Media since 2018, starting as a news writer and production coordinator on CTV Your Morning in Toronto.
Kirk MacKinnon has retired from Stingray’s Ocean 100 (CHTN-FM) Charlottetown to run for provincial office. Capping a 37-year broadcasting career, MacKinnon has announced his intention to seek the Progressive Conservative nomination for District 5, Mermaid-Stratford.
Mandy Shew has returned to 103.1 Virgin Radio (CKMM-FM) Winnipeg, joining Tyler Magz on new afternoon show, Magz & Mandy, from 2 – 7 p.m. Shew previously hosted the Virgin midday show from 2015-20. She most recently had been co-hosting Bounce Mornings with Beau and Mandy on Bell Media sister station Bounce 99.9 (CFWM-FM) for the past two and a half years.
Adrian Cheung is joining The Globe and Mail as senior producer of The Decibel daily news podcast. Cheung was previously the producer and showrunner behind CBC Podcasts’ Nothing is Foreign and helped the Toronto Star launch its daily podcast in 2020. Earlier in his career, Cheung was a reporter for CBC in Toronto and Regina, and Global News in Winnipeg.
Michelle Brykman, Communications Specialist for Global News and Corus Radio, is leaving to return to Touchwood PR as a Publicity Manager. Brykman previously worked for the Toronto public relations for almost five years, prior to joining Corus in the fall of 2021.
Victoria Shen has been named the new Executive Director of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), starting Feb. 27. The first person of colour to hold the role, Shen also practices law and was formerly a special advisor to ACTRA. Prior to that, she served as Director, National Industrial Relations and Counsel, for the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) from 2015-17.
Athena Georgaklis has been elevated to Vice-President at Nelvana Studios. Georgaklis previously held the role of Head of Development for the last six years. Prior to that, she served as Director of Content at TELETOON.
Kennisha Archer has been named to the new role of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Lead at TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival). Archer arrives from Humber College, where she held the position of Human Rights, Equity & Inclusion Analyst.
Mike Fidler is the new Executive Director of the 8K Association, furthering the adoption and implementation of the 8K ecosystem. Fidler is the former President of the UHD Association and has done two separate stints with Sony as SVP of Digital Cinema Services and Solutions and SVP, Marketing, Engineering & New Technology, among other roles. Outgoing 8K Association head Chris Chinnock is stepping back from the organization after four years to move into semi-retirement.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Deezer has announced a long-term partnership with Sonos to power the brand’s streaming radio service Sonos Radio and subscription service Sonos Radio HD. Beginning in April, Deezer will deliver key services for Sonos Radio and Sonos Radio HD, including a catalog of 90 million tracks, metadata, licensing, reporting & royalty management, business intelligence & data, as well as strategic collaboration for growth and monetization of the service. Deezer and Sonos will deliver services to 16 countries worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, the UK, France and Germany. In addition, Deezer will support ongoing development and expansion of the Sonos music experience.
Voices, the London, ON-headquartered voiceover marketplace, has released their annual Professional Talent Trends Report. Among its findings are that top earners audition consistently with nearly 62% of top earning voice actors on Voices submitting up to 50 auditions per day. Of all full-time voice actors, 34% submit up to 50 auditions daily. The report also found that top earning voice actors invest approximately 15% of profits back into their business and 3% of their annual income in career development like coaching, webinars, or conferences.
LISTEN: Dave Beasing, CEO of Sound That BRANDS – an audio production and consultation company with a focus on creating brand-affiliated podcasts – is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Matt Cundill talks to Beasing about his career in media branding, the philosophy behind Sound That BRANDS, and what makes a good branded podcast. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
SIGN OFFS:
Robert Torpey, 85, on Jan. 20 at Scarborough Health Network. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Laval University, Torpey started his broadcast engineering career at CBC Montreal. He moved to Toronto in 1966 to work in the engineering department at Richmond Hill Labs and then McCurdy Radio Industries, two years later, as Director of Engineering. In 1975, he founded Torpey Controls and Engineering, designing and manufacturing clocks and timing products for radio, TV and digital. His electronic “Torpey Time” clocks and timing products for TV and radio broadcasters ensured a standard operating reference. In his down time, Torpey was part of amateur theatre company, Stage Centre Productions, where he enjoyed the technical side of sound and lighting. He retired in 2011.
Jim Nunn, 72, on Feb. 19, of cancer. Nunn was born into the broadcast business as the son of J. Clyde Nunn, the founding General Manager of CJFX Radio in Antigonish, NS and Director of Atlantic Broadcasters. Nunn and his brother Bruce both ended up in broadcasting, with Jim eventually joining CBC Nova Scotia where he had a career spanning three decades. Known for his pointed interview style, he hosted programs including CBC Nova Scotia at 6, Land & Sea, First Edition, and Marketplace. Nunn retired from CBC in 2009.
Peter Herrndorf, 82, on Feb. 18. Born in Amsterdam and raised in Winnipeg, Herrndorf started his career as a reporter at CBC Winnipeg in 1965 after graduating from Dalhousie University with a law degree. He joined CBC Edmonton as a current affairs producer later that year, moving to Toronto a few years later as producer of network current affairs show, The Way It Is. After obtaining his MBA at Harvard, he went on to serve as Head of TV Current Affairs from 1974-77, rising to the position of Vice President of English Services and Special Assistant to the VP and General Manager of CBC’s English network by 1979. Among other legacies, he is credited with helping found nightly current affairs magazine, The Journal, and later served a five-year term on the CBC board of directors, starting in 2005. Herrndorf went on to become publisher of Toronto Life from 1983 to 1992 and then Chairman and CEO of TVO from 1992 to 1999, when he stepped down. Later that year, he was appointed President & CEO of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa where he served until 2018, helping found the NAC Foundation and NAC Indigenous Theatre. Herrndorf’s other contributions to the arts included co-founding the Governor General Performing Arts Awards with entertainment industry executive Brian Robertson in 1992. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993, and upgraded to Companion status in 2017. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Ontario. Read more here.
John Donahue, 85, on Feb. 7. Donahue was a fixture at CKCO-TV Kitchener for more than 28 years, where he worked as a reporter and cameraman, starting in 1967. Behind the camera, for the most part, for many of the important local and provincial stories of the day, Donahue retired in 1994.
Tom Deacon, 82, on Feb. 5. Deacon’s foray into media began in 1975, when he began freelancing for CBC Winnipeg writing classical concert reviews while teaching at the University of Manitoba. By the late ‘70s, he was working as a producer on “Stereo Morning.” In 1982, he became the producer of his own program, ”Live from Roy Thomson Hall.” Deacon was transferred to CBC Vancouver two years later where he helped create long-running afternoon program “DiscDrive.” In 1989, he headed stateside to take up the role of Program Director at Los Angeles classical station, KUSC. The Netherlands followed in the early ‘90s where Deacon began working with Polygram, applying his encyclopedic knowledge of classical music to creating CD compilations of legendary artists, including executive producing “Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century Edition” encompassing 250 hours of music on 200 discs. In 1998, when Polygram was acquired by Universal Music, Deacon was named VP, Catalogue Development. He returned to Canada in 2001 and retired from Universal Music in 2005.
Arthur Hustins, 85, on Feb. 5 in Halifax. Born in Bedford, NS, Hustins followed in the footsteps of his parents, operating the family’s motels and restaurants, and later developing commercial buildings including Sunnyside Mall and Sun Tower. That eventually led to the founding of Sun Radio (CIEZ-FM) in 1990 with minority investors, Yarmouth broadcaster Michael Trask and Dartmouth businessman Ronald Martin. By the late ‘90s, Sun Radio, NewCap, and CHUM had entered an LMA (local marketing agreement), under which NewCap managed all stations in the group (CHUM’s CJCH-AM and CIOO-FM, NewCap’s CFDR-AM and CFRQ-FM and Sun’s CIEZ-FM). Following CTVGlobemedia’s acquisition of CHUM, Newcap eventually gained control of Metro Radio Group. Hustins’ community service extended to many other notable endeavours including Chair of the Site Selection Committee for Halifax Metro Centre in the early 1970s and serving as Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation from 1997-2000.
Joe Spence, 92, on Feb. 1. Spence’s first media job was at CKSO Radio in Sudbury in 1952. He had been teaching at Lansdowne Public School when he was recruited as a sportscaster. From there, he was briefly hired by CKRM Regina as morning man and sportscaster, before returning to Sudbury by the fall of 1953 when CKSO-TV signed on as the first privately-owned Canadian television station. Among other announcing duties, Spence hosted a sports show. He uprooted to Ottawa in 1964 to work at CJOH-TV and later CBC Radio and TV where he anchored for 18 years and worked on CFL broadcasts. He also did a stint doing play-by-play for Global’s broadcasts of the short-lived Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association. In 2008, Spence received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Sports Media Category at the Annual Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner. He was inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
TV & FILM:
ACTRA Toronto’s 2022 Sandi Ross Awards recognized award-winning writer, producer and television/radio host Amanda Parris and Toronto-based entertainment agency Jesse Griffiths Casting on Feb. 17. Presented by ACTRA Toronto Diversity & Inclusion Committee co-chairs Chattrisse Dolabaille and Janet Rose Nguyen, the awards celebrate one individual and one company/organization each year whose work demonstrates a commitment to inclusion on screen. The awards are named after Sandi Ross, the first woman and person of colour to serve as president of ACTRA Toronto and the founder of its diverse talent directory, Into the Mainstream.
Crave is the latest broadcaster to tackle the unsolved murders of Toronto couple Barry and Honey Sherman, announcing new original docuseries, Billionaire Murders, helmed by Toronto Star Chief Investigative Journalist Kevin Donovan. Donovan, who has covered the 2017 murders since day one, is the host of Star podcast The Billionaire Murders: The hunt for the killers of Honey and Barry Sherman, which launched its second season on Feb. 10, and the author of 2019 national bestseller The Billionaire Murders: The Mysterious Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman. Produced and distributed internationally by eOne, in association with Bell Media, the four-part series will debut later this year. Jocelyn Hamilton, President, eOne Television, Canada, will serve as Executive Producer, alongside Donovan, Vera Lubimova (Timber Kings, Yukon Gold), and Joe Danisi (Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty, Rebellion!: Stonewall), who’ll also direct. Read more here.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Quebecor Media has announced it’s cutting 240 jobs, including 140 positions across TVA Group’s broadcasting, publishing and film production divisions. The restructuring was announced as Montreal-headquartered TVA Group reported its fiscal 2022 year-end results showing a drop in revenue across all of its business segments. The corporation’s consolidated adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $19,385,000, compared to $80,283,000 the previous year. Consolidated revenues were down 4.6% overall with the corporation recording a net loss of $0.21 per share, compared to earnings per share of $0.71 for 2021. Q4 revenues of $171.9 million marked a slight year-over-year increase of $23,000. Peladeau said the company will move forward with a comprehensive plan that will see significant reductions made to operating expenses across all segments. That includes the elimination of 100 additional positions at other Quebecor entities that provide services to TVA Group. Read more here.
Rogers, Shaw, the Shaw Family Living Trust, and Quebecor have announced another agreement to extend the outside date of the proposed Rogers-Shaw merger and the acquisition of Freedom Mobile by Quebecor subsidiary Videotron, to March 31. Approval is still required from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) for the merger to proceed.
The CRTC has issued a call for comments on a proposal to require all Canadian carriers, on a go-forward basis and as a condition of service, to notify Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and other authorities of major service outages; and submit a comprehensive post-outage report to the commission. The CRTC says as it works toward developing a framework to improve the reliability and resiliency of telecommunications networks, in the interim, it’s directing all Canadian carriers to report major service outages (including outages affecting only 9-1-1 networks) to the commission within two hours of when a carrier becomes aware of the issue. Additionally, it directs carriers to file a comprehensive report with the commission within 14 days following the outage, effective March 8. The commission says it will initiate additional public proceedings to address network resiliency in broader terms, including public alerting, consumer communication and compensation, accessibility, technical measures, and administrative monetary penalties.
TSN senior correspondent Rick Westhead, Global News reporter Rachel Gilmore, The Hill Times’ journalist Erica Ifill, and Toronto Star podcast host Saba Eitizaz were among those recognized at the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) 23rd Fundraising Gala: A Night to Honour Courageous Reporting. Westhead was presented with the Arnold Amber Award for Investigative Journalism, recognizing contributions to advancing public interest reporting in Canada. The veteran investigative journalist was acknowledged for his work breaking the story that Hockey Canada had quietly settled a lawsuit by a woman who alleged players on the Canadian Men’s Junior team had sexually assaulted her following an event in 2018. The Tara Singh Hayer Memorial Award, recognizing a Canadian journalist who, through his or her work, has made an important contribution to reinforcing and promoting the principle of freedom of the press was jointly presented to Eitizaz, Ifill, and Gilmore. Recognized on behalf of all female Canadian journalists fighting misogyny and online abuse, all three have spoken out about an escalation in racist and sexist comments, harassment and death threats. Read more here.
NDP MP and Innovation, Science and Industry Critic Brian Masse is calling for a review of cross-border digital television advertising. Masse says new broadcaster capabilities to collect consumer data for targeted advertising and content across over-the-air, cable, satellite, inter-tower and internet streaming distribution platforms, a review is essential. The MP for Windsor West also wants any review to encompass looking at cross-border television donations by Canadians.
