Navigating A Changing Landscape Together
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REVOLVING DOOR:
Some professional news.
My final day at CBC will be March 28th.
Just wanted to tell you myself. pic.twitter.com/os9AtgQn6D
— Tom Harrington (@cbctom) February 24, 2025
Tom Harrington has announced he’ll be departing CBC News at the end of March. Harrington has been with the public broadcaster almost 44 years, holding roles from beat reporting in Calgary to sportscasting in Montreal. For the past decade, he’s been the voice of national radio newscast, The World This Hour.
Sue Dando will retire in March after 38 years at CBC. Since 2012, Dando has been the Executive in Charge of Production for The Nature of Things. The Emmy and Gemini Award winner was previously part of CBC’s in-house doc unit, executive producing 95 hours of documentaries produced in partnership with Radio-Canada, including the multi-platform series 8th Fire; Love, Hate and Propaganda; Canada: A People’s History; Hockey: A People’s History; The Greatest Canadian; and China Rises, among many others. Earlier in her career, she produced the first five seasons of Life & Times, and before that was a producer on The Journal, Prime Time News, and As It Happens, in addition to stints at CTV News, and Canada AM. Lesley Birchard will take the lead as Executive in Charge of Production for The Nature of Things. Lucius Dechausay steps into the role of Executive in Charge of Production with CBC Docs, overseeing the Short Docs program and other special projects. He joined the documentary team in November, moving from his position as Senior Producer, Unscripted Video Team, where he oversaw video production for Q, Commotion, CBC Arts and CBC Life.
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Tony Stark has been released by Corus Entertainment’s Jump 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa. Stark initially joined the station in mornings in November 2014, before networked morning show Tucker and Maura took over the time slot in late 2023. Stark, who was formerly with Virgin Radio (CJFM-FM) Montreal, had most recently been heard in afternoons alongside Dayna B, who appears to be continuing in the noon – 6 p.m. block solo.
Charis Hogg is leaving CBC Vancouver, where she’s been an associate producer, news reader, and traffic and weather reporter for the past two years, primarily on The Early Edition. The former 102.7 The Peak (CKPK-FM) and JACK FM (CJAX-FM) morning co-host is joining Coldwater Communications as a Media Consultant.
Nirmala Naidoo, CRTC commissioner for Alberta, and Ellen Desmond, the commissioner for the Atlantic region, have been reappointed by an Order in Council to their respective posts for another five years. Both were originally appointed in June 2020.
Neil McEneaney, former CEO of Numeris, has been appointed to the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors, replacing Sandra Singh, whose term has expired. McEneaney, who prior to joining Numeris was CBC’s Chief Business Officer of English Services, will serve a five-year term. Sandra Mason, former Chief Financial Officer at The Globe and Mail, has been re-appointed to the board, alongside Bill Tam, the co-founder of federally-funded tech accelerator Digital Supercluster in Vancouver. Both Mason and Tam were originally appointed to the board in June 2020.
Howard Maker will leave his role as Commissioner & CEO of CCTS (Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services) at the end of the year. Maker was hired as the organization’s founding Commissioner in 2008. The search for his successor is now underway.
Michael Paris is now a Senior Advisor with the Global Public Affairs Toronto Office. A lawyer by training, Paris was previously with Cineplex Entertainment for seven years, most recently as Vice President, Legal and Chief Privacy Officer, steering their government relations as a voice for stakeholders in the Canadian film industry and retail sector.
Bonnie Moorhouse has joined JAR Audio as Project Lead in its Delivery Department. Originally from Sydney, Australia, and now based in Vancouver, Moorhouse has previously worked as a producer with Sydney’s Two Palms Media and News Corp Australia, among other outlets.
RADIO & PODCAST:
The CRTC has launched a new consultation that will update the definition of what constitutes Canadian content on radio and audio streaming services. Scott Shortliffe, Vice-President, Broadcasting, said three themes will make up the consultation: the definition of what constitutes Canadian audio content, and how Indigenous audio content can be supported in the current economic and technological environment, including what qualifies as a Canadian musical selection and the definition of an emerging artist; a renewed “contribution framework” that will consider priority content, including news; and considering the future of audio and how AI (Artificial Intelligence) may change the music and audio landscape in Canada. The MAPL system, which has been the industry standard to identify a Canadian musical selection since 1971, will be front and centre in the discussions. Read more here.
The CRTC has approved My Broadcasting Corporation’s (MBC) application to acquire four commercial radio stations from Bell Media. The acquisition includes CFJR-FM and CJPT-FM Brockville and CFLY-FM and CKLC-FM in Kingston. CJFR-FM and CFLY-FM currently carry Bell Media’s MOVE Radio Adult Contemporary format, while CKLC-FM is branded as Pure Country. CJPT-FM airs the Bounce Radio Adult Hits format. MBC has agreed to a condition of service that will restrict CFLY-FM soliciting advertising in Brockville and CJPT-FM selling in Kingston. Read more here.
Harvard Media’s 100.5 CRUZ FM (CHFT-FM) “Rickrolled” Fort McMurray overnight Sunday, airing Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” on repeat for 15 hours. At 10:05 a.m. MT on Monday, the station debuted the “All New” CRUZ FM featuring a rock-forward playlist and hits from bands like The Tragically Hip, Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Seven Mary Three, Finger Eleven and Beastie Boys. The format change is a harder rock departure from Harvard’s other CRUZ FM-branded stations in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Yorkton, which air mainstream rock formats. Read more here.
Canadaland is hosting a call-in show on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 1 – 3 p.m. ET, in response to NPR and CBC’s controversial Cross Country Checkup special crossover episode “51st State: A Cross Border Conversation” that tackled the question of Canada becoming the 51st state. The original question “What does Canada as the 51st state mean to you?” caused outrage online even before the long-running Sunday call-in show, hosted by Ian Hanomansing, aired with complaints it legitimized annexation. Canadaland says “rather than just talk shit about the news,” it’s stepping up with its own call-in show asking how our national broadcaster could be made better. Click here or call toll-free 1-888-401-7056 to join the conversation.
The Breakdown with Nate Pike, an Alberta politics podcast, has been temporarily paused, following a court order. As reported by CTV News and discussed by Pike in an emotional update, MHCare and its Edmonton-based CEO Sam Mriache have been granted two injunctions – a mandatory one ordering The Breakdown to remove content and another preventing the podcast from further publishing. The company previously filed a $6 million lawsuit against Pike, who alleged in his reporting that MHCare was awarded two controversial contracts from the province he believes were sole-sourced, and that Mraiche later invited multiple politicians to his VIP box for Edmonton Oilers playoff hockey games.
Digital Disruption is a new podcast from Toronto-headquartered Info-Tech Research Group. Hosted by Geoff Nielson, SVP, Global Services & Delivery, the podcast’s first guest is pioneering storyteller and tech advocate Taryn Southern. As a content creator, filmmaker, and former chief storytelling officer at Blackrock Neurotech, Southern has explored AI’s impact across multiple domains – from composing the world’s first AI-assisted music album to directing the Tribeca Film Festival–premiering doc I AM HUMAN, which examines brain-computer interfaces and their potential to restore lost functions in people with neurological disorders.
Humans, On Rights, the podcast from Winnipeg-based Human Rights Hub, has published its 100th episode. Hosted by President & CEO Stuart Murray, the podcast launched in Feb. 2021, in partnership with The Sound Off Media Company. Episode 100 features Winnipeg Free Press columnist Dan Lett discussing the importance of human rights, and questioning the average Canadian’s grasp of the topic.
SiriusXM Canada, in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA), has announced the eight semi-finalists advancing in the 2025 Top of the Country competition: Sully Burrows – Parry Sound, ON; Annika Catharina – Deroche, BC; Allison Daniels – Quebec City; Noeline Hofmann – Bow Island, AB; Braden Lam – Halifax, NS; Brettyn Rose – Okotoks, AB; Jake Vaadeland – Cut Knife, SK; and Mitch Zorn – Kelowna, BC. The top eight now head into the studio to record original tracks before Canadian country fans will have a chance to vote for their favourite artists and help decide the top three.
SiriusXM Canada and MusiCounts are awarding over $400,000 worth of musical instruments, equipment and resources to 25 community non-profit organizations across Canada through the SiriusXM Soundwaves MusiCounts Community Fund. This year’s program recipients include the El Sistema Calgary Multicultural Orchestra Foundation in Calgary, Pan African Legacy in Winnipeg, Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre in Halifax, Black Music Canada in Toronto, and the Scarborough Concert Band in Vaughan, among other organizations.
LISTEN: Podcast pioneer Elsie Escobar is on the Sound Off Podcast. The originator of one of the first yoga podcasts, Elsie’s Yoga Class, in 2006, Escobar now hosts Libsyn’s official podcast The Feed. She also happens to be the first Latina ever inducted into The Podcast Academy Hall of Fame and the co-founder and co-host of She Podcasts, the largest online community for women and non binary podcasters on Facebook with over 20,000 members.
SIGN OFFS:
Tayler “Hap” Parnaby, 83, on Feb. 25. Parnaby’s interest in radio started early. Growing up in Orillia, one of the stops along his paper route was local radio station CFOR. Soon, Parnaby was stopping in with regularity to observe the morning show, which eventually led to a part-time job helping with the show’s production before school. After going on to attend both Queens and Carleton University in the 1960s, Parnaby opted not to graduate from either in favour of pursuing a journalism career. After a stint at CFOR, he became the news director at CKLC Kingston, followed by CHUM. From there, he went to Ottawa to serve as Bureau Chief for the Newsradio network, before returning to Toronto as Editor-in-Chief at CKEY and President of Newsradio. He joined the fledgling CKO radio network in 1981, holding roles from President to Editor-in-Chief over the next eight years. At Allan Slaight’s insistence, he went on to join CFRB, inheriting Gordon Sinclair’s 11:50 a.m. news broadcast and commentary, and reporting, working out of Queen’s Park for the last decade of his career. After 23 years with the station, he was among those caught up in a round of cuts in 2009. In retirement, he continued as a community columnist with the Caledon Enterprise, penning his last column in November 2022. Read more here.
Mel Cooper, 92, on Feb. 20. Cooper’s radio career began in 1951 as an announcer at CJAV Port Alberni. The following year he moved to CKMO Vancouver, and then to CKWX as news editor. In 1955, he was named national sales manager of CKNW and two years later was promoted to GSM, before moving into the GM role in 1970. He concurrently served as Vice-President of Western Broadcasting Co. Ltd., which owned CKNW, as well as President of Western Broadcast Sales. In 1974, Cooper’s Seacoast Communications bought CFAX Victoria, with the company going on to purchase CKOV-AM and CKLZ-FM Kelowna in 1988 (later sold to Pattison Media in 1996). As majority owner, Cooper served as President of Seacoast Communications Group and GM of CFAX from 1974 to 1996 when he became chairman and CEO of Seacoast. The company was awarded a second licence in the Victoria market in 2000 for CFEX-FM (now CHBE-FM). CHUM Limited purchase both stations in 2004. Cooper served on numerous boards over the years, including as a director of TELUS and the Royal Bank of Canada. A member of the Order of Canada and Order of B.C., Cooper also served as a director of the Radio Bureau of Canada, Bureau of Broadcast Measurement and president of the BC Association of Broadcasters. BCAB named him Broadcast Citizen of the Year in 1979 and Broadcaster of the Year in 2000.
Harold Wesley on Feb. 14. Wesley’s career as a broadcast technician at CTV spanned six decades. He started as a teenager in the mailroom at Charles Street in 1965, working his way up to Senior Director, On-Air Operations at the network’s Agincourt studios. Wesley contributed to broadcasts and specials for many high-profile events over the years, including election coverage, the Academy Awards, Olympic Games, JUNO Awards, Canadian Idol and the Super Bowl. After 48 years, he retired from the company in 2013.
Carolyn Lamers, 62, on Feb. 15 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Born into the family business as the daughter of Tillsonburg Broadcasting majority owner John D. Lamers, Carolyn had a career in sales and marketing with the station group through the company’s sale to Rogers Media in 2017. She’d most recently served as the Local Sales Manager for Country 107.3 (CJDL-FM) Tillsonburg. Lamers was also active in her community, lending her time to the Helping Hand Food Bank, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, the Tillsonburg Chamber of Commerce, and the Tillsonburg Business Improvement Association.
TV & FILM:
The 4 Nations Face-Off Championship final between Canada and the USA was the second most-watched hockey game ever on Sportsnet. The network says last Thursday’s game averaged 5.7 million viewers, reaching 10.7 million Canadians. Audiences peaked at 7.3 million as Connor McDavid scored the winning goal in overtime. That puts the broadcast only behind Sportsnet’s coverage of the Stanley Cup Final Game 7 in June 2024, which saw the Florida Panthers defeat the Edmonton Oilers, drawing an average minute audience of 7.55 million across Sportsnet, Citytv, and CBC. Read more here.
Prime Video has announced that Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis will be featured in the upcoming second season of its docuseries FACEOFF: Inside the NHL. Jarvis, who hails from Winnipeg, took centre stage alongside his Canadian teammates at the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship. Leading scoring for the Hurricanes with 22 goals this season, he joins Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who was previously announced as a featured Season 2 player. Read more here.
The Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league, has unveiled the broadcast schedule for its highly-anticipated inaugural season. The historic opening match will see Vancouver Rise FC host Calgary Wild FC at BC Place on April 16, with the match broadcast nationally on TSN and CBC Gem. All 75 Northern Super League regular season matches will be available nationally with TSN to air 20 regular season games, while CBC will broadcast eight. French-language coverage will be available for all Montreal Roses matches, with RDS to broadcast 21 matches across its linear platforms. Radio-Canada will air four matches live simultaneously on its linear network, ICI TÉLÉ, and streaming platform, ICI TOU.TV.
Bell Media and Tom Green Productions have announced a co-development agreement that will see the Canadian comedian, actor, and filmmaker create original content for Crave and CTV. The agreement covers both scripted and unscripted projects with Bell promising project details at a later date. Rory Rosegarten, Green’s manager, will serve as Executive Producer on all projects. Read more here.
CTV Life Channel Original series Queen of the Castle takes over the 8 p.m. ET timeslot on Wednesdays, starting March 26. The hour-long, eight-episode docuseries follows Canadian socialite Dr. Ann Kaplan Mulholland and her entrepreneur husband Dr. Stephen Mulholland as the empty-nesters move to England and take on the ambitious task of turning a medieval castle in the heart of Kent into a luxurious world-class destination. Airing on CTV Life, it will stream next day on Crave.
Crave Original true crime docuseries Mafia: Most Wanted is an unflinching exploration of organized crime in the Greater Toronto Area and Canada – namely Ndrangheta, a powerful Italian organized crime syndicate. From Screen Siren Pictures, in association with Last Word Entertainment, the three-part, one hour series premieres Friday, March 7 with new episodes streaming subsequent Fridays.
Corus Entertainment’s Home Network is set to debut new seasons of Corus Original series, Renovation Resort (8×60) and Scott’s Vacation House Rules (8×60), along with new episodes of House Hunters, Interior Design Masters, and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. Renovation Resort, Season 2, kicks off March 30 with Scott McGillivray and Bryan Baeumler following four new builder-designer duos as they transform empty shells into one-of-a-kind, luxurious waterfront vacation homes. McGillivray also returns for Season 6 of Scott’s Vacation House Rules on April 7.
Hope Swinimer returns to Cottage Life with Hope for Wildlife: The Next Generation, an all-new season of long-running hit original series Hope for Wildlife. Premiering Tuesday, March 4 as part of Cottage Life’s nationwide free preview event, the series gives audiences a glimpse into Swinimer’s wildlife rehabilitation centre in Nova Scotia, highlighting urgent issues, including habitat loss due to human encroachment, the climate crisis, rising wildfires and flash floods. The series will also be available on Cottage Life’s Apple TV channel beginning March 5.
THEMA, a Canal+ company, has announced a new distribution deal with Roku to curate multiple international series for The Roku Channel audiences in Canada, the U.S., UK, and Mexico. The deal includes eight drama series from Korea and Turkey; four Canal+ Originals from Vietnam (Hellbound Village and Scarlett Hill) and Myanmar (Crying Forest and Toxic); as well as Dhawan Kharenge – the cricket-focused phenomenon in India produced by Indiacast.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC have announced the latest additions to The 54th Annual JUNO Awards lineup. Hitting The JUNO Broadcast stage will be Aqyila, Josh Ross, Nemahsis, Snotty Nose Rez Kids and Tia Wood, joining already announced host Michael Bublé and 2025 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Sum 41 on stage on Sunday, March 30 from Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The JUNOS will broadcast and stream live on CBC TV, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, CBC Listen, and globally at CBCMusic.ca/junos and CBC Music’s YouTube page.
Network Media Group and Network Entertainment have announced three new I AM titles that will make their global premieres on The CW Network: I Am Joe Frazier (Feb. 22), I Am Luke Perry (March 1), and I Am Raquel Welch (March 8). Vancouver-based Network Entertainment’s slate of I AM films began in 2012 with I Am Bruce Lee. With the three new films, the slate has grown to 18 films.
CBC is bringing a new lineup of Canadian feature films to CBC Gem audiences as Canadians look to support homegrown stories and creators. The titles include CBC Films’ Brother, directed by Clement Virgo, Tracey Deer’s BEANS, and Matt and Mara from Kazik Radwanski. The 12 films join current titles like Blackberry, Bones of Crows, and Crimes of the Future in the Spotlight on Canadian Film Collection, launching March 1 on CBC Gem.
Hollywood Suite is celebrating International Women’s Day by spotlighting women in front of and behind the camera. Included in the lineup are the exclusive Canadian broadcast premieres of Shiori Itô’s Academy Award-nominated documentary Black Box Diaries (2024), premiering March 1; Canadian musical comedy series Less Than Kosher (2023), co-written by and starring Shaina Silver-Baird (The Communist’s Daughter), premiering March 11; and Valerie Buhagiar’s (Carmen) Canadian thriller The Dogs (2024), premiering March 26. All three titles will be available on Hollywood Suite On Demand on March 1. Find additional March programming here.
The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) and CBC are extending their partnership for the CBC Actors Conservatory, with the public broadcaster set to continue as the Presenting Partner for two additional years. The six-month immersive onscreen acting program, which has opened its 2025 call for applications, is designed to elevate actors’ works by increasing their confidence in the craft, expand their onscreen portfolios, and build connections within the industry. Among the over 100 actors who’ve gone through the program are Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Araya Mengesha (Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent), Ashton James (BoxCutter, Young Blood, Madness); Giacomo Gianniotti (Wild Cards, Grey’s Anatomy), and Supinder Wraich (Allegiance, Sort Of).
CBC New Indigenous Voices, presented by the National Screen Institute (NSI), is now accepting applications. The program offers 14-weeks of full-time, immersive training for Indigenous creators, 18+, to learn from industry experts and gain hands-on experience in the essential elements of film and television. NSI is seeking 10 emerging Indigenous creators from across Canada to participate. Applications close March 27.
The Indigenous Screen Summit Pitch Forum (ISS) will take place Tuesday, June 10 as part of the 46th edition of the Banff World Media Festival. Supported by founding partners, the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), Canada Media Fund (CMF), supporting partner APTN, and presenting partner Rogers, 15 Indigenous producers and creators will present their projects in a series of mainstage pitch sessions to a panel of industry buyers, and an audience of industry delegates. The half-day event includes pitches in the genres of Documentary/Unscripted, Scripted Drama, and Scripted Comedy. Interested candidates are invited to apply by March 14.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA NEWS:
Canadian Heritage Min. Pascale St-Onge has released a set of proposed changes aimed at modernizing the objectives, governance and funding of CBC/Radio-Canada, ranging from banishing advertising during news and current affairs programming to ensuring more citizen participation in determining the public broadcaster’s priorities. The proposed amendments to the Broadcasting Act include securing a more “stable and predictable” source of funding for the public broadcaster by establishing a statutory appropriation based on an annual per capita formula that would not be voted on annually by Parliament as part of the budget process. The minister intends to bring CBC/Radio-Canada’s federal funding in line with its G7 counterparts. Right now, Canada places sixth among G7 countries at $33.66 per capita, well below the average $62.20 per capita. Read more here.
Rogers Communications has made cuts in its customer service department, citing a shift in customer habits. The majority of impacted positions are based in Ontario. The company told The Canadian Press, it’s investing in digital tools and self-serve options that have reduced interactions with the Rogers’ customer care chat team by 20% year-over-year.
Digital First Canada (DFC), a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting, celebrating and advocating for Canadian digital-first creators, has announced the inaugural Digital First Canada Summit slated for the West Coast, April 25 at TELUS Garden in downtown Vancouver. DFC, which has held three incarnations of the summit in Toronto and also produces the creator-driven Buffer Festival, plans to bring together online creators, industry leaders, platforms, and digital entrepreneurs, “for an immersive experience designed to showcase the latest trends, tools, and strategies shaping the online creator landscape and economy.” Founding partners include YouTube Canada and TikTok Canada, as well as partners like TELUS STORYHIVE, FASKEN and Canadian Creator. Read more here.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering and IT (BEIT) Conference has unveiled some of the more than six-dozen sessions for broadcast engineers and technologists, media technology managers, equipment manufacturers and R&D engineers, set to be presented at this year’s event. New this year, NAB Show and Public Media Venture Group (PMVG) have partnered to present TechConnect ’25, a technology education conference targeting public media professionals to be held April 4. This marks the first time a fully-integrated public media technology training conference is being hosted in partnership with NAB Show. It will tackle issues like ATSC 3.0 transition options, interactive media for public TV audiences, AI-assisted content archiving, proper balancing of streaming and broadcast content delivery, advanced emergency alerting, facility robustness and security, enhanced content accessibility, improved operational efficiency, optimal use of cloud-based services, datacasting and more.
Bell Canada has successfully deployed its network AI Ops solution built on Google Cloud, to detect, analyze, and present network issues. Built using Google Cloud’s products and services—including Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), BigQuery, Pub/Sub, and custom AI/ML models—the system autonomously correlates network data and customer experiences to better prioritize issues. Since partnering with Google Cloud, Bell says it has seen a 75% increase in software delivery productivity and achieved a 25% reduction in customer-reported issues.
