REVOLVING DOOR:
Steven Guilbeault has been reassigned as Minister of Canadian Culture and Identity, and Parks Canada, in addition to serving as new Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Quebec Lieutenant, as the newly-named Liberal leader forms his first cabinet. Guilbeault, who most recently helmed the Environment portfolio, previously served as Canadian Heritage Minister from Nov. 2019 to Oct. 2021. Quebec MP Pascale St-Onge, who is not reoffering in the coming federal election, had served as Canadian Heritage minister since July 2023. François-Philippe Champagne has been promoted to Minister of Finance, with Anita Anand assuming his former post as Innovation, Science and Industry Minister. Read more here.
Dina Pugliese has made her return to Citytv’s Breakfast Television (BT) after a two-year break from morning TV. Pugliese, who previously ended a 16-year run with the show in February 2023, has been named co-host and co-executive producer. She returns following the network’s release of Sid Seixeiro and Meredith Shaw last month, joined by co-host Tim Bolen, who has been a host and anchor on the morning show on Hamilton’s CHCH-TV for the past 13 years. Read more here.
Arash Madani has parted ways with Rogers Sports & Media’s Sportsnet after 16 years. Madani, arguably best known for his time as the Toronto Blue Jays on field reporter, revealed in a post to social media last week that his time as a national reporter with the network had come to an end, writing that it had been “a thrilling ride” covering everything from Super Bowls to NBA Finals, Wimbledon, The Masters, Olympic Games, and more. Prior to joining Sportsnet in 2009, Madani worked as a reporter for The Score and did a turn as an anchor and reporter for A-Channel Ottawa. Read more here.
Robert Turner has been promoted to Program Director of Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) Toronto. Turner was previously named APD in 2022. With the station for the last 27 years, he’s held roles including hosting The Early Edition news, traffic, weather and sports update to serving as Chief Operator.
I am going to be filling in for @gregbradyTO for the next few weeks mornings on @am640. Very excited to join the team. pic.twitter.com/fD1sO7v0r9
— Kevin Frankish (@KevinFrankish) March 18, 2025
Kevin Frankish has taken over the morning time slot on AM 640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto, as host Greg Brady pursues the federal Conservative nomination in his hometown of Ajax, ON. Brady has hosted Toronto Today since 2019, with previous stints in morning drive at Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM) and WDFN Detroit. Frankish, who is best known for his 27 years at Citytv’s Breakfast Television, has more recently been heard in afternoon drive on 105.9 The Region (CFMS-FM) Markham, in addition to doing communications work for Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences in Whitby. Read more here.
Ryan Gosse has joined Evanov Comunicatons’ Hot Country 88.5 (CKDX-FM) Toronto/Newmarket and Hot Country 93.9 (CFWC-FM) Brantford in afternoon drive. Gosse, who’ll be heard from 2 – 6 p.m. ET, arrives at Evanov with eight years of experience in the Kitchener market at Rogers Sports & Media’s Country 106.7 (CIKZ-FM). Gosse has also been heard, alongside Adele Newton, in various dayparts on Rogers stations like KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) Toronto and Kitchener’s CHYM 96.7.
Ken Hashizume has rejoined MBC (My Broadcasting Corporation) in its CFLY-FM and CKLC-FM Kingston newsroom. Hashizume was formerly the News Director for Corus Entertainment’s 1460 CJOY Guelph, up until last November. He previously anchored morning news on a number of MBC stations from 2019-21, based out of Kincardine.
Yann Paquet has been appointed President & CEO of TV5 Québec Canada, effective April 14. Paquet will succeed Marie-Philippe Bouchard, the new President of CBC/Radio-Canada, at the helm of the not-for-profit, which includes French-language specialty channels TV5 and Unis TV, as well as the TV5Unis platform. Paquet most recently held the position of Vice-President at Quebecor Content, where he oversaw foreign television program acquisitions and the financing of productions aired on TVA Group’s networks and Videotron’s platforms. He also contributed to the development of Quebec cinema and international distribution, while managing the illico+ platform and the TVA Films and Incendo divisions. He started his career as a journalist at Radio-Canada, where he ascended to the role of Senior Director, New Media.
Abigail Turner has announced she’s leaving CTV News Vancouver, where she’s been a videojournalist since 2022. Prior to joining CTV, Turner was a VJ with Global Winnipeg.
Mary Vallis Cowan is the new Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo News Canada. Cowan arrives from CBC News, where she’s been a senior writer and editor since 2017. Prior to CBC, she was an editor at the Toronto Star and National Post. She’s also a prof and program coordinator in the Centennial College Journalism program.
Amanda Wawryk has taken on an expanded role at ZoomerMedia as Director of Editorial for Daily Hive, BlogTO, Curiocity, and MobileSyrup. The former News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver anchor has been with Daily Hive since 2021, most recently as Editor-in-Chief.
Kim Honey has joined The Conversation Canada as editor-in-chief and CEO. Honey arrives from a six-year run with Zoomer Magazine, where she was most recently Executive Editor. She’s also held editorial roles with Maclean’s, the Toronto Star, and Frank Magazine.
Matt Weeks has joined the Lead Podcasting team as a video editor. Weeks is a former CHCH-TV Hamilton ENG camera operator and editor. He’s also worked with CP24, CBC, Sportsnet, OMNI, and CityNews.
Caroline Favory is joining The Podcast Exchange (TPX) as an Account Manager, primarily servicing brands and agencies in Alberta and B.C. Based in Vancouver, Favory has a background in media planning and strategy, working with companies like Noise Digital and ICUC.
Aurée Lepage has been appointed Montreal-based MELS’ Director of International Business Development in Los Angeles. The TVA Group-owned studio and post-production provider, says the strategic addition to its team will enhance MELS’ international position as a key destination for film production and strengthen its reputation with major studios. With nearly 30 years of experience in the film industry, Lepage has worked on productions like Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow, Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal, and Denis Villeneuve’s Maelstrom. Based in L.A. for the past few years, she’s been promoting Quebec to key industry players as the representative of the Quebec Film and Television Council (QFTC).
Jason Kenney, former Alberta premier and MP for Calgary Southeast, has joined the Postmedia Network Board of Directors, alongside Terrie O’Leary, who most recently served as Executive Vice-President of Business Strategy & Operations at Toronto Global. Their appointments, effective immediately, follow the Vince Gasparro and Daniel Rotstein’s decision to not stand for re-election.
RADIO + PODCAST:
The CRTC has turned down a request from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) appealing to the commission to rescind its notice of consultation on new rules for radio and audio and start over. Sent to the commission earlier this month, the CAB letter was signed by 25 of its radio group members. It maintained that the CRTC’s preliminary views, outlined in its notice of consultation, failed to account for fundamental shifts in consumer and advertising behaviour. The commission’s response, from Scott Shortliffe, Vice-President, Broadcasting, says commercial radio broadcasters will have the opportunity to make proposals on issues of concern outlined in the letter, including content requirements around Canadian and French-language musical selections, reducing the administrative and financial burden on commercial radio stations, and how the commission can ensure traditional audio providers and online audio services both contribute equitably to the development and promotion of Canadian content. Read more here.
SiriusXM Canada has announced new Canadian programming, including a recently-introduced morning show, and the extension of Frequency Podcast Network daily news and culture podcast, The Big Story, to the satellite network. The Boost on Canada Talks (ch. 167), which soft-launched in mornings in January, airs 8 – 10 a.m. ET, featuring music expert Patrick Bateman, journalist and author Liza Fromer, and pop culture authority Vicky Sparks. Other recent additions to the Canada Talks weekday lineup include The Big Story, airing from 1 – 2 p.m. ET, and daily wrap-up show, The Wrap Up, a best of conversations, interviews, and commentary from across SiriusXM, airing from 5 – 7 p.m. ET. Read more here.
Pro Bono Group’s “Buy Canadian” radio PSA campaign made it to CNN Friday morning. The Pro Canada Project was featured during an interview with “Toronto Mike” Boon, host of the Toronto Mike’d podcast, in a segment on the ongoing Canada-U.S. trade war. The not-for-profit Pro Bono Group, helmed by Larry MacInnis and Mike Occomore, has now released six PSAs under the campaign, with the latest Canadians to take part, sportscaster Ron MacLean and entrepreneur and Dragons’ Den staple Arlene Dickinson. Read more here.
The Pro Bono Group, meanwhile, has released a new PSA for the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH). “Granted” replaces the previous PSA, titled “Sign.”
MBC (My Broadcasting Corporation) has expanded the playing of the national anthem to all of its stations in light of the Canada-U.S. trade war. While a handful of MBC stations have been playing O Canada at noon every day for the last few years, VP Content & Regional Manager Rob Mise told Broadcast Dialogue that in light of the tariff war, they immediately added the anthem across the company’s 23-station network. “We felt that taking 90 seconds of airtime to celebrate our enthusiasm and that we’re here for each other is the right thing to do,” said Mise.
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Look for the Leaf is an initiative encouraging discovery of Canadian podcasts, initiated by Terry O’Reilly’s Apostrophe Podcast Network. Apostrophe is encouraging Canadian podcasters to add the leaf to their artwork to give listeners the ability to quickly identify Canadian content, much like many Canadian retail stores have done.
Apostrophe Podcast Network has confirmed a second season of The Beatlology Interviews, a bi-weekly show, hosted by Terry O’Reilly, the world’s biggest Beatles fan, featuring conversations with those who knew and worked with the legendary group. Season 1 guests include: actor Mark Hamill, record producer and composer Mark Hudson, Sgt. Pepper album cover co-designer Jann Haworth, drummer Max Weinberg, Double Fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, singer/songwriter Dion, former music exec May Pang, Apple Records creative director John Kosh, and comedian and superfan Mark Critch, among others.
The Beaverton is celebrating its 15th anniversary with the return of The Beaverton Weekly Report podcast, hosted by Editor-in-Chief Luke Gordon Field. The news satire and parody publication says the podcast, which has been on hiatus since 2018, will be a hilarious look at what’s going on in the world around us. Every Wednesday, it will assemble a panel of comedians to talk, mock and riff their way through the news of the week, featuring writers like Ian MacIntyre, Clare Blackwood, Nile Seguin, and surprise special guests. Patreon supporters will receive an exclusive story from every podcast episode.
Podcast Movement Evolutions, happening in Chicago, March 31 – April 3, will include a panel on the Canadian podcast market entitled “Skate to Where the Puck is Going to Be: Don’t Miss Out on Canada.” The session will feature Signal Hill Insights President Paul Riismandel, journalist Karyn Pugliese, Libsyn Canada Country Manager Bob Kane, Acast Managing Director for Canada Heather Gordon and Women in Media Podcast Network founder and CEO Sarah Burke. The session is slated for Tuesday, April 1.
LISTEN: As Whiteoaks Communications Group prepares to acquire four of the 45 radio stations Bell Media is divesting – CKLH-FM Hamilton and CHRE-FM, CHTZ-FM and CKTB St. Catharines – the family owned and operated company is on a major hiring push in advance of the takeover. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we speak with Whiteoaks President Matt Caine, a third generation broadcaster, Station Manager Hollie Taylor, and Bell Media Regional PD Lisa Vinc, who will join Whiteoaks as part of the transition, to talk about the handover, radio’s much maligned viability, the future of the AM band, and more.
LISTEN: Mike Farwell, host of The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NewsRadio (CKGL-AM) Kitchener, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Farwell’s career trajectory has taken him through various markets, including Thunder Bay and eventually Toronto, where he worked at MOJO Radio, CFBR and the legendary 1050 CHUM. Returning to his hometown of Kitchener, Farwell found his niche at 570 News Radio. He also hosts The OHL Podcast, which has grown to over 500 episodes and attracted a global audience.
SIGN OFFS:
Jamie Bramburger, 58, suddenly on March 11. A Canadore College Broadcast Journalism grad, Bramburger started his broadcasting career in 1986 as a reporter and weekend anchor at Mid Canada Radio’s CHNO and CJMX in Sudbury. After two years, he moved within the company to CHRO Pembroke where he anchored morning news. In 1990, he moved up to the role of News Director at Star 96 (CHVR-FM) Pembroke, where he stayed for the next eight years. After a brief stint as an Assignment Editor at CHUM Television, Bramburger decided to pursue a new career path in academia, joining the Pembroke Campus of Algonquin College as Manager of Community and Student Affairs. He held the role for 25 years, up until June 2024 when he was named the college’s Interim Dean. Bramburger continued to volunteer his time as a broadcaster, as the play-by-play voice of the Pembroke Lumber Kings on Cogeco’s YourTV, for which he was recognized with a Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration volunteer service award for 30 years of contributions to community television. He was also the author of two local history books: “Go Kings Go! A Century of Pembroke Lumber Kings Hockey” and “Sudden Impact-The Almonte Train Wreck of 1942,” sharing the story of one of Canada’s worst rail disasters. In addition to co-founding the Jason Blaine Charity Concert and Golf Tournament, which has now raised more than $1,000,000 for local organizations and initiatives, Bramburger served on the Upper Ottawa Valley Chamber of Commerce, and chaired the Pembroke Economic Development Advisory Committee. He received the Algonquin College Employee Philanthropic Recognition Award in 2020.
TV + FILM:
Citytv and OMNI TV are broadcasting from the Rogers Communications campus on Bloor Street as of Monday, alongside Sportsnet and Rogers Sports & Media’s Toronto radio properties. Citytv, including Breakfast Television, and OMNI bid farewell to their former studios at Yonge and Dundas Square last week. The stations had called that location, in the heart of downtown Toronto, home since the fall of 2009 when Citytv moved out of 299 Queen St. West following Rogers acquisition of the Citytv network as part of the sale of CHUM Limited to CTVGlobemedia. Read more here.
Debra McGrath will be presented with ACTRA Toronto’s 2025 Award of Excellence at the 23rd ACTRA Awards on May 8. Born and raised in Scarborough, McGrath’s acting career was launched from The Second City Toronto stage. From there, she moved to television, playing one of the wives on Canadian sketch comedy series Bizarre for multiple seasons before shifting to voice work in commercials and animated series, including The Busy World of Richard Scarry, Arthur, George and Martha and Franklin and The Green Knight: The Movie. McGrath has since transitioned to writing and co-creating the sitcom My Talk Show with Linda Kash and later co-created and wrote CBC series Getting Along Famously with husband and actor Colin Mochrie. On screen credits include Little Mosque on the Prairie, Murdoch Mysteries, The Kids in the Hall, Baroness Von Sketch Show and Private Eyes.
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) will recognize screenwriter Andrew Wreggitt with the Margaret Collier Award at the 2025 WGC Screenwriting Awards on April 28. The award recognizes a Canadian writer for their outstanding body of work in film and television. With a career spanning over four decades, Wreggitt’s credits span The Beachcombers to North of 60, Black Harbour, Pure, Tom Stone, and Fortunate Son, in addition to movies and miniseries like The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story, Shades of Black: The Conrad Black Story, Jack, Borealis, and One Dead Indian.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC have announced the latest additions to the lineup for The 54th Annual JUNO Awards broadcast on March 30. Anne Murray, the most JUNO Awarded artist in history, will take the stage to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the National Arts Centre. Murray will be the first artist recipient of the honour, which is being awarded for the first time since Pierre Juneau, The JUNO Awards’ namesake, received it in 1989. New performers joining the lineup include Elisapie, Jonita Gandhi, Maestro Fresh Wes and Roxane Bruneau for a performance with host Michael Bublé.
Blink49 Studios has acquired Toronto’s Pier21 Films. The acquisition will see Pier21’s current productions, library and projects in development move to Blink49, with Pier21 founder Laszlo Barna exiting the company with a first-look deal. The sale will also see co-CEOs Nicole Butler and Vanessa Steinmetz leave Pier21 on close of the transaction.
The CRTC has dismissed WildBrain’s claim against Bell alleging undue preference to children’s programming services from Corus Entertainment. WildBrain filed the application in July 2023, also claiming that Bell was giving an undue advantage to its own subscription-based video-on-demand service, Crave.
Global has greenlit new Canadian original scripted series Private Eyes West Coast, a spinoff of popular Global Original Private Eyes, which aired on the network for five seasons from 2016-21. Starring Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson, reprising their roles as Matt Shade and Angie Everett, the series comes from Lionsgate Canada and Piller/Segan. Additional casting and production details will be announced at a later date.
CBC and London-based documentary specialist Dogwoof, Toronto prodco Visitor Media, New York’s Rolling Stone Films, and filmmakers Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna’s Mexico City-based La Corriente del Golfo have joined forces to develop docuseries Snow King: From Olympian to Narco. The verité-driven docuseries, which draws on the investigative reporting of Rolling Stone and the Toronto Star, charts the journey of Ryan Wedding – a former Olympic snowboarder who is now one of the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted fugitives, accused of running a billion-dollar drug empire for Mexico’s most notorious cartel. Since January, the team has been filming across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., working alongside journalists and investigators – including Rolling Stone’s Jesse Hyde, the Star’s Calvi Leon and operatives in Mexico – as well as current and former FBI agents and law enforcement officials.
Crave is launching its first-ever animated series, Super Team Canada, featuring the voices of Will Arnett, Cobie Smulders, Kevin McDonald, Charles Demers, Brian Drummond, Ceara Morgana, Veena Sood, and guest star Jay Baruchel, and featuring a theme song by Bryan Adams. Premiering Friday, May 16, the campy 10-part, half-hour comedy is the creation of Emmy-winning brothers Robert Cohen and Joel H. Cohen. The series follows six lesser known and underrated Canadian superheroes, tasked with saving the world from giant evil robots, an unemployed octopus, and a needy hardware store clerk.
Corus Entertainment new Canadian Original, Big Burger Battle, premieres Monday, April 21 on Flavour Network and STACKTV. Hosted by actor and comedian Andrew Phung, he’s joined on the judging panel by chef and restaurateur, Connie DeSousa, and author, burger scholar, and TV personality, George Motz. Each episode sees the competitors unleash their creativity in three high-stakes challenges. Those with the judges’ least favourite creations are sent to “Burgatory,” forced to sit out the next round.
Accessible Media Inc., in partnership with Apple Orchard Productions, has announced the eight-episode Season 4 return of Mind Your Own Business on Tuesday, March 18. Hosted by entrepreneur Kevin Shaw, who is blind, entrepreneurs in the disability community aim to take their businesses to the next level with help from high-profile Canadian mentors Karen Wong, co-founder and CEO of Takulabs Ltd.; Kelly Bron Johnson, founder and principal IDEA Advisor, Completely Inclusive; and Chris Gaulin, founder and CEO of Fastoche Canada.
OneSoccer, TSN and RDS will co-produce all four matches of the Concacaf Nations League Finals. Semifinal action will begin Thursday, March 20, when Canada takes on Mexico and the U.S. faces Panama. Coverage will continue with the Third-Place Match and Nations League Final on Sunday. TSN’s Camila Gonzalez will host an in-studio panel for Canada’s semifinal match alongside OneSoccer analyst and Canadian Men’s National Team alum Jimmy Brennan, and TSN analyst and former footballer Kevin Kilbane. OneSoccer analyst Kristian Jack and TSN reporter Matthew Scianitti will report live from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., while TSN’s Luke Wileman and Steven Caldwell will handle the call.
TLN Media Group will deliver exclusive Spanish-language national coverage of the Concacaf Nations League Finals on TLN and Univision Canada, after licensing the broadcast rights from OneSoccer. TLN will broadcast its original doc-film, Heart of Goal: The Rise of Canadian Soccer before the Canada vs. Mexico match on March 20. The documentary follows Colombian-Canadian soccer star Jonathan Osorio and Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team as they qualified for FIFA World Cup, Qatar 2022, for the first time in decades.
Blue Ant Media has expanded its ongoing partnership with Samsung TV Plus, with the launch of Love Pets in Canada and the U.S. Love Pets, which features heartfelt stories about the animals and pets in our lives, features programming like Vet on the Hill, Seasons 1 – 3 (55 x 60’), which follows vet Dr. Scott Miller as he works to cure animals in need at his clinic in London; Dr Savannah: Wild Rose Vet, Seasons 1 – 2 (22 x 30’), a look at the wide array of animals treated at a rural Alberta clinic; and Hope for Wildlife, Seasons 1 – 10 (137 x 60’), which follows Nova Scotia animal conservationist Hope Swinimer and her team who rehabilitate wild animals from baby deer to wounded birds of prey.
OUTtv has expanded into Asia with the launch of its channel on Taiwan’s Chunghwa telecom. Launched this week, the linear channel is available on the Chungwha IPTV service, Multimedia On Demand (MOD). Viewers will have access to the service’s LGBTQ+-targeted original programming including hit series For The Love of DILFs, Sew Fierce and Call Me Mother, as well as library content from OUTtv’s original series, documentaries, films and specials. Chunghwa Telecom is the largest telecom provider in Taiwan, with 2 million subscribers for its MOD IPTV service. The launch is part of OUTtv’s strategic collaboration with Ulight Entertainment Technology, which is supporting the distribution of OUTtv across Asia.
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has unveiled the 2024-25 cohort of 16 content creators selected for funding through the second edition of its Digital Creators Pilot Program. Launched in fiscal 2023-24, the program supports the growth trajectory of mid-career Canadian digital content creators making short-form video content exclusively on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
Screen Access Alberta, a centralized website designed to help creative talent navigate careers in the province’s growing screen sector, is now live. Supported by the Government of Alberta, Calgary Economic Development and Edmonton Screen, Screen Access Alberta eliminates barriers for emerging and established professionals by providing access to career mapping tools, training opportunities and connections to industry organizations, unions and guilds. The portal was developed in response to recommendations from Alberta’s Film and TV Labour Market Survey and Calgary’s Creative Economy Strategy, identifying the need for a more accessible pathway into film and television careers.
The Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) has launched the latest episode of their “Walkthrough” YouTube series, highlighting Canadian contributions to the Star Trek franchise. Walkthrough of Star Trek offers a behind-the-scenes look of Star Trek: Discovery’s final season, exploring lighting, camera techniques, and visual storytelling used to bring the series to life. CSC says many viewers may not realize that nearly every Star Trek series has been shot by Canadian cinematographers, with productions primarily based in Toronto. Read more here.
ONLINE + DIGITAL MEDIA:
Redbrick, the Victoria, B.C.-based tech accelerator, has acquired Paved, a newsletter advertising platform connecting publishers and advertisers like Uber, DoorDash, and Salesforce with 253 million newsletter subscribers across 3,000+ publishers including NYT, NBC, Bloomberg, and TechCrunch. Paved gives publishers the ability to monetize their newsletter subscription base through ad placements integrated with top ESPs (email service providers) like Mailchimp, Kit, and Beehiiv. It offers brands a direct line to targeted audiences through dedicated emails, sponsored placement, and blog integrations with trusted publishers, executed through direct deals or programmatic placements.
The 2024 National Newspaper Awards has announced this year’s finalists, totalling 83 individual journalists across 22 publications. Judges considered a total of 864 entries, all published in 2024, from 82 news organizations. The Globe and Mail leads all papers with 16 nominations, followed by the Toronto Star (15) and La Presse (13). Other organizations with multiple finalists include: The Canadian Press/La Presse Canadienne (4), Calgary Herald/Calgary Sun (3), Hamilton Spectator (2), Reuters (2), Sing Tao (2) and the Halifax Chronicle Herald, which has two finalists including one shared with the Globe and Mail. Winners will be announced at a live gala at the Montreal Marriott Chateau Champlain on April 25.
REGULATORY, TELECOM + MEDIA:
The Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC-CCJ) has announced it has begun distributing the first round of funding to Canadian news businesses under Google’s landmark agreement to distribute $100 million annually to the Canadian news ecosystem, under its Online News Act exemption. An initial tranche of $17.25 million in payments is being made to eligible news businesses, with additional payments to roll out between now and the end of April. CJC-CCJ has welcomed Sarah Spring as its first Executive Director, who previously served as ED of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC). The organization has also unveiled its first full board of directors.
Bob McKeown is this year’s recipient of the Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) Lifetime Achievement Award. McKeown, best known for his more than 30 years with CBC’s flagship investigative program, The Fifth Estate, is being recognized for his “decades-long record of excellence in investigative journalism, reporting from more than 60 countries and winning dozens of awards and honours as a reporter, host producer, writer and documentary filmmaker.” The two-time Emmy winner, who also worked stateside for CBS News and NBC Dateline, will be honoured at the CJF Awards ceremony on June 12 in Toronto. Read more here.
The Sidney Hillman Foundation has announced the winners of the 15th annual Canadian Hillman Prizes. In the Broadcast category – CTV W5’s Eric Szeto, Avery Haines, Maria Teresa Scotti, Jerry Vienneau, Angelo Altomare for “Narco Jungle: The Darién Gap”; in the Print/Digital category – Grant Robertson and Kathryn Blaze Baum at The Globe and Mail for “The Algorithm”’; and in Local News – Drew Anderson of The Narwhal for “‘We will not lie’: Inside Alberta’s renewables pause.”
Jack Webster Foundation Professional Development Grants are now open to applications. Journalists and journalism educators are welcome to apply for funding to take a course and enhance their skills, or apply for a self-directed professional development grant, to research and write a special project. The deadline is April 27.
BC Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) Industry and Performer Award nominations are now open. Award categories include the Broadcast Performer of Tomorrow, Broadcast Performer of the Year and Broadcaster of the Year. The deadline to submit nominations is March 31.
BROADCAST TECH + ENGINEERING:
TELUS, in collaboration with NVIDIA, has announced plans to build a Sovereign AI Factory, a secure facility promising to provide supercomputers and software needed to train AI, while keeping data safe within Canada’s borders. The telco says the factory, which will leverage its high-speed fibre-optic network, will give Canadian businesses and researchers access to cutting-edge technology to develop smarter AI products, streamline operations and stay competitive. NVIDIA’s latest Hopper- and Blackwell- based supercomputers will power the AI Factory, with TELUS planning to deploy NVIDIA’s latest-generation graphics processing units (GPUs) at its data centre in Quebec by this summer, with expansion planned at its facility in B.C. Read more here.
Momentum Media President Shawn Smith has announced that NAB Show tradition, the Great Canadian Suite, won’t be going ahead this year. The annual gathering of Canadians in broadcast media and entertainment and industry vendors that serve them was set to take place at the Flamingo Las Vegas on April 7. Smith, the publisher of Broadcast Dialogue and CARTT.ca – who were to host the event – said the company has made the difficult decision to not move forward this year as uncertainty grows amidst the Canada-U.S. trade war and indications fewer Canadians than usual may choose to attend the international trade show and conference this year. Supporting companies for this year’s event included ATEME, Dome Productions, Gerr Audio, HD Radio/Xperi, IJES/Miller Tripods, Nautel, and Radioplayer Worldwide. Read more here.
NAB Show stages its first-ever Sports Summit as part of next month’s show in Las Vegas, a three-day program exploring the rapidly growing intersection of sports, media and technology, featuring industry players like AWS, IMAX, NFL, WWE and Microsoft. The summit is built around a speaker track tackling the future of sports content, production, rights, ad-supported streaming, and fan engagement, along with an immersive hub on the show floor that will showcase AI-powered transformation. The event kicks off Sunday, April 6 with a keynote from Gotham Chopra, the co-founder of the L.A.-based Religion of Sports production studio, who’ll discuss the power of storytelling in shaping sports culture and audience connection. Read more here.
FEATURE: WABE has launched sponsorship and exhibit registration for the 2025 WABE Media and Entertainment Technology Conference, happening Sept. 29 to Oct. 1, at TELUS Centre in Calgary. As WABE President Tessa Potter writes in her March column, this year’s theme — Bridging the Past and Building Media’s Future — resonated with the organization as it prepares to mark its 75th birthday, given the transformation in the industry happening right now. “The next evolution of media is unknown: Where will the eyeballs be? What will the CRTC and the government decide? Who will be elected? It feels like an endless list of variables,” writes Potter. “But as a technician, you learn to solve problems on-site even when you’re not exactly sure what caused them.” Read more here.
