REVOLVING DOOR:
Shelagh Rogers is retiring after the current season of CBC Radio literary program, The Next Chapter after 15 years and 43 with the public broadcaster. Her final episode will air June 24. Rogers got into radio at Queen’s University campus station CFRC, going on to host a country music program while still a student at CKWS (now Global TV) Kingston. She joined CBC Radio Ottawa in 1980, where she hosted current affairs and music programs, becoming the host of national classical concert show Mostly Music in 1982. Upon moving to CBC Toronto in 1984, Rogers started hosting on national programs like Morningside, The Max Ferguson Show and Basic Black, and was the founding host of The Arts Tonight. In 1995, Peter Gzowski named Rogers the permanent guest host of Morningside. CBC says The Next Chapter will continue, with the summer edition of the show to be hosted by CBC Books producer and contributor Ryan B. Patrick, as the search for a permanent host gets underway. Read more here.
Darrel Janz is retiring from CTV Calgary after 50 years with the station. Janz’s broadcasting career began at CFAM Altona, MB in 1962. He went on to report and anchor for CFQC Radio & TV in Saskatoon and then CTV Montreal from 1968 to 1972. After a year at CFPL-TV London, Janz accepted a position at CFCN-TV in 1973 as senior anchor. Until 1987, Janz anchored the station’s 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. newscasts, going on to co-anchor the supper hour newscast with Michelle Hogan and then Barb Higgins for 21 years. He returned to feature reporting with weekly segment “Inspired” in 2013. Janz has also served as an instructor in the Broadcast Journalism programs at SAIT and Mount Royal College.
Stef Davis is leaving CTV Regina to join CTV Kitchener. Davis has been a video journalist and anchor in the Regina newsroom since 2018. Prior to Regina, she worked as a VJ with CTV Yorkton and as a sports reporter at Yorkton This Week.
Gord Edick has retired from Global News Toronto after 23 years as Senior Supervising ENG Camera. A news photographer for more than 40 years, Edick has worked on numerous programs over the years, receiving the Roy Tash Award for Spot News Cinematography in 2011 from the Canadian Society of Cinematographers (CSC) for Global’s G20 protest coverage.
Mason DePatie has joined Global Edmonton. DePatie arrives from CTV Winnipeg where he had been a video journalist since late 2019. Prior to that, he was at CTV Lethbridge, where he was hired right out of SAIT.
Clint Hollinger has joined Corus Entertainment in Alberta as Manager, News Technology, working with Global News. Hollinger was most recently Senior Manager, Media Engineering, for the Prairie Region at Rogers Sports & Media. He’d been in management with the company for more than a decade.
Michelle Gamage is The Tyee’s new health reporter. A 2016 Concordia University grad, Gamage has been a freelance reporter for VICE News, Adbusters, and Vancouver’s Megaphone, among other publications.
Brishti Basu has joined New Canadian Media part-time as the multicultural news outlet’s Deputy Editor. Basu was formerly a staff reporter at Overstory Media Group’s Capital Daily in Victoria until she was caught up in a group layoff in January.
Mark Johnston is now doing double duty on 96.3 CRUZ FM (CFWD-FM) Edmonton weekday evenings, in addition to co-hosting mornings on Play 92 (CHMX-FM) Regina. Johnston has been with Harvard Media for the last five years.
Darrell Gibson has retired from Harvard Media. Gibson, a Media Marketing Consultant, based in Regina, leaves Harvard after more than 27 years with the company.
Dean Shaikh is now Rogers’ Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. He moves into the position after serving as VP, Regulatory Affairs at Shaw for the last 17 years. Prior to that, he served as Counsel, Regulatory Law for the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association and practiced competition law for The Competition Bureau.
Curtis White has been named the new president of Vancouver’s Network Media Group. White was part of the group that founded Thunderbird Entertainment, spending a decade with the studio helming its business development, corporate finance and investor relations initiatives. Since 2019, he’s been a Managing Partner of B.C.-based Caliber Ventures, advising emerging tech and media companies and consulting for Network for the past 18 months. White succeeds Paul Gertz in the president’s role. Gertz had also served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), a position he’ll continue in. Read more here.
Steven Kotlowitz has retired as a member of the Board of Directors for Network Media Group. Kotlowitz has served as a board member since 2012 and served as executive producer on 12 of the films in Network’s I AM documentary franchise. He’ll remain an advisor to the company.
A wee update. On May 7, I felt lightheaded after a workout. Within hours, I was in emergency bypass surgery. Eternal gratitude for @wpgparamedics, the doctors, @manitobanurses, @mahcp_mb, @sbhwpg. The healthcare system is stretched but they’re working hard for patients. Heroes pic.twitter.com/sMIX152Fl3
— Karen Pauls (@karenpaulscbc) May 15, 2023
Karen Pauls is recovering after undergoing emergency bypass surgery. Pauls, a CBC National news reporter, based in Winnipeg, shared on social media that she suffered a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), often experienced by women with few risk factors.
RADIO & PODCAST:
640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto is welcoming Canadian comic Colin Mochrie (Whose Line Is it Anyway?, This Hour Has 22 Minutes) as a guest host on Sunday, May 21. Filling in for Maggie John from 7 – 10 a.m. on Toronto This Weekend, the hosting stint marks Mochrie’s radio debut behind the mic. “Colin Mochrie is a legendary comedian, and we are delighted to have him on 640 Toronto,” said Amanda Cupido, General Programming Director Talk & Talent. “Our station champions smart, informative talk radio, but also understands the importance of laughter – and we’re excited to deliver this mix with talent like Colin for the May long weekend.”
— Adam Stirling (@Adam_Stirling) May 9, 2023
CFAX 1070 Victoria talk show host Adam Stirling has issued a public retraction after admitting to spreading misinformation about conservative media personality Ezra Levant and Rebel News. Following Rebel’s $100,000 fundraising effort for the Red Cross during the Alberta wildfires in 2016, Stirling acknowledges that he shared numerous tweets suggesting that the right wing news outlet was directing funds into its own coffers. Levant has asked Stirling to make a donation to the Wood Buffalo Food Bank in Fort McMurray.
SiriusXM Canada and the Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) have revealed the three finalists in the 2023 SiriusXM Top of the Country competition: Hailey Benedict (St. Albert, AB); Noah Derksen (Winnipeg); and Teigen Gayse (Kelowna). The finalists have a busy summer ahead, starting with a trip to Nashville in June where they will perform at CMA Fest, followed by stage performances at Montreal’s Lasso country music festival in August and then CCMA’s Country Music Week in Hamilton where the competition culminates in a finale in September, broadcast live on SiriusXM’s Top of the Country Radio (Ch. 171).
Marc Denis, a veteran of Montreal radio and TV, has self-published a book of anecdotes featuring the celebrities he encountered over the decades. Available in both English and French, net sales of “Mais Oui Tell You Some Stories?” will go towards the Teresa Dellar Palliative Care Residence serving Montréal’s West Island. Among the famous faces featured in the book are Paul McCartney, Céline Dion, Boy George, Billy Joel, Chris DeBurgh, Bo Diddley, and Frank Zappa.
U.S. Senators Edward Markey and Ted Cruz are among a bipartisan coalition that has introduced legislation that would direct federal regulators to mandate AM radio in new vehicles at no additional charge. The legislation follows a letter Markey sent to 20 leading carmakers last year requesting they maintain access to AM broadcast radio in their vehicles. Of those 20 carmakers, eight – BMW, Ford, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo – had removed AM radio from their electric vehicles, with Ford and Volvo among those abandoning AM altogether moving forward. The Act would direct the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to issue a rule requiring automakers to maintain AM broadcast radio in their vehicles without an additional fee or surcharge; and direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study whether alternative communication systems could fully replicate the reach and effectiveness of AM radio for alerting the public to emergencies. Read more here.
LISTEN: Veteran Toronto radio personality Maie Pauts is the recipient of the 2023 Rosalie Award, recognizing Canadian women who’ve blazed new trails in radio, named for legendary CKLW Windsor Music Director Rosalie Trombley. Pauts, who this year is marking her fourth decade on-air, is currently heard in middays on Stingray’s boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto. She joins this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about her journey through the industry, its constant evolution, and working to exemplify Rosalie Trombley’s legacy. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
LISTEN: Jimmy Fink’s storied career includes legendary call letters like WHFS, WPLJ (when it was an AOR station), WXRK (aka K-Rock where Howard Stern worked in the ‘90s through to joining Sirius) and now 107.1 The Peak. It’s also the station that brought Fink back to radio after he left it in the late ‘90s. In the latest episode of the Sound Off Podcast, you’ll hear about his early days in radio, why he left WPLJ, and what it was like to follow Stern. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
SIGN OFFS:
Global BC celebrates the life of our friend and former colleague Deb Hope. Squire Barnes has more on how her work ethic and sense of humour made her a B.C. news icon.
Read more: https://t.co/tPUzwOB8P2 pic.twitter.com/sEvcoVzPRs— Global BC (@GlobalBC) May 16, 2023
TV & FILM:
Convergence Research Group’s latest Battle for the Canadian Couch Potato Report indicates Canada is increasingly being impacted by the global OTT battle for viewers. Based on analysis of over 50 OTT services (and more than 35 providers), led by Netflix, Convergence estimates 2022 Canadian OTT access revenue grew 23% to $3.3 billion, with 18% growth forecast for 2023, mostly benefitting non-Canadian players. The report estimates 2022 Canadian Cable, Satellite, Telco TV access revenue declined 4% to $7.5 billion and forecasts 3% annual declines through 2025. Convergence also estimates 2022 resulted in a decline of 2% of Canadian TV subscribers, with on average 3% per year declines anticipated from 2023-25. It’s estimated that as of 2022, 6.3 million or 40% of Canadian households did not have a TV subscription with a Cable, Satellite, or Telco TV access provider, forecast to rise to 48% by 2025.
Frantic Films has announced an agreement to create a new paranormal series with Alexandra Holzer, daughter of famed parapsychologist Hanz Holzer. Frantic says it has also secured two high profile pieces of crime related IP it will develop and take to market as early as Real Screen West. The Winnipeg and Toronto-based prodco is also collaborating with New York-based producer My Entertainment, on recently announced true crime docuseries Nightmare on My Street, featuring Robert Englund, star of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Rathnelly Group Media has rebranded as Glory Media and undertaken a reorganization of its niche business luxury lifestyle media products, ceasing to publish Bay Street Bull and realigning its brands under the Glory moniker to include Glory Professional, Glory Sports, and the luxury and trend driven Glory Upgrade. The Toronto-based publisher’s announcement says the Glory portfolio will include quarterly print issues (exclusive to Glory Professional), digital cover stories and podcasts, video, social media, newsletters, and experiential, adding that the Glory Media name was chosen “as a reflection of the company ethos on success, innovation, and progress.” Glory Media is helmed by publisher David King.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Cision’s latest State of the Media report indicates “accuracy” and “maintaining credibility as a trusted news source” are leading concerns for journalists, particularly with the rise of ChatGPT and other AI-driven applications. Featuring responses from more than 3,100 journalists from 17 global markets, “ensuring content is accurate” was named the top priority by journalists (58%) and was what they perceive as the top priority for their organization (43%). 40% of journalists said they are relying more on data this year.
Rachel Pulfer, Executive Director of Journalists for Human Rights in Toronto, is the 2024 Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellow. She will focus on how human rights journalism can inform and improve policymaking in and for developing countries. The Nieman Foundation for Journalism has selected 24 global journalists for a year of study at Harvard University, with the fellows examining the growing threats to democracy and the free press; the use of AI in reporting; innovations in storytelling; political polarization; solutions journalism; media trust; and journalism collaboration, among other issues.