The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

John Derringer and Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto have officially parted ways. Corus Entertainment suspended the highly-rated Derringer in the Morning in May, following a gender discrimination complaint filed with the Canadian Human Rights Commission by former co-host Jennifer Valentyne. Her complaint was followed by former Q107 staffers like Jacqui Delaney, Andrea Rooz, Maureen Holloway and Raina Douris coming forward with their own allegations. Corus says details of a new morning show will be forthcoming. The network has thus far declined to comment on the status of longtime Derringer in the Morning co-hosts Ryan Parker and John Garbutt. Derringer had been heard in mornings on Q107 since 2001 and in the Toronto market for nearly 30 years. Read more here. Valentyne took to Facebook, calling the move “a step in the right direction.”

Danny Kingsbury is coming out of retirement to join Torres Media Group as Executive Programming Advisor. Kingsbury had a radio career spanning over four decades, prior to announcing his retirement from Rogers Sports & Media in late 2019. He had been with Rogers since 1999, initially serving as General Manager for Rogers’ Radio stations in Ottawa, Kingston and Halifax, going on to hold the title of National Format Director for Rock Radio. Kingsbury’s appointment comes as Tim Wieczorek, the company’s Executive Vice President, leaves his position Aug. 12 to be closer to family. As previously reported, Wieczorek will continue to consult for the company for the foreseeable future from his home base in Kingston. Read more here.

Carla Bosacki has left Global News after 15 years to go into public relations. Bosacki has worked for the network in Halifax, Calgary and Toronto, most recently serving as a National Weather Anchor. She’s now joined PR Associates as an Account Director.

Gord Gibb has signed off from 100.5 Fresh FM (CKRU-FM) Peterborough after 46 years. His foray into broadcasting began at CKLY Radio Lindsay, ON in 1973, before joining CHEX-AM 980 three years later. Gibb has also served as the longtime public address announcer for the Peterborough Petes and owns and operates online radio station, Your Kawartha Oldies.

Becky Coles, longtime talk show producer at Newstalk 1010 (CFRB-AM) has left the station after a decade and is now working under the banner of her own company, Becky Coles Media. Coles had most recently been producing The Jerry Agar Show for the last five years.

Mandy Davidson has left Evanov Communications after more than 20 years as an Account Representative in Toronto. Davidson is joining Durham Radio’s Hamilton sales team at KX94.7 (CHKX-FM) and 92.9 The Grand (CHTG-FM), where she’ll handle local direct retail business as well as some agency business. Prior to Evanov, Davidson served as Marketing Manager for The Globe & Mail. 

Tarnjit Parmar has joined CBC Vancouver as a journalist. Parmar left CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver earlier in the summer where she’d been a reporter/producer for the last four years.

Greg Bowman has left CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver for Narcity Canada where he is the new Vancouver Associate Editor. Bowman had been with CityNews for the past year. He’d previously been a videographer for Waterloo-based 519 Sports Online, and a reporter for 106.3 Moose FM (CFXN-FM) North Bay.     

Brittany Hobson has left the Canadian Traffic Network after almost four years supplying traffic to Global BC and AM 730 (CKGO-AM) Vancouver. Hobson has relocated to Kelowna.

Fatima Syed is departing as host of Canadaland’s The Backbench podcast. Syed has been hosting the Canadian political panel for the last year and a half. She also reports for The Narwhal.

 

Natasha Staniszewski has signed a brand and content deal with Rush Street Interactive. The sports broadcaster, who most recently has been hosting StampsTV for Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp., will produce original content for the Chicago-based gaming and betting company, and appear in radio, television and marketing campaigns in Ontario and the U.S. in markets where BetRivers has sportsbooks. Prior to StampsTV, Staniszewski spent 10 years anchoring and reporting for TSN’s SportsCentre.

Triton Digital has announced three executive promotions. Oscar Sermeno has been upped to VP of Market Strategy, Americas, Daniel Karlsson to VP, Market Development and Global Strategy, and Michael Chien to VP of Advertising Product Strategy. In his new role, Sermeno will tap into his vast knowledge of programmatic advertising, digital audio measurement, and content distribution to expand publisher adoption across the U.S., Canada, and Ibero-American countries. Karlsson will lead the sales team for audio advertising technology, podcast and streaming services, and audience measurement solutions across Europe, Middle East, and North African regions. In his new role, Chien will oversee the management of Triton’s advertising solutions and product management team. Most recently, Chien was Director of Product Management for Jelli, where he played a key role in the integration of its programmatic advertising solutions with Triton Digital.

RADIO & PODCAST:

Radio Connects’ 2022 Share of Audio Report finds Canadians are still spending the bulk of their time with AM/FM radio above other audio platforms. Based on survey data compiled by Signal Hill Insights between March and April of this year, and containing highlights from this year’s Radio on the Move, Share of Audio found that radio accounts for 39% of Canadian audio listening (down from 44% in 2021), followed by YouTube Music (flat year-over-year at 14%), ad-free music streaming (13%, up from 9% last year), and personal music like CDs or mp3s (10%, down from 11% in 2021). In-car, AM/FM continues to dominate, accounting for 59% of listening time among those 18+. Read more here.

My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has announced that it’s reached an agreement to  acquire GIANT FM (CIXL-FM) and Country 89 (CKYY-FM) Welland, ON from Wellport Broadcasting/RB Communications. Financial terms of the transaction, which is pending CRTC approval, have not been disclosed. Stingray previously announced in 2019 that it intended to purchase both stations, however the sale fell through. With the addition of the Welland stations, the MBC group would grow to 18 FM stations and 14 local news sites across small and mid-sized markets in Ontario. Read more here.

Dan Misener and Jonas Woost have announced new venture, Bumper, a podcast growth agency to help organizations maximize their return on audio portfolios. Misener and Woost both departed Rogers Sports & Media-owned branded podcast studio Pacific Content in July. Bumper is being founded on the idea that as the podcast ecosystem matures, brands need specialized help to create and execute audience growth strategies in the increasingly crowded podcast space. The startup’s services include podcast audience development, marketing and promotions, and customized measurement solutions. Bumper will be attending Podcast Movement 2022, Aug. 23-26, in Dallas, where Misener will present a session on the power of “podcast neighbourhoods” and how podcasters can use them to discover, target, and reach new audiences. Read more here.

Lionsgate is entering the podcasting space with new division Lionsgate Sound that will launch with four shows, including true-crime thriller “The Lives and Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman” for the CBC. The division will operate as a full-service podcast production company for the studio’s film & television businesses, in addition to third party clients. Lionsgate company Pilgrim Media Group, headed by Emmy-winning producer and unscripted television veteran Craig Piligian, is a minority owner in Lionsgate Sound and will handle day-to-day operations. Read more here.

JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto has declared Monday, Aug. 15 as Oscar Peterson Day, marking the late musician, composer and Canadian ambassador’s birthday. To celebrate the day, JAZZ.FM91 will air special programming and a live-to-air concert performance from 7 to 8 p.m. ET, featuring JUNO Award-winning pianist and composer Robi Botos and bassist, composer and Order of Canada recipient Dave Young in a duo performance. The evening will be hosted by Céline Peterson, Oscar’s daughter and host of No, I Do Not Play Piano every Saturday morning on JAZZ.FM91.

MTM JR. has released an overview of podcast listening among kids under 18 that finds one in eight Canadian kids listen to podcasts. The report indicates podcast penetration amongst kids has remained steady over the last four years with 68% of those who listen to podcasts doing so at least once a week. One in 10 listen daily or almost daily. Boys who listen to podcasts are more likely to do so weekly than girls who listen. Kids who listen to podcasts also tune in to other forms of audio. Podcast listeners are 50% more likely to listen to radio and streaming music services than those who don’t listen to podcasts.

ACTRA Toronto has released the findings of a first-of-its kind survey that finds video game voice work is impacting the vocal health of performers. Undertaken in June of last year, 260 ACTRA members participated in the survey. Almost three-quarters (74%) of voice actors polled said that “very often or almost always” their sessions included loud/projected, aggressive, or vocally extreme work. Nearly 40% said they “very often or almost always experience” vocal fatigue or stress during the voiceover session. Another 20% reported finding it frequently hard to recover vocally after a video game voiceover session, with 42% saying it took two or more days for their vocal quality to return to “normal” after a vocally extreme session. Over 27% of those polled had thought about turning down a session for fear of the impact it would have on their voice, or the work it would cause them to lose. Read more here.

MOVE 103.5 (CHQM-FM) Vancouver personality and rock historian John Beaudin has reached a milestone 100,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel, Rock History Music. The radio veteran started the channel in 2016, initially set up to share interviews from 40 years in radio, including conversations with classic rockers like Jon Anderson (Yes), Randy Meisner/Bernie Leadon (Eagles), Lou Gramm (Foreigner), Dennis DeYoung (Styx), Barry Goudreau/Jim Masdea (Boston), and others. Beaudin, who currently hosts the evening show on MOVE 103.5, also recently started new channel, Rock History Canada, that will host a new series on the history of Canadian music. Beaudin previously hosted syndicated radio show “The Cross Canada Report” which was heard on 47 stations across the country in the 1980s.

LISTEN: Broadcast Dialogue caught up with John Leschinski, Chair of Podcamp Toronto, which is behind the Canadian Podcast Awards. On this episode of the podcast, we talk about some of this year’s nominees, the future of Podcamp TO, and more. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

LISTEN: Ari Daniel, former evening host at Virgin Radio 94.5 (CFBT-FM) Vancouver, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Also an alum of Sun FM 99.9 (CHSU-FM) Kelowna and boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto, among other stations, Daniel is the host of the Addicts in the Dark, a one-hour podcast, featuring one anonymous caller and story about addiction. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:

TV & FILM:

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has announced the nominees for the 2022 DGC Awards for Television Series, Movies for Television and Mini Series. The nominations are led by CBC comedy Sort Of, which scored four noms including an Outstanding Directorial Achievement, Comedy Series nod for Fabrizio Filippo, Best Production Design, and two nominations for Picture Editing in the Comedy and Family Series Category. CBC/BET+ co-production, The Porter, earned three nominations, with Charles Officer up for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series. Super Channel TV movie Christmas Movie Magic also received three nods, including Best Production Design, Picture Editing, and Sound Editing in the Movies for Television category. Winners will be announced at the West Coast DGC Awards in Vancouver on Nov. 5. 

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has opened applications for the 2022 Indiescreen Awards, announcing that the prize money for the awards will be increased to $20,000 for the Established Producer category, and $10,000 for the Kevin Tierney Emerging Producer category. This year’s Indiescreen Awards ceremony will be held in-person at the Whistler Film Festival on Dec. 2. To qualify, applicants must have acted as lead producer (or production team) on a Canadian feature film that has or will premiere in the 2022 calendar year. Find detailed eligibility criteria here. The deadline to apply is Sept. 22. 

TIFF has announced that this year’s TIFF Tribute Award for Performance will go to the ensemble cast of My Policeman, which includes Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Gina McKee, Linus Roache, David Dawson, and Rupert Everett. Now in its fourth year, the TIFF Tribute Awards presented by BVLGARI will return as an in-person gala fundraiser during the 47th edition of the festival on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel. As previously announced, My Policeman, by director Michael Grandage, will have its World Premiere at this year’s festival.

Telefilm is conducting an industry survey on best practices, which will help form the Subcommittee on Authentic Storytelling. As Telefilm continues to work with the industry to build more representative screen-based storytelling, the survey is being launched to learn more about what the industry is currently doing to further authentic storytelling, as well as receive feedback on roles that Canadian institutions like Telefilm can play. The agency will invite some respondents to be part of the industry subcommittee. The deadline to submit is Aug. 22. 

Asian Television Network, Canada’s largest South Asian broadcaster, is now renting out its studio space and green screen in Markham, ON for television, film and video production. A short drive from Downtown Toronto, ATN has over 40,000 sq. ft. of studio and office space, in addition to makeup and wardrobe rooms, a large formal dining area that can accommodate 100 people, and a programming area that can accommodate over 100 crew members, as well as two conference rooms, and 10 fully-equipped editing suites.

Hallmark Channel’s RIDE has begun production in Calgary. The family drama, centered on a rodeo dynasty, will premiere on Hallmark Channel and CTV Drama Channel in Canada in 2023. Casting of the McMurray Family includes Tiera Skovbye (Riverdale, Nurses), Nancy Travis (Last Man Standing, The Kominsky Method), Beau Mirchoff (Good Trouble, Hidden Gems), Sara Garcia (The Flash, Reign), and Jake Foy (Designated Survivor, A Little Daytime Drama), and Tyler Jacob Moore (Shameless, Once Upon A Time). RIDE is co-produced by Blink49 Studios and Seven24 Films, in partnership with Bell Media. The series is based on an original script by husband and wife writing team Rebecca Boss and Chris Masi, who along with Sherri Cooper-Landsman are showrunners and executive producers. 

CTV has announced that Transplant is back for a third season airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app, beginning Sept. 23. The CTV Original, which Bell Media touts as the most-watched Canadian drama series with total viewers and in all key demos throughout its second season, averaging 1.1 million viewers, joins CTV’s Friday night lineup as part of the upcoming fall schedule. Filmed in Montréal, Rekha Sharma (Yellowjackets) joins this season’s cast as a series regular. The translated French version of the series, TRANSPLANTÉ, is also set to air on VRAK.

KOTV and CBC have announced additional casting for Plan B with François Arnaud (Apple’s Surface, NBC’s Midnight Texas), Joshua Close (Monica, Fargo), and Troian Bellisario (Pretty Little Liars) joining the CBC original drama series. Starring Patrick J. Adams as Philip (Suits, The Right Stuff) and Karine Vanasse as Evelyn (Cardinal, Revenge), Plan B is an adaptation of the popular French-language drama series of the same name (now filming its fourth season for Radio-Canada). With production currently underway in Montreal, the new English-language series is set to debut on CBC and CBC Gem in winter 2023. 

CBC Gem will premiere Wanderer Entertainment short documentary collection Mi’kma’ki on Aug. 19. This three-part series, narrated by Mi’kmaw poet and artist shalan joudry, is a collection of short films themed around the Indigenous experience in communities across Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Global TV and Insight Productions are casting for Season 11 of Big Brother Canada. Coming to Global in 2023, Canadians can apply online at BigBrotherCanada.ca for their chance to become a #BBCAN11 houseguest. Fans can also nominate friends on social media by tagging @bigbrotherca and using #FutureHOH for a chance to get noticed by the Big Brother Canada casting team.

Crave Original series 1 Queen 5 Queers is back for a a second season. Hosted by Canada’s Drag Race judge Brooke Lynn Hytes, the show features in-depth, authentic, and oftentimes hilarious conversations with panelists, including new voices from the LGBTQ2S+ community, about queer life, and culture. Some of the panelists joining Hytes on Season 2 are model and influencer Joey Pittari; Jay Baldwin, an activist with cerebral palsy; Gwen Adora, a plus size sex worker; activist, TV host and filmmaker Sarain Fox; and Farra N Hyte, host of reality show Call Me Mother, and Brooke Lynn Hytes’s drag mother.

Super Channel Original docuseries, Secret Societies: In the Shadows, will premiere Sept. 5 on Super Channel Fuse. All six episodes will be available to binge watch or stream on Super Channel On Demand, the same day. Each of the six episodes delves into the murky history of a secret society: the Knights Templar, the Freemasons, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Illuminati, the Skull and Bones, and Le Cercle.  

CBC will stream the 2022 Para Cycling Road World Championships, Aug. 11-14, from Baie-Comeau, Que. The road race events, Aug. 13-14, will also be livestreamed on Paralympic.ca, in addition to the CBC Sports and Radio-Canada digital platforms, including CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca, the CBC Sports app, radio-canada.ca/sports and the Radio-Canada Info app. Two separate two-hour shows featuring both live coverage and top highlights will also air on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Facebook page on both days, and be mixed into the livestream. 

Eagle Vision, White Pine Pictures and Paquin Entertainment feature documentary Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On will have its World Premiere at TIFF. The 90-minute doc is an intimate look at the groundbreaking singer, songwriter, artist, activist and teacher. Directed by Winnipeg filmmaker Madison Thomas, she and Andrea Warner (Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography) share writing credits on the film. With Sainte-Marie’s full participation and firsthand accounts, Buffy guides the film’s narrative with Joni Mitchell, Taj Mahal, Alanis Obomsawin, Jeremy Dutcher, Robbie Robertson, John Kay and George Stroumboulopoulos providing context and perspective. The doc was filmed in Hawai’i, L.A., Brooklyn, London, Toronto, Winnipeg and Saskatoon and behind-the-scenes during Buffy’s 2021 North American tour. Following its World Premiere, the doc will see a theatrical release this fall, followed by broadcasts on Bell Media and APTN in Canada and PBS/American Masters in the U.S. 

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

The TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, presented by the National Screen Institute, is returning this fall. The free, six-week, part-time online training program will empower up to 40 Indigenous creators to grow their online presence and learn the essential skills for a digital career. Students enrolled in the program get the chance to learn from top TikTok creators, industry professionals and the TikTok team. Sherry Mckay, an Ojibway Anishinabe creator from Treaty 1 Territory, returns as program advisor, along with filmmaker Sarah Simpson-Yellowquill, of Long Plain First Nation, who returns as program manager for the second year. To be eligible, applying creators must currently be on TikTok using a Creator account and active on the platform (minimum of four public posts in the last 30 days). All eligible Indigenous TikTok creators are welcome to apply until Sept. 15, regardless of follower or view count.

Dash Hudson has released the findings of a study conducted with NielsenIQ Omnishopper indicating a significant correlation between entertainment-based content on TikTok and omni-channel sales growth. According to Dash Hudson, brands that leverage entertainment as a content strategy grow at a rate 34% faster than those who approach the platform with a traditional marketing mindset. Specifically, beauty brands with an entertainment score of five or above grew by an average of 51% in their first six months of joining TikTok. Conversely, brands with a score below five grew an average of just 17% – a 34% difference.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), and CBC watchdog, FRIENDS, are among the organizations that have submitted petitions to the Minister of Canadian Heritage asking him to set aside, or refer back, the CRTC’s CBC licence renewal decision. Submitted on Friday, the CMPA petition asserts the organization’s “deep concerns” about the elimination of a licence condition requiring the CBC to work with independent media producers in the production of Canadian programming. While the CMPA told Broadcast Dialogue it’s not aware of any conversations with the CBC suggesting the public broadcaster is considering a shift away from working with independent producers, its petition asserts that “deregulated framework will establish an unnecessary precedent that other private broadcasters will follow, creating the potential for an exponential impact from this Decision.” Petitions from FRIENDS and CAB both continue to ring alarm bells around Tandem, CBC’s controversial branded content initiative. FRIENDS’ petition also calls out the CRTC for what it says is inadequate protection of local journalism and Canadian programming through its failure to impose baseline expenditure requirements. Read more here.

OneSoccer parent company Timeless Inc. has filed an application with the CRTC, alleging Rogers Cable is in breach of Broadcasting Distribution Regulations by refusing to carry the dedicated Canadian soccer channel. The channel is currently carried by TELUS and available via Fubo TV, as well as direct-to-consumer. Timeless argues Rogers will not carry OneSoccer because “It is reasonable to presume that Sportsnet would not want a competitor on Rogers Cable, which would divert audiences and ad dollars from Sportsnet, and may also inflate future broadcast rights fees, due to increased competition,” according to its application. Timeless also noted that Sportsnet approached OneSoccer last fall, offering to carry its broadcast of Canada Soccer’s Men’s National Team 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and agreeing to split revenue as long as there was no OneSoccer branding on the programming. Timeless says OneSoccer agreed to the arrangement to demonstrate to Canadian BDUs how popular Canadian soccer programming could be for Canadian audiences.

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has filed a request with the CRTC asking for the disclosure of additional information from Rogers in relation to the company’s July 8 nationwide outage. PIAC asserts that Rogers’ response excessively redacted critical information necessary to fully understand what occurred during the outage and how Rogers plans to mitigate future risks, according to a copy of the submission obtained by Cartt.ca. PIAC wants Rogers to disclose a detailed timeline of the outage and recovery, arguing that affected customers need to be able to “corroborate and understand how they were impacted by the outage, and to seek clarification and compensation accordingly.”

BCE has reported results for the second quarter of 2022. Operating revenue increased 2.9% over Q2 2021 to $5,861 million, due to a 3.8% increase in service revenue driven by strong wireless, residential internet and media growth. Adjusted net earnings were up 5.3% to $791 million, delivering a 4.8% increase in adjusted EPS to $0.87. Total wireless operating revenue increased 5.5% to $2,246 million, with Bell adding 110,761 total net new postpaid and prepaid mobile phone subscribers, 139.5% higher than Q2 2021. Media operating revenue increased 8.7% to $821 million compared to Q2 2021, driven by the return of the F1 Canadian Grand Prix, continued digital media growth, advertising increases across Bell Media’s specialty TV sports and news services, stronger radio and out of home advertiser demand as COVID recovery continues, and higher subscriber revenue from Crave. Digital revenue grew 55%, the result of strong Crave direct-to-consumer growth and continued scaling of Bell’s strategic audience management (SAM) TV media sales tool. 

Quebecor has reported consolidated financial results for the second quarter of 2022, consolidated with those of its Quebecor Media subsidiary. Q2 revenues amounted to $1.12 billion, a $16.0 million (1.4%) decrease year-over-year. Revenues decreased in Telecommunications ($15.8 million or 1.7% of segment revenues) and in Media ($10.1 million or 5.1%), while revenue increased in Sports and Entertainment ($11.5 million or 34.3%). Videotron increased its revenues from mobile services and equipment by $27.0 million (11.4%) in Q2, with subscriber connections to mobile telephony service increasing by 34,600 (2.1%). TVA Group results were significantly affected by lower profitability in the Broadcasting segment in the second quarter, due mainly to increased content investments at TVA Network, particularly in reality and variety programming. Net income attributable to shareholders was $157.4 million ($0.66 per basic share) in Q2, compared with $123.5 million ($0.50 per basic share) in the same period of 2021, an increase of $0.16 per basic share.

TELUS has released its unaudited results for the second quarter of 2022. Consolidated operating revenues and other income increased by 7.1% over the same period a year ago to $4.4 billion. Growth was driven by higher service revenues in TELUS technology solutions (TTech) and Digitally-led customer experiences – TELUS International (DLCX). Compared to the same period last year, consolidated EBITDA increased by 9.8% to approximately $1.6 billion and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 8.9% to more than $1.6 billion. In the second quarter, TELUS recorded 247,000 net customer additions, up 24,000 over the same period last year, and inclusive of 93,000 mobile phones and 92,000 connected devices, in addition to 34,000 internet, 20,000 security and 15,000 TV customer connections. That was partly offset by residential voice losses of 7,000. 

Barbara Frum, Director X, and The Tragically Hip are among the newly-announced Canada’s Walk of Fame inductees. Frum, who passed away from complications of chronic leukemia in 1992 at age 54, is being recognized in the “Legend” category as one of Canada’s most respected and influential journalists, best known for her work on CBC programs including As It Happens – which she hosted for a decade starting in 1971 – and groundbreaking TV newsmagazine, The Journal. Director X (aka Julien Christian Lutz) has been behind music videos for Drake, Rihanna, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West. His latest project – set to air on Global next year – is forthcoming scripted series Robyn Hood, a modern-day reimagining of the classic tale. The Tragically Hip are being honoured for their philanthropy and activism for social and environmental causes. They were previously inducted in 2002 under the Arts & Entertainment pillar. In addition to being celebrated with sidewalk stars in Toronto’s Entertainment District, the inductees will be honoured at an in-person gala Dec. 3 which will be broadcast at a later date on CTV. 

Sarah El-Shaarawi has won the 2022 Dalton Camp Award for her essay The Similarities Between Red and Yellow, a reflection on the importance of freedom of the press. The annual $10,000 prize for the best essay on the subject of media and democracy in Canada – presented by FRIENDS (formerly FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting) -honours the memory of the late Dalton Camp, a journalist, politician, and commentator on Canadian public affairs. The winner of this year’s Dalton Camp Award for Best Student Journalist essay is Kevin Seeram, a graduate of McMaster University. In his essay The Memeification of Modern Politics: From TikTok to Deepfakes, Seeram reflects on how social media platforms are shaping the current generations’ political engagement.