The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

Edward Rogers has been promoted to Executive Chair at Rogers Communications. Rogers, 55, will continue to lead the board as he’s done since 2018, with the exception of a one-month gap in 2021 during a family power struggle for control of the company. The company says working with the board and CEO Tony Staffieri, Rogers will lead the development and review of its long-term strategy for growth. Staffieri’s responsibilities remain the same and reporting to the board, he’ll continue to run the company. Read more here.

Charles Adler has been appointed to the Senate. The RTDNA Canada Lifetime Achievement recipient, who’ll be representing Manitoba, is best known for his time as a national host with the Corus Radio talk network, which he parted ways with in 2021. More recently, he’d been hosting The Charles Adler Show podcast, in partnership with Crier Media.

Paul Riismandel is being promoted to president at Signal Hill Insights, effective Sept. 30. Riismandel, who joined the company in January 2023 as Chief Insights Officer, will succeed Jeff Vidler, who will continue with Signal Hill as founder and strategic advisor. One of the first dedicated researchers of podcast advertising, Riismandel has been in the space since 2014 when he joined Midroll Media (which SiriusXM/Pandora acquired in 2020). Read more here.

Crystal Goomansingh has announced she’s joining CBC this fall as the public broadcaster’s Senior Reporter based in London. Goomansingh leaves her position as Global News’ Europe Bureau Chief after almost five years and 17 with the network. She formerly worked with CBC as a videojournalist and host in Calgary and Winnipeg early in her career.

Mike McCardell is retiring after 62 years in news. McCardell, 80, has most recently been a contributor to CTV Vancouver. Prior to joining CTV in 2013, he was a longtime reporter with BCTV/Global BC. His last day on the job will be Friday, Aug. 30. His last story – a farewell to British Columbia TV viewers – will run at the end of CTV News at Six. 

Michel Jean has announced his retirement from TVA Midi after nearly 40 years in journalism. Jean’s best-selling novel Kukum, which has sold over 300,000 copies, is being adapted by Montreal’s Théâtre du Nouveau Monde in November, telling the story of the settlement of the Innu through the life of his great-grandmother. Jean is planning a literary tour of Europe and will contribute as a columnist to ICI Première’s Il rester toujours la culture.

Sarah Jones has left Global Lethbridge for Global Regina, which she’ll join in September. Jones has been with the network for the past year, arriving from Pattison Media’s Lethbridge News Now.

Maham Abedi has revealed she’s among those caught up in layoffs at Global News. Abedi had been with Global off and on since 2017, most recently as Network Managing Editor, leading content coordination across the network’s digital and broadcast platforms.

François Messier, General Manager of Productions and Sports at Radio-Canada, has left the public broadcaster following the Paris Olympics. As first reported by La Presse, two other sports executives are also leaving: Editor-in-Chief Christian Doucet on Oct. 31, and Catherine Dupont, first director, Sports and Olympic Production, at the end of September. They follow the retirements of veteran sports journalists Guy D’Aoust, Robert Frosi, Diane Sauvé, Philippe Crépeau, Jean St-Onge, Jean-François Chabot and Michel Chabot. The sports journalism team will reportedly be integrated into the general information service.

Ann MacKeigan has announced she’s moving on from the Executive Producer role she’s held with CBC for the last seven years on q with Tom Power, and Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud. With CBC since 1988, MacKeigan will be starting a new, yet-to-be revealed role in September. Prior to moving into her current position, she served as Director, Content Development and Production, Radio and Audio.

Tarnjit Parmar will be filling in as morning news presenter on CBC Radio One’s Early Edition in Vancouver for the next year. Parmar joined CBC as a producer in 2022 from Rogers Sports & Media’s 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM).

James Mackin has left 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM) Toronto where he’s been an editor, anchor reporter and film critic since 2019. Mackin, who joined the station as a Seneca Polytechnic intern, has been battling a debilitating spinal tumour, which he’s undergone two surgeries for since the beginning of the year.

Geoff Rohoman has announced he’s taking a leave from 680 NewsRadio (CFTR-AM) Toronto to focus on his health, following a colon cancer diagnosis. Rohoman, who has most recently been focused on “infotainment” reporting, has been with Rogers Sports & Media since 2006, with stops at 1130 NewsRadio (CKWX-AM) Vancouver, Sportsnet 590 The Fan (CJCL-AM). 

Skylar Peters has moved on from 680 CJOB Winnipeg. Peters had been an anchor and reporter with the station since 2019. Prior to that, he worked with TSN 1290 (CFRW-AM) Winnipeg.

Sarah Deshaies is leaving CJAD 800 Montreal where she produces the Andrew Carter Morning Show. Deshaies, who also provides morning weather updates, has been with the station for almost 16 years, starting as a reporter and host.

Sideshow (aka Ryan Lemmon) has joined My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in Kingston in afternoon drive on 102.7 WOW FM (WLYK-FM), licenced to Cape Vincent, NY. Lemmon, who was part of recent cuts at Corus Radio Kingston where he hosted Sideshow in the Morning on 96.3 BIG FM (CFMK-FM), will also be working with the Kingston Frontenacs as game day coordinator. 

Cassey Hunter has parted ways with Pattison Media after more than a decade. Hunter started with the company as a street team member and in promotions roles in Edmonton and Calgary. She’d been on-air with 94.3 NOW! Radio (CHNW-FM) Winnipeg since 2022, most recently in middays.

Dom Simard is doing some part-time coverage on Edmonton’s 100.3 The Bear (CFBR-FM). Simard has formerly been heard on Pattison Media’s REWIND Radio in multiple markets and Calgary’s Wild 104.7 (CHBZ-FM).

Marina Hanna has joined JAR Audio as Audience Growth Specialist. Hanna was formerly a Marketing Lead with Pacific Content.

Ebyan Abdigir has joined JAR Audio as a producer. Abdigir formerly worked with Rogers Sports & Media’s Frequency Podcast Network as a producer on daily news pod, The Big Story and worked on various shows for CBC Radio, including World Report and its daily podcast, Front Burner.

Kaleigh Bruijns has joined the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) as Communications Manager. Bruijns arrives from reforestation startup, Flash Forest.

Rachel Pulfer has moved into a new role at Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) as the organization’s first-ever president, following her completion of the Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. Bill Killorn, who served as JHR’s Interim Executive Director during Pulfer’s sabbatical, has been named the new ED. Under their new remits, Pulfer will focus on JHR’s growth, while Killorn oversees day-to-day operations. Pulfer had served as JHR’s ED since Oct. 2011. Killorn has served as Deputy Director since March 2020, and as Interim ED since July 2023. 

Kellie Hinkle has joined Orban as Software Project Manager. Hinkle will lead the establishment and management of Orban’s new global audio processing software business unit, with the company’s OPTIMOD-PCn 1600 software serving as its flagship product. Before joining Orban, Hinkle served as the president of Code Nation where she managed business operations.

 

 

 

RADIO & PODCAST:

CINA Radio Group has debuted Classic Hits formats on two of the three former Bell Media AM stations it acquired in Hamilton and Windsor. CKWW rebrands as AM 580 with the slogan “The Greatest Hits of All Time,” playing predominantly hits of the ‘70s and ‘80s. Its talent lineup is led by Mark Lander and Kara Ro in mornings. 1150 CKOC, which was formerly branded as BNN Bloomberg, now carries the tag “Superhits of the 70s and 80s.” Kent Chambers is helming mornings, while Scott Penfold is being heard in afternoon drive. CINA Radio Group has also acquired 820 CHAM, formerly Funny 820, which it has yet to re-launch.

The 5th Quarter, Rick Zamperin’s former 900 CHML show that aired after Hamilton Tiger-Cats games, is continuing on YouTube following the station’s closure earlier this month. Ticats Audio Network game broadcasts are now being aired on Corus Radio’s Y108 (CJXY-FM), in addition to Ticats.ca/listen. Fans in Guelph and Kitchener can continue to listen to Ticats Audio Network broadcasts on Corus’ 1460 CJOY and Rogers Sports & Media’s 570 NewsRadio (CKGL-AM).

Sonar Soundlabs has announced its re-launch with a new focus on creating podcasts for the arts and culture industry. Leveraging the talent pool of the Sonar Podcast Network, which includes more than 50 award-winning podcasts like Dwarven Moss: A D&D Podcast, You Made Me Queer!, and Squirrel Talk, hosted by Canadian drag queens and comics Selena Vyle & Hillary Yaas, the Toronto-based company says its new arts & culture production arm wants to tell the stories of brands with a cultural focus or those who want to connect with artistic audiences. Read more here.

The Sound Off Podcast Network has launched three new podcasts. The Shurman Report, helmed by talk radio veteran Peter Shurman, is focused on politics, technology, and world events, in conversation with commentators like Stephen Ledrew, Kevin Gaudet, and Andy Stinton. The Master Communicator also joins the Sound Off roster, hosted by David Tyler, best known as the voice of CTV News. The podcast is a weekly masterclass in leadership communication featuring bite-size classes for busy C-suite executives, managers, and aspiring leaders who want to elevate their communication skills. The Mental Approach, hosted by Toronto-based business development executive Todd Arkell, explores the power of mindfulness and mental performance in youth sports. Read more here.

The Canadian Press (CP) has launched CP Newswatch, a podcast comprised of packaged headlines, updated twice daily, with important news and sports stories. New episodes are released every morning and evening.

Crime Beat Most Wanted, hosted by Global News anchor and producer Tracy Tong premieres Sept. 10. The limited-edition 15-episode series chronicles the stories of Canada’s most elusive fugitives who are still at-large, featuring in-depth interviews and rare archival footage. New episodes will drop weekly. The series was inspired by the award-winning Crime Beat podcast, which will head into its sixth season in January and has been adapted as a series on Global TV. 

Lisa MacNeill, the morning co-host and APD at Evanov Communications’ Lite 92.1 (CKPC-FM) Brantford, has launched her first true crime podcast. Unlawful Intentions: Murder, Motives and Justice explores Canadian cases, including the 2009 rape and murder of Tori Stafford in rural Ontario and the serial murders committed by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka.  

 

Triton Digital has released its latest Canada Podcast Ranker for the July 2024 reporting period (July 1-28), as measured by Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service. The top three Canada originated English-language podcasts were unchanged with Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) again at #2, and The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #3. Yet again, the top ranked podcast overall was Dateline NBC (NBCUniversal News Group). SiriusXM Podcast Network earned the #1 spot again on the Top Networks Report with 3.34M Average Weekly Downloads, followed by Wondery Network again at #2 with 1.77M Average Weekly Downloads, and CBC/Radio-Canada again at #3 with 1.50M Average Weekly Downloads. There were several debuts for the month of July including the top-ranked Cancelled with Tana Mongeau (Audioboom), Come by Chance (CBC/Radio-Canada), and Hysterical (Wondery Network).

Libsyn has a new agreement with claims-free music subscription service, Universal Music for Creators. Libsyn will introduce the service to its podcast creators, providing them with premium music and sound effects for audio and video podcasts at an exclusive promotional rate. In launching Universal Music for Creators last October, Universal Production Music became the first major music publisher to offer a subscription program that allows creators to add music and SFX to their audio and video podcasts without copyright claims. Its library is comprised of over 50,000 tracks and 200,000 sound effects, in addition to more than 80 regularly updated creative playlists. Previously, the catalogue was exclusively available to TV and film.

LISTEN: Dan Misener. Co-founder of audience development firm Bumper, is on the Sound Off Podcast discussing his early days in radio at CBC working on shows like DNTO (Definitely Not the Opera) and Spark with Nora Young, and his natural transition to podcasting. He and Matt Cundill discuss the importance of the packaging of your podcast, the helpful Podcast XRay released earlier this year, and Bumper’s new analytics Dashboard.

LISTEN: “Canada vs. California: How Ottawa took on Netflix and the streaming giants” is Howard Law’s recently-released deep dive into the story of the Online Streaming Act. The media policy blogger joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about his new book; why he’s worried about the survival of Canadian broadcasters, specifically the future of television news; and what the media landscape could look like if there’s a change of government in the next federal election.

The Pro Bono Group has released a new Feed Ontario PSA. Available free to stations (and podcasters), it’s titled “Dinner For A Week.” Check out Pro Bono Group’s PSA Archives here.

https://broadcastdialogue.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FEED-ONTARIO_Dinner-for-a-Week_ENGLISH_30Sec_RADIO_Full-Mix_050924-1.wav?_=1

SIGN OFFS:

Tom Tompkins, following a battle with cancer. Tompkins spent his early years in Richmond Hill, ON before moving to Calgary in junior high where he eventually graduated from SAIT’s Television Stage and Radio program. Tompkins began his 43-year radio career in 1970 at CKXL Calgary. He went on to work at stations including CJAX-FM Edmonton, CFGM-AM Toronto, CHAM-AM Hamilton, CKRY-FM Calgary, the Pelmorex Radio Network, and CJAY-FM Calgary, which earned the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) FM Station of the Year honour during his time as programmer there. Tompkins was twice named Country Program Director of the Year by The Record, won three CCMA Awards for Country Music Person of the Year, and was given a JUNO Award in 1992 while managing Tracey Prescott and Lonesome Daddy, when they were named Country Group of the Year. He served on the CCMA Board of Directors for 15 years and as president of the association in 1991-92 and from 1994-2000. Tompkins was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Randy Snow, 61, on Aug.18 of natural causes. Hailing from Gander, NL, Snow started his broadcasting career in his hometown at age 16 at 650 CKGA. He moved to St. John’s in 1988 to join OZFM (CHOZ-FM), where he went on to work for 15 years and was best-known as host of “The Dawn Patrol.” In 2003, Snow began hosting the morning show on Hits FM (CKIX-FM), before transitioning to afternoon drive. He returned to OZFM in 2019 to host the “Morning Jam.” Snow and his co-host Stephanie O’Brien parted ways with the station last fall.

 

Ron “Buckshot” Barge, 88, on Aug. 17. Born in Trail, BC, Barge came from a large family that shared a love of music and storytelling. He started his television career at CJFB-TV in Swift Current, SK, and later CFQC-TV Saskatoon. From there, he moved his family to Calgary after landing a job with CFCN in 1961 as a cameraman and floor director. He was eventually asked to host new kids’ show, the “Buckshot Show,” which made its debut in 1967 and aired for 30 years. Barge attained local icon status with generations of kids with the show running during the lunch hour six days a week, featuring songs, sketches, birthday greetings, stories and cartoons. From 1992-97, it was broadcast Saturday and Sunday mornings. Barge was also known for playing piano in the house band at the Rimrock Room in Calgary’s Palliser Hotel and with the Stardells at the 400 Club for over 20 years. He donated his time to the Calgary Stampede Kids Day program for over 50 years, in addition to hosting telethons for Alberta Children’s Hospital, among other events.

Malcolm Bernard, 64, on Aug. 8. Prior to a career in communications, Bernard worked at CJAD Montreal, before joining Broadcast News (BN) in the late 1980s. He then moved to Ottawa to be Standard Broadcast News’ bureau chief, and later re-joined BN. He started doing communications consulting in the late ‘90s, working on high-profile projects, including the National Inquiry on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. He served as Managing Partner of National Public Relations in Ottawa, before co-founding Interplay Creative Media in 2005, servicing clients including Indian and Northern Affairs, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Global Affairs Canada. Bernard had also been pursuing work as a voiceover artist in recent years.

TV & FILM:

CTV Montreal, Noovo Info and RDS have been working out of temporary studios at the Bell campus on Nun’s Island, following a major water main break in downtown Montreal on Friday. The break, near the Jacques-Carter bridge, sent a deluge of water into nearby intersections including René-Lévesque Boulevard East at Avenue Papineau where Bell Media’s studios in the city are located. Video posted to the CTV Montreal website showed control panels, vehicles and other equipment covered in a mucky residue left behind by the torrent. Read more here.

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“Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” ❤️
Global Okanagan anchor Jamie Tawil signs off for the last time, but not without a heartfelt goodbye message.

Global Okanagan will have a new time starting Monday, Aug. 19. Learn more here: https://t.co/8rzaeYW6qO pic.twitter.com/YkWVkoE81u

— Global Okanagan (@GlobalOkanagan) August 17, 2024

Global Okanagan newscasts are being delivered out of the network’s studios in Metro Vancouver going forward as Corus Entertainment continues to look for operational efficiencies. Anchor Kimberly Davidson signed off with the last live broadcast from Global’s Kelowna studios at 342 Leon Avenue on Sunday evening. Jamie Tawil, who had been anchoring Global Okanagan’s weeknight Live at 5 since late 2020, also signed off for the last time on Friday. As of Monday, the show is airing at a new time at 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m., with veteran announcer Coleen Christie anchoring from Global BC’s studios in Burnaby. Read more here.

FuboTV and Amazon have announced the launch of Fubo Sports Network on Prime Video Channels in Canada, marking the first time the sports network is available in Canada outside of a subscription to the Fubo platform. Fubo Sports Network carries a live sports catalogue that spans 1,000 events a year from soccer to MMA, including the English Premier League, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), the Professional Fighters League (PFL), and World Poker Tour. Read more here.

Eugene Levy and Dan Levy are set to host the 76th Emmy Awards, the first-ever father-son duo. The awards will air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 15.

TIFF has announced additional honourees who will be receiving TIFF Tribute Awards at this year’s festival: award-winning actor and rapper Jharrel Jerome will receive the TIFF Tribute Performer Award; and actress Zhao Tao will be presented with the TIFF Special Tribute Award. Jerome returns to the festival for the World Premiere of William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable: The Anthony Robles Story. Tao, who was ranked eighth among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century by the New York Times in 2020, returns to TIFF for the North American Premiere of Jia Zhangke’s Caught by the Tides. The TIFF Tribute Awards gala takes place Sunday, Sept. 8, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel. 

The Screen Composers Guild of Canada (SCGC) has announced Oscar-winning Canadian film composer Mychael Danna as the recipient of its inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. Over a 40+ year career, Danna is perhaps best known for his score on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, in addition to Girl, Interrupted; Little Miss Sunshine; Capote and Moneyball, among other feature films. The award will be presented at the third annual Canadian Screen Music Awards (CASMA) on Sept. 25 at the El Mocambo in Toronto.

 

WildBrain has struck an agreement with The Pokémon Company International to become the lone distributor of the single-IP Pokémon FAST (free ad-supported television) channel, starting in the U.S., followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The partnership will see WildBrain secure and launch new single-IP FAST channels with leading platforms across those regions for 22 seasons of the iconic original animated Pokémon series. WildBrain will also be selling select direct advertising inventory for the channels through its Media Solutions team. WildBrain has now launched more than 100 FAST channels for multiple brands and says since launching its FAST strategy, growth on its channels has jumped to 7.5 billion minutes watched in 2023, up from 502 million in 2019. 

Makwa Creative, HarperCollinsCanada and CBC are bringing Tanya Talaga’s The Knowing, to audiences this fall. The journalist, filmmaker, and award-winning Anishinaabe author is on a quest to find the truth of what happened to the women in her maternal family, revealing a story intertwined with Canada’s Indian Residential School system. The full four-part series will premiere Sept. 25 on CBC and CBC Gem, while the companion documentary series will make its World Premiere at TIFF on Sept. 12.

Jeremy and Jazzy, the music-driven CBC Kids Original helmed by JUNO-nominated singer-songwriter Jeremy Fisher (Jeremy) and Aiza Ntibarikure (Jazzy), debuts Sept. 2 on CBC Gem and the Jeremy and Jazzy YouTube channel. Season 2 features a new collection of children’s music, written by Fisher, with 70 new episodes launching this fall, including 28 two-minute episodes where every song becomes a story; a 30-minute Halloween special; a 30-minute holiday special; and 40 one-minute episodes of Playing With Stu, the brand’s first spinoff series about discovery and play, also debuting Sept. 2 on CBC Gem and Sept. 9 following Jeremy and Jazzy on CBC Kids. The Season 2 premiere guest stars Barenaked Ladies.

AMI+ is now accessible to Canadians on all Roku devices. Available with no subscription or sign-in required, AMI+ content includes documentaries and the series Postcards From…, Canadian Screen Award winner By Hook or By Cook, Adaptable Animals, Dish with Mary,  Healthy at Home with Bobbi Janzen, Level Playing Field, Mind Your Own Business and Our Community, among other programming. 

MTM has released updated data diving into the viewing habits of newcomers. Highlights from the Remote Control Revelations report include that over two in five newcomers (42%) have watched traditional TV in the past month, while 83% have watched some form of TV content (either paid TV service, off-air, or online TV content). In terms of online video, virtually all newcomers (99%) watch it monthly. While SVOD services such as Netflix are widely subscribed to by 86% of newcomers, paid TV services like cable, satellite, or fibre optic still attract nearly half (45%) of this audience. Newcomers are more likely to watch content in English than in any other language. Almost four in five newcomers (79%) have watched TV or video content in English in the past month, notably higher than the consumption of content in any other language, including French (10%), and Hindi (16%).

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

Castanet Media is expanding its presence in B.C.’s West Kootenays region with the acquisition of The Nelson Daily. The online outlet was established in 2014 in the wake of the closure of the community’s print newspaper, Nelson Daily News. Castanet will acquire the online publication on Sept. 1, establishing the company’s seventh newsroom, with The Nelson Daily website to be folded into Castanet’s soon-to-launch Kootenay edition. The Nelson branch will join Castanet offices in Kelowna, Kamloops, Vernon, Penticton, Osoyoos, and Salmon Arm.

Village Media has set an October launch date for TorontoToday.ca, its 26th local news site in Ontario. CEO Jeff Elgie wrote in a post to LinkedIn that the publication will be focused on the downtown core “with boots on the ground covering everything from breaking news to transportation, City Hall, housing, arts and culture, and more.” More specifically, TorontoToday will cover the community of about 300,000 from the Island on the south to Bloor on the north, Don Valley Parkway on the east and Bathurst on the West.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Unifor members at CTV Ottawa ratified a new three-year deal with their employer last week. The 25 members of Local 715-M work as Technical Production Coordinators/Directors, Multi-skilled Journalists, VTR Ingest Coordinator/Editors, Creator Services Producer/Editors and Electronic Graphic Artists. Unifor said given the state of the media industry, the biggest challenge in negotiations was obtaining wage increases, with conciliation required to achieve 2% annual increases. The gains include protection against job erosion due to the use of viewer social media content. There were also improvements to existing clothing allowances for outerwear. The contract expires Dec. 31, 2026.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) Whale Protection Unit, Fraser Coastal Detachment, has resulted in a hefty fine for Vancouver-based River Road Films and their drone operator for operating a drone too close to Northern Resident Killer Whales (NRKWs). On July 2, the company pleaded guilty to unlawfully capturing drone footage of NRKW activity by operating too close to a pod at a rubbing beach on Vancouver Island. River Road Films was fined $25,000 and prohibited from using or distributing the footage. The drone operator, Mathew Hood, was ordered to pay a fine of $5,000. Both the film company and the drone operator are first time offenders. This was the first time a fine has been issued in Canada for unlawful use of a drone to capture killer whale footage. Under Marine Mammal Regulations, it is illegal to approach marine mammals with an aerial drone at an altitude below 1,000 ft. and within a half nautical mile.

Jordan Michael Smith, a contributor to The New Republic and a Fellow at Columbia University’s Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights, has won the 2024 Dalton Camp Award for his essay A Synagogue and a Mosque, reflecting on the role of a healthy media sector amid divisive historical moments. The $10,000 prize for the best essay on the link between media and democracy, is presented annually by Friends of Canadian Media. A second prize of $2,500 for the best essay by a post-secondary student is awarded to Dana Cramer for When Youth Don’t See the News, a commentary on the hazards of restricting journalistic content on social media. Cramer is a PhD Candidate in the joint Communication & Culture program at Toronto Metropolitan and York Universities. The award was created in 2002 to honour the memory of public affairs commentator Dalton Camp. Winners were chosen from over 300 entries. The winning essays can be read here.

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

FEATURE: WABE President Tessa Potter is back from Paris 2024 and shares her behind-the-scenes takeaways from the Olympics. “The first one is IP technology for video is here to stay and is ready,” writes Potter. “Learning it, educating myself in it, and finding opportunities to work with it will be the challenge in the next five years of my career. It is not perfect, it is not easier, and it absolutely requires knowledge of video and audio and why we have certain workflows in media. Left to network engineers who think about traffic flow only and not quality control, the transition will be felt by viewers…The obvious tie-in for WABE, in my mind, is how important our educational programming and having speakers and ideas presented at our conference is.” Registration for WABE, September 23-25 in Edmonton, is still open. Read more here.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced that 11 investigations have been launched for 2024 in the lead-up to the Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 18. Those areas include: Character dental prosthetics; On-set tools for live compositing of virtual characters and environments; In-Camera Visual Effects rendering or playback engines; LED processors for In-Camera Visual Effects; Image-based lighting for CG rendering; Heat-protective gel for stunt performer safety; Artist-friendly tools for constructing anatomical character simulation setups; Final frame post process denoisers for CG rendering; Dynamic time alignment of multiple moving microphones; Stabilized multi-camera systems for capturing wide FOV plates; and Transportable six-degrees-of-freedom motion bases capable of supporting heavy loads. Individuals and companies with devices or claims of innovation within these areas can submit achievements for review, with the deadline to submit entries Sept. 5.