REVOLVING DOOR:
Chris Pearson, President of Acadia Broadcasting, has announced his transition to retirement, with Senior Vice-President Shelley Snodgrass to succeed him, effective Dec. 1. Pearson, who has spent nearly four decades with the company and held the role of president since 2016, will remain on in an advisory role to support the transition. He’ll also continue as President of the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) and continue to serve on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) CEO Radio Council. Based in Saint John, NB, Snodgrass has been with the company since 2016, holding roles including Vice-President, Sales. Read more here.
Tracey Connolly has been named Global Director of Broadcast Sales at Nautel, as longtime Senior Director of Broadcast Sales Wendell Lonergan retires after more than 47 years with the company. Based in Metro Halifax, Connolly’s sales background includes more than 17 years with Sysco in Atlantic Canada. Lonergan first joined Nautel in 1978 in research. Successive roles included Project Leader, Medium Wave Transmission, before being named Sales Manager, Middle East and North Africa in 2005. He’d been in his current role since 2012. Read more here.
Mike Crawley is headed to Washington, D.C. to cover the U.S. capital for CBC News. Crawley has been with the public broadcaster since 2005, initially as a reporter in Saint John, before joining the Toronto bureau where he’s been a Provincial Affairs reporter for the last 16 years.
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Damian Rickards (aka Mr. D), who recently announced his departure from JUMP! 106.9 (CKQB-FM) Ottawa, has joined 91.5 The Beat (CKBT-FM) Kitchener in middays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. weekdays. Rickards has previously done two separate stints hosting evenings on 91.5 The Beat.
Danger (aka Darren Grieve) is joining Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver on weekends. Grieve has been working with the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN) for the last decade, heard on Rogers Sports & Media’s NewsRadio 1130 (CKWX-AM), and was the host of ResurreXtion Radio on the former SONiC RADiO (CKKS-FM). He rejoins Corus Radio, where he was a host on CFOX for nearly a decade.
Brenden Escott is the new host of Edmonton Oilers hockey on CHED 880. Escott will be heard during the Face-Off Show, each intermission, and on Oilers Overtime, in addition to hosting Inside Sports weeknights from 6 – 8 p.m. He’s been with CHED since 2018, initially producing Oilers Now with Bob Stauffer.
Leah Camenzind is now Executive Director of the TELUS Fund, overseeing finance, operations and program design. With TELUS since 2017, she previously led the TELUS originals film program and co-founded the TELUS independent film program, stewarding the investment of over $15 million into the production of more than 100 social-purpose films and series. She succeeds Elizabeth Friesen, who has retired from the position after 12 years.
Jinny Howe has been named Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series at Netflix. She’ll succeed Peter Friedlander – one of the company’s longest-serving creative executives – who will be leaving the streamer after almost 14 years. Howe joined Netflix in 2018, holding the title of VP, Original Series, Drama, helping develop series like Bridgerton, Inventing Anna, The Night Agent and The Diplomat.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Harvard Media is introducing sports talk on Edmonton’s 95.7 CRUZ FM (CKEA-FM), starting Wednesday, Sept. 3. The Nielson Show, featuring Lt. Eric, will make its debut weekday mornings from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., with three hours of local sports talk, including “a heavy focus on the Oilers,” according to a company announcement. Hosted by Dustin Nielson, alongside Eric Holt, The Nielson Show has already built a following on YouTube via the Edmonton Sports Talk channel. The show, which will be simulcast, previously had a run on TSN 1260 Radio (CFRN-AM) in the market, prior to the station being shuttered by Bell Media in 2023. The new show replaces Cruz Mornings with Mark & Jess, hosted by the Harvard network personalities, who are also heard on play 92 (CHMX-FM) Regina, among other stations. Read more here.
The CRTC has rejected an application by Truth Broadcasting Network, owned by former Touch Canada Broadcasting CEO Allan Hunsperger, to take ownership and effective control of Christian music station, The Rock 98.5 (CJJC-FM) Yorkton, SK. In doing so, the commission also denied Truth’s request for a new broadcast licence to continue operation of the station, currently owned by station manager and majority owner Dennis Dyck, along with Scott Fitzsimmons, Dave Giesbrecht and Dwayne Kruger. In its decision, the commission said Truth had communicated it did not intend to adhere to the standard conditions of service applicable to commercial radio stations, without giving an explanation as to why it would not do so, nor proposing an alternative to the standard conditions.
Pro Bono Group has rolled out new creative for Feed Ontario, recognizing September as Hunger Action Month, a nationwide effort to raise awareness and take action against food insecurity. “Hunger Action Month” replaces all current spots for September, with new creative to be released for Oct. 2. Learn more here.
OnAirCoach’s RadioStar international radio talent search is back for an 8th year, with a focus on music radio presentation. Last year, Chris Ash from Winnipeg and Chris Steffler from Ontario added to the history of strong Canadian showings by placing 2nd and 8th overall. Entry is FREE and closes Sept. 1. Learn more here.
Lead Podcasting founder Amanda Cupido has announced dates for her 2025 book tour, with stops across southern Ontario, Montreal and New York City, including an exhibit at Canada’s largest literary festival, The Word On the Street, on Sept. 28. Aspiring podcasters of all ages will have the opportunity to meet Cupido and purchase signed copies of her two Amazon best-sellers: Let’s Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to Doing it Right and Let’s Talk Podcasting for Kids.
LISTEN: Pat Moran, host of Talking Buffalo, is on the Sound Off Podcast, discussing his journey in sports journalism, starting with a neighbourhood tabloid in the early 2000s. He covers the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, emphasizing the importance of credibility and trust in reporting. He also highlights mistakes in sports media, stressing the need for accuracy over speed, as well as the competitive landscape, national vs. local coverage, and the benefits of networking and partnerships, including his experience with indie podcast network, Blue Wire Network.
SIGN OFFS:
Harvey Glatt, 91, on Aug. 20. Glatt, a staple on the Ottawa music scene for six decades, got his feet wet in broadcasting as the all-night DJ on CFRA Ottawa in 1952 during summer vacation. While studying Business at Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, New York, he DJ’ed at the local campus radio station, also serving as sports director and doing play-by-play hockey broadcasts. Glatt went on to open Ottawa’s first stand-alone record store, The Treble Clef, in 1957, with his wife Louise. They subsequently became partners in Le Hibou Coffee House, where folk legends like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Bruce Cockburn played. Glatt later founded concert promotion business, Bass Clef Entertainment and Bytown Music Publishing. In 1976, he helped launch CHEZ 106, which he served as chairman of for 23 years. He went on to buy two more radio stations, CKIK Calgary and CJET Smiths Falls, selling all three to Rogers Communications in 1999. He was concurrently active on the boards of FACTOR and the Canadian Film Institute, among other organizations. Glatt was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Hall of Fame in 2007, received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013, and was named to the Order of Ottawa in 2022.
Tracey Robertson, 59, on Aug. 20. Originally hailing from Westbank, BC, Robertson was a graduate of Western University’s Master of Journalism program. Her broadcasting career included six years with CNN as a writer and producer, and a brief stint with Global TV as a producer, before she joined CTV behind-the-scenes for a decade. She went on to work with CBC Vancouver as a producer, starting in 2011.
Dan O’Connell, 72, on Aug. 19, in Antigonish, NS. O’Connell was a school teacher and worked in public relations, prior to his career in television news. He joined CBC Nova Scotia in 1989 as a Senior Editorial Assistant, moving into a reporter/editor role the following year. Among the big stories O’Connell covered was the Westray Mine Disaster, where he was one of the first reporters on the scene. He was recognized with an Atlantic Journalism Award for his work covering the tainted blood scandal, among other nominations over the years. He retired at the end of 2013.
TV & FILM:
WildBrain has announced it’s ending its broadcast channel business, including Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrainTV and Télémagino. The kids’ and family entertainment purveyor says following a recent CRTC decision finding WildBrain was not the subject of undue disadvantage from Rogers, the company has been unable to negotiate a new carriage agreement for the aforementioned channels. WildBrain says Rogers has subsequently informed them it intends to remove the channels from its distribution service in the coming months. As a result, WildBrain’s previously-announced $40 million deal to sell a majority stake in the channels to Halifax-based IoM Media Ventures will no longer go ahead. WildBrain says in combination with a decision by Bell to also remove the channels, it’s determined that side of its business is no longer commercially viable and plans to surrender its licenses to the CRTC. Read more here.
Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund (CMF), Indigenous Screen Office (ISO), and National Film Board (NFB) have announced a strategic partnership to harmonize the measurement and collection of audience data. Telefilm Executive Director Julie Roy told Broadcast Dialogue that the organizations will begin to analyze the tools they currently use for audience measurement to “map out” the scope of the collaboration. Read more here.
Alireza Khatami’s The Things You Kill will represent Canada in the nomination process for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards. Directed, written and produced by Khatami – a Canadian writer, director, and producer born into the Indigenous Khamse tribe in southeast Iran – the drama surrounds a university professor who solicits his gardener to seek vengeance after the suspicious death of his mother. Starring Ekin Koç, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Hazar Ergüçlü, and Ercan Kesal, the film had its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award. Read more here.
TIFF has shared the final list of honourees for the seventh annual TIFF Tribute Awards, Sept. 7, the fundraising gala that celebrates outstanding contributions to cinema. Award-winning actor, producer, director, and musician Idris Elba will receive the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media; Academy Award–winning artist Kazu Hiro will receive the TIFF Variety Artisan Award; German actor Nina Hoss and Hollywood star Channing Tatum will be presented with TIFF Tribute Performer Awards; Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi and Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk will receive TIFF Special Tribute Awards; while Canadian icon Catherine O’Hara will be honoured with the TIFF Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award.
AMPIA (Alberta Media Production Industries Association) has unveiled the nominees for the 2025 Rosie Awards. This year, 56 awards will be presented across Class and Craft categories, with a record-breaking 679 submissions received. The awards will be handed out in two separate ceremonies on Oct. 25 in Edmonton.
The Black Screen Office (BSO ) has opened applications for Round 5 of the Rogers-BSO Script Development Fund, administered by the Canadian Independent Screen Fund for BPOC Creators (CISF). The fund has grown significantly since its inception in 2021, supporting 60 French- and English-language projects across its first four rounds. Designed to advance the careers of Black and racialized writers, the deadline for submissions is Sept. 19.
Gender Equity in Media Society (GEMS), formerly Women in Film and Television Vancouver (WIFTV), has announced the participants for the 2024 Emerging TV Producers Program (ETVP), overseen by Program Director Milena Salazar. This year, in an effort to include other provinces underrepresented in the Canadian funding landscape, the program expanded beyond B.C. to applicants from Alberta and the Yukon. This year’s participants are Kelsey Andries (The Rage), Tamara Black (Pilled), Uga Carlini (The Man Manual), Lisa Genaille (The Deal), Jimpinu (New Roots), Irene Karas Loeper (The Last Resort), Naomi Mark (Last Bite), Panta Mosleh (Faking Halal), Felicia Simone (Dating App Chronicles), and Ching Yu (Earth Mama).
Lark Productions has announced that the third season of CBC original drama Allegiance (10×60) is currently shooting in-studio and on-location in and around B.C.’s Lower Mainland through the beginning of November. Set in Surrey, the police drama’s two leads – Supinder Wraich (Sort Of) and Enrico Colantoni (English Teacher) – were recognized with 2025 Canadian Screen Awards. Penny Gummerson (Cardinal, Trickster), who received the 2025 LEO Award for Best Screenwriting for Allegiance, and Ley Lukins (Coroner, Saving Hope, Lost Girl) together serve as Season 3 showrunners.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
Acadia Broadcasting has launched YourKenora.ca, a centralized destination for local news, community events, culture and live radio. The new online hub is supported by Q104 (CKQV-FM) Vermillion Bay and 89.5 The Lake (CJRL-FM) Kenora.
T.O. Webfest, celebrating short form digital storytelling and web-based content, has announced award nominees for its 2025 edition. Leading this year’s nominations is Discreet (produced by Patricia Blais, André Dupuy, Ian Quenneville, Jessica Bélanger-Pinard, Valérie Côté, Isabelle Gamelin, Marie-Alexandra Forget, Monique Lamoureux) from Quebec, earning an impressive 10 nods, followed closely by Paper Cuts (produced by Louis-Philippe Drolet, Louis Morissette, Mélanie Viau, Marie-Ève Jacques, Olivier Gaudet-Savard, Mylène Corbeil), with nine, and Denis Danger (produced by Julie Lavallée), with eight. Alberta’s So Dark the Sky (produced by Sara Corry, Kyle Thomas) also earned eight nominations. Award winners will be announced during the festival, Sept. 16-17, at Novotel Hotel on Esplanade in Toronto.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
CBC/Radio-Canada is headed to Federal Court to defend its refusal to disclose subscriber numbers for its CBC Gem streaming service. The Office of the Information Commissioner previously ordered the public broadcaster to disclose the number of paid subscribers to the service. A CBC spokesperson told The Canadian Press, it believes the information commission’s interpretation of the law is wrong.
Media Technology Monitor (MTM) has released Getting Reception – Trends in Cellphone Use, revealing that while cellular phone penetration in Canada has reached near-total saturation, significant trends are emerging in how Canadians use their devices and choose their providers. Key findings include that 95% of Canadians aged 18+ own a cellphone. Ownership is widespread across all age groups, even reaching six in seven Canadians, aged 65+. The iPhone dominates the Canadian market, with 58% of cellphone owners using one, double the share of the second-most popular brand, Samsung. MTM also found over 60% of Canadians use smartphones to watch online videos, consume online news, and listen to online audio. For activities like streaming audio and podcasts, the smartphone is the most-used device by a significant margin.
Unifor has awarded its highest honour, the Nelson Mandela Award, to the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) in recognition of media workers’ dangerous and unrelenting coverage of the conflict in Gaza. The award was presented to PJS President Naser Abubaker at Unifor’s Constitutional Convention in Vancouver. According to recent figures from the International Federation of Journalists, over 225 journalists and media workers have been killed since the start of the conflict – 212 of them Palestinian. Unifor continues to denounce and condemn the killing of journalists in Gaza, including the recent deaths of four Al Jazeera journalists and two freelancers.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
“‘Just come’ is quickly becoming one of the mottos I use most often when talking about this year’s WABE Media & Entertainment Technology Conference,” writes WABE President Tessa Potter in her president’s message ahead of the organization’s 75th anniversary event in Calgary, Sept. 29 – Oct. 1. “As we approach our 75th anniversary…just under 35 days away, there’s a sense of momentum, reflection, and welcome in the air. We’re ready to greet old friends and new at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre. Our full program is now live at wabe.ca. You’ll find a little bit of everything: broadcast, audio, video, film tech, AV, and more. Our exhibit hall will feature sales professionals, manufacturers, tech experts, and innovators. It’s the largest gathering in Canada for this type of cross-sector exchange.” Read more here.
SiriusXM and Maxar Space Systems have announced that the SXM-10 satellite has completed in-orbit testing and is now fully operational, following its successful launch by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in June. SXM-10 will help provide continuous reliable delivery of SiriusXM audio entertainment and information services. SXM-10 is the 11th high-powered, digital audio radio satellite built by Maxar for SiriusXM, constructed on the Maxar 1300 platform. More than 27 ft. tall, over 100 feet long with its solar arrays deployed, and weighing almost 6,600 kg at launch, it features a large unfurlable S-band reflector antenna, supplied by L3Harris, that enables SiriusXM programming to reach approximately 175 million SiriusXM-equipped vehicles on the road. SXM-10 is the second new satellite to commence service for SiriusXM in 2025 after SXM-9 in January. Maxar has also been commissioned to build the SXM-11 and -12 satellites, with launches expected in 2026 and 2027.
