The Weekly Briefing

REVOLVING DOOR:

Jon Erlichman

Jon Erlichman is stepping away from his anchor role on BNN Bloomberg to start “a new entrepreneurial journey.” His final turn on the desk will air Monday, Sept. 30. Beginning in the New Year, Erlichman will make frequent appearances on BNN Bloomberg, CTV News Channel and iHeartRadio as a financial commentator. Erlichman’s career with BNN Bloomberg began with the channel’s launch in 1999, when it was known as ROBTV. He moved to the U.S. in 2005 to work for Bloomberg Television and ABC News, before returning to Bell Media in 2016.

Lisa Grossi

Lisa Grossi has joined Warner Music Canada as Director, National Radio Promotion & Media Relations. Grossi arrives from Bell Media, where she served as the National Music Director for Virgin Radio & Move Radio, as well as Music Director & Assistant Program Director for CHUM 104.5 Toronto. 

Vinka Dubroja

Vinka Dubroja has joined Harvard Media as Director of Sales in Calgary. Set to join the company in early October, Dubroja has worked in Calgary media for three decades, most recently as General Manager at Stingray Calgary for 15 years, up until management restructuring last year. She’s also held sales roles with Standard Radio and Astral Media in the market. Read more here.

Brenden Escott

Brenden Escott is the new host of Inside Sports on 630 CHED Edmonton, airing weeknights from 6 – 8 p.m. MT. Escott had been the producer of Oilers Now since 2018 and regularly filled in as host, in addition to hosting the pre- and post-game Edmonton Elks broadcasts.

Bryn Griffiths

Bryn Griffiths is the new host of Edmonton Oilers hockey on 630 CHED, hosting pre- and post-game shows. Griffiths, who was formerly the Oilers’ Media and Community Relations Manager from 1997-2001, is also the host of 630 CHED Afternoons, from 2 to 5 p.m.

Alex Adams

Alex Adams has joined Sportsnet as a writer, covering the Ottawa Senators. Adams held a similar role with The Hockey News for the past year and contributes to Toronto Raptors fan podcast, Raptors Republic.

Justin Ling

Justin Ling has parted ways with Canadaland, where he’s been a longtime contributor and host, following assertions that publisher Jesse Brown heavily edited a Short Cuts interview with journalist Paris Marx for tone, removing references to Israel continuing “to bomb Gaza and kill so many people” and that Israel is engaging “in what many people are claiming is a genocide against the people of Gaza.” Ling asserted in a Substack post that “Jesse’s decision to remove them, particularly over my objections, is an editorial over-step and, I think, made because he simply disagrees with the allegations…The line was re-recorded and added back in after the episode was posted, but the damage is done. I absolutely despise the deluge of hate, often veering into antisemitism, that Jesse gets. But I also don’t believe Canadaland is a free and neutral place to discuss this issue in particular, given that Jesse — as publisher and owner — frequently imposes his editorial line on others’ work.”

Noor Azrieh

Noor Azrieh is succeeding Mattea Roach as host of Canadaland’s The Backbench podcast. Roach is now hosting new CBC Radio national literary program, Bookends with Mattea Roach. Azrieh has been working as a producer on the show, among other Canadaland podcasts, since 2022.

Zaira Reyes

Zaira Reyes has joined Vista Radio as Director of Human Resources. Reyes, who is based in Kelowna, arrives from The Sutherland Group of Companies, where she held a similar role. She’s also worked in HR at GNC, Heineken and British American Tobacco.

Katie Wilson

WildBrain has implemented a new leadership and team structure to drive its global distribution business and Canadian broadcast network, WildBrain Television. In its global distribution business, WildBrain has appointed Katie Wilson to the role of Vice President, Global Sales and Acquisitions. Based in Toronto and reporting to Kate Smith, Executive Vice President, Audience Engagement, Wilson will lead WildBrain’s team of content sales professionals, drive commercial and rights strategies, and oversee sales revenue as well as the management of transactional rights (EST) and sales in the U.S. She’ll also spearhead third-party content acquisitions and related production relationships. Formerly WildBrain’s VP, Channels and Global Acquisitions, Wilson has been with the company since 2020. Darcee McCartney is promoted to Director, Sales, reporting to Wilson, while Rachel Julkowski is promoted to Sales Manager, reporting to McCartney.

RADIO & PODCAST:

Evanov Communications (ECI) has found a buyer for its Ottawa FM station slated for closure. Torres Media Group has reached an agreement to acquire the assets of CJWL-FM, currently operating as Lite 98.5, pending CRTC approval. Torres already operates Rebel 101.7 (CIDG-FM) in the market, which carries a mainstream Rock format. CJWL-FM would be the company’s fifth radio property. ECI announced last week it had found a buyer for CHRC-FM Clarence-Rockland and CKHK-FM Hawkesbury – two of the three Ontario FM stations it had planned to close this month. Read more here.

Stingray is moving away from airing 24/7 news/talk programming on Kamloops, BC heritage station, CHNL. The network says going forward the AM station will now include a mix of music focused in the Classic Hits variety genre, in addition to news, sports, and community information to ensure its long-term viability. Stingray Radio President Steve Jones told Broadcast Dialogue that four staff members were impacted in news and programming. Jones said CHNL will retain a three-person newsroom and continue to provide frequent local news updates. Read more here.

CRTCThe CRTC will hold a hearing in Yellowknife, NWT on Feb. 11 to consider two applications for new radio stations, one by online broadcaster and publisher Cabin Radio, which is seeking a commercial broadcast licence, and the other from Vista Radio, which is proposing to introduce a Hot AC format, with live morning and afternoon drive shows. Vista operates the lone commercial station in the market, the Classic Hits-driven 100.1 True North (CJCD-FM). The deadline for comments is Oct. 21.

A Day to Listen returns to Canadian radio on Monday, Sept. 30, in recognition of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Produced by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund (DWF), in partnership with Orbyt Media, the 12-hour broadcast will air on more than 600 radio stations from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time). This year, Winnipeg-based radio host, producer, and writer Kim Wheeler takes the helm of the broadcast, joined by singer-songwriter Julian Taylor and Six Nations poet and media producer January Rogers. The theme for this year, the fourth incarnation of the broadcast, is All My Relations, focusing on the Indigenous worldview that all things are interconnected. Read more here.

Julie Brown

WAVE 98.3 (CIWV-FM) Vancouver personalities Tara Jean Stevens and Stirling Faux will host Project Hope on Oct. 11, a fundraiser for ALS research as they salute radio veteran “Downtown” Julie Brown. Brown, who started her radio career at Montreal’s CHOM-FM in the early 1970s, went on to be heard on CFMI-FM Vancouver and later CJAZ-FM and CKKS-FM in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. She was WAVE’s weekend host when the station launched in 2022. Brown, 79, received an ALS diagnosis this past year. She’s also known for performing as part of jazz vocal trio, The Hot Mammas

Jack Miller

MILESTONE: Jack Miller is celebrating 50 years with Quinte Broadcasting. The longtime sports director has been with the company’s stations in Belleville, ON, including CJBQ, MIX 97 (CIGL-FM), and ROCK 107 (CJTN-FM), since 1974, starting as the afternoon drive announcer on CJBQ. The voice of the local AHL affiliate, Belleville Senators, the broadcast booth at CAA Arena bears Miller’s name.

Stingray Karaoke is launching in Ford vehicles – starting with the all-electric F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E models, to be followed by vehicles with the Ford and Lincoln Digital Experience. The experience was developed in collaboration between the Stingray and Ford engineering teams and allows passengers to use their smartphone to scan the QR code and control the karaoke experience from their phone without having to login to an app. The app will roll out via a Ford software update first to eligible owners in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. Owners need an active Ford or Lincoln Premium Connectivity plan or be connected to wi-fi for access.

LISTEN: Leslie Scott is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. Her first appearance since 2016 when she was the PD for 107.7 The End in Seattle, since then she’s taken on a few more stations, been elevated to overseeing programming of Audacy’s streaming-only channels…and like so many people in radio, been restructured out of a job. For the most part, her values remain the same: radio and digital should be friends, not enemies; radio stations need to focus on curating personalities above all else; and the youngest generation is a giant well of untapped potential listeners who should be catered to. Her and Matt Cundill also discuss women’s progress in the radio industry, or rather, its stagnation in recent years.

TV & FILM:

Anthem Sports & Entertainment has reached an agreement to acquire Hollywood Suite, pending CRTC approval. Launched in 2011, its film-focused 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s channels are available in over 10 million homes. Anthem – which has offices and studios in Toronto, Los Angeles, Denver, Nashville, New York, and Cleveland – says Hollywood Suite’s ability to satisfy both traditional linear viewers and on-demand focused digital viewers is a shared strategy that aligns with its Game TV, Game+, Fight Network and AXS TV channels. Hollywood Suite joins Anthem’s other cinematic offerings, film distribution house Gravitas Ventures, and U.S. film cable channel HDNET MOVIES. Hollywood Suite President and Co-Founder David Kines will continue to manage the business. Read more here.

Netflix has confirmed it’s pulling back on its film and television training and development programs in Canada, citing mandated CRTC contributions under the Online Streaming Act. According to the streaming giant, it’s invested more than $25 million in training and development in Canada since 2017, including initiatives ranging from the Pacific Screenwriting Program, to a short documentary effort with Hot Docs, and a five-year partnership with the Canadian Film Centre (CFC) aimed at supporting Canadian talent. A Netflix spokesperson told Broadcast Dialogue that following the CRTC’s decision to require online streaming services to contribute five per cent of their Canadian revenues to support the Canadian broadcasting system, it will now no longer be able to continue that investment. Read more here.

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has unveiled the 2024 DGC Awards nominees for Feature Film, Documentary and Short Film. Newfoundland-set drama Sweet Angel Baby – which premiered at TIFF and screened as the Atlantic gala at the Atlantic International Film Festival (AIFF) – heads into the awards with a leading three nominations in the film categories, including Best Sound Editing and Best Production Design, in addition to director Melanie Oates being among those up for the Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award. The Queen of My Dreams, Queen of Bones, Disco’s Revenge, Code 8 Part II, We Forgot to Break Up, and The Silent Planet also received multiple nominations. Winners will be announced and presented online on Monday, Oct. 28. Read more here.

Cameron Bailey

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey will receive the Visionary Award at The Black Academy’s Legacy Awards. Bailey joins previously announced recipients Kardinal Offishall and Weyni Mengesha. Hosted by Adrian Holmes, The Legacy Awards broadcast live on CBC and CBC Gem on Sunday, Sept. 29. 

The Canadian Academy is now accepting entries for the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards in film, television and digital media. The Eligibility Period for Television & Digital Media categories (excluding News & Sports) is Sept. 1, 2023 to Nov. 15, 2024, with News & Sports entries broadcast from Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024 eligible. The Eligibility Period for Film is Jan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025. 

Spindle Films Foundation has announced the results of their inaugural research report, highlighting the current state of the trans, non-binary, and gender diverse experiences in the Canadian film industry. The report found that 63% of respondents have taken actions to delay or conceal their gender identity due to the risk of adverse experiences at work. Supporting this, 53% of respondents reported having adverse experiences during their last on-set experience. Based on the research survey’s findings, conducted from mid-2023 through to 2024, the foundation is recommending best practices, including quality health insurance covering gender-affirming care in Canadian film unions, gender equity in hiring that acknowledges identities outside the binary, a pronoun policy for all cast and crew on call sheets, gender diversity education for production members, paperwork care when dealing with chosen vs. legal names, gender neutral bathrooms, and a policy for addressing harm.

TVO may face legal action from the producers of the documentary Russians at War for pulling support for the controversial documentary. A letter addressed to the Ontario public broadcaster’s board and management demands that the network immediately reinstate its commitment to air the doc or allow the filmmakers to license the film to another broadcaster or streamer. Directed by Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova, who embedded with Russian soldiers on their way to the front line in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress is among the organizations who have accused the film of spreading Russian propaganda. TIFF, where the documentary had its North American premiere this month, paused screenings amid the controversy.

Prime Video has unveiled the roster of hosts, play-by-play announcers, analysts and reporters who will helm its inaugural season of Prime Monday Night Hockey and NHL Coast to Coast. Prime Monday Night Hockey will see the streaming service air regular season Monday night NHL games in English, beginning Monday, Oct. 14. For the 2024-25 NHL regular season, Prime Monday Night Hockey will feature 21 games hosted by Canadian teams and also include a 2024 Stanley Cup Final rematch between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 16. All games will be produced by Amazon and stream live as part of a Prime membership. Prime Monday Night Hockey will feature a rotating team of on-air talent led by veteran play-by-play announcer John Forslund, alongside analysts Jody Shelley, Thomas Hickey, and Shane Hnidy. Anchoring the Prime Monday Night sports desk from on-site will be Adnan Virk, Andi Petrillo, analyst Blake Bolden, and a mix of local guests throughout the season. Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier will be a contributor. Read more here.

Sportsnet has announced the 2024-25 NHL broadcast schedules for the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, in addition to streaming and Sportsnet Radio Network coverage details. Find this year’s play-by-play and analyst roster here.

CBC has expanded its free ad-supported streaming portfolio with the launch of CBC Heartland and CBC Murdoch Mysteries FAST channels featuring 17 seasons each of the long-running series. Available now on CBC Gem and launching on connected TV platforms in the coming months, the channels join CBC Comedy, CBC News Explore, CBC News BC, and CBC News Toronto. As previously announced, the public broadcaster is planning to aggressively expand its FAST portfolio later this fall with the launch of 12 new local CBC News FAST channels focused on providing on-demand news for Calgary, Edmonton, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Ottawa, P.E.I., Quebec, Saskatchewan, Windsor, and the North. Read more here.

Lark Productions and CBC have announced that Season 2 of police drama Allegiance (10×60) is currently shooting in B.C.’s Lower Mainland through early December. Premiering this winter, Allegiance was CBC’s most-watched new series of the 2023-24 season. The police drama, set in Surrey, B.C., is a CBC Original series from Lark Productions in association with Universal International Studios, starring Supinder Wraich (Sort Of) and Enrico Colantoni (English Teacher). Season 2 welcomes Samer Salem (The Expanse, The Boys) to the ensemble cast as a series regular. Showrunners Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern (Flashpoint, X Company) also return.

CTV original comedy Children Ruin Everything returns for its fourth season, airing Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT, beginning Oct. 17. Season 4 consists of 16 half-hour episodes, with the first eight episodes airing this fall. Guest stars include Scott Thompson, Carolyn Taylor, Colin Mochrie, and David Cronenberg, with Bruce McCulloch and Anna Hopkins returning to reprise their guest roles

Hollywood Suite’s 2024 Shocktober line-up starts airing Oct. 1. The month-long ghoul fest includes the broadcast premiere of R.L. Stine’s Zombie Town, featuring Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. Additional Shocktober premieres include new restorations of Canadian creepers like Richard Loncraine cult classic The Haunting of Julia (1973) starring Mia Farrow, William Fruet’s Funeral Home (1981), as well as Evil Dead fan documentary Hail to the Deadites. The second season of Hollywood Suite original series Cinema A to Z will also kick off with its premiere episode Serial Killers on Oct. 10, exploring 26 portrayals of murderers on film from American Psycho to Zodiac.

T+E’s Creep Week programming lineup, Oct. 4-14, includes the Canadian series premiere of Uncanny (Oct. 4) and a new season of Paranormal: Caught on Camera (Oct. 6), in addition to new episodes of Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted, My Haunted Hometown and The Proof is Out There, hosted by Tony Harris. T+E is currently in free preview until Nov. 3. 

Go Button Media has announced a new slate deal with international factual distributor and producer Autentic and Super Channel. The collaboration includes delivery of six series, each six hours’ duration, over the next three years. Autentic will handle the titles’ global distribution outside of Canada. Go Button says the agreement, created within the current challenging climate, encourages cost efficiencies in production and operations while ensuring the budget stays on screen, guaranteeing an effective and creative pipeline to all three partners. The first greenlit title is Secrets of Ancient Structures (6 x 60’), which will take viewers across time to examine building achievements by ancient civilizations.

The Competition Tribunal has ruled in favour of the Competition Bureau, finding that Cineplex engaged in drip pricing by adding a mandatory $1.50 online booking fee. The Tribunal determined misleading representations on Cineplex’s website and mobile app constituted drip pricing and that consumers were deceived by incomplete information on Cineplex’s tickets page. As part of its ruling, the Tribunal ordered Cineplex to pay a financial penalty of over $38.9 million dollars and legal costs, equivalent to the amount it collected from consumers from the introduction of the online booking fee in June 2022 until December 2023. Cineplex says it plans to appeal the decision.

ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:

LISTEN: Village Media is getting into the business of social networking with the upcoming launch of Spaces, the digital publisher’s localized community social platform that aims to give users a place to gather to discuss shared topics of interest from local sports to community history. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, Spaces Community Manager Lacy Atalick makes her podcast debut, talking about how Village Media plans to keep the toxicity that’s been the downfall of other platforms out of Spaces, and their mission to chase authentic community engagement.

T.O. Webfest, held Sept. 17-18, has presented its annual awards celebrating the short form or web series industry in Canada. The Best Series Grand Prize went to Get Up, Aisha, produced by Toronto’s Jonas Diamond, Marushka Jessica Almeida, Nisha Khan & Rabiya Mansoor and streamed on CBC Gem. Les météorites, produced by Quebec’s Mylène Augustin, won Best Drama, while Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror went to Space Janitors (Season 4), produced by Davin Lengyel, Brendan Halloran & Mark De Angelis. Best Comedy Series went to Stories from my Gay Grandparents, created by Scott Farley and Perrie Voss. In the Next Up! Live Pitch Competition, Isabella Shibuta won for her series in development, Alice is Asian. Find the full list of winners here

Instagram will lead social media growth for the decade, according to a forecast from Statista Market Insights. While TikTok has led user growth for the past four years with its user base skyrocketing by 202% between 2019 and 2023, four times more than Instagram, the report says TikTok is about to see a significant slowdown in user growth. The forecast suggests Instagram’s global user base will grow by roughly 250 million or 17.8% in the next five years, followed closely by Facebook with a 17.1% growth rate and around 480 million new users. Snapchat ranked third, with a projected 15% growth and 95 million new users.

REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:

Jean La Rose & Tchadas Leo

RTDNA Canada is set to recognize former APTN CEO Jean La Rose and CHEK TV reporter Tchadas Leo as part of its 2024 awards program. La Rose has been leading Dadan Sivunivut since 2019, a holding company established by APTN to manage a number of its subsidiaries, including the ELMNT FM radio stations in Ottawa and Toronto. He’ll receive the RTDNA Canada President’s Award at its National Awards Gala on Nov. 2 in Toronto. Leo will receive the 2024 Emerging Journalist Award, awarded to a journalist who displays excellence in the coverage of enterprise journalism on a single topic, investigative reporting or continuing coverage of a beat or a major breaking and developing story. Read more here.

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has found CTV National News in breach surrounding the inaccuracy of a report in April on capital gains tax. The report from CTV National correspondent Heather Wright, which aired on the late night edition of the newscast on April 25, focused on changes announced in the federal budget that, for any capital gains over $250,000, two-thirds would be taxable. The first graphic used an example of a cottage sale, providing numbers erroneously labelled “taxes owed,” which it confused with “capital gains inclusion rate.” Viewers complained to the CBSC about the graphic’s inaccuracy, in addition to other aspects of the report. Read more here.

CBC/Radio-Canada’s news services have been re-certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). In external audits by the Alliance for Audited Media, both CBC News and Radio-Canada Info fulfilled certification requirements, which scrutinize a news service’s transparency and editorial practices. Launched by Reporters Without Borders in 2018 to combat disinformation and promote trustworthy journalism, CBC/Radio-Canada’s news services were the first Canadian broadcast media to earn JTI certification. The Winnipeg Free Press, France Télévisions, RTÉ News (Ireland) and SWI swissinfo.ch (a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation) are among other certified media.

Rebel News is still not eligible for journalism tax credits, following a judicial review in Federal Court. A judge upheld a previous Canada Revenue Agency decision that found the right-leaning media outlet doesn’t qualify because it doesn’t produce enough original content. Following Rebel News’ initial application in 2021, the CRA found that less than one per cent of the site’s content was original news. Justice Ann Marie McDonald’s review noted that the agency assessed 423 news reports from Rebel News, finding just 10 were original and the rest rewritten from other sources, not based in fact, or failed to include balanced perspectives.

The BC Association of Broadcasters (BCAB) Awards of Excellence are open to submissions on Oct. 1, encouraging member radio and TV stations to submit their best work across categories including Excellence in News Reporting, Best Podcast, and Best Commercial Creative. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 25. 

 

Jeanne Beker and Paul Hardy are co-curating the exhibition Obsession: The Unscripted Life of Jeanne Beker, which will debut at Glenbow in 2026 when the museum reopens at the JR Shaw Centre for Arts & Culture. (Image credit: Phil Crozier)

Jeanne Beker and designer Paul Hardy are co-curating upcoming Glenbow Museum exhibition Obsession: The Unscripted Life of Jeanne Beker. One of the feature exhibitions Glenbow visitors will experience when the Calgary museum reopens at the JR Shaw Centre for Arts & Culture in 2026, the exhibition will tell the story of Beker’s trailblazing career as a television personality, fashion and lifestyle journalist, editor, and interviewer, through her work as the host of Fashion Television, which aired for nearly three decades. Ahead of the biographical exhibition, Beker’s memoir, Heart on My Sleeve: Stories from a Life Well Worn, is set for release Oct. 8.

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) has announced Rana Ayyub, an investigative journalist from India and Global Opinions Writer at The Washington Post, as the recipient of one of two 2024 International Press Freedom Awards. Ayyub established her reputation for courageous reporting when she went undercover in 2010 to investigate the Indian government’s involvement in communal violence, defined as violence based on religion or race. Since then, she’s contributed to a wide range of publications, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Atlantic and Foreign Policy, filing on the persecution of minorities and state sanctioned violence. In 2016, she published best-selling book, Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover-up. Ayyub will accept the award at the CJFE Gala: A Night to Celebrate Courage in Journalism on Oct. 23 in Toronto.

Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong journalist, media publisher, and pro-democracy activist facing a potential life sentence, has won PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award. Lai, 76, who has been in solitary confinement since December 2020, is a UK citizen and former owner of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, once regarded as Hong Kong’s most prolific pro-democracy news outlet. Since his arrest in 2020, he has faced multiple unjust convictions, including a 13-month sentence for unauthorized assembly stemming from his brief appearance at a vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre. 

BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:

Ericsson and Concordia University have announced the expansion of their existing partnership, entering into a 10-year agreement focused on advancing research and education in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The new agreement builds on a longstanding research engagement since 2011. Through the enhanced partnership, Ericsson and Concordia will develop cutting-edge education programs and research initiatives at Concordia’s Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science. Students will gain direct access to Ericsson’s expertise and facilities, while both organizations collaborate to drive innovation across key ICT areas, including AI, cybersecurity, cloud and edge computing. The agreement also marks Ericsson’s first “Tier 1” university partnership in Canada – the highest level of collaboration between Ericsson and an academic institution.

The 2025 NAB Broadcast Engineering and IT (BEIT) Conference, part of NAB Show, April 5-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, is now accepting proposals for technical papers and panels. The NAB BEIT Conference is designed for broadcast engineers, technicians, technology managers, developers, contractors, equipment manufacturers, consultants and researchers. The event will address current and technical topics, with a forward-looking emphasis on the evolution of technology across radio, television, digital and the broader media and IT ecosystem. Submissions are required to fall under one of the conference focus areas: Broadcast Radio; Broadcast Television; Broadcast Facility Design; Digital Online Operations; Positioning, Navigation and Timing Via Broadcast Signals; Audio and Video Technology; Technical Regulatory Issues; Cybersecurity for Broadcasters; Generative AI; and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in Broadcasting. Proposals must be submitted by Nov. 8.

Google Labs’ Notebook LM has introduced “Audio Overview” functionality, which can turn any document into a podcast format. Billed as a personalized AI research assistant, Notebook LM is designed for students, who can upload course materials, with Gemini AI responding with citations, scripts, briefing docs, or FAQs highlighting the most relevant quotes or information. Its new audio functionality allows Notebook LM to generate an eerily conversational, two-person podcast, offering a summary of whatever information is uploaded. Our VP of Operations James Wallace fed it the contents of every Momentum Media web property and this was the result: