Introducing our 2022 Canadian Radio Awards jury
ChiChi Liu started her career in radio in Taiwan as a program producer and marketing manager with International Community Radio Taipei (ICRT) and Kiss Radio, before assuming ownership of Burli Software in 2007 where she serves as President. Burli newsroom software is used by thousands of broadcast journalists in a dozen languages on desktops and mobile platforms in Europe, Africa, Asia, and across the Americas.
Randy Reid is a longtime media executive and currently General Manager of Toronto’s VIBE105® #1 for Hip Hop, R&B and The Culture (CHRY-FM). An award-winning expert in influencer-led media solutions, Reid is also the current President of the National Community Radio Association (NCRA) and CEO/Lead Strategist at VX3 Exchange – a socially driven producer of culturally integrated media content experiences.
Tamara Stanners is the co-founder and co-executive producer of the Squamish Constellation Festival. Her passion for supporting the development of emerging talent led her to a career in broadcasting that has spanned five decades. As Program Director, she helped launch Vancouver’s 102.7 the PEAK (CKPK-FM) and its Canadian Music Development Program, the PEAK Performance Project. She also co-hosted the JRFM (CJJR-FM) morning show and worked on-air at the legendary LG73, after starting her career as Dusty Rhodes at CISN FM in her hometown of Edmonton. On the TV side, she’s hosted on CMT (Country Music Television) and anchored news at every station in Vancouver, except Global, which she now counts among her voiceover clients. Stanners’ bustling voiceover business includes work across TV, radio, and documentaries, as well as two podcasts for Everything Podcasts.
Jean-Marie Heimrath is best known for his leadership as President of Standard Broadcasting’s Sound Source Networks and more recently President & CEO of TPX (The Podcast Exchange), a Canadian trailblazer in the podcast monetization space. Founding TPX followed a more than four-decade career that started in the music industry as a Promotions Manager for Island & Daffodil Records. Gigs with Capitol, Arista, Polygram, and MCA Music Canada followed, before Heimrath transitioned into broadcasting as the Communications and Promotions Director for Telemedia and CJCL Radio. He went on to hold numerous executive positions with Standard Broadcasting. He concurrently was a founder and partner in Toronto’s Clear Channel Group for 35 years, later going on to serve as president of audio licensing and distribution company, SparkNetworks.
Brother Jake Edwards has had a more than four-decade radio career that included stops at Q104 (CFRQ-FM) Halifax, 92 CITI FM and 97 Kiss FM(CKIS-FM) Winnipeg, and Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto, before becoming the morning show ratings leader at Vancouver’s Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) for 17 years. “Bro Jake” went on to host the morning show at TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) Vancouver where he retired in 2019, the same year he was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.
Nancy Brown Dacko is President of Direct Media Sales, the business development arm of Target Broadcast Sales of Toronto, as well as strategic consultant for Birchall and Associates public relations agency in Oakville, ON. A native of London, ON, Nancy embarked upon her career in sales and marketing at CJBK London. She moved to Toronto in 1984 to join CFGM where she was promoted to General Sales Manager, and then moved to Q107 as Director of Business Development. In 1993, she joined The Weather Network in a similar role. She went on to join the executive team that launched Shop TV Canada in 1997, a division of Torstar Media Group. For the past decade, she’s also served as the Steering Committee Chair for Radio Trailblazers, a Canadian volunteer organization that celebrates and supports women in radio through education, inspiration, and mentorship.
Jeff Rechner, now a voiceover actor based out of Los Angeles with a long list of credits, started his career in radio with stops at stations throughout Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia, including CHAB 800 Moose Jaw, 630 CHED Edmonton, and CFOX and LG73 in Vancouver, in addition to serving as the afternoon host on the original JACK FM (CJAX-FM). He was also the first morning host on Tokyo’s first-ever foreign language station, InterFM.
Rob Braide, a life long Montréalais and proud Anglo-Québécois, grew up in Westmount and attended Westmount High and Dawson College, getting his feet wet in radio at Carleton University campus station, CKCU-FM. He landed his first radio job at CHOM-FM and never looked back. A long career in broadcasting saw him manage CJAD, CHOM and Mix 96 (CJFM-FM), and hold executive roles work with Astral Media and Stingray. Braide was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Hall of Fame in 2008 and the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame in 2009. He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Calgary’s Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre.
Connie Thiessen has been the editor of Broadcast Dialogue and the host of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast since 2018. A 25-year journalist, she started her career with Golden West Broadcasting’s Radio Southern Manitoba network, moving on to reporting, hosting and editor roles with CFCW Edmonton, CKNW Vancouver, News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver, CBC Halifax, and News 95.7 (CJNI-FM) Halifax, where as morning editor she led the team to a regional RTDNA and Atlantic Journalism Award. She was a nominee for Music Journalist of the Year at Canadian Music Week in 2019.
Read more about this year’s jury here. Submissions are open until Monday, Oct. 17. Looking for tips on how to submit an entry that will make an impact with the jury? On the latest episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, our editor Connie Thiessen and Canadian Radio Awards administrator James Wallace answer your questions and offer suggestions on how to submit a winning entry.
REVOLVING DOOR:
Suhana Meharchand has retired from CBC after 36 years with the public broadcaster. Meharchand started her career at CHCH-TV Hamilton and CBET Windsor before moving on to CTV affiliate CJOH-TV Ottawa. She joined CBC in 1987, starting as the host and producer of What’s New, a national current affairs program for youth. She went on to anchor the Saturday Evening News for Toronto-London-Windsor and then the CBC Evening News at CBC Toronto. Following its cancellation in 2000, Meharchand moved on to anchor on CBC Newsworld and host Saturday Report. She’d most recently been hosting CBC News Now on CBC News Network.
Evan Solomon has been named the new publisher of GZERO Media, a global affairs news site and subsidiary of New York City-headquartered political risk analysis firm, Eurasia Group. Solomon will also serve as a member of the Management Committee of Eurasia Group. The veteran political journalist has most recently been hosting the nationally syndicated “Evan Solomon Show” on the iHeartRadio/Bell Media talk radio network, in addition to hosting CTV News Channel nightly political program “Power Play” and “Question Period.” Solomon will continue to serve as a special correspondent for the network with a focus on Canadian politics and global affairs. He’ll be based in the company’s New York City office. Read more here.
Terrie Tweddle has returned to Rogers Communications as SVP Communications & Sustainability, the role she previously held before joining the Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan as Global Head of Marketing & Communications in late 2020. Tweddle was previously with Rogers for 12 years, the first eight as Vice-President, Communications & Social Media before being promoted to the SVP role in 2016. Prior to that, she held senior roles at Sunlife and Visa Canada.
Amanda Connolly is taking on a new role as Managing Editor of Politics & Breaking News for Global News. An online political reporter for the last five years, she’ll continue to be based in Ottawa.
Jessica Ng is the new host of CBC Radio One Edmonton afternoon show, Radio Active. Longtime CBC Edmonton reporter Min Dhariwal also joins the program as its traffic reporter. Ng was previously an anchor and newsreader on Ontario Morning and Fresh Air and has done fill-in hosting and producing on World This Hour. Radio Active was previously hosted by Adrienne Pan, who passed away in January at age 43. Rod Kurtz, the show’s former traffic reporter, had been filling in, but retired at the end of September.
Kristy Snell is taking a year-long leave of absence from CBC Montreal to begin a one-year appointment as a Journalist-in-Residence at Concordia University teaching and working on a project focused on Indigenous Education. Shawn Lyons will be filling in for Snell on CBC Montreal morning newscasts.
John Lu is returning home to Winnipeg as the host of the Winnipeg Jets on TSN and Winnipeg Bureau reporter. Lu has been with the network since 2000 and had been covering the Montréal Canadiens since 2007.
.@DanRTSN started off tonight’s #NHLJets broadcast by introducing himself as the new full-time voice of Winnipeg Jets on TSN pic.twitter.com/799JIW3lRw
— Winnipeg Sports Talk (@SportsTalkWPG) September 26, 2022
Dan Robertson is the new full-time voice of the Winnipeg Jets on TSN, succeeding the now retired Dennis Beyak who held the role for 11 seasons. Robertson has spent the last eight seasons as the English play-by-play radio broadcaster for TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) covering the Montreal Canadiens. Hailing from Trenton, NS, he was previously a sports producer for EastLink Community TV, covering Atlantic University Sport and handling play-by-play for the QMJHL Halifax Mooseheads.
George Rusic has moved from Toronto to Calgary with Sportsnet to host the Big Show with Rusic and Rose in the morning time slot on Sportsnet 960 (CFAC-AM) as part of a revamped fall lineup. Rusic will also host sports betting show, Inside the Lines, airing Sunday mornings on Sportsnet 960, Sportsnet the Fan 590 (CJCL-FM) Toronto, and Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM) Vancouver. Sportsnet 960 is also debuting Hockey Central 960 in the 1 p.m. MT time slot, Tuesdays to Fridays, hosted by The Athletic’s Hailey Salvian.
Good morning from @GlobalBC 👋🏼 pic.twitter.com/adbdNFx9vt
— Sonia Sunger (@SoniaSunger) October 4, 2022
Sonia Sunger has returned to the Global BC anchor desk. Sunger comes back from an extended maternity leave that began in March 2020.
Randi-Marie Adams is joining Global Okanagan as a video journalist. Adams arrives in Kelowna from Prince George where she’d held the same role with Pattison Media CKPG-TV since early 2021. Prior to that, she was with Bell Media’s CJDC in Dawson Creek, BC.
Alana Pickrell has left CTV News Northern Ontario for CTV Atlantic where she’s now a video journalist, based in Moncton. Pickrell had been with CTV, based in Sudbury, since early 2020. Prior to that, she was a VJ and weekend anchor for TBT News in Thunder Bay.
Stephanie Swensrude is leaving CFJC-TV Kamloops after just 10 months to return home to Edmonton and Global News as a reporter. Swensrude is a 2021 NAIT Radio & Television grad.
Jesse Brown, the publisher of Canadaland, has announced he’s stepping down as Editor-in-Chief. Brown, who founded the news site and podcast network in 2013, has posted for the organization’s top editorial role, saying “for years now my job at Canadaland has been podcast host/reporter/publisher/editor-in-chief. It’s a bit much.”
Danger (aka Darren Grieve) has a new show on SONiC RADiO (CKKS-FM) Vancouver as host of RessureXtion Radio Sundays, airing from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Grieve also serves as an airborne traffic reporter for Rogers’ CityNews stations in Vancouver. SONiC Morning Show Producer Andrew Berridge also joins the lineup Sunday nights at 9 p.m. with the New Music Discovery Show.
Mira Laurence is the new co-host of the Ocean 98.5 (CIOC-FM) morning show, alongside AJ Cruze, starting Oct. 14. Laurence was most recently a rinkside Vancouver Canucks reporter for Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM) Vancouver. She’s best known for her 14 years with CTV Vancouver Island where she was a host and reporter.
Heather Prosak has joined Evanov Communications’ HOT 100.5 (CFJL-FM) Winnipeg in middays. Program Director Adam West was formerly heard in the time slot. Prosak was the former Program Director and morning show host at Stingray’s XL 103 (CFXL-FM) Calgary, up until parting ways with the station in April to launch Knowledge Media.
John Kennedy has left Klondike Broadcasting to join The Canadian Press (CP) in Toronto as a reporter/editor. Kennedy, a 2018 Humber College grad, had been a reporter and anchor with 96.1 The Rush (CKRW-FM) Whitehorse for the last four years.
Jamie Chisholm is Acadia Broadcasting’s new Director of Digital Marketing for New Brunswick. Chisholm has been with Acadia since 2019, serving as the Sales Director of its Huddle.Today platform. Acadia says he’ll continue to support those customers, while helping new customers assess their marketing needs to complement existing radio campaigns with digital offerings. Prior to joining Acadia, Chisholm had a 16-year sales career with Xerox.
Vanessa Webster has left radio to join Linamar Corporation in Guelph as an apprentice electrician. A 2019 Humber College Radio grad, Webster had been working as a creative writer and producer with Byrnes Communications’ The River 105.1 (CJED-FM) and 101.1 More FM (CFLZ-FM) Niagara, as well as 104.7 Heart FM (CIHR-FM) Woodstock for the past few years.
Tammy Frick, the longtime Executive Director of Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, will take on the role of CEO of The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (the Canadian Academy), effective Oct. 31. Frick succeeds Beth Janson who left the organization in April. Frick is also a founding member of Music and Film in Motion (MFM), which transitioned to Cultural Industries Ontario North (CION) in 2014, and where she has served a secondary role as Associate Executive Director. Louis Calabro, who has been serving as Interim CEO for the last six months, will return to his position as Vice President of Programming & Awards. Read more here.
Matthew Cowling has been named VP, Marketing & Growth for Paramount+, based in Toronto. Cowling had been Head of Marketing for Prime Video in Canada for the last year, following seven years at Bell Media where he had served as Director of Marketing. Cowling has also held senior marketing roles at The Weather Network, CBC, and Universal Music Group in Australia.
Lisa Broadfoot has been appointed Vice-President, Industry and Business Affairs at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). She’ll join the association’s senior leadership team and play a strategic role leading business affairs support for CMPA members across project development, financing, production planning, sales, and business growth. Prior to joining the CMPA, Broadfoot oversaw production financing at Boat Rocker Media for its slate of kids and family, scripted, and animated productions, while negotiating production service agreements with clients like Nickelodeon, Spin Master, Mattel, and Netflix.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Unifor welcomes the 26 workers at CKWX-Vancouver (CityNews 1130 radio), which the #CIRB awarded certification this week! Thank you for joining us and we’re excited to fight for your rights as media workers.#savelocalnews pic.twitter.com/GMAbvHwc5G
— Unifor (@UniforTheUnion) September 30, 2022
CityNews 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver employees have unionized. Unifor Local 830-M will be overseeing workers at the Rogers station with the certification covering positions like the Legislative Reporter, Producers, and Anchors with talent agreements. The bargaining committee has been elected with Unifor’s National Representative Mark Cameron and Local 830-M President Tanya Luciani prepping for bargaining. CityNews television workers were already unionized under Unifor. “This is a big victory for radio workers in Canada,” Unifor Media Director Randy Kitt told Broadcast Dialogue in an emailed statement. “Workers in the media sector see that collective bargaining is the answer to better work/life balance, fighting inflation and better working conditions. We look forward to fighting in their corner as they go into bargaining for their first contract.”
Radio Connects says AM/FM radio streaming is growing, according to the latest Radio On The Move 2022 data. It indicates that since 2020, streaming AM/FM via a digital device has increased by 6% to represent almost 15% of tuning by Canadians, 18+, with the use of smart speakers fuelling that growth. The report says streaming of AM/FM Radio continues to grow and is on equal footing with ad-supported Spotify.
LISTEN: Broadcast Dialogue publisher Shawn Smith is on the latest Sound Off Podcast talking about continuing the legacy of Canada’s broadcast publication of record, his recent acquisition of CARTT.ca and the Canadian Radio Awards. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here:
SIGN OFFS:
Mike Oldfield, 83, on Sept. 17, of lymphoma. Born in London, England, Oldfield grew up in North Bay, ON, starting his broadcast career at local TV station CKGN-TV in 1958 as a trainee audio operator, switcher, cameraman, director, producer and program host. He remained with CKGN-TV until 1962 when he moved on to Kitchener to work as a technician at CKCO-TV. Oldfield then joined CFTO-TV Toronto doing sound for many of the musical variety shows and remote broadcasts produced for the CTV Network. He eventually left Toronto for Vancouver and worked sound on several Hollywood movies shot in 1970 – The Grove, later released as A Name for Evil with Robert Culp and Samantha Eggar; The Return of Charlie Chan with Ross Martin, Leslie Neilson, Richard Haydn and Louise Sorrel and McCabe and Mrs. Miller with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie. He joined CBC Vancouver in 1971 as a temporary Film Sound Technician and then did a brief stint with BCTV before filling a permanent Film Sound position with CBC. He continued work there in film recording and sound effects until 1991 when the department was shuttered, moving on to oversee audio on the nightly newscasts from Studios 42 and 44. Oldfield retired in 1995.
TV & FILM:
MIPCOM Cannes Diversify TV Awards, dedicated to championing and promoting diversity and inclusion across the international television industry, will take place during MIPCOM on Oct. 19. Among the Canadian programs shortlisted are CBC’s Proud to Be Me, CBC/HBO Max series Sort Of, Radio-Canada’s Pour Toi Flora, and Quebecor/Club Illico’s Audrey’s Back.
Prime Video has announced the start of production on a new Canadian Amazon Original documentary based on the life and career of legendary Canadian children’s entertainer Ernie Coombs—or, as he is more commonly known, Mr. Dressup. The documentary celebrates the origins and history of one of Canada’s most beloved CBC children’s shows that entertained five generations. Release is set for 2023 exclusively on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide, followed by a broadcast window on CBC in Canada. The documentary will combine never-before-seen archival footage, interviews with series puppeteers and musicians, the Coombs family, and other notable Canadians, all sharing the impact the series had on them.
Sinking Ship Entertainment (SSE) is partnering with Swimsuit Competition – the production company led by Samantha Bee (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) and Kristen Everman – on Best Day Ever, a new children’s sketch comedy series created by Emmy-winning producer, director, writer Allana Harkin. The team will be taking the project to MIPCOM 2022. SSE says the single-camera, ensemble-driven show will follow a style more similar to adult-driven sketch shows like I Think You Should Leave and Key and Peele.
Canadian Geographic’s first feature documentary, Returning Home, is now available via Crave, CTV.ca and the CTV app. Returning Home follows Orange Shirt Day founder Phyllis Jack Webstad on a cathartic, nationwide educational tour, while back home in Secwepemc territory, her family struggles to deal with the multi-generational trauma of Canada’s residential school system. The documentary, shot during the pandemic amid one of the lowest salmon runs in recorded history, connects Canada’s colonial history with the plight of Pacific wild salmon in B.C.’s Fraser River.
TVO Original Documentary Beautiful Scars tells the story of a Canadian rock star who, after a lifetime of searching, finally discovers his true identity. Known for his bands Junkhouse and Blackie & the Rodeo Kings, Tom Wilson takes us on a journey of self-discovery from his secretive upbringing to his self-destructive music career and the shocking discovery of the lie he had been told his entire life. Based on Wilson’s bestselling memoir of the same name, Beautiful Scars exposes the incredible reality about Wilson’s biological family and ultimately leads to the discovery of his real identity as a Mohawk man. The doc premieres Oct. 31 on TVO, TVO Today and YouTube.
ONLINE & DIGITAL MEDIA:
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
Your @YouTube feed is uniquely yours. We want to keep it that way. #FixC11
Learn more➡️ https://t.co/iroyD6tLPG pic.twitter.com/LLpfJuFXp8
— Google Canada (@googlecanada) October 5, 2022
Google has launched an online campaign against Bill C-11 featuring the tag line “Keep YouTube Yours.” The campaign was launched Wednesday, one day after the company’s President of Global Affairs, Kent Walker, was in Ottawa to lobby government officials. In a blog post, YouTube Chief Product Officer Neil Mohan writes “what’s deeply concerning is that the current version of the Bill has the potential to disadvantage the Canadian creators who build their businesses on our platform, and change the personalized experience of millions of Canadians who visit YouTube every day.” Mohan says in its current form, Bill C-11 would require YouTube to manipulate its algorithm according to the CRTC’s priorities, rather than the interests of Canadian users. Google maintains that will put Canadian creators at a disadvantage as when users are recommended content that is not personally relevant, they react by tuning out, skipping the video, or even giving it a ‘thumbs down’.
BROADCAST TECH & ENGINEERING:
