Broadcast Dialogue’s 2024 Canadian Radio Awards are open to submissions until Friday, Nov. 1. Haven’t submitted yet? Check out all of the categories across programming, on-air, engineering, sales & more, and listen to the winning audio from past years at CanadianRadioAwards.com. The awards are FREE TO ENTER, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and supporters.
REVOLVING DOOR:
Marie–Philippe Bouchard has been confirmed as CBC/Radio-Canada’s next President and CEO. Appointed for a five-year term, effective Jan. 3, Bouchard has served as President and CEO of francophone public broadcaster TV5 Québec Canada since 2016, overseeing the TV5 Unis channels and platforms. Prior to joining TV5, Bouchard held management and executive positions at CBC/Radio-Canada, most recently as Director General of Radio-Canada’s music services. Fluently bilingual, she’ll be the first francophone woman to serve as President and CEO. Read more here.
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Mark Carcasole is leaving Global News after 12 years as a reporter and anchor. Carcasole, who had been anchoring weekend news across the network since 2018, has yet to reveal his next move.
Drex has joined Local Radio Lab’s Indie88 (CIND-FM) Toronto, hosting live on weeknights from 6 – 10 p.m. ET. Drex was most recently co-hosting the JACK FM (CJAX-FM) Vancouver morning show, alongside Lena Schulman and Bob Addison, up until this past April when the show was a casualty of changes at Rogers Sports & Media.
Clayton Kroeker is the new morning show host at Saskatoon Media Group’s 92.9 The Bull (CKBL-FM) Saskatoon. Kroeker, who’ll be flying solo, leaves Creatorade Media where he’s been a digital content creator for the last eight months after parting ways with Harvard Media’s 96.3 CRUZ (CFWD-FM) last fall where he co-hosted Cruz Mornings with Stacie & Clayton. Kroeker formerly helmed afternoons on The Bull from 2013-17.
Chris Chreston has announced he’s leaving radio and 640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto after 16 years. Chreston first joined the station as a weekend producer in 2009, going on to produce for Bill Carroll and more recently Kelly Cutrara. He also hosted “The Producers,” alongside fellow producer Ryan Bonnar. Chreston is joining the City of Markham as a Senior Communications Advisor.
Dave Woodard is taking on the role of Supervising Producer, Audio at The Canadian Press (CP). Woodward was most recently heard anchoring on CHML Hamilton, up until this past August, and prior to that spent seven years with AM 640 (CFMJ-AM) Toronto.
Arfa Rana has announced her resignation from CBC News. Rana, who had been a London, ON-based reporter with the public broadcaster for the last year and a half, has published an op-ed in Mondoweiss titled “I resigned from Canada’s largest broadcasting corporation over its complicity in Israel’s genocide.”
David Ball has left CBC Vancouver after three years as a reporter and editor. Ball is returning to pursuing freelance editing, reporting, podcasting and photojournalism work.
Lexy Benedict is joining Global News Toronto as a reporter and videographer. Benedict had spent the last two years as a reporter with Global’s bureau in Durham, ON. Prior to that, she held roles with The Weather Network and CTV Barrie.
Janet Brown, who moved on from 980 CKNW Vancouver and Global BC after three decades earlier this fall, has announced she’s joined Surrey Urban Mission Society as Director of Communications. Brown was a 2021 RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient.
Kim Sullivan is joining APTN as the host and reporter for the network’s French-language news program. Sullivan departed Global News Montreal in September where she’d been a weather specialist and community reporter since 2016.
Amanda Wawryk has been named Editor-in-Chief at Daily Hive. Wawryk formerly held the title of Managing Editor, overseeing day-to-day editorial across the country. The former News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver anchor has been with Daily Hive since 2021.
Gave Lindo has joined Troveo AI as Chief Content Officer. Lindo, who left his role at TikTok in March as Head of Content Programming for North America, was previously Executive Director of OTT Programming at CBC.
Randene Neill won the Powell River-Sunshine Coast seat for the NDP in last weekend’s BC provincial election. The former Global BC anchor has most recently been a Communications Consultant for the BC Parks Foundation.
Robert Vroom is joining NFB as the new Producer with the Eastern Documentary Unit. Based in Montreal, he’ll work closely with anglophone directors and co-producers in the Montreal region and across Quebec to strengthen English-language non-fiction storytelling. Vroom has been working in the film and TV industry for over 25 years. After receiving his MFA from the American Film Institute, he immersed himself in television series, both scripted and documentary. After living in L.A. and Vancouver, he returned to his hometown of Montreal in 2012 to start his own production company, Vroom Productions. His feature film credits include Pat Kiely’s Three Night Stand and Another Kind of Wedding, Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum, and Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky’s You Can Live Forever.
Laura Jabalee Johnston has joined Toronto-based indie prodco Hitsby Entertainment as a Partner and Executive Producer, alongside Founder Andrew Morris. Johnston most recently served as General Manager of Find Your Fun, a Wizards of the Coast company, where she led the mobile-gaming studio and navigated the Canadian business unit through massive organizational change. Prior to that, she was Director of Business Affairs at Secret Location, driving the Emmy-winning studio’s integration into and subsequent spinoff from its parent companies, eOne and Hasbro. Hitsby is developing a slate of scripted comedy and drama series, with its debut scripted comedy series, The Squeaky Wheel: Canada, airing on AMI-tv.
Vanessa Walmsley has a new role at Vizrt as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). The company says Walmsley, who has been with Vizrt for six years, most recently as Global Head of Customer Success, has played a crucial role in driving customer success initiatives, ensuring strong alignment between commercial teams to shift to a customer-first focus.
RADIO & PODCAST:
Radio Connects has released Now Hear This, a new publication featuring a compilation of recently-released research from numerous sources, including Luminate, Signal Hill Insights, marketing strategist Mark Ritson, and Numeris. Among its core highlights are that incorporating live broadcast radio into a campaign significantly enhances business results, retention, brand association, mental availability, acquisition, and brand awareness. The report is designed to help advertisers and agency planners have a one-stop resource to find the support they need to use radio in the communication mix.
Grant Deme, an anchor and reporter at 88.1 myFM (CHLK-FM) Perth, ON, needs a new liver and is raising awareness for the living donor list in Ontario for himself and others in the same position. Critically ill with Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis for the last three years, Deme’s condition has worsened and he is now seeking a living liver donor with blood type O+ or O-.
boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto hosted its first-ever Behind the Vinyl LIVE this week, which featured Cyndi Lauper in conversation with boom morning show host Stu Jeffries in front of an audience of 500 listeners at The Phoenix Concert Theatre. The Behind the Vinyl podcast is now in its fourth season. The live episode will be released on the station’s YouTube channel next week.
The Canadian Podcast Awards (CPA) have opened nominations for their seventh annual celebration of Canadian podcasting. The awards saw record-breaking engagement last year with over 1,100 podcast professionals casting more than 2,400 votes across 585 nominated podcasts. Nominations are open until Friday, Nov. 1.
Triton Digital has released its Canada Podcast Ranker for September, reflecting the reporting period from Sept. 2 – 29. The Top 3 Canada originated English-language podcasts were Front Burner (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #1, The World This Hour (CBC/Radio-Canada) at #2, and The Current (CBC/Radio-Canada) climbing to #3. The top Canada originated French-language podcasts included Le Radiojournal (Radio Canada) at #1, La revue de presse de Paul Arcand (Cogeco Media) climbing to #2, and Mario Dumont (QUB) at #3. Top podcast debuts included Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard (Wondery Network), La revue de presse de Paul Arcand (Cogeco Media), Supernatural with Ashley Flowers (SiriusXM Podcast Network), and Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud (CBC/Radio Canada).
Curiouscast’s Bad Parents is back for a second season. Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto morning announcers Johnny Garbutt, Shawna Whalen, and Ryan Parker reunite for Season 2 in a new audio-video format, bringing their comedic banter, parenting insights and candid reactions to life with video of each episode now available on YouTube. With a combined total of seven kids ages four to 17, Ryan, Shawna, and Johnny share misadventures and parenting blunders, alongside special guests who are also just trying to keep things “on the rails.” New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Lead Podcasting founder Amanda Cupido is coming out with a second edition of her book, Let’s Talk Podcasting: The Essential Guide to Doing it Right. Featuring six new chapters and updates including fresh technology recommendations, best practices from notable shows and who to watch in the industry, Cupido will be interviewed by journalist Farah Nasser at a launch party at JOEY Young and Dundas in Toronto on Nov. 14. Cupido tells us that Broadcast Dialogue gets a shoutout in Part 5 of the new edition where she offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of hit Apple podcast, How to Fall Asleep Fast (which BD featured in June). The new forward is by Canada’s first-ever Survivor winner Erika Casupanan, host of the Happy to See Me podcast, who will also speak at the launch event.
Benztown Branding has announced the 2024 Benztown 50, its annual list of the top imaging voices in radio. Among the Canadians on the list are David Kaye, Amanda Madi, Erin Setch, and Lisa Keys.
LISTEN: Mary Anne Ivison joins Matt Cundill on the Sound Off Podcast to discuss the difficult transition and mental health challenges she faced after losing her job in 2021, and how she eventually found success in voiceover work and launching her own podcast “Let’s Take This Outside.” Ivison touches on the ups and downs of building a voiceover business, including the challenges of working with agents and the impact of AI on the industry, the freelance lifestyle and the need to manage expectations.
SIGN OFFS:
Dan Sys, 72, on Oct. 14, after a decade-long battle with cancer. The founding editor of the Canadian Radio News column, Sys began contributing to publications like Whites Radio Log as far back as the mid- to late 1960s, joining the International Radio Club of America (IRCA) around that time. In addition to his monthly summary of regulatory changes at Canadian radio stations, he operated a Facebook page for many years, up until Meta’s news ban in Canada which drove him to publish on RadioWest.ca. While his chosen career was that of a traditional mailman for Canada Post, radio was Sys’ passion. He was well-known for his collection of station memorabilia, and in particular stickers. He also held an interest in tracing long distance radio reception on AM.
Doug Saunders, 71, on Oct. 13, following a long illness. Originally from Kenora, Saunders arrived in Nova Scotia in 1972 where he spent the bulk of his four-decade radio and television career, initially joining CJCH Halifax and later Oldies 96 CHNS, where he hosted mornings. He joined CBC in 1973, and is arguably best known for anchoring sports, alongside news anchor Frank Cameron on “Maritimes Tonight,” in addition to covering Olympic, Commonwealth and Canada Games for CBC-TV nationally, among other events. Following his retirement from CBC in 1995, Saunders pursued his passion for harness racing. Already an owner, he operated a standardbred horse breeding farm in Middle Musquodoboit throughout the 1990s and went on to become general manager of Sydney’s Tartan Downs. In 2007, he reignited his interest in radio, becoming the first full-time morning show host at the launch of Glace Bay community station, The Coast 89.7 (CKOA-FM), in addition to hosting the “Juke Box Saturday Night” program. He retired from the station in 2014, but continued to call Glace Bay home for the last two decades of his life.
Rossi Cameron, on Oct. 6. Born in Markham, ON, Cameron spent her early years on Baffin Island, before the family relocated to Moosanee, ON and eventually Edmonton. She landed her first job in broadcasting at CJCA community radio in 1965 as a single mother of four, who had left an abusive marriage. Starting out in the accounting office as an admin assistant, Rossi landed a job at the Edmonton Journal in 1968, where she developed into a reporter with a keen sense of social justice and was an early ally of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. In the late 1960s and early ’70s, she began to shine a light on the impact of residential schools, racial discrimination, and social and economic inequity. She went on to pursue television news as the lone woman reporter in the CBC Edmonton newsroom, often pushing back against misogyny and sexism. Retiring with a reputation as a dogged investigative reporter, Cameron suffered a stroke in 2016 and worked to regain her speech.
TV & FILM:
The CRTC has approved the addition of Uvagut TV, a channel offered by the Nunavut Independent Television Network, to the basic TV package. Uvagut TV primarily offers programming in Inuktut. The CRTC received more than 5,000 comments from the public in support of the addition of an Inuit television service to the basic TV package. Uvagut TV will be included without increasing its maximum monthly fee of $25.
Bell Media has secured a content and licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution that will bring the USA Network and Oxygen True Crime cable channels to Canada for the first time. Starting Jan. 1, existing specialty channels Animal Planet, Discovery Science, and Discovery Velocity, will be rebranded as CTV Wild, CTV Nature, and CTV Speed, respectively. The moves follow the loss of the Canadian brand and content licensing rights for Warner Bros. Discovery specialty channels to Rogers Sports & Media. Programming from all five rebranded specialty channels is set to be available on linear television, and on demand on CTV.ca, the CTV app, and Bell Media’s Crave streaming service. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment has unveiled more programming details around the year-end launch of its rebranded Home Network and Flavour Network channels. As of Dec. 30, Flavour Network and Home Network will replace the current channel position of Food Network Canada and HGTV Canada, respectively. Corus Studios is currently at MIPCOM, presenting many of the titles for international distribution. Read more here.
Blue Ant Media has struck a multi-faceted partnership with Pluto TV, which includes the launch of two of its FAST channels, Love Nature and Homeful, and a multi-genre content licensing package for the free streaming platform in the U.S. later this fall. The deal marks the first Blue Ant FAST channel launch on Pluto TV in the U.S., expanding their existing channel partnership across Canada, the UK, Latam and EMEA for Homeful, HauntTV, NatureTime, Declassified, Love Pets and Total Crime; and significantly builds on their prior content licensing partnership in the U.S.
UBCP/ACTRA Award nominees are out. Laura Adkin’s Re: Uniting; western Calamity Jane; drama series Tracker and Surrey-shot, CBC cop drama Allegiance generated multiple performance nods. This year’s ceremony will take place at the Commodore Ballroom on Nov. 23.
ACTRA Alberta has announced the nominees for its upcoming awards on Nov. 2. Among the productions garnering multiple performance nominees are Fargo, Season 5; short thriller The Saint & the Bear; and MGM+ series Billy the Kid.
TSN has announced its broadcast schedule for the Toronto Raptors’ 2024-25 campaign. Regular season coverage begins Friday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. ET as the Raptors host former NBA MVP Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers. Schedule highlights include Vince Carter’s jersey retirement on Saturday, Nov. 2, as they host the Sacramento Kings; a homestand against Canadian Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Oct. 28; and both matchups against father-son duo LeBron and Bronny James and the LA Lakers. TSN’s television coverage is complemented by live radio broadcasts of 41 regular season games on TSN 1050 Toronto as play-by-play announcer Paul Jones is joined by analyst Jevohn Shepherd.
Crave has announced new, six-episode, one-hour crime drama Underbelly, starring Stephen Amell (Arrow), Hamza Haq (Transplant) and Minnie Driver (The Serpent Queen) as residents of a tranquil riverside town in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, who are caught up in a dark, twisted mystery centered around an international drug ring. Produced by Shaftesbury in partnership with Crave, and Fifth Season co-financing and handling worldwide rights (excl. Canada), Underbelly began filming in the Thousand Islands, and is continuing production on location across Southern Ontario, including Grimsby, Brantford, Cobourg, and Bowmanville. Filming will move to Toronto in the coming weeks.
CBC is bringing audiences a special double-length episode of This Hour Has 22 Minutes on Monday, Nov. 4. This Hour Has 22 Minutes Has 44 Minutes: A U.S. Election Special will showcase the U.S. election candidates, including their key policy positions, quirks and cons. The special features the 22 Minutes ensemble cast, including Aba Amuquandoh, Stacey McGunnigle, Trent McClellan, Chris Wilson and Mark Critch in-studio, as well as comedy news correspondents Dan Dillabough, Clare Belford and Abdullah Usman, as they criss-cross the U.S. to cover the major issues and antics.
CTV is serving up a new season of hit cooking competition series Masterchef Canada. Casting is open with production set to begin on the new 11-episode season in early 2025.
Pillango Productions and Aircraft Pictures have announced that coming-of-age series Gangnam Project (10×30) is set to return for a second season. The series, co-commissioned by CBC Kids and CBBC, recently wrapped production on Season 2 in Hamilton, ON and Seoul, South Korea. The 10-episode season follows the young stars from Season 1 as they transition from One Mile Entertainment trainees through the make-or-break journey of becoming professional K-pop idols. Season 1 acquisitions thus far include France Télévisions (France), ABC (Australia), YLE (Finland), TV3 Group (Baltics) and NRK (Norway).
Toronto Pearson Airport has announced a groundbreaking partnership with CP24 Toronto to provide passengers with daily operational updates, delivered live from the airport’s Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC). Pearson says the first-of-its-kind initiative in Canada underscores the airport’s commitment to transparency, modernization, and enhancing the overall travel experience. CP24 will broadcast real-time updates from Toronto Pearson every morning during its weekday morning program CP24 Breakfast, featuring key airport personnel discussing factors impacting travel, including weather conditions and operational events.
Prime Video and Simple Plan have announced an upcoming documentary chronicling the multi-platinum-selling Canadian band’s career as they tour the world in anticipation of their 25th anniversary. The untitled doc, which is currently in production with Sphere Media, was announced by lead singer Pierre Bouvier live on stage at the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas. The doc will launch globally on Prime Video in 2025, chronicling the formation of Simple Plan in Montreal in the late 1990s and their rise to global stardom. It will feature never-before-seen archival footage, along with new interviews with the band members and icons of the punk rock community including Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Avril Lavigne, Dexter Holland & Noodles (The Offspring) and Fat Mike (NoFX).
Eastlink has debuted two brand new Community TV documentary series as part of its fall premiere showcasing inspiring stories from successful local entrepreneurs and community heroes. Titans of Business, hosted by former CBC host, best selling author and CEO of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame, Bruce Rainnie, shares compelling stories and insights from successful local entrepreneurs who have made a significant impact on their communities. Showing Up with Nancy Regan, hosted by author, former news anchor and CTV Atlantic Live at 5 host, Nancy Regan, features inspiring stories of unsung heroes and local legends from across Nova Scotia who are making their communities and the world around them a better place. Both series premiered Wednesday on Eastlink Channel 10 and 610.
Crime Beat is back for a sixth season on Global News. Anchor, reporter and host Antony Robart and the Crime Beat team return with 26 new episodes, taking viewers deeper into some of Canada’s most infamous criminal cases. Season 6 premiered with Murder in the Mountains, an episode revisiting an infamous Banff murder in the 1990s, and new information about a break in the case. The episode, and several others this season, include reporting from Senior Crime Reporter Nancy Hixt, who also hosts the Crime Beat podcast. New episodes air every Friday at 10 p.m. ET/PT until December.
TELUS is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of TELUS originals and a decade of empowering independent Canadian and Indigenous filmmakers to create social-purpose driven documentaries and docuseries. Since 2014, TELUS originals has invested more than $27 million, bringing over 350 projects to screens across Canada, highlighting the diverse stories of B.C. and Alberta. To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, viewers are invited to explore new TELUS originals content including Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun, The Interceptors, and Handle With Care: The Legend of the Notic Streetball Crew, available on TELUS Optik TV channel 8, via Stream+ and online at watch.telusoriginals.com.
Victura Media, a new entertainment franchise based in the UK and Canada, launched at MIPCOM 2024 with a slate of IP that includes writer/director Dawn O’Porter’s young adult novel Paper Aeroplanes, which it’s developing for television, alongside distribution titles PSI Cops, Super Dinosaur, and Skybound Presents: Spike & Mike’s Festival of Animation from Skybound Entertainment. Founded by entertainment executive Thom Chapman, with company director and Executive Producer Gráinne McNamara, Victura Media is taking a platform agnostic approach to discovering, building and managing global IP aimed at kids 8+, youth and adults.
Canadian Heritage has launched the Changing Narratives Fund. As announced in Budget 2024, the federal government is investing $10 million over three years, with the funds focused on Canada’s screen, media and journalism industries. The fund will support mentorship, training and professional development opportunities for diverse communities at all career stages, to encourage better participation in the media and cultural industries. It will also support internships and work placements to provide on-the-job training and experience. The fund will be administered by the Canada Media Fund for television, digital media, screen industry and cinematic production; Canada Periodical Fund’s Collective Initiatives component and Local Journalism Initiative for magazines and community newspapers, written press, community radio, community television and online news services. Applications will be open from Nov. 21 – Dec. 20.
The Writers Lab Canada has announced the eight winners selected to participate in its inaugural Canadian Intensive for women and non-binary screenwriters over 40. They include Penny Eizenga, Andrea Martinez Crowther, Leah Cameron, Asleigh Rains, Dorothy Rains, Dorothy Raffo, Eisha Marjara, Jennifer Wigmore, and Vicki So. The program is the only one in Canada recognizing that women and non-binary creators 40+ are an equity deserving group, that while making up 25% of the population is grossly underrepresented in the industry both on screen and in key creative positions. Academy Award-nominated writer and actor Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) joins the Lab as inaugural Ambassador.
Seneca Polytechnic will provide $75,000 over three years to POV Film, a Toronto-based non-profit that empowers, supports and trains aspiring creatives, prioritizing equity-deserving groups, 2SLGBTQIA+, newcomer and refugee communities. The agreement grants POV participants access to Seneca Film Institute (SFI) facilities and resources, as well as SFI microcredentials. The two organizations will also co-host events to connect students and emerging creators with industry professionals. Funding has been made available through The Jane Fund, an endowment established by Seneca in 2021 to support student-focused equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS) is back for a 13th year. The horror film festival, presented by Super Channel, runs Nov. 18– 23 at Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre. This year’s festival kicks off with the return of alumnus Lowell Dean’s action horror feature Dark Match, featuring wrestling veteran Chris Jericho, followed by the mysterious Hunting Mathew Nichols. The festival ends with the Toronto premiere of Scared Sh*tless, featuring Kids in the Hall’s Mark McKinney.
REGULATORY, TELECOM & MEDIA:
The CRTC has published its Strategic Plan: Connecting Canadians through technology and culture, outlining its priorities. The plan builds on the commission’s release last year of its areas of focus, which included lowering cell phone and internet prices for Canadians, modernizing the broadcasting system to promote Canadian and Indigenous content, and improving the CRTC’s own processes to better serve Canadians. The commission says it has made progress in those areas, including helping lower consumer prices for cell services by 12.8% year-over-year; improving connectivity in rural, remote and Indigenous communities, including bringing high-speed internet to Nunavut; moving forward with implementation of the amended Broadcasting Act by launching nine public consultations and issuing four decisions, including requiring online streaming services to contribute an estimated $200 million per year to the broadcasting system; and launching four public consultations to implement the Online News Act. Read more here.
CBC/Radio-Canada will hold its Annual Public Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. ET. In a conversation moderated by Radio-Canada host Sophie Fouron, President and CEO Catherine Tait and Chair of the Board of Directors Michael Goldbloom will reflect on the public broadcaster’s key milestones and achievements. Tait will also look back on the key moments of her six-year tenure as the first woman to lead the national public broadcaster. The virtual event will be broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada’s corporate website and corporate YouTube channel.
Media Literacy Week is underway until Friday, Oct. 25. The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) and MediaSmarts are among the organizations launching campaigns encouraging trust and awareness in the age of AI, deepfakes and misinformation. CJF has launched #Trust Wisely, an invitation to newsrooms to remind their audiences how quality journalism works to earn their trust. Digital and media literacy advocate MediaSmarts has also revived its house hippo campaign to address the rise of AI-generated deepfakes and encourage everyone to check information they see online before they share it. The Break the Fake campaign, funded by the federal government, is part of MediaSmarts’ new AI literacy initiative, which includes a guide to AI funded by Meta, lesson plans for teachers, tipsheets and educational videos. Read more here.
The Michener Award and Rideau Hall Foundations are responding to the need to amplify the ecosystems of small Canadian newsrooms by establishing the Norman Webster Fellowship. Valued at up to $125,000, it will provide the winning news organizations (1 in English and 1 in French) with a unique opportunity to produce a groundbreaking story and allow early career journalists to hone their craft. Born in Summerside, P.E.I., Webster was a renowned foreign correspondent, columnist and editor of both the Globe and Mail and Montreal Gazette. The fellowship was announced at a conference hosted in Charlottetown by both organizations called “Putting the Local back in Local News,” welcoming policymakers, foundations, and local media to discuss the future sustainability of local news and share innovative practices. A report will be published in collaboration with the Public Policy Forum.
Innovation, Science and Industry Min. François-Philippe Champagne has announced a $20 million investment through the Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) to support Kepler Communications’ development of the Aether constellation and its in-orbit, high-speed connectivity network, valued at $280.3 million. Kepler, a Canadian leader in small satellite mass manufacturing, also received $2 million for the project from the Canadian Space Agency in September. The federal government says the investment will advance Canada’s satellite communications capabilities to deliver higher-speed data relay between space and the earth by using optical intersatellite link laser technology. The SIF contributions will also enable Kepler to create 95 full-time jobs and 346 future co-op positions for students at its headquarters in Toronto.
