Media Monday Edmonton: Update #32

Here is my latest update on local media stuff:

• The Corus Radio Group was able to raise $1.24 million in last week’s Stollery Children’s Hospital Radiothon. Marty Forbes has that plus a ton of other local radio news in his Sunday column. He notes the surprise announcement that Doug Rutherford is stepping down from Corus at the end of March.
• BlogWest kicks off on Thursday! More than 200 bloggers from across Western Canada are slated to attend. Follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #blogwest.
• Global Edmonton’s Julie Matthews was among the eight Albertans recognized as consumer champions for their work in protecting consumers in 2011. The story she won the Award of Merit for? Julie investigated online romance scams and posed as a potential love interest to expose a romance scam artist! Here is Global’s story about the news.
• Here is Alex Abboud’s latest post as blogger-in-residence at The Journal. He got to sit in on an editorial board meeting with Raj Sherman.
• Elise Stolte is looking for feedback on The Quarters project as she explores the topic. There’s a related assignment up on The Bridge too.
• Nominations for the 30th annual Western Magazine Awards have been extended until March 16. The awards ceremony will be held in Vancouver on June 15.
• To celebrate its 30th anniversary, FAVA is hosting FAVA Fest from March 20-24 and will holding an awards gala as well to recognize outstanding documentaries, music videos, and more. Five awards of excellence and three production grant awards will be presented on the 24th!
• The Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) and Crossroads Television Systems (CTS) have launched a new mentorship program for individuals to receive hands-on training experience in film and television production. The deadline for applications for the new program is March 30.
• As I mentioned previously, Laurie Callsen will soon be joining Metro Edmonton. Here’s her farewell column for the Camrose Canadian.
• Calgary native Pat Kiernan, who was previously a reporter at CTV Edmonton, is apparently keen to replace Regis Philbin on Live with Regis and Kelly.
• Here’s a bit of history for you – 48 years ago today fish & chips were just 40 cents per order at A&W Drive Ins! There were also stories on the new downtown library, and the last remaining outhouses in the city.
• The March issue of Boyle McCauley News is now online!
• I haven’t found much use for Pinterest yet (mind you I haven’t given it a chance really) but dozens of other Edmontonians have (such as the City itself). I took a look, and it turns out there are a few media organizations on it as well! There’s a quarterly magazine called Urban Infant that has a page, Global Edmonton has a page, and both the Edmonton Journal (launched on January 26) and The Bridge have pages. There are a few journalists with their own pages as well, such as Liane Faulder. Will be interesting to see how use of Pinterest evolves locally!
• Avenue Edmonton celebrated the launch of its annual food issue this evening! In addition to the 25 Best Things to Eat they have a new list for 2012, Edmonton’s Best Restaurants. Corso 32 was named Best Restaurant, while Tres Carnales was named Best New Restaurant.

You can see the rest of my photos from the party here.

You can follow Edmonton media news on Twitter using the hashtag #yegmedia. For a great overview of the global media landscape, check out Mediagazer.

So, what have I missed? What’s new and interesting in the world of Edmonton media? Let me know!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.