Media Monday Edmonton: Update #34

Here is my latest update on local media stuff:

• As I posted in an update to last week’s post, Brittney Le Blanc is the new page six columnist at the Edmonton Sun! Here’s her first column, on Twitter. Her latest takes a look at the politics of tweeting.
• Some very good news for Global in Alberta – Karen Unland is quarterbacking the upcoming provincial election coverage for both Global Edmonton and Global Calgary!
• Speaking of Global Edmonton, they’re looking for three “enthusiastic” Morning News viewers to join the political panel as part of their election coverage. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 23 at 4pm. Rules and regulations are here.
• Avenue Edmonton profiles Rick Harp, host of Edmonton AM on CBC. He has been a great addition to the local media scene!
• Have a passion for public affairs and news programming? CJSR is hiring a news coordinator! The deadline to apply is April 2.
• CTV Edmonton has received a RTDNA award for its coverage of the Slave Lake wildfires last May.
• Do you think we should save Edmonton’s paperboy shacks? I had no idea these existed: “The shacks were officially called “district offices” and were an essential part of The Journal’s home delivery system starting in 1913 with seven paperboys. The boys would go to the shacks right after school and wait for the delivery truck to arrive with that day’s edition.”
• I’m really liking the new clean design for The Unknown Studio!
• GigCity covers Story Engine, the new venture from Todd Babiak and Shawn Ohler.
• Recent tweets from some local sports journalists caught the eye of the Calgary Herald!
• For the last week, the Edmonton Journal has been featuring mastheads of the past, such as the big yellow box. Tomorrow they launch a redesigned look and content changes.
• The Edmonton Commons is looking for “official” commenters, people who are willing to take the time to comment with their real names.
• Mike Daisey has been making news around the world with his bold lies about the state of Apple’s factories in China. There has been some excellent discussion about journalism and truth as a result.
• Is anyone surprised by this anymore?  “In the poorest showing since 1984, advertising revenues at newspapers last year fell 7.3% to $23.9 billion, according to figures quietly published Wednesday by the Newspaper Association of America.”
• The big news here in Canada this week was Bell Canada’s decision to purchase Astral Media for $3.38 billion. The three local radio stations impacted are The Bear 100.3 FM, Virgin Radio 104.9 FM and Team 1260 AM.
• To finish off this week, here is Todd Babiak’s TEDxEdmonton talk on story:

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.