Here is my latest update on local media stuff:
- I really like the new metronews.ca website. Powered by WordPress, I find the new Edmonton website much easier to read and navigate! What do you think?
- Despite some blog posts receiving thousands of likes and tweets, an online poll conducted by Metro found that 44.6% of participants still look to traditional media when making their voting decisions. Maybe that’s because the coverage is hard to avoid…
- This is awesome. Scott Lilwall has created The Canadian Access to Information Database, which lets you search through all federal access to information requests. Nice work Scott!
- Here’s the very long list of finalists for the 38th Annual Alberta Film & Television Awards. Edmonton organizations have done quite well: “Aquila Productions of Edmonton leads the nominations with 13 nods in various categories. The half-hour comedy series, “CAUTION: May Contain Nuts” from Edmonton-based Mosaic Entertainment had the most nominations for an individual production with 12.” I’m so happy to see Sally nominated for the edmontonian presents!
- Mike Ross at Gig City wrote an entire article on Mike Wellensiek, better known as Mike the Posterman. I love it.
- Also at Gig City: Garner Andrews, morning man of mystery. “In a land of tweet-reading nitwits, Garner Andrews stands alone.”
- Yay! The Unknown Studio has selected a location for their upcoming live show – it will be recorded at Happy Harbor downtown!
- Marty Forbes has highlighted a number of significant media anniversaries coming up this year. CISN FM will celebrate 30 years in June, and The Bear turns 20 this fall.
- Emily Mertz has joined the web team at Global Edmonton. Tuesday was her first day.
- Congratulations to Global Edmonton for picking up the RTDNA Murrow Award for their Slave Lake Fire coverage.
- The Edmonton Journal is looking to hire a full-time reporter to cover criminal justice issues as part of a three-member crime bureau.
- Bill MacLoughlin has started blogging with The MacLoughlin Report. He appropriately gave kudos to Daveberta in his opening post! We’ll see how long the blog lasts (the reality is most fail in short order, and I don’t have a lot of faith that anything created during an election will last beyond it).
- Here’s a pretty innovative project from Ryan Jackson at the Edmonton Journal: Ask the party leaders questions over coffee. Definitely worth a look if you haven’t already come across it!
- There is a lot of speculation that Alberta’s film & television producers are going to be hit hard by last month’s federal budget cuts.
- Edmonton Journal sports writer Evan Daum has been recognized by the Canada West Universities Athletics Association.
- It stings, Cory, it stings! In an interview with The Province, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Cory Schneider said: “Nobody cares about Edmonton so nobody hates them. It’s that simple.” Unsurprisingly, that got some local folks pretty upset. He later apologized.
- Here’s a great shot of the old CKUA building.
- Ugh. The Journal Goosecam is back.
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!
MasterMaq's Blog 
Hey, Mack, thanks for the mention! Will the blog last? If we get another majority monolith and we all go back to sleep for four years, maybe not. But if we get a Wild Rose majority — versus an entrenched, PC-friendly civil service — or better yet, an honest-to-God minority with some experienced Libs and NDP folks back in their seats, then Alberta’s in for a hayride, and that’ll be a blast.
Sorry, what’s wrong with the Goosecam?
I know people like it, but for the Journal it’s a pageview grab, nothing more.
Sure, that sounds reasonable. So what? Seems like they could use whatever minimal revenue they get from it, it doesn’t take away time or resources from actual journalism, and they haven’t resorted to a steady diet of “cute”-cams over actual journalism. So what’s the harm?
Haha, not a fan of the goosecam eh? I would also argue the Peahen is Edmonton’s most famous bird.
Thanks for the shout-out on the edmontonian’s AMPIA nomination. It’s great to see more indie, small, web organizations getting nominations like this. The Huffington Post’s Pulitzer should be one of the last barriers to the old vs. new media debate. Good content should be rewarded and enjoyed regardless of how much money or legacy is behind it.
Agreed, there has definitely been some great news recently for “new media”. Congrats to you both!