It has been a few weeks since my last update, so a few of the links below are a bit older but I wanted to include them just the same. Here is my latest update on local media stuff:
- Big news for those of you who watch TV in the morning: Stacey Brotzel is making the shift from BT Edmonton to CTV. She starts co-hosting CTV Morning Live on November 12. Even Lloyd Lewis tweeted about the news! Best of luck to all.
- Congratulations to Daryl McIntyre on being named one of NAIT’s Top 50 Alumni. He graduated from the Radio & Television arts program in 1983.
- “Not since Fort Edmonton picked up stakes has there been such a fuss over a simple change of address.” Love it! GIG CITY on the CKUA move.
- On October 2, the Oilers changed their Twitter handle from @NHL_Oilers to @EdmontonOilers. A welcome and overdue change!
- Earlier this month, ATB Financial’s senior economist Todd Hirsch said the local radio industry is “both on the rise and the fall.” He noted that while the number of stations in Alberta has grown steadily, the annual profit per station has dropped significantly.
- GIG CITY has the story of Crash and Mars, the morning crew on Now! 102.3 FM, who used their engagement to help advertise for the station.
- The Journal has the story of J’lyn Nye and her matchmaking mother!
- Here’s a great Storify of the #TweetForHope campaign that raised 2000 meals for clients at the Hope Mission.
- 630 CHED’s Ed Mason suffered a heart attack earlier this month – fortunately he was released from hospital on October 3 and was expected to spend about a month recuperating. All the best!
- Great to see Todd Babiak getting some love from Metro for his new blog magpietown.
- One of CTV Edmonton’s “Inside Vue’s Best of Edmonton” interviews featured Sonic 102.9 FM’s host Garner Andrews, named Edmonton’s Best Morning Radio Host.
- Here are three recent Relinked columns to check out: Leading the pack without an alpha story, Hockey may be absent, but the hunger for NHL news persists, and Journal’s Instagram feature a bonus to Bieber concert and comic convention.
- Carly Kincaid returns to the radio on Wednesday as she joins the crew at Up! 99.3 FM.
- Some recent numbers to consider from Global’s Troy Reeb: Tuesday’s News Hour averaged 143,000 viewers compared to 71,000 for CTV and 2,000 for CBC.
- Here’s a profile of BT Edmonton’s Bridget Ryan.
- MediaMag has some October media moves, among them that Darcy Henton has moved from the Journal to the Herald.
- I’m glad to see this experimentation from the Journal: they’ve created a Winter Map using a Google Maps-powered platform. You can contribute online.
- One of the bigger Canadian media stories is that the CRTC rejected BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.4 billion takeover of Astral Media. Unsurprisingly, Rogers, Telus, and Quebecor all opposed the deal, but interestingly Shaw supported it.
- The Edmonton Journal is looking for an Assignment Editor to join the newsroom.
- Check it out, a CFRN-TV Totem Talk Newsletter from September 1958! Speaking of CFRN history, Al Girard noted the 58th anniversary of the station on October 17. That means the big 6-0 is coming up soon!
- There are still limited tickets available for Avenue Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40 Awards Ceremony which takes place on November 1 at MKT.
- Save the date for the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton’s annual Media Campaign Launch (aka Gingerbread House Decorating Contest): November 13!
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!