Media Monday Edmonton: Update #75

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• The rumors were true: Dave Rutherford announced his long-running and highly-rated Rutherford Show will retire this summer. “I think that the broadcast news industry, for lack of a better term, is dumbing down,” Rutherford told the Calgary Herald. On Twitter he said “the number one Alberta talk show is retiring” but added “Dave is not, opportunity awaits.” Here’s what his website looked like today:

• Congratulations to CBC Edmonton, CTV Edmonton, and Global Edmonton – each picked up a 2013 Edward R. Murrow Award in the International category.
• Jeff and Sally have posted the pilot episode of Startups, along with a ton of lessons learned. I watched the first episode and read the screenplay for the second episode, and I’ll admit I’m sad we may not ever get to see the end of the story! Can’t wait to see how they applied what they learned through this experience.
• I was really happy to take part in a CTV Morning Live segment on The Yeggies this morning along with Daveberta, Jasmine Franklin, and I Dig Your Girlfriend. Thanks for having us Stacey and crew! Speaking of The Yeggies, have you got your tickets yet?
• Sounds like a radio battle is brewing. “There hasn’t been a serious challenger to CISN radio’s hot country hegemony in decades of Edmonton Radio.” That changed with last week’s launch of 93.1 FM The One in Leduc, according to Gig City’s Mike Ross.
• CKUA’s spring fundraising event runs through Sunday, and they’re inviting you to “Meet the Family”:

• Have you seen those strange “logo” billboards around town? Sounds like they are probably for 102.3 NOW! Radio.
• Avenue Edmonton is looking for an Art Director to join the team.
• Looking for a summer job? The University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences is looking for “a versatile writer” to work on the newsletter, website, and magazine.
• Global Edmonton’s Kevin Karius is the latest to give in to Twitter.
• Want to subscribe to the Edmonton Sun? There’s a Groupon for that.
• According to the latest Edmonton Journal advertising newsletter, the storm around March 22 helped to set a one-day page view record. I also learned that the used car listings for the Journal’s website now come from Kijiji.
• Ugh, the Goose Cam is back.

• A year ago, the 630 CHED tagline was still “Alberta’s Information Superstation”. I didn’t notice it until recently, but in March of this year they changed it to “Edmonton’s Breaking News & Conversation Station”. Anyone know the story behind that?
• Well what do you know, the Edmonton Police Service has decided to jump into web video with The Squad, “a gritty, hard-hitting look at policing in Edmonton.” There’s apparently going to be weekly episodes of the reality-TV-like web series. You can check out the stars here.
• I meant to link to this last week. The local sports media have a bit of a reputation for going easy on the Oilers, but they certainly put Kevin Lowe on the hot seat after he announced the firing of Tambellini. Peter Adler argued they shouldn’t have done so, but the core of his argument is that there’s actually a view from nowhere that journalists are supposed to uphold. “A journalist’s job is to inform as fully and as truthfully as possible,” he wrote. So let’s put the blinders on and ignore the fact that the guys and gals covering the Oilers are big fans? No thanks.
• Unsurprisingly, the Boston Marathon bombings and the replacement of Tambellini by MacTavish dominated online traffic at the Journal last week.
• Gawker has launched a new design with an interesting take on comments called Kinja. “It’s a free thing you can use to say dumb stuff. Go for it.”

There has been some really interesting discussion this week about “online vigilantism” related to the Boston Marathon bombings. Here are a few related links I found interesting:

• Alfred Hermida says “people are trying to help by having an open and public discussion about who was behind the attack.”
• From the Reddit Blog: Reflections on the Recent Boston Crisis
• From Gawker: Your Guide To The Boston Marathon Bombing Amateur Internet Crowd-Sleuthing
• From The Atlantic: It Wasn’t Sunil Tripathi: The Anatomy of a Misinformation Disaster

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.