Here is my latest update on local media stuff:
- I don’t like starting with sad news, but there’s two stories this week I have to mention. John Berry, former CFRN anchor and weatherman in the 80s and early 90s, passed away Saturday night after a battle with cancer. Marty said that John “truly served the community” for many years, something that 630 CHED’s Ed Mason also commented on. Berry was 62. Here’s a photo tribute from CTV.
- We also learned today that David Adomako-Ansah passed away. He was a former CTV Edmonton intern who graduated from NAIT. Ryan called him “the epitome of a courageous, grounded, promising young man.” Just a few weeks ago David was featured in the Edmonton Examiner for his work on Dunk on Disease, a charitable organization he had started in 2008. His final blog post was all about his battle with Lupus.
- Shaw Media is the first Canadian media company to join the Twitter Amplify program. “This partnership will offer Shaw Media, and its future brand partners, an integrated cross-platform tool that allows them to reach new audiences on Twitter. Plans are underway to incorporate TV content on Twitter during the 2013 Fall TV season.”
- Here are the latest radio ratings for Edmonton, for the period February 25 to May 26. Looks like 102.3 FM NOW! continues to lead, followed by 630 CHED and Capital FM.
- This is pretty cool: local blogger Dave Cournoyer had his post on Rathgeber’s resignation printed as a Special to the National Post!
- The Journal is looking for your help to identify 50 Things That Define Edmonton. The deadline for submissions is July 10.
- Hundreds of Edmontonians lined up on the weekend for a chance to be an extra in a new film starring Billy Bob Thornton, John Malkovich, and Liam Hemsworth. It’s called Cut Bank. Turns out the story was the popular among Facebook readers.
- Global Edmonton hosted a sneak peek at the fall programming lineup on Thursday evening. Check out the photoset here.
- Want to see what the Journal’s first ever Social Scene column looked like? Here’s the 50 year old page!
- Here’s a tip from Al Girard: former Journal photographer Michael Dean has published his first novel. You can check out “Vigilant Angel” at the Amazon Kindle store.
- Gig City has the scoop on Hot 107’s HOTfactor contest which is giving six local recording artists $10,000 cash on top of recording time and on-air promotion.
- Last week was the final meeting for the original members of the Edmonton Journal’s Community Advisory Board. I unfortunately couldn’t make it, but I hear they had a particularly interesting discussion about recent changes at the organization. I hope the board is part of the Journal’s future, because I think it could play a very important role if used correctly.
- Stay tuned on Friday for a new web-based CBC Edmonton feature on the past, present, and future of downtown. Can’t wait to see what it looks like! (might be this?)
- Maggie Danko did an interview with the Journal’s Kerry Powell who is delivering a talk at Saturday’s TEDxEdmonton on the Future of News (though it’s an odd interview, containing only one quote). Here’s the preview reel from TEDxEdmonton itself:
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!
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