Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- 630 CHED found itself in a world of trouble on Thursday after it posted a controversial poll question online. Many angry Edmontonians weighed in on Twitter, including MLA Thomas Lukaszuk, who threatened to pull all Alberta government advertising off the station. The station later changed the wording of the question and suggested a lack of context was to blame, before finally apologizing on air, removing the poll and original tweet. Unfortunately for them, everything was captured in screenshots in real-time.
- It was disappointing to see the poll, but I also feel bad for all the good people at 630 CHED caught up in the mess. J’lyn Nye called it “a day of tears and disappointment.” Tencer and Grose devoted the first hour of their show on Friday to the mistake.
- Congratulations to Kari Skelton and Ryan Jespersen – the #yegmedia couple announced they are expecting their first child!
- The 2014 Alberta Film & Television Awards, known as The Rosies, were handed out in Calgary on Saturday. Congratulations to all the winners! Filmed-in-Edmonton TV drama Blackstone took home six awards. CTV Edmonton was named Best Daily Newscast, Alberta Primetime was named Best News Series, and Citytv Edmonton won for Best Documentary Under 30 Minutes for Tour of Alberta: Making the Tour, which you can watch on YouTube:
- The RTDNA Canada Awards were also announced on Saturday. CBC Edmonton picked up four awards, followed by Global Edmonton with two.
- Tickets are now available for The Yeggies! Join us on May 9 at the Avenue Theatre.
- Cam Tait has started blogging again, with a new name: Tait on 8.
- CTV Edmonton General Sales Manager Alan Mabee is retiring after 30 years in the position. Looks like he had quite the sendoff! Marty Forbes reported that Susan Reade is stepping in as his replacement.
- On Thursday CBC announced it will cut 657 jobs and get out of the business of airing professional sports, throwing in the towel after the Rogers-NHL deal. Is the CBC destined to simply limp along?
- Shaw Communications announced plans today to layoff around 400 employees, including some in its Shaw Media division. Approximately 140 of the job losses are in Calgary (no word yet on Edmonton).
- The 18th annual Webby Awards are open for voting right now, and Calder Bateman’s Sexgerms.com site is nominated under the Activism category! You’ve got a little over ten days left to vote.
- Last week, Michael Ross posted an analysis of the cities most and least likely to survive the zombie apocalypse. The post caught on like wildfire, with newspapers across the country picking up the story. It was even featured on Geoge Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.
- So Easter is coming up, and that means you’ll see some people wearing bunny costumes. But this is probably not what you are picturing right now – click at your own risk!
- Is it live tweet, livetweet, or live-tweet? I would go with live-tweet probably. You?
- The 2014 finalists and winners of the Pulitzer Prizes have been announced. The Guardian and The Washington Post unsurprisingly took home the prize for Public Service for their work on the Snowden revelations.
Local media celebrity guys at WCFW
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 