I saved a few media-related links while I was away, things I really wanted to link to, so you’ll see a few older items in the list below. Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- I guess I need to begin this week with CBC. They’ve been all over the media news lately, for good and bad reasons. It seems like all anyone can talk about today is the news that Jian Ghomeshi was fired by the CBC, apparently for allegations of abuse stemming from his habit of engaging in BDSM. In a Facebook post, Ghomeshi attempted to frame the story in his favor, and said he would be suing the CBC for $50 million. In his post he mentioned a Canadian media publication that did due diligence but never printed a story, which turned out to be the Toronto Star (he also mentioned a short story written by Edmonton author Lynn Coady). Lots has been written about this story already, but here are a couple of long, thoughtful posts: Jian Versus the CBC, and poor persecuted pervert?. I’m sure we’ll hear much more about this in the weeks ahead.
- There was also the news recently that another 400 CBC employees will lose their jobs by March 2015. If that wasn’t bad enough, it seems yet another 400 jobs could be cut in 2016, with layoffs happening all through 2020.
- On the other end of the spectrum, Peter Mansbridge received wide acclaim for his thoughtful, respectful coverage of the Ottawa shooting. Canadian coverage tends to be less dramatic than American coverage as a general rule, but even in Canada last week, what CBC did stood out. While Global was blaring the “Attack on Canada” headline, Mansbridge and CBC were much more measured and calm.
- Of course, the big story while I was away was Postmedia’s $316 million deal to purchase 175 newspapers and digital publications from Quebecor, bringing previously competitive newspapers like the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun under the same umbrella. The deal and other moves by Postmedia are fueling the image of Paul Godfrey as a media mogul, but with widening losses it remains to be seen if his strategy will pan out.
- Turning back to local news, I was sad to read that the City and Dale blog will be ending after five years. Kendall and Gillian have moved on to other projects (like Poppy Barley and The Noteworthy) so I completely understand their decision. “Unlike most goodbyes, this one is not sad. This project has run its course,” they wrote. It looks like they’ll keep the site up though, which is great because their archives contain a ton of great information!
- Fashion blogger Janis Galloway who writes the popular Dress Me Dearly has been named Simons’ first Fashion Ambassador. She says the role will enable her to “help Edmontonians live their style in a fun new campaign.” The collaboration includes blog posts, private shopping appointments in store, and a regular monthly appearance on BT Edmonton, with more “up our stylish sleeves.” Congrats Janis!
- Erin Isfeld returned to CTV from maternity leave on October 6. Starting November 3, she and Joel Gotlib will anchor a full hour news broadcast from 5-6pm.
- Marty Forbes has setup a new Twitter account to talk about local media news called @MediaInYeg. So far it seems light on media stuff.
- The 64th annual Western Association of Broadcast Engineers convention wraps up here in Edmonton tomorrow. The convention aims to “highlight the best of radio and television technologies and provides a venue for engineers to share information and their experiences.”
- Check out Karen’s latest blog roundup here. I love that she has kept this up! And yes, I have a bunch of improvements to ShareEdmonton in the works.
- Bryn Griffiths will be joining the morning shows of CFCW, K97, and Capital FM starting November 3. “My new gig will be to present news and sports on all three stations,” he writes.
- The St. Albert Gazette is hiring for the position of editor. The deadline to apply is November 3. In mid-September, the Gazette brought Chris Puglia on-board as the new assistant editor.
- The Edmonton Journal is looking for a media journalist. The deadline to apply for the 13-month contract position is November 5.
- The Unknown Studio are back with their sixth season! The first episode was posted on October 15.
- From October 17: “legendary assignment editor Randy McDonald retires”, courtesy of Ryan Jespersen.
- This story broke just before I left: AUPE sues tweeter, blogger in $500,000 defamation suit. Kathleen Smith (@KikkiPlanet) was the tweeter in question. I haven’t yet seen an update on the story.
- A very belated congratulations to Karen Kleiss on receiving the Robert C. Clark award for her work on the Fatal Care series published late last year.
- I’m still looking forward to the launch of The Yards Magazine in December. They have been ramping up their communications on Twitter it seems.
- The title is a bit grander than the story, but I still enjoyed the New York Times’ look at How Facebook is Changing the Way Its Users Consume Journalism.
I wanted to share this video by Alex Scuccato, called “Outpost – This is Edmonton”. It was pretty popular on social media networks recently. His description is pretty simple: “A journey with my friends through some of my favourite places, restaurants, festivals, and attractions in my hometown, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada over summer.”
How’s that for some Edmonton storytelling? Nice work Alex! Now, maybe make one for winter too?
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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