Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- Here are some thoughts on the shuttering of local news from CKUA CEO Ken Regan. “Acquiring and distributing reliable, fact-based news content in any professional media organization is labour intensive and expensive,” he wrote. “Real news after all does not arrive at the doorstep of the media.”
- While I think suggesting Ezra Levant’s The Rebel “has become one of Albertans’ top Internet sources of reporting and commentary in just its first year in operation” is a bit of a stretch, Lorne Gunter makes some great points about the NDP’s apparent actions to prevent The Rebel from participating in media events. “It is very dangerous in a free society to give politicians, bureaucrats or government lawyers the power to determine who is and isn’t a journalist,” he wrote.
- There’s a celebration of the life of Dave “Crash” Cameron taking place on Tuesday at 7pm at Cook County Saloon. You can learn more and share your memories here.
- Tom Braid has announced that his last day at the Edmonton Sun will be February 19. “Gonna miss the pace and the craziness of being in the middle of the Tabloid tornado that was the Edmonton Sun photo the past 28 years (26 years in helping to or running this award winning department),” he wrote.
- Mike Ross wrote about his 25 years of covering music at the Edmonton Sun.
- After 12 years at City Hall, Gordon Kent is now taking on the role of business reporter at the Journal, replacing Bill Mah who was let go during last month’s cuts.
- Congratulations to Amber Bracken and Ryan Jackson on being nominated in the 2015 National Pictures of the Year Awards.
- CTV Edmonton’s new weekend anchor team, Dan Grummett and Shanelle Kaul, debuted on Saturday. Here’s more on the duo.
- Mont Thirty, “Edmonton’s premiere photography-based magazine”, is launching on Saturday, February 27. “Created and designed right here locally by three photographers, Dexter Da Silva, Redd Angelo, and Chan Rin (Vivid Ribbon Photography and Founder of UrbanYEG), Mont Thirty is a bi-monthly magazine that features the top 30 photos in each issue.” The first issue is slated to be distributed in mid-March.
- Episode 29 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Lori Godin, the woman behind Frugal Edmonton Mama, among other sites.
- The local film & television industry has been in the news recently. Some feel with the low Canadian dollar that we should be able to attract more productions. Council discussed the issue and decided (surprise, surprise) to gather more information about the film commissioner role and office before making any changes.
- The First Kiss and other Rites of Passage, a ten-part documentary series filmed on location in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, and Grand Prairie, launched on TELUS Optik on Thursday.
- APTN is “readying an offbeat new Canadian sitcom based on the webseries Delmer & Marta” which was shot in Edmonton and features Aboriginal actors and comedians Sheldon Elter and Howie Miller.
- A new podcast from the Edmonton City as Museum Project launched on Thursday. For now they have committed to a three-part pilot, but I hope it sticks around longer than that!
- The St. Albert Gazette is looking for an assistant editor.
- The Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights & Justice held a dialogue on the role of media in reconciliation on Friday.
- To help celebrate Family Day, here’s a look at how parenthood changed the Global Edmonton family.
Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism, announces $10 million in funding to support non-profits, photo by Premier of Alberta
And here is some slightly less local media stuff:
- Here are Linda’s latest social media notes. Looks like it was a busy week for Twitter news, with much fretting about the algorithmic timeline, now in beta.
- Rogers Media has begun the 200 job cuts they announced last month. And according to The Huffington Post Canada, Canadian Business magazine “may be on the verge of closing its doors after 87 years.”
- Sirius XM Canada might be going private in deal that values it at $750 million, or it might have been approached with a takeover deal.
- This one is on my “to read” list for the week: Inside Harvey Levin’s TMZ.
- From Poynter: How BuzzFeed built an investigative team inside a viral hit factory.
- If print is dead and digital isn’t the future, is there a viable economic model for a written news product? If your worldview depends on advertising, then perhaps not.
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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