Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- Omar Mouallem has announced he is leaving his position as editor of The Yards in order to free up time for an exciting new (and still secret) opportunity. That means The Yards is hiring! Apply by December 10 if you’d like to fill Omar’s shoes. Also, The Yards is hosting its next event on December 8 at CKUA. There will be a discussion on the future of Edmonton’s towers, and the winners of the Best in the Core Awards will be celebrated.
- Edmonton Journal editor-in-chief Mark Iype in today’s paper: “Today, we are launching a refocused print edition of the Edmonton Journal that will move the majority of our local reporting to the A section between Monday and Friday.” What will you find in the rest of the paper? “We’ll be sharing the best of Postmedia content from across the country in the other sections,” he wrote. You can see the full update here.
- “These modifications will allow us to focus our coverage more on local news both in print and online,” Mark wrote. Seems to me the changes will do quite the opposite, especially when combined with other things like the end of the Audreys bestsellers list and the impending layoffs at Postmedia.
- Need more proof the paper is less local than ever before? They printed Toronto’s weather forecast in Friday’s paper. It might seem like a small thing, but it all adds up.
- Karen and I were very happy to see some interest in Taproot and what we’re doing from journalism.co.uk!
- You can hear Karen speak more about Taproot next week at a community conversation on journalism taking place at Sherwood Park’s Common Ground Cafe. The event runs from 7-9pm on November 28.
- SkyriseCities is launching SkyriseEdmonton, “a dedicated site for news and discussion about development right here in Edmonton.” In addition to fantastic photos, the site includes news roundups, planning updates, and the occasional feature.
- Edmonton-based photographer Amber Bracken is in North Dakota capturing the demonstrations against the proposed Dakota Access pipeline at Standing Rock.
- Episode 54 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Robyn Wilson, “the fearless and empathetic interviewer behind The One, a podcast featuring everyday people and the love stories that make them unique.”
- Valerie has started hosting ads on her website powered by Monumetric. She’s open to feedback if you think the ads affect the reader experience. “My readers know me, what I believe in and what I promote,” she wrote. “I am writing this so you also understand where I am at with this process.”
- Congratulations to CISN’s Jacqueline Sweeney on the birth of baby girl Kennedy!
- Play-by-play legend Bob Cole is going to be at West Edmonton Mall tomorrow, November 22, for a book signing at Chapters for his new memoir.
- 630 CHED’s Bruce Bowie was awarded a National Philanthropy Day Award for sharing his experience of living rough on the street in support of the Salvation Army.
- The St. Albert Gazette is looking for a full-time photo journalist. The deadline to apply is November 30.
- The deadline to apply for Glass Buffalo Magazine’s editorial intern position is Friday, November 25!
- Congrats to Cory on the field placement with Shaw TV Edmonton starting in January! Looking forward to your stories.
- Global Edmonton’s 13th annual Give Me Shelter campaign launched on Sunday. You can donate until December 19.
- The Shaw Fire Log will return to channels 165/222 on November 24! I guess that means we can put the tree up now.
- The Christmas Bureau’s annual media launch event & gingerbread house decorating contest took place last week. Edmonton’s Child Magazine won “Best in Show” while CTV Edmonton won for “Shameless Self Promotion”. The Edmonton Sun won “Most Festive” while Capital FM won the “Charlie Brown Award”.
630 CHED went with the Trump theme for their gingerbread house
And here is some slightly less local media stuff:
- Shaw-owned Wind Mobile is changing its name to Freedom Mobile and is launching LTE service in Toronto and Vancouver next week.
- From NiemanReports: “To get beyond celebrity- and pundit-driven news, newsrooms need to become civic reactors – hubs of community information and activity.”
- You can add CBC to the list of things Tristin Hopper doesn’t like. He says their strategy is “predatory” and “has the predictable effect of kneecapping CBC’s non-subsidized competitors.”
- For those of you interested in magazines, be sure to pay attention to the Digital or Bust? The Future of Magazines event taking place in Toronto next week.
- I still can’t quite believe that “post-truth” was named the word of the year for 2016 by Oxford Dictonary.
- Instagram is launching a new feature called Live that TechCrunch calls “the best of Snapchat and Periscope”. It’s ephemeral live video in contrast with Facebook’s enduring live video.
- Fake news continues be a focus in the fallout of Trump winning the election. BuzzFeed looks at how Facebook’s fake news problem emerged.
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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