Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- After 41 years in the business, Cam Cole is retiring. “Also, Twitter trolls. Sports was never meant to be this angry,” he wrote in his farewell column. He decided the timing was right to take the Postmedia buyout, as he told CBC News in this interview.
- Here is Paula Simons on Randy Hardisty’s 30 years with the Journal, including his work on “the most perfect lede paragraph ever published” in the paper. The piece includes some comments from other journalists that have worked with Randy too. His retirement is “another great #yegmedia guy moving over so Paul Godfrey can have a little more runway,” tweeted Brent Wittmeier. Editor Mark Iype tweeted that the Journal “lost a pillar” and that Randy made him “a better journalist.”
- Scruff Connors, the first morning host on 100.3 The Bear, has died at at the age of 64. “To say that Scruff made an impact on Edmonton would be yet another profound understatement,” wrote Eric Samuels.
- Former Journal business writer Rod Ziegler shared a letter regarding Gary Lamphier’s retirement. “In an era of hair-on-fire headlines and instant news, Lamphier told me why, as much as what,” he wrote.
- Fascinating story by Jana Pruden about the news scarf mystery. She discovered a Chinese-made scarf with her name and a newspaper story she had written on it, and set about unraveling the riddle of how it got there.
- Dave Cournoyer and David Climenhaga have stepped up to offer a home for the weekly Edmonton Bestseller List from Audreys Books and the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. The list will be published every Thursday on Daveberta.ca and AlbertaPolitics.ca. See more in the news release here.
- Metro Edmonton tweeted this week that they’ve heard feedback about Oilers coverage and are “working on many new ideas to strengthen for 2017.”
- From local writer Michael Hingston, here’s the Diary of a Part-Time Freelancer. In addition to having more time with his family, he wrote: “I’m also finding that the career I spent so many years building suddenly needs to be reimagined from the ground up.”
- Episode 56 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Kelly Froese of the Edmonton Nerd List and Jeff Williams of Guerrilla Radio.
- The latest episode of the FusedLogic podcast features Min Dhariwal from CBC Edmonton.
- Love this very festive meta selfie with Bob Layton, Chris Scheetz, and Morley Scott.
- The St. Albert Gazette is once again looking for a General Reporter. The deadline to apply is December 28.
- The Oilers Entertainment Group is looking for a Senior Motion Graphics Animator to work on commercials, digital signage, and web videos, among other things.
- Here’s a shoutout to Claire Theobald and all the other journalists working hard on the Edmonton Sun Adopt-A-Teen. You can learn more or make a donation at adoptateenedmonton.ca.
VR Future, photo by Kurt Bauschardt
And here is some slightly less local media stuff:
- Can journalism be virtual? There’s some really interesting stuff to think about in this CJR piece.
- Nieman Lab asked some of the smartest people in journalism for their predictions for 2017. The entries cover a huge range of topics, including what might happen to “Canada’s so-called legacy media organizations.” In a more positive prediction, 2017 might be a great year for local journalism.
- Not since 1994 have so few individuals been in possession of valid press gallery passes for Parliament Hill, says Beatrice Britneff. Just 320 names were on the list as of December 7. The peak was 2002 when 379 were on the list, and it has been declining ever since.
- Donald Trump held a 30-minute off-the-record chat with journalists on Sunday night, a photo from which was heavily criticized. Others have defended the event, saying it’s a valid way to get closer to the truth.
- Jim Rutenberg in the New York Times: “As Mr. Trump tries to burn the media village down, he may just be saving it.”
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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