I was in London a couple of weeks ago and then last week the jetlag wiped me out so it has been a little while since my last media update! Let’s take a look at what’s been happening throughout July:
- After 42 years in the news business, Global Edmonton’s station manager Tim Spelliscy is retiring. “Spelliscy was presented with an RTNDA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In April 2017, he was placed on the Media Wall of Honour at Rogers Place.”
- The first members of the Alberta Podcast Network have been announced! There are ten podcasts to start, with more to be added in the coming weeks. One of the new members, Local Company of the River Valley Podcast, blogged about being in the network.
- CTV Edmonton parted ways with Dan Kobe this month. He had been the news director since January 2012.
- Today marked the 30th anniversary of the deadly “Black Friday” tornado that ripped through east Edmonton. From 630 CHED, here’s how broadcasters remember covering the news that day, and here’s how Edmonton Journal photographer Steve Simon remembers it. Weather forecasting has changed a great deal since 1987, as CTV Edmonton explored in its look back.
- Jeremy Simes’ last day at Metro was Friday, July 28. He’s moving on to cover the Edmonton region at The Western Producer.
- Episode 71 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Sydney Lancaster, “the visual artist and advocate who extends the reach of her work through her blog and helps artists learn how to look after the business side of their work through Visual Arts Alberta-CARFAC (Canadian Artists’ Representation/Le Front des artistes canadiens).”
- And in case you missed it, Episode 70 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast featured audio from our Taproot Live event on urban planning wishes!
- Here’s an interview with CKUA’s Allison Brock, host of the show Wide Cut Country.
- Metro Edmonton is looking for a Reporter/Photographer.
- Former journalist and Edmonton-Griesbach MP Kerry Diotte made headlines recently for a threatening tweet in which he called Progress Alberta “fake news”.
- It is being reported that the Oilers and Leafs will appear three times each on NBC or NBCSN next season.
- Wild TV is looking for a General Manager here in Edmonton.
- Congratulations to the winners of CJSR’s Volunteer Awards which “recognize the outstanding achievements of the many volunteers who keep CJSR on the air with high quality programming that challenges the status quo.”
- Happy 90th birthday to Jack Hagerman who retired from CKUA in 1982 and re-joined in 1997 to act as operations manager.
- Congratulations to Global Edmonton’s Quinn Ohler on her recent wedding!
- The new Edmonton Screen Industries Office is looking for its first CEO. “The ESIO will serve all screen industries which encompass fiction and nonfiction content, inclusive of live action, animation and interactive video games.”
Premiers meet with National Indigenous Organization leaders, photo by Premier of Alberta
And here is some slightly less local media stuff:
- Andree Lau, who wrote the very popular food blog are you gonna eat that?, is the new editor-in-chief at Huffington Post Canada. Congrats!
- Here’s a glimpse of what’ll be possible in the very near future. Gives a whole new meaning to the term “fake news”.
- The Conversation Canada published its first POINT/COUNTERPOINT articles recently, and they chose the issue of “fake news” and licensing journalists. Here are the arguments for and against.
- Now that TV networks are expanding their local news offers in response to CRTC requirements, the question remains, will they be successful? “It’s a good thing, I just don’t understand how it makes money,” said Richard Stursberg, a former CBC executive who heads the writers’ group Pen Canada.
- Speaking of the CRTC, Ian Scott will take over as chair of the regulator starting in September.
- “The Mooch” was in and out of the White House faster than I could blog about 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!
Want to read great stories about Edmonton? Or maybe you’d like to write them? Join Taproot Edmonton and help us ensure that local journalism has a future in our city.
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