Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:
- “Word out of West Edmonton Mall this morning is radio icon Rob Christie has called it quits,” reports Puget Sound Radio. “Christie’s replacement will be Sean Burke, current morning host of CFCW.”
- Marty Forbes wrote about Tommy Banks and his connection to local radio. A memorial will take place on February 14 at the Winspear Centre.
- Mike Ross is writing a book about the history of the Edmonton music scene! A key chapter of the book was about Tommy Banks, so Mike has posted it online.
- Darren Krause, managing editor at Metro Calgary (and Edmonton, at least for a time?), has been let go. “The powers that be no longer see me fit to operate the editorial department at Metro Calgary, so I have forthwith been relieved of my duties,” he wrote on Facebook. He has setup his own website as an initial next step.
- The 2018 Alberta Magazines Conference and Awards is coming up in Calgary on March 8 & 9. Congratulations to all of the finalists!
- Karen Unland shares some lessons learned from CKUA, Canada’s first public broadcaster and Alberta’s first FM station.
- From Renato Pagnani: “Find someone who cares about you as much as Edmonton media cares about goalies not doing interviews after the morning skate.” Haha!
- The Yards will host its Spring 2018 Salon and AGM on March 1. Save the date!
- The next Edmonton Podcasting Meetup is taking place on Sunday, February 25 at Variant Edition Comics & Culture.
- Vintage Edmonton has dug up this clip from ITV in 1989.
- Recently retired Global Edmonton manager Tim Spelliscy will be the featured guest on April 11 at the Edmonton Broadcasters Club Spring Luncheon.
- Charles Adler recently featured a roundtable on the future of radio.
- From Jeff Samsonow at Edmonton Quotient: “I’m becoming more convinced every day that why a fact or detail is included in news stories is the most important thing for a journalist to consider.”
2018 Lunar New Year Extravaganza at West Edmonton Mall, photo by Premier of Alberta
And here is some slightly less local media stuff:
- From The Hollywood Reporter: Veteran Canadian TV Programmer Jay Switzer Dies at 61. He was responsible for launching MuchMusic and a number of other cable channels.
- Coming soon to a TV near you via Telus On Demand: Puppy TV. It’s “a spinoff of the already popular Kitten TV.”
- What the hell is going on at Newsweek? “Editors and reporters are being fired, and current staffers speculate Newsweek’s ties to a mysterious cult are to blame.”
- The crowdsourced spreadsheet called Shitty Media Men grew to include the names of more than 70 men, seven of whom “ended up losing their jobs or having significant professional setbacks before the year was out.”
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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