Media Monday Edmonton: Update #293

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Bob Layton has been appointed to the Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. On its website, WAB describes the Hall of Fame award as the “most prestigious award given to a Canadian broadcaster.”
• Catherine Griwkowsky has left Postmedia after 10 years and will be starting with The Star Edmonton on May 1. “Leaving was an excruciating decision,” she tweeted.
• Kieran Leavitt is leaving The Star Halifax to join The Star Edmonton as a full-time reporter. “Thank you to everyone I’ve worked with and those that have let me tell their stories”, he tweeted.
• The 2018 RTDNA Canada Award winners were announced yesterday. Global Edmonton took home seven RTDNA Awards, four of which were “for coverage of the chaotic attack that saw a police officer stabbed and pedestrians struck by a U-Haul in the downtown core.” CBC Edmonton won three, and CTV Edmonton won one.
• Edmonton’s Geoff Stickle, who retired from Global Edmonton back in February, was honored with the RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award in the Prairie Region.
• CKUA’s Spring Fundraiser is on now and you can donate until April 29. So far they have raised 32% of the $700,000 goal.
• From Stacey Brotzel, here are some memories from the 21st anniversary of the launch of A-Channel.
• Edmonton’s newest publisher is StoryFix Media, from Christopher Webster, Gareth Higgins, Claire Tunney, and Arthur Lee. Christopher’s first book, called New Horizons, is now available. Later this summer, the company plans to release a mobile game called The Pulse: “In a dark town not on any map, a woman awakes in a strange motel. With no memory of who she is or how she got there, she will rely on YOUR judgement and quick-thinking to navigate untold dangers, learn the secret of her identity, and the truth behind a mysterious pulse that seems to be the cause of it all.”
• Brittney is calling on local media folks to “give people a heads-up when you include their tweets on-air/in stories”.
• After three years and 57 episodes, this is the final episode of The Expats Podcast. Host Adam Rozenhart will be sharing “in a few months what I’ll be doing next!”
• Here is the latest Alberta Podcast Network Roundup.
• Karen Unland spoke to David Papp at Mtek Digital about how “podcasts are very powerful way to intimately reach a captive audience.”
• SCTV came to Edmonton in 1980. Comedian Dave Thomas spoke to CBC about the move to Edmonton. “It wasn’t so much that the cast wasn’t thrilled about going to Edmonton,” Thomas said when asked about the move from Toronto. “I think some of the people just didn’t take it that seriously at first.”
• Janet French spoke about being a reporter on career day at Grandview Heights school! Start them young!
• The deadline to apply for one of Postmedia’s summer internships is Wednesday, April 25 at midnight.
• Representatives from the Canada Media Fund were in Edmonton today to encourage more applications from our city. The not-for-profit “delivers $352 million in funding annually to support the Canadian television and digital media industries.”

Standing up for Alberta jobs and Canada’s economy, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• BNN Bloomberg will launch on Monday, April 30. It’s a partnership between Bell Media and Bloomberg Media Group. “BNN Bloomberg will begin simulcasting with CTV from 5-5:30 a.m. MT in the Calgary and Edmonton markets.”
• CBS All Access is now available in Canada for $5.99 per month. “The subscription offers access to more than 7,500 on-demand episodes, including full current seasons of CBS shows, entire past seasons of current shows and full seasons of some classic shows.”
• From CANADALAND: What’s The New York Times Doing In Canada?
• It seemed that James Comey was absolutely everywhere last week, from TV to radio to podcasts, promoting his new book. ABC News posted the full transcript of his 5 hour interview with George Stephanopoulos, then so did MSNBC. “But in the age of so-called fake news, is the release of full transcripts happening because journalists feel compelled to prove their credibility? Or to defend themselves from criticism for what did make it to air?”

Follow Edmonton media news using the hashtag #yegmedia and be sure to check out Mediagazer for the latest media news from elsewhere. You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here. If you have a tip or suggestion for future updates, let me know.

At Taproot Edmonton we’re working hard to ensure that local journalism has a future in our city. Join us to be part of the movement.

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