Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Felix “Fil” Fraser, who came to Edmonton in the 1970s to work at CBC TV, died Sunday at the age of 86. Among other accolades, Fraser was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1991.
• Chuck Chandler, who worked in Edmonton at various times from the 1960s until his retirement in 2008 at CJCA, CHED, CFRN, and others, died of cancer last week at the age of 73. “RIP one of #yegmedia’s most colourful figures,” tweeted Marty Forbes.
• “Twitter and the Internet help to take down community newspapers,” reads a recent Edmonton Journal tweet featuring a Malcolm Mayes cartoon. I generally love his stuff but this…hahahahahaha! No.
• CJSR is “currently experiencing serious technical issues with our transmitter” and is looking for donations to help with the repairs. In the meantime you can listen live at cjsr.streamon.fm.
• Here’s an I Heart Edmonton feature on morning radio. “Despite the fact that he was raised in Calgary, Jespersen is that voice of reason on the radio, and someone who refuses to be anyone other than himself,” wrote Emil about 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen.
• Congratulations to Ryan Jespersen on being named “Best Radio Talk Show in Edmonton” in the Edmonton Journal’s 2017 Readers’ Choice Awards. As far as I can tell they don’t actually publish the winners online, just in print, but there are digital pages available on Facebook. Probably because they can’t get the winners’ ads to appear properly on the website or something.
• CBC was caught citing a FOIP request made by Postmedia without attribution (they later updated the story).
• I was really happy to talk about Taproot Edmonton at Homestead Coworking last week! Thanks for having me!
• The Alberta Podcast Network has grown to 28 member podcasts. “Our new additions cover education, customer experience, dance and performance, history, geekery, food and wine, and walkability — eclectic as heck!”
• Episode 79 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Josh Shenfield and Alan Techsmith, “two prolific nerds who talk about video games, movies, TV, comics and ‘more geekery than you can shake a joystick at’ on Press Start to Join.”
• Congratulations to Global’s Laurel Gregory and Christine Meadows, “recognized for Thinking Beyond for the creation of #GlobalNews #FamilyMatters.” Rhonda Halarewich tweeted a photo of the pair on stage at the Corus Awards.
• Virgin Radio’s Chelsea Bird and CTV’s Josh Classen hosted the fashion show at this year’s Festival of Trees over the weekend.
• CBC Edmonton’s recent clothing drive was a big success, with more than 3,000 warm winter clothing items donated. “The clothes will be shared with various agencies that work with the homeless.”
• A new short story dispensing machine has been installed at the Edmonton International Airport. It’ll feature stories from local writers including Jana Pruden, Steven Sandor, and Matthew Stepanic.

Premier Notley addresses AUMA convention on November 23, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• From Jesse Brown on this Toronto Star opinion piece: “Two days after killing 13 newspapers, TorStar runs this piece blaming it on government’s failure to bail-out newspapers, written by the chair of News Media Canada. Doesn’t disclose that they are a member of News Media Canada.”
• In the late night TV wars, Stephen Colbert is winning. “His program, ‘The Late Show’ on CBS, has taken viewers away from Jimmy Fallon, the cheerful host of NBC’s storied franchise, who has lost 21 percent of his audience year over year since the fall season began on Sept. 25.”
• From Mother Jones: Journalism Is Imploding Just When We Need It Most.
• Discovery is taking majority control of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) after it purchased 24.5% of the company from Harpo Inc. for $70 million. Oprah will continue as CEO and has extended her contract through 2025.

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Postmedia and Torstar agreed to swap 37 community newspapers and 4 free commuter papers, many of which were promptly shut down resulting in the loss of at least 290 jobs. While this mostly affected papers in Ontario, former Metro Edmonton reporter Ryan Tumilty was among those let go. “This always happens for the worst reasons,” he tweeted about trending on Twitter in Ottawa after the news broke. Terrible news!
• Ken Regan, long-time CEO at CKUA, wrote a wonderful letter to the staff to celebrate the station’s 90th birthday.
• CBC Edmonton hsa launched a new website design in beta. The new site is responsive but also feels much more sparse.
• Edmonton Quotient’s Jeff Samsonow wrote recently about “bothsideism”. “I’m a believer in the journalism adage to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, and we sure don’t do that when we give everyone equal time.”
• Playwright Darrin Hagen and author Michael Hingston are the Edmonton Public Library’s 2018 writers-in-residence.
• CBC Edmonton is looking for a full-time Video Producer. The successful candidate is “a skilled visual storyteller.”
• Jordan Eberle told Sportsnet, “the Edmonton media can be pretty brutal and your confidence goes and this is a game you can’t play if you don’t have confidence.” OilersNation’s baggedmilk wrote about the interview, noting “dude gets paid a shit tonne of money to play hockey so criticism kinda comes with the territory, no?” Well today, fellow former Oiler Taylor Hall backed Eberle up. “I think that if the media in Edmonton think that they don’t impact players, just a little bit, then they’re crazy.” Once again, baggedmilk: “Let’s not pretend that the Edmonton media is any more critical than what you’d get in Toronto or Montreal.”

92.5 Fresh FM in Santa’s Parade of Lights

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Pop-up journalism site The Sprawl has re-launched down in Calgary to focus on the municipal budget.
• The Guardian’s membership program has grown significantly in the last year, to the point that “financial support from readers had officially surpassed advertising revenue”.
• Meredith Corp., which owns Allrecipes, is buying Time Inc. for $1.85 billion in cash, “a significant bet on the future of the magazine industry.” The company has received financial backing from the Koch brothers to make the deal happen though their investment is being described as “passive”.
• The Washington Post has published off-the-record comments from a woman who falsely claimed that she was impregnated as a teenager by Roy Moore. “We always honor ‘off-the-record’ agreements when they’re entered into in good faith,” said Martin Baron, The Post’s executive editor. “But this so-called off-the-record conversation was the essence of a scheme to deceive and embarrass us…Because of our customary journalistic rigor, we weren’t fooled, and we can’t honor an ‘off-the-record’ agreement that was solicited in maliciously bad faith.”
• Founder David Karp has announced he is resigning from Tumblr. “I beg you to understand that my decision comes after months of reflection on my personal ambitions, and at no cost to my hopefulness for Tumblr’s future or the impact I know it can have.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• CKUA is celebrating 90 years on the air – it’s first air date was November 21, 1927. “After starting as a University of Alberta extension service for farmers, CKUA now has 16 FM transmitters from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge, with 250,000 weekly listeners.” The Faculty of Extension is hosting a live CKUA broadcast from the atrium of Enterprise Square from 6am to 12pm on Tuesday.
• Bell Media is laying off employees at radio and TV stations across the country. An estimated 50 jobs are being eliminated in this latest round of cuts. Here in Edmonton, TSN 1260’s Wil Fraser appears to be a casualty of the cuts. He used to co-host the morning show with Dustin Nielson. “All the best…started together in 2002” tweeted Jason Gregor.
• Peter Weissbach, former on-air host and program director at CJCA Edmonton, passed away from cancer on November 11. “The launch of 630 CHED as a news/talk format and the signing off of CJCA coincided under his watch,” tweeted Scott Johnston.
• From Vintage Edmonton: CJCA Fabulous 40 Survey from November 14, 1965.
• CBC Edmonton’s Rod Kurtz, host of Radio Active, lost a bet with CBC Calgary’s Doug Dirks and had to sing the Calgary Stampeders’ fight son on-air.
• The Alberta Podcast Network has launched a new roundup “of what the members and affiliates of the Alberta Podcast Network, powered by ATB, have been putting into the world lately.”
• Elise Stolte and David Staples are launching “a city/urban related podcast” and they’re looking for a name for it.
• Episode 78 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Meredith Bratland, “a writer and traveller who has turned her curiosity about people from elsewhere into a podcast called Migration Patterns.”
• Chad Huculak reminds us that it has been two years since the Edmonton Sun moved from its old building.
• The National Film Board of Canada is looking for a Producer for the NFB North West Studio here in Edmonton. The deadline to apply is November 24.
• 92.5 Fresh FM flipped over to its all-Christmas format on Saturday.
• Postmedia writers continue the speculation that 630 CHED’s Ryan Jespersen is a potential leadership candidate for the Alberta Party.
• iMEDIA has announced its dates for 2018: the conference will take place at MacEwan on March 9 and 10.

Premier Notley speaks at AAMDC conference, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• In a recent report, the CRTC said “that last year, almost half of Canadians subscribed to some sort of online video service, such as Netflix, CraveTV and others.” And: “Among those between 18 and 34 years old, almost two-thirds subscribe to such a service.”
• They say it started before Jeff Bezos came along, but increasingly the Washington Post is a software company, offering its Arc Publishing system to other publications as a service.
• BuzzFeed writes about podfasters, “a subset of podcast obsessives who listen to upward of 50 episodes a week, by…listening extremely fast.” I like to watch videos and listen to some podcasts at 1.5x, but that’s about my limit. Many of these folks listen at speeds of 2x or higher!

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Here’s an update from Movember on John Sexsmith. “I haven’t lost my positive attitude,” he says in the video.
• Former Edmonton Journal sports writer Joanne Ireland has a new book on the Edmonton Oilers called 100 Things Oilers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. She was interviewed by Global Edmonton about it!
• Cam Tait has a recap of Kelly Hrudey’s recent visit to Audrey’s Books here in Edmonton to discuss his new book Calling the Shots.
• Here is Chris Scheetz, Matt DeBeurs, Jacqueline Sweeney, Quinn Ohler, and Kent Morrison representing Corus at the rodeo. Great photo!
• CBC Edmonton is looking for a Producer to join its Radio Current Affairs team here in Edmonton.
• Congrats to Linda Hoang and Tyler Jack Butler on the one year anniversary of their podcast, Don’t Call Me a Guru.
• The Alberta Podcast Network is now up to 21 members with the addition of 5 more podcasts.
• Here’s a feature on how the City of Edmonton is using podcasts for recruitment. “Deputy city managers and city councillors have all recorded podcasts to help recruit top talent.”
• Buried in the middle of Don Braid’s column about the strange resignation of Alberta Party Leader Greg Clark, there’s this: “Thus began a movement to join the Alberta Party, build it, and — for some — find somebody fresh and new to lead it. One person often mentioned is Ryan Jespersen, the host of a popular talk-radio show with 630 CHED in Edmonton.”
• Two years ago, 92.5 Fresh FM and 96.3 Capital FM both switched to Christmas music on the same day, November 13. Last year, Fresh FM got the jump making the switch on November 12. This year, it’s Capital FM that made the switch early, going all-Christmas-all-the-time on November 7! Fresh FM has teased its own change is coming “very soon”.
• The Shaw Fire Log, another media staple at this time of year, should be back by the end of the month. Apparently it is “the most watched channel over December” beating even the Weather network.
• The Christmas Bureau is launching its 2017 campaign on Tuesday with the annual Gingerbread House Decorating Challenge, “a long-standing tradition with the Edmonton charity’s media partners.” This year the Christmas Bureau will be providing assistance to over 60,000 Edmontonians.

Service of Remembrance at the Alberta Legislature, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Twitter has expanded the character limit for tweets to 280 characters.
• From the Membership Puzzle Project: Why supporters pay for journalism (hint: it’s not about exclusive access).
• Amazon has given a new “Lord of the Rings” TV series a multi-season production commitment. Amazon is apparently also developing a freemium version of Prime Video.
• Ugh. Hannity Fans Destroy Keurig Coffee Makers After Company Pulls Advertising: “It was the second time this year that Mr. Hannity has faced the threat of an advertiser exodus of the type that helped cement Bill O’Reilly’s exit from Fox News. But this time, Mr. Hannity’s online supporters fought back in numbers against the advertisers — even, in some cases, destroying their coffee makers.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Jana Pruden wrote about Ruth Kelly and Venture Publishing at the Globe and Mail in a piece called The death of Wonder Woman. “Ruth’s steadfast belief that she could somehow power through it, that the business could still turn around and recover, had become unhealthy; her optimism not an asset but a trap, like a gambler desperately trying to make back money already lost.”
• This year’s edition of the ATCO Edmonton Sun Christmas Charity Auction raised $102,333.25. Nice work!
• CJSR 88.5 FM raised $107,863.52 in the latest FunDrive that wrapped up on Sunday, beating the goal of $105,000.
• Episode 77 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features musician Doug Hoyer who was a guest at the October edition of the Edmonton Podcasting Meetup.
• Ryan Jespersen and Carrie Doll are two of the Edmontonians who will be selecting the top ten Edmonton Project ideas.
• Global Edmonton has created a 2018 charity calendar called Global News Hounds, with proceeds going to Give Me Shelter in support of Edmonton’s Women’s Shelters. Here are some behind-the-scenes photos of the calendar.
• Congratulations to CTV Edmonton’s Carla Turner who has started her maternity leave.
• CBC Edmonton is looking for a TV News Producer and a Weekend Producer. Both are full-time positions.
• The Pembina Institute is looking for a Communications Lead here in Edmonton. The deadline to apply is November 15.
• This Twitter exchange between Mark Spector and David Staples made me chuckle. The comments from everyone else are great too.

Premier Rachel Notley participates in the 4th annual radiothon held by RedFM in Calgary, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Linda updated her social media frame Halloween costume again this year, this time paying tribute to Vine.
• From AudienceInsights, here’s The Canadian Podcast Listener – a Landscape Study. The survey found that “nearly 10 million Canadian adults have listened to podcasts in the past year.”
• CBC’s revamped The National debuted tonight. Here’s a look behind-the-scenes.
• Big news today: 21st Century Fox has been holding talks to sell most of the company to Disney! My first thought? X-Men and Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Of course the deal, which is apparently no longer on the table, would really be about Disney gearing up to better compete with Netflix and Amazon.
• Slate has a nice feature on breaking news push alerts from the New York Times and Washington Post since Trump was elected. “Something happened to the news this year. It wasn’t only Trump. It was the convergence of Trump and technology and the media landscape, with the invigorated news giants and hungry digital outlets duking it out for our bloodshot eyeballs.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• The Edmonton Sun has launched a new website design and a new mobile app. Unfortunately, it looks like the new site has broken all existing permalinks. Er, links. For instance, I wanted to link to this story by Jonny Wakefield about a widely-used photo of fentanyl pills, but it doesn’t work (here’s the Bing cache). This is basic, web 101 stuff!
• CTV Edmonton’s Daryl McIntyre marked 31 years at CFRN last week and recently welcomed Erin Isfeld as his new permanent co-host (congrats!). CTV Edmonton also has a new set design.
• Peter North has left CKUA after 17 years. But he didn’t leave to “move on to other projects” as CKUA’s statement read, he quit. Gig City has the scoop.
• Here is Terry Jones on 50 years at the Sun and Journal. “I’m a big believer in the adage that ‘He who collects the most memories wins.’” And here’s a feature on Terry Jones in the Toronto Sun.
• After seven seasons, CBC has cancelled Edmonton-made ‘The Irrelevant Show’. “Seven years is a good run for any program. But CBC cancelled the show so abruptly, the cast didn’t even get a chance to do a goodbye finale show.”
• The local TV stations didn’t cover the election on TV, except for an hour on CTV Edmonton (and hour that was largely done before the results started to trickle out). Grant Ainsley argues the reason is money.
• CISN Country 103.9 FM’s Matt DeBeurs was among the “jailbirds” that helped to raise money for Crime Stoppers at a fundraiser at Southgate Centre recently.
• The 67th edition of the Western Association of Broadcast Engineers convention takes place at the Delta Edmonton South from November 5-7.
• Kelsey Campbell, who previously filled in on the CISN Country 103.9 FM morning show, is going to be on air ever Saturday and Sunday evening from 6pm to midnight.
• Two new reality TV shows are looking for real estate stars in Edmonton. The shows will air in spring 2019.
• The Pembina Institute is looking for a Communications Lead here in Edmonton. The deadline to apply is November 15.
• There’s a new local publication called the Indo Canadian Post in Punjabi.
• Congratulations to the Edmonton Journal’s Press Gallery Podcast on achieving the milestone of 200 episodes!
• Be sure to check out Episode 1 of That’s A Thing?!, a new podcast from Karen and her daughter Elizabeth. I absolutely love this idea!
• CKUA has raised more than $587,605 in its fall fundraising campaign. You can still donate online here.
• The ATCO Edmonton Sun Christmas Charity Auction starts tomorrow and runs through Thursday!

Premier Rachel Notley addresses her caucus on the first day of the fall session, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• From J-Source: Here’s what you need to know about Canada’s new shield law for confidential sources.
• Toronto-based writer Mathew Ingram is joining the Columbia Journalism Review! He’s going to be the chief digital writer, focusing on Facebook, Google, and other tech companies.
• Blockchain technology seems to be everywhere these days, so why not journalism? Civil is a “cryptocurrency-based journalism marketplace that went public this summer” that has now raised $5 million and has attracted its first publication.
• Lots of Russia-related news today with the indictment of Paul Manafort and now Facebook is expected to tell congressional investigators that “roughly 126 million users in the United States may have seen posts, stories or other content created by Russian government-backed trolls around Election Day.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Erin Isfeld has been named co-anchor of CTV News at Six beginning Monday, October 23. She has been at CTV Edmonton since 2005.
• Good journalism really can make a difference in the world. Here’s Paula Simons with the latest on Serenity’s case.
• Grant Ainsley wrote about the local media’s coverage of the terror attacks here in Edmonton. “Twitter is great for giving you snippets of breaking news, but with a story like this, I needed more context.”
• Episode 76 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Sandra Sperounes and Agnes DeMarco, “the music writer and the rock-n-roll mom who shine a spotlight on creative people with their podcast, Agnes + Sandra’s Three-Way.”
• Kerry Diotte went on a bit of a rant about local journalists on Saturday night.
• Tim is looking for contributing writers for the winter edition of The Yards. Get in touch with him if you want to explore what’s best in the core!
• This year’s edition of the ATCO Edmonton Sun Christmas Charity Auction is taking place October 31 to November 2. Cam Tait is looking to collect 200 experience packages by October 25 and is up to 138 already!
• CISN Country 103.9 FM’s Yards for Hope radiothon in support of the Hope Mission blew past its goal of raising $110,000. Nice work!
• Big Brother Canada was in Edmonton last week with a casting call for the upcoming season.
• The Alberta Teachers’ Association is looking for a Communications Officer, News and Public Relations. The deadline to apply is October 18.
• A reminder that the next Edmonton Podcasting Meetup is scheduled for October 21 at Variant Edition Comics & Culture. The featured guest will be Douglas Hoyer talking about podcast music.
• Get up-to-date on all the election-related news with Taproot’s weekly election update and check out the election microsite to help get prepared for Election Day.

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Forget the selfie: how portrait studios are upping everyone’s social media game.
• I was an early reader of Slashdot so I enjoyed this look back from founder Rob Malda on the site’s 20th anniversary.
• Facebook is testing a new “i” button that shows Wikipedia entries and additional related articles when they are looking at a link. It’s another effort by the company to provide greater context.
• Gather is a new project that aims to “support community-minded journalists and other engagement professionals.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Saturday night was one of those nights for journalists and other members of the local media (for details of the attacks, see my links from yesterday). Big breaking news brings with it clarity of purpose for everyone involved in producing the news, but it also means long hours, a lack of information, and yes, some criticism. On the whole, I think local journalists did a fine job on Saturday night.
• There was lots of back-patting by journalists over the way local media handled the events of Saturday night. There was also some criticism for sensationalism and sharing unverified information. Jana Pruden posted a good thread on the context of information in a breaking news event.
• Locals were paying attention to the news on Saturday evening of course, but it spread beyond our city fairly quickly too, with Fox News and others picking up the story. As the news spread, and especially as Catherine Griwkowsky did a live hit on CNN, #yegmedia was trending. Global Edmonton has a brief recap of how social media was used after the attacks.
• Hina Alam has joined Postmedia’s news team here in Edmonton. She was most recently a staff reporter at the Toronto Star.
• The launch party for the Alberta Podcast Network was a big success last week, with a fantastic turnout of creators and supporters of local podcasts. Here’s a recap and links to the speeches and interviews. Congrats to Karen and the team of volunteers that made it happen!
• Rogers held a media launch for CityNews at Rogers Place on Friday afternoon hosted by Gene Principe and featuring: Dave Budge, VP News and Information; Colette Watson, SVP TV Broadcast Operations; Shelley Russell, General Sales Manager for Edmonton; and Scott Fralick, Supervising Producer. I plan to write more about CityNews in the days ahead.
• Jeff at Edmonton Quotient has a good roundup of all the local media coverage of the municipal election.
• Marty Forbes writes about Terry Jones in his latest column at the Sun. “Terry is a great promoter of this city and understands how sports can be a key driver for community pride,” he wrote. The October 11 edition of the Edmonton Broadcasters Club luncheon will honour Terry.
• A special edition of CBC’s Edmonton AM took place at Remedy Cafe in Terwillegar on Wedesday evening. Here’s the recap.
• The latest episode of the Sound Off Podcast with Matt Cundill features Sonic 102.9 FM’s Lauren Hunter. “We talk about everything from how to tackle the social media beast, to what makes a post go viral, and, of course, Connor McDavid and the Connor McPortrait.”
• The next meeting of the Edmonton Podcasting Meetup is scheduled for Saturday, October 21 at Variant Edition Comics & Culture. The event will feature Doug Hoyer, “who has composed more Edmonton podcast theme music than anyone else on Earth (probably).”
• The YMCA of Northern Alberta is looking for a Senior Communications Coordinator.
• OilersNation is looking for new sales representatives to join the team.

Vigil for victims of Edmonton terror attacks, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• When the news broke on Saturday night here in Edmonton, it was great to see many people pointing to A Consumer’s Guide to Breaking News from NPR. Always good to have that link handy.
• When it comes to digital revenue for news, we’ve moved from “nobody will pay for news” to “not more than a tiny group of people will pay for news.” It’s slow, but it’s progress.
• Netflix plans to spend $7 billion USD on productions next year, and $500 million CAD of that will be right here in Canada, thanks to a new deal it has struck with the government.
• The Pew Research Center has looked at more than 3,000 news stories during the first 100 days of the Trump presidency across 24 media outlets and found that “five specific topics dominated coverage about Trump and the administration.”

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Global News has announced that Jim Haskins is Global Edmonton’s new News Director and Station Manager. “Replacing Tim Spelliscy who retired last month, Jim joins the Edmonton team from Global News Halifax where he worked as a News Director and Station Manager for the last five years.” He started last week.
• The usual local media suspects are all well-represented in the 2017 Best of Edmonton from Vue Weekly. Sonic 102.9 FM’s Garner Andrews won Best Radio Host (AM), Now 102.3 FM won Best Radio Station, Global Edmonton’s Gord Steinke won Best TV News Anchor, Global Edmonton won Best TV Station, and CTV Edmonton’s Josh Classen won Best TV Meteorologist. On the social media side, The Borchelli Brothers won Best Podcast, Lisa Evans won Best Tweeter, Daveberta.ca won Best Local Affairs Blog, and Linda Hoang won Best Food Blog.
• LitFest runs October 12-22. Writing (on the web) While Female takes place on October 15 and features Alex Zabjek, Paula Simons, Jana Pruden, and Kathleen Smith.
• Keep up-to-date on the municipal election with the latest Edmonton Election Update from Taproot Edmonton. Each week we roundup the news and send it to your inbox.
• The Alberta Podcast Network‘s launch party is sold out for Wednesday evening, but you can catch some of the show on Facebook Live courtesy of CKUA starting at about 7:35pm.
• Glass Buffalo Magazine is hosting a writing prize reception on Wednesday evening at Yellowhead Brewery. “As you mingle over libations with fellow writers and literature lovers, you’ll hear engaging stories and poetry from Edmonton’s best emerging creative-writing talent, including the finalists for our 2017 writing contests and our Fall 2017 issue contributors!”
• Episode 75 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Caleb Caswell, “who combines his background in journalism and music to have sincere conversations about Edmonton’s music scene on The Tear Down.”
• A reminder that the Edmonton Broadcasters Club Fall Luncheon is coming up on October 11 with guest speaker Terry Jones.
• Speaking of Terry Jones, he wrote recently about the CFL’s efforts to improve viewership. “Early evidence is that the league’s effort to draw new fans and especially younger fans is working.”
• CBC Edmonton is looking for a temporary Associate Producer for Radio. The position will run until November 2018.
• Tickets are on sale now for The Media Challenge at the Edmonton Comedy Festival which takes place on Thursday, October 12.
• This is neat: some local bloggers are taking part in the Canadian Bloggers Fall Home Tour. “All week we will welcome you into our homes for some seasonal home decor inspiration.”

Travel Alberta filming on Urban Pedal Tours

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Non-profit educational TV network TVO, based in Toronto, has launched a $2 million, seven-person project called Ontario Hubs that aims to broaden its geographic reach.
• Here’s a story from 2015 that has been brought back to help celebrate Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s 25th anniversary. “Welcome to sports call-in radio, the world’s cheapest therapy.”
• Twitter is, perhaps appropriately, very reluctant to do anything about Donald Trump’s account. But the company has pledged to update its public guidance on newsworthiness to make the rules for removing tweets clearer.
• From the New York Times: The Not-So-Glossy Future of Magazines.

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• The Athletic, a subscription-based paywalled sports site, has launched in Edmonton. Jonathan Willis will be writing frequent columns and says “Allan Mitchell, perhaps better known as Lowetide, will be a weekly columnist” and that “Sunil Agnihotri, Minnia Feng and (Black Dog) Pat McLean” will also be “featured contributors”. You can check out the site here.
• Congratulations to CISN 103.9 FM’s Chris Scheetz, Jacqueline Sweeney, and Matt DeBeurs on winning “On-Air Personalities of the Year” at the 2017 Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
• Terry Jones is the guest speaker at the Edmonton Broadcasters Club’s Fall Luncheon which takes place on October 11.
• Marty Forbes has advice for local media folks who want to get known: “Get involved in our community. Check that, get ‘sincerely involved in our community.'”
• Sonic 102.9 FM’s Lauren Hunter painted a picture of Connor McDavid that has come to be known as the McPortrait, and last week actually got McDavid to autograph it! Prints are going to be sold on Saturday, September 23 at Denizen Hall with 100% of the proceeds going to YESS.
• Former Edmonton Journal editor-in-chief Margo Goodhand has written a new book called Runaway Wives and Rogue Feminists: The Origin of the Women’s Shelter Movement in Canada. She is launching it at Audrey’s on Tuesday, September 19.
• Karen Unland is speaking about podcasting and the future of traditional media on The Ryan Holtz Show on Tuesday afternoon. Catch it on Facebook Live starting at 1pm.
• Metro Edmonton’s Kevin Maimann took Edmonton’s first Aquamermaid class. “My flopping and flailing was less than majestic,” he says. Brave!
• CBC Edmonton’s Portia Clark is hosting CBC’s Night at the Needle on Monday, October 2 at The Needle Vinyl Tavern. It’s “an engaging conversation with CBC reporters, special guests and you!”
• The Edmonton Comedy Festival presents the Media Challenge on Thursday, October 12 at the ATB Financial Arts Barns. “Hosted by Kevin Stobo, starring Tim Nutt, and depending on how many chicken out, featuring 16 local media personalities attempting stand-up comedy for the first or second time.”

Members of the media covering Nomination Day at City Hall today

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Congratulations to Jeremy Klaszus on the launch of The Sprawl down in Calgary. The “pop-up journalism” project focused on Calgary is active now on Patreon.
• Detroit has appointed an official “chief storyteller” to remodel the city’s narrative. Aaron Foley, “a popular African-American journalist”, will be the first to hold the position, “believed to be the first of its kind in the US.”
• David Carr influenced dozens of writers throughout his career, including the many that shared stories about his guidance in the latest installment of The Atlantic’s series on mentorship.
• The Conversation looks at the rapid decline of local news and suggests social media can be part of the solution but only if we demand that it be used responsibly.
• BuzzFeed is launching a live morning news show show called AM to DM on Twitter, and has shared some of the lessons learned about doing video and reporting.

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.

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.