Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Jeff Samsonow announced just before Christmas that he is no longer with Capital Ideas, another one of the victims of Postmedia’s latest round of cuts. He promises to share his plans and thoughts on local media soon.
• Friday, December 23 was also Mark Suits’ last day at Postmedia. He started working on the Journal’s website in 1999. “I have no immediate plans except to take a bit of time off to explore my options and do some beer bloggery,” he wrote.
• Liz Nicholls has launched her new website 12thnight.ca with a look back at Edmonton theatre in 2016.
• Karen Unland, my Taproot co-founder, is going to be the featured guest at McLuhan House on Wednesday, January 4. Join her to talk about the future of journalism!
• I had fun trying to remember the big social media moments of the year for this piece by Clare Clancy. What stood out for you?
• If you’re interested in learning more about how they do it in radio, check out CJSR’s training workshops this month!
• The cover of the January issue of The Tomato features Gail Hall in her element at the City Market on 104 Street.
• Looks like the “thank you” party for Sandra Sperounes was a big success last month!
• Edmonton-born actor Brendan Meyer landed a role in the new Netflix series The OA. He now lives in California but was back in town for Christmas.
• CBC Edmonton’s turkey drive raised $655,878 for the food bank last month! This was the 21st edition and the goal was $500,000.
• Here’s a great holiday story about CISN Country’s final Christmas Wish.

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• There are some real gems in Poynter’s annual collection of media corrections for 2016.
• The Toronto Star has shared “a smidgen of the reader concerns the public editor’s office fielded in 2016” and invited readers to play editor.
• Adrian Lee, digital editor for Maclean’s, asked Canadian journalists to submit the story they wrote in 2016 that they loved most. There are dozens of responses there, so happy reading!
• Here’s a Globe and Mail editorial to close out 2016: In praise of, dare we say it, the media. The Trump effect is helping newspaper subscriptions everywhere but Chicago, it seems. In that city it’s the Cubs effect that matters!
• You know how you often hear that the media business needs some fresh thinking? Well how about this! A teenager in Brinkley, Arkansas has bought the assets of the Central Delta Argus-Sun weekly newspaper and is re-launching it as the Monroe County Herald.

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!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

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!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• The Edmonton Sun’s court reporter Tony Blais is the latest confirmed Postmedia depature here in Edmonton – he’s taking this opportunity to retire. “Thanks to all who helped me,” he tweeted. The Edmonton Justices of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta called him “a true professional” and said he “accurately and fairly reported on the work of the courts.” Many of Tony’s local media colleagues chimed in on Twitter with praise too. His departure leaves Paige Parsons covering the local court beat at Postmedia.
• As mentioned previously, Gary Lamphier is also on his way out at Postmedia after 15 years at the Journal. “I’m going to miss it, and I’m going to miss all the readers who took the time to respond to my columns, whether you agreed with me or not,” he wrote in his farewell column.
• The latest Numeris radio ratings are out for the period August 29 – November 27. This time 630 CHED is on top after posting the largest gain, slightly ahead of 102.3 Now FM which has led the pack for over a year and posted the largest drop. There is some additional discussion of the numbers at PSR.
• In a post on the demise of local arts coverage, Mel Priestley wrote that “we’ve entered a time in which the bulk of local performances are going to be lucky to get any print coverage.” She suggests that bloggers reviewing shows for free can’t be the solution.
• A recent Postmedia editorial argued that in covering the “lock her up” chant at Rebel Media’s anti-carbon tax rally the media “ran shaming articles nationwide” that illustrated “how desperate they are to say there are Trump-like elements here in Canada.”
• Global Edmonton featured local freelance photographer Amber Bracken and her coverage of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access pipeline protests.
• Congratulations to Boyle McCauley News editor Paula Kirman on being named a Human Rights Champion by the John Humphrey Centre.
• Thoughtful post on blogging and consumption by Adina. “Should blogs come with content warnings?” she wonders.
• I was sad to miss The Yards’ latest salon event and winter issue launch. Sounds like they had a great discussion about downtown vacancies and the future of towers in our city. The Yards is looking for both a new editor and publisher with the departure of Omar Mouallem and Jarrett Campbell!
• In his latest column, Marty Forbes says thank you to a number of “awesome people” including Chris Sheetz of CISN FM, Yukon Jack of The Bear, Jason Gregor of TSN, and many other local media folks. “If you are in media you have the power…use it for good,” he wrote.
• There are always interesting tweets on the state of media in Edmonton, but a couple caught my eye this week. “Former journalists speaking ill of the media is the new ex-Edmontonians dissing #yeg,” wrote Chad Huculak. “With the anti-journo rhetoric coming out of certian politicians and websites, I wonder if schools/papers/msm should show more solidarity…” wondered Trent Wilkie.
• The Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton is looking for a News Editor to “help us share great stories of Catholic life in Edmonton and central Alberta”. The deadline to apply is December 19.

Premier speaks with reporters, photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Postmedia has won the 2016 North America Google Channel Award which “recognizes significant growth in AdWords for the Strategic Account Growth category and is only given to one Google partner in North America each year.” Isn’t it great to see Postmedia winning awards for strengthening one of the primary companies that has caused them so much financial trouble?
• The Fort McMurray Connect is shutting down as of December 22. The weekly newspaper employed three people. CBC noted the announcement “comes on the heels of the news the town’s daily newspaper, Fort McMurray Today, will only be printing thrice weekly and will focus on posting stories online.”
• Adrienne LaFrance says in The Atlantic that “the ‘fake news’ brouhaha is, at its core, about…the growing distrust of media institutions.”
• Donald Trump was named “Person of the Year” in Time Magazine for 2016 – no surprise there. What’s really interesting is that cover photo: “The decisions that Time made regarding how to photograph Trump reveal a layered, nuanced field of references that place the image among, in this viewer’s opinion, the magazine’s greatest covers.”
• Praise for CNN’s Jake Tapper in response to his questioning of Vice President-elect Mike Pence. His repeated questioning “was an object lesson in what doing it right looks like.”

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!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s a quick plug for my new media project…

Taproot Edmonton is a source of curiosity-driven stories about our city, cultivated by the community. We don’t sell eyeballs, and we don’t put up paywalls. Share your curiosity with us and help support the future of local journalism in Edmonton by becoming a member.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons wrote a plea on Facebook to support Postmedia. “Cancelling your subscription to spite Postmedia won’t help you to get better local reporting,” she wrote. While I agree that there are still some fantastic journalists at Postmedia, including Paula herself, I don’t see how one can argue for giving Paul Godfrey more money to continue to run Postmedia newsrooms across the country into the ground. If the most recent Postmedia buyouts and layoffs have you upset or concerned, know that more are on the way. By all means invest in local journalism, but perhaps it’s time to support a new alternative.
• Be sure to check out our latest Taproot Edmonton story on pedestrian deaths and what we can do about them, written by Jeff Cummings, Stephanie Dubois, Karen, and myself. If you want to support what we’re trying to do, join us here.
• After 41 years in the business, many of those with the Edmonton Journal, December 16 will be Cam Cole’s last day at Postmedia.
• Here is Gigcity’s Mike Ross on the gutting of the Journal’s arts section. “This is such a sad yet familiar scenario.”
• Edmonton journalist John W. Murray has been selected for the inaugural Aboriginal Investigative Journalism Fellowship. He produces Acimowin at CJSR and is “a Mi’gmaq citizen of the Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation in New Brunswick.”
• The Rebel hosted a rally here in Edmonton at the Legislature on Saturday to protest the proposed carbon tax. While there were some concerns raised about The Rebel crossing the line into activism, those were quickly overshadowed by someone in the crowd yelling “lock her up!” – an incident Ezra Levant dismissed as “just a light-hearted moment, a way for the crowd to blow off steam.”
• The local music community is hosting a send-off for Sandra Sperounes at Rocky Mountain Icehouse on December 27. “There are few people in Edmonton’s music community who haven’t been touched and supported by our greatest media cheerleader and friend. Come have a drink and tell her thank you.”
• Episode 55 of the Seen and Heard in Edmonton podcast features Dave Rae, “the comic, sketch comedian and improviser who takes any side of any debate and always wins on The Devil’s Advocate.”
• Congratulations to local podcast The Expats on being featured in CBC’s travel-themed Podcast Playlist.
• Network Media Group Inc. has acquired the rights to the Hacked podcast to adapt it to a television series. The podcast was co-created by local podcasters Scott Francis Winder and Jordan Bloemen. Congrats!
• Join 92.5 FRESH RADIO, CISN Country 103.9, 630 CHED, iNews880 and Global Edmonton for the 2nd Annual “Tower of Toys” event happening December 8-10 at West Edmonton Mall.
• 95.7 CRUZ FM has launched a new Christmas fundraising campaign called Load the Limo.
• The deadline to apply to be the new editor-in-chief of The Yards is December 10.
• Rough year for CTV Edmonton’s studios. Earlier this year a truck hit the station and took them off the air, and on Friday the studio was evacuated forcing the cancellation of the late night news.
• From Vintage Edmonton: ITV Edmonton Commercials from 1979.

Photo by Premier of Alberta

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• Marc Edge argues in the The Tyee that “a mindset shift is…needed among both federal regulators and journalism educators” to treat news media as “a public service of enormous social and political importance.”
• The Outline has launched. It’s “a new kind of publication for a new kind of human.” Haven’t looked at much of the content yet, but the homepage certainly brings me back to my Geocities and Tripod days!
• 10 million digital subscribers: that’s the new goal for the New York Times. As of September, they had 1.6 million but they have been growing by as many as 10,000 per day since Trump won the election.
• Voice of San Diego has one of the most successful membership programs and now they’re going to share what they’ve learned with others through a new initiative called the News Revenue Hub.
• Craig Silverman has been named media editor at BuzzFeed. He’s going to remain in Toronto, where he was formerly the head of BuzzFeed Canada.

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!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.

Here’s my latest update on local media stuff:

• The changes resulting from the latest round of buyouts and layoffs at Postmedia are starting to trickle out. Long-time theatre critic Liz Nicholls is leaving the Journal. Her last day is December 2 and she is reportedly starting her own theatre review website called 12thnight.ca in the near future. Also leaving is music writer Sandra Sperounes who called taking the buyout “the toughest decision” she’s ever had to make. She doesn’t know what’s next but thanked Edmonton’s music scene. Both departures leave major gaps in the Journal’s local arts coverage. On top of that, Arts & Life editor Keri Sweetman has confirmed to me that she too will be leaving, at the end of January.
• CBC Edmonton’s Janice Johnston let me know that she has heard through her contacts of 7 departures plus 2 vacancies that won’t be filled at the Journal/Sun/Postmedia (I’ll update when I have confirmed who they are). And she said “after subscribing to the Journal for 30 plus years we are going to cancel our subscription.”
• UPDATE: Barb Wilkinson has confirmed her last day at Postmedia will be January 31. I can also confirm that Gary Lamphier will be leaving, his last day is December 9. He told me he is “sad to go” but feels “fortunate to have worked with so many great people for so long.”
• A petition was launched last week to “save Edmonton Journal’s arts coverage”. It currently has 561 supporters with a goal of 1,000.
• As mentioned last week, Postmedia’s local editor-in-chief Mark Iype announced changes to the Journal. He spent some time answering questions in the comments on that story and on Twitter. He confirmed that flyers “are incredibly popular”, said “our standards for journalistic objectivity have never changed”, and on local book coverage clarified that “it is not being eliminated, but it will look different”. In response to a question about local news, he said “Our focus will remain local. And we will do our best to cover the city to the best of our ability.”
• After a lengthy battle with cancer, Dave Valentine passed away on November 26. He was “a beauty of a guy” tweeted Ryan Jespersen. A GoFundMe page has been setup to support Dave’s wife Dawn and their four children this holiday season. You can make a contribution until December 4.
• Friday was Marion Warnica’s last day at CBC Edmonton. She’s off to Toronto to be CBC’s hourly newsreader. Best of luck!
• Paul Brown is leaving 100.3 The Bear to head to Hollywood. Will he be missed? You be the judge! Yukon Jack joked about Paul’s departure on the November 25 episode of his big yap show too. Paul will stay with the show until the end of December.
• Candice Ryan is going to start co-hosting at CFWE on December 12. Congrats!
• Get to know Dave Sutherland, one of the contributors and City Ambassadors at Skyrise Edmonton. He was also on CBC’s Edmonton AM this morning to talk about the expanding website. (Full disclosure, Dave and I work together at Questionmark.)
• Marty Forbes takes time in his latest column to thank the Edmonton Sun, Capital FM, and many other media folks for their support of the Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree and other worthy holiday causes.
• In case you missed it: Ryan Jespersen interviewed Bob Cole on his show last week.
• Here are the latest blog and podcast roundups from Seen and Heard in Edmonton.
• The Alberta Legislature press gallery is marking its 100th anniversary this year, but the number of Edmonton based-journalists there now number fewer than ten. Is the increase in public relations and government creating their own stories to blame?
• Wednesday is the deadline to apply for the St. Albert Gazette’s full-time photo journalist position.
• The Journal has made its rules for commenting easier to see in one page (it looks like a new article, but Mark pointed out to me that the rules themselves are not new).
• This tweet cracked me up. Who knew the CFL commissioner was so witty!

CKUA was at All is Bright

And here is some slightly less local media stuff:

• CBC unveiled its plan for the future today. The organization is looking for $318 million in funding to go ad-free plus another $100 million for “additional funding of new investments to face consumer and technology disruption.” Their plan says the investment per Canadian would increase from $34 per year to $46 per year.
• Even though more people continue to be forced out of Postmedia, the executives at the top are earning millions in retention bonuses.
• Global News has announced that chief political correspondent Tom Clark will retire on January 1, 2017. “During his 40-plus year tenure, he has interviewed every prime minister since Lester B. Pearson and covered every federal election campaign since 1974.”
• Vox interviewed Brooke Binkowski, managing editor of Snopes.com, about the future of news and the problem of fake news.
• Dozens of news organizations uncritically repeated Trump’s claim that millions of Americans voted illegally, which isn’t true. In his battle with the media, Trump continues to win.

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!

You can see past Media Monday Edmonton entries here.