By David Farrell
Karine Moses named Bell Media Quebec president
Based in Montréal, Moses' new role encompasses all programming, production, and scheduling operations for Bell Media's French-language TV properties including RDS. Reporting to Randy Lennox, President, Bell Media, Moses continues to lead Bell Media's Astral division and retains her current sales responsibilities in Québec. – Bell Media
Ford’s U reforms may cripple campus radio stations
It sounds like mandatory student fees for campus radio stations are going to be opt-outable beginning this fall. Since the budget of every (or virtually every) campus station in Ontario is overwhelmingly made up by student fee revenue with much smaller shares coming from advertising and donations, it looks as if campus stations will either have to seriously ramp up their advertising and fundraising revenues or be financially crippled. – Sowny.net
The disc jockey thesaurus
The whacky crew at Sowny.net turned up this gem.
Jobs are as important for our characters as they are for real people. A character’s career might be their dream job or one they’ve chosen due to necessity. In your story, they might be trying to get that job or are already working in the field. Whatever the situation, as with any defining aspect for your character, you’ll need to do the proper research to be able to write that career knowledgeably.
Media News Digest: La Presse union deal, Cogeco drops TSN/RDS streaming, new CEOs at Postmedia and Videotron
The Canadian Press is eliminating its French-language radio headlines service, as well as its newsroom video editing service. The latter will instead be outsourced to Pagemasters North America, which may hire (at less favourable working conditions) some but not all of the talented people losing their jobs.
Vice is not giving up in its legal battle with the RCMP over an order for journalist Ben Makuch to hand over data related to communications with an Islamic State fighter. Vice’s lawyers are now arguing the order should be quashed because the fighter in question is dead.
The union representing workers at La Presse has reached a deal in principle with the employer on a new contract. It will be presented to members on Jan. 22. Big telcos hike internet prices amid soaring demand, revenues
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Alberta Election Commissioner considers fine for Rebel Media
Alberta's election commissioner is considering a $5,500 penalty against right-wing media outlet The Rebel Media for allegedly breaching election financing law with a billboard targeting Education Minister David Eggen. – CBC News
Halifax listeners have to adjust as two radio stations change their tunes
Two FMs in the market have softened the sound of their respective radio stations and that just leaves Q104 playing old time rock and roll. – StarMetro Halifax
Deezer launches limited rollout for radio mobile app
The streaming service has launched a new dedicated mobile app for radio listening. Radio By Deezer offers access to 30,000 stations covering music, live sports, news, and talk. The app is free to download, does not require a subscription, and plays no additional advertisements. – Anna Washenko, RAIN News
Songs that made a difference in 2018
Each year’s “Songs That Made A Difference” column has to take into account not just the year’s biggest hits at a given format, but also those that defied the format norms in getting there, and those hits that changed the tenor of what came after them. Many of the year’s biggest hits aren’t new ground — even at AC, Zedd, “Stay” was the surprise, not “The Middle.” Whether the truly different hits represent a sea change or just an anomaly won’t be known for a while.
There’s no denying, for instance, that Weezer’s cover of “Africa” was the left-field record of the year, mentioned by numerous readers. But did it change anything? Would you want another yacht-rock cover from an Alternative act if it did? – Sean Ross
RIP
Longtime broadcaster Peter Watts — whose work included sports as well as local and provincial news — has signed off for the last time. Watts died in a Calgary hospital Friday morning at the age of 68. – Global News
– Former Vancouver and Barriere, BC broadcaster Steve Shannon (Steven Castonguay) died of cancer December 26 in St-Jérôme, Québec at age 71. He worked at a number of stations in Montréal, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary and Edmonton before joining CIMA AM 1040 (now CKST) Vancouver circa 1990. He also ran a public speaking coaching business for executives in Vancouver. In 2013, he became the owner of The BearCHLW-FM 93.1 Barriere, north of Kamloops, until 2017 when illness struck. – Northwest Broadcasters
– Ian Douglas (Doug) Cameron, a more than 50-year veteran broadcaster who started at CFRS Simcoe and then moved to Sarnia, Hamilton, Brampton and Brantford, died Jan. 14 at age 74.
