News about news

• A CNN reporter was barred from covering an event at the White House because they didn’t like the questions she was asking. That led to some absurd discussion over whether she was “banned” and other media outlets coming to CNN’s defence.
• The Toronto Star has yanked a press release published as-is from its website after saying that was not consistent with its editorial standards. Beyond saying it was an “error”, it’s unclear why this happened.
• Hedley singer Jacob Hoggard was arrested and charged with sexual assault. The arrest, and subsequent police release of his mugshot, led to questions about when police choose to release such mugshots in Canada, and whether those criteria are fair. The police said they released the mugshot because there might be other victims.
• Major layoffs at the New York Daily News, cutting its newsroom in half.
• The New York Times has a big profile of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop operation, which includes the information that Goop was originally going to be published as a magazine with Condé Nast but that fell through in part over the respected magazine publisher’s insistence on fact-checking. The article says it has hired people to vet the crazy pseudoscience medical claims in its articles.

At the CRTC

• The CRTC has approved a first commercial radio station for Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, south of Moose Jaw and southwest of Regina. The commission found that despite objections from established broadcasters, it would not have an undue impact on radio stations in those other markets. The new 29kW FM station at 98.1 proposes a country music format.
• The commission has determined that the Lloydminster (Alberta/Saskatchewan) market is not healthy enough to support an additional commercial radio station. It’ll be at least two years until they can reconsider.
• The hearing into replacements for OMNI has been delayed, from Oct. 15 to Nov. 26.

Ethical reviews

• Globe and Mail’s Sylvia Stead writes about coverage of an acquittal in a sex assault case, which one reader complained was buried compared to coverage of the accusation.
• CBC ombudsman: Neil Macdonald opinion about the death of a Palestinian journalist did not violate policy, but the opinion section should be more diverse in viewpoints about the conflict.
• A conspiracy theory about the White House editing out questions from the transcript and video of a joint press conference with Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin turns out to be little more than a technical issue involving simultaneous translation and audio channels. On the other hand, a story about the White House no longer providing summaries of phone calls with foreign leaders is true.

TV

Me and Evan are being inducted in to Canada’s Walk of Fame and we couldn’t be more honoured. We made this special video to say thank you. (To non Canadians, this will make very little sense) @CWOFame #CWOF2018. pic.twitter.com/nulBpumPFd

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) July 23, 2018

• Roku has launched a free ad-supported streaming channel in Canada. The selection is pretty weak — highlights include the 1995 Will Smith/Martin Lawrence movie Bad Boys, 12 seasons of Unsolved Mysteries, some John Wayne movies and 3rd Rock from the Sun.
• Bell signed a content deal at Just For Laughs with Jae and Trey Richards of 4YE, to produce an eight-part comedy web series called Judge Tyco for Much Studios.
• Speaking of Just For Laughs, there was a lot of TV taping going on there. I don’t have an exhaustive list, but the ones I’m aware of:
  • The galas, as usual, recorded in both languages for various uses
  • France’s Canal+ at the Quebec/France show at Cinquième Salle, for broadcast this fall
  • An Amazon Prime Video documentary series following some of the New Faces at their Monument National and Katacombes performances
  • Netflix taping solo shows in French and English at Club Soda and Monument National
  • Comedy (soon to be CTV Comedy) recording the Katherine Ryan standup shows and Homegrown Comics show at L’Astral
  • Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud recording LOL Live at Théâtre Berri
• HBO will broadcast a recording of a live Flight of the Conchords special this fall.
• OMNI begins the second season of scripted comedy series Second Jen on Aug. 4.
• A plan is in place to bring back Buffy The Vampire Slayer to TV. But don’t worry, they’re not replacing the characters.
• Hearst Television in the U.S. has shut down the transmitter for WNNE, its 40-year-old station in Hartford, Vt., which has sold its spectrum for $50 million for wireless companies to expand. WNNE, a sister station (and de facto retransmitter) of WPTZ in Plattsburgh, N.Y., has moved its city of licence to Montpelier and is sharing a channel with WPTZ. The net effect is virtually unnoticeable for viewers in the north of the state and in Canada, as digital channel 5.2 will still carry CW programming, with CW now the primary network of WNNE.

Radio

• L’Actualité has launched a new podcast called Les « grands » débats, a comedic take on news. You can listen to episodes here.
• Yet more from the Toronto Star about the situation at Jazz.FM91.

Print

• Postmedia is in the process of relaunching websites for its 92 community publications. The new websites have a look similar to the old Transcontinental community papers’ websites, and use a similar platform as the Postmedia dailies. There’s also lots of story sharing among them.
• The Gazette’s Ian McGillis speaks to the creator of Corsé, a new premium French-language magazine devoted to coffee.

Online

• A Quebec law that allows Loto-Québec to demand Internet providers block illegal gambling websites has been struck down by Quebec Superior Court because telecommunications are a federal jurisdiction. Which was pretty obvious when the law was first proposed in the 2015 budget. The full decision is here.

News about people

Introducing Shannon Kelly, our @CTVMontreal camerawoman now working with me at the Quebec City Bureau! Nous avons déjà beaucoup travaillé ensemble à Montréal et je suis très heureuse qu'elle ait décidé de relever un nouveau défi, ici à Québec ! Bienvenue ! #assnat #polqc pic.twitter.com/18gFlklisP

— Maya Johnson (@MJohnsonCTV) July 25, 2018

• Sean Coleman had his last day at TSN 690, as he prepares to begin an MBA at McGill.
• Patrick Rozon (second cousins with disgraced former JFL owner Gilbert Rozon) has been named the new head of the French part of the annual comedy festival. He retains his other role leading its lower-cost related festival Zoofest.
• CBS boss Les Moonves is the latest target of Ronan Farrow’s reporting on past cases of sexual misconduct. The company is figuring out what to do next.
• Former CTV Toronto reporter Karlene Nation is running for city council.
• Shruti Shekar has left the Hill Times and joined IT World Canada.
• Chuck Kaiton has been dropped as the Carolina Hurricanes’ radio play-by-play man … oh wait, no he hasn’t.
• Kevin O’Connell has left his job as weatherman at Channel 2 in Buffalo.

Obituaries

• Harry Gulkin, Montreal film producer
• Jonathan Gold, Los Angeles Times restaurant critic

Jobs

• Washington Bureau Chief, The Canadian Press (deadline: July 31) — this is Alexander Panetta’s former job
• Station manager, CJLO radio in Montreal (deadline: Aug. 2)
• Reporter, CJAD 800 in Montreal (deadline: Aug. 3)
• National online journalist, politics, Global News in Ottawa (deadline: Aug. 7)
• Newsroom director for newsletters at the Toronto Star (deadline: Aug. 23)
• Afternoon traffic reporter, Canadian Traffic Network in Montreal (providing traffic reports to Bell Media radio stations)
• News announcer, CHED 630/Global News 880 Edmonton