Episodes

On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, we have highlights from this year's Western Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame inductions -- longtime QX104 Winnipeg personality Boyd Kozak and CHAT Medicine Hat sports director and voice of the WHL Medicine Hat Tigers Bob Ridley.

We've asked the question before on this podcast - what would radio look like if it were invented after the internet? A couple of new Canadian internet radio stations are exploring that - Maple Music Cafe - launched this past New Year's Eve by Toronto music industry veteran Joey Cee and OkanaganValleyRadio.com - helmed by former Vancouver area station owner and host Allan Holender.

One of this year's Canadian Music Week panels brought together a cross-section of emerging broadcast talent to explore how to elevate young and diverse voices. CHUM-FM morning host Jamar McNeil, Kiss 104.9 Vancouver's Kevin Lim and Sonia Sidhu, Missy Knott from 95.7 ELMNT FM, Virgin Radio Toronto's Jax Irwin, and Flow 95.3 host Peter Kash came to share their stories of what it's like to be "the other" in what's a largely white, male-dominated industry. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, we bring you highlights from that panel, moderated by Maureen Holloway, followed by special guest and broadcasting executive Denise Donlon, who is known for her leadership in hiring diverse talent, particularly at MuchMusic. Donlon says diverse hiring is not only morally right, it makes good business sense.

Numeris is set to start year-round measurement in all radio diary markets starting in August.  On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, we bring you highlights from the Numeris Town Hall at the recent Western Association of Broadcasters' Conference, where those in attendance got to pose some hard questions to Numeris CEO Neil McEneaney; John Vavaroutsos, VP Member Services; and Courtney Heuvelmans, Member Services for Western Canada.

Media strategist Paul Jacobs addressed the 2019 Western Association of Broadcasters conference and his message to the room was pretty straightforward - not enough change is happening in Canadian broadcasting amidst the digital shift.

If you weren't at the recent 2019 Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards, among this year's Hall of Fame inductees were longtime CJAY92 Calgary morning man Gerry Forbes, coast to coast rock radio legend Brother Jake Edwards - who currently helms mornings at TSN 1040 Vancouver, and legendary CKOI-FM Montreal music director Guy Brouillard. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, we've compiled some highlights from the evening and be warned...you will hear LANGUAGE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL LISTENERS.

What's believed to be the largest gathering on record of Canadian campus and community radio stations is happening June 4-6 in Toronto. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast - Barry Rooke, president of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), on community radio's ongoing evolution and how the NCRA is helping campus stations prepare for the impact of Ontario's Student Choice Initiative.

In the age of the data-driven economy, a lot of companies are finding themselves drowning in data and struggling with how to best leverage all of that information - particularly when it comes to advertising sales. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Mark Gorman, the CEO of Matrix Solutions. Matrix is a sales ecosystem for media companies and has developed a platform to help sales teams connect all of that disparate data.

On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast - we talk digital strategy for broadcast with Futuri Media's Zena Burns, SVP Strategic Marketing and Brand Development, and formerly part of the team that built the iHeartRadio brand. Burns lays claim to the title of radio's first digital program director, hired back in 2006 to lead content strategy for iHeart's NYC stations. We're also joined by Jim Tarantine, Engagement and Insights Consultant, who was previously with Nielsen for a decade.

Gender Representation on Country Format Radio, a new study from the University of Ottawa’s Dr. Jada Watson, and the first to examine Mediabase data, finds that women are getting less airplay than ever on country music radio. In 2000, women accounted for 33.3% of songs on year-end airplay reports, while last year they came in at 11.3%. In terms of spins, the ratio of men to women on country radio was 9.7 to 1.

Since 1983, NABS Canada - the National Advertising Benevolent Society - has quietly been working behind the scenes as a support system for media, marketing and communications professionals who find themselves in need of counselling, financial assistance or career advice. With demand for its services at an all-time high, this May marks the second annual NABS month, raising awareness of the charity, which is funded in large part by the industry and donations of ad space across all verticals.

On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, an off the cuff roundtable on the resurgence of Community Radio with Bryan McKinnon, the executive director of Vancouver's highly successful community station Co-op Radio, and Canadian Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame inductee Don Shafer. Shafer is now a station volunteer, still nursing a few wounds from the failure of his Roundhouse Radio venture, but getting set to host a new show that will launch in May.

On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Brad Danks, the CEO of Canadian specialty channel and OTT platform OUTtv. The LGBTQ network expanded its global footprint in 2018, finding success with its original content in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, and was subsequently named Playback’s Channel of the Year. Danks talks about the challenges of being an independent Canadian operator in the current regulatory landscape and why he thinks the future of Canadian broadcasting lies in the production of original content.

Radioplayer Canada celebrates its second anniversary this month of streaming Canadian radio stations to millions of listeners each week. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, our publisher Shawn Smith in conversation with Michael Hill, managing director of Radioplayer Worldwide, on the rise of radio streaming, the future of the in-dash radio experience and the challenges of smart speaker adoption.

Numeris has announced it’s making major changes to the way Canadian radio in small and medium markets like Kelowna, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay and Halifax, is measured. Starting this Summer, those 95 stations will join Canada’s major cities in being in ratings year-round. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Ross Davies, Director of Member Engagement, Radio, for Numeris, on ongoing sample challenges and the way forward - continuous measurement.

101.5 Today Radio has made its debut in Calgary - a re-launch of Jim Pattison Broadcast Group’s Hot AC station 101.5 Kool FM. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - the Podcast, Jamie Wall, general manager of the Pattison stations in Edmonton and Calgary, on the broadcast group’s personality-driven, high engagement strategy.

It was quite a week at the CRTC. The commission released its report on misleading and aggressive sales practices in the telecom industry which drew heavy criticism for its lack of clear, actionable timelines. One of those critics is Michael Geist, University of Ottawa Law Professor & the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Geist talks about why the telco sales practices issue is a "Penske file" for the regulator, and the commission's re-opening the ISP code of conduct proceedings, among other issues.

On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Mike Cosentino, president of Content and Programming for Bell Media, on the philosophy behind the recently-launched CTV Super Hub, and staying competitive in an increasingly crowded media landscape.

Stingray has taken its Toronto hip hop station Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM) back to its roots after three years as The Move. Canada’s first urban contemporary station, it continues to serve as a launch pad for emerging hip hop and urban talent. We spoke with program director Josie Fenech about Flow's staying power as a taste maker in the era of the multi-platform audio universe.

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a screenplay, Canadian entrepreneur Khaled Sabawi wants to help you get there. Better known for his work co-founding companies like MENA Geo Thermal and TABO Palestine, Sabawi is now taking on Hollywood with a new platform called Open Screenplay. It aims to democratize the screenwriting process and ultimately bring more diverse stories to mainstream audiences.

Every year the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project (CMCRP) puts out a series of reports on the state of Canada’s telecom, internet, and media industries. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - the Podcast, Dwayne Winseck, professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication, who also leads the CMCRP, on the latest Growth of the Network Media Economy report, and among other things why he’s calling for the resignation of CRTC chair Ian Scott.

With two incidents this week that saw hackers gain control of the Twitter accounts of Rogers Radio stations News 95.7 Halifax and News 1130 Vancouver, Momentum Media Marketing's in-house digital experts James Wallace and Christian Lind offer insight into how the hacks occurred and how media organizations can take steps to protect themselves.

Esther Enkin has retired after six years as the CBC’s complaint watchdog and another 40 as a working journalist. Broadcast Dialogue had the chance to talk to her about the challenges facing Canadian journalism in the era of outrage and distrust.

CBC has launched its newly-rebranded CBC Gem streaming service, featuring 4,000 hours of free content from Canadian film to international series. On this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Gave Lindo, CBC’s executive director of OTT programming, on the strategy behind CBC Gem.