BBC considerting restricting journalists on Twitter

The BBC is considering restricting its journalists’ use of Twitter. If the plan is approved, top correspondents will be told to move away from using online platforms to break stories or offer instant analysis, The Guardian reports.
The proposal follows criticism of online comments made by staff during the British election campaign. Political editor Laura Kuenssberg was attacked by some Jeremy Corbyn supporters for repeating, along with other pundits, a false allegation that a Tory minister’s aide had been punched by a Labour activist. North America editor Jon Sopel has meanwhile been accused of tweets that reveal a critical stance on Donald Trump.
Now Fran Unsworth, the director of news and current affairs, is believed to be keen to persuade journalists to end the practice of frequently posting on politics and current affairs.

Full story

Craig Oliver retiring

Craig Oliver, CTV’s chief political commentator and a fixture on the network for the last four decades, is retiring. Oliver, 81, will step away from appearing regularly on the network but will still appear occasionally as a guest commentator.

Nathan Downer is the new CTV News co-anchor

Nathan Downer

Nathan Downer is the new co-anchor of CTV News Toronto, replacing long-time anchor Ken Shaw.
Downer will anchor CTV News Toronto at Noon and CTV News Toronto at Six, alongside Michelle Dubé.
The announcement comes after Shaw announced his retirement on Friday.
Downer comes to CTV News Toronto from CP24, where he was an anchor and reporter for the past 11 years.
Prior to joining the CP24 team, Downer worked as a reporter for Global TV.

Ken Shaw retiring from CTV News

After covering news and anchoring for more than 40 years, CTV News Toronto’s anchor Ken Shaw is retiring, the network announced today.
No replacement has been announced.
 “There have been so many changes over the decades and I’ve been privileged to have a front row seat for all of them,” Shaw said in his final newscast.
He will work on a number of projects for CTV. He joined CTV News in 1979.

"The Loop" become CTV News!

If you're on Sympatico e-mail, you get directed to a web page called "The Loop," that contains smorgasbord of images and links but Bell just announced that "instead of the Loop, Bell email users will be redirected to the CTV News website (www.ctvnews.ca) when logging out of their Bell email. We received a lot of feedback that users prefer news when logging out of their email. We’ve made the change based on that feedback."
Surprise, surprise! People want news!

NOW Magazine sold!

Now Magazine, the 38-year-old alternative news weekly, has been bought by a Toronto-based company with visions of putting alternative papers across North America under one corporate roof, The Star reports.
Brian Kalish, CEO of Media Central Corp., said readers shouldn’t expect any big editorial changes in what he called an “iconic” publication.
“We want to keep the voice alive. The minute you start messing with the voice is where you have issues,” said Kalish, in a nod to the recent and widely derided takeovers of Sports Illustrated and Deadspin.
Media Central’s only other media property is CannCentral.com, a cannabis-based news website launched earlier this year.
The takeover values the company at up to $2 million, with half of that paid up front and the other half contingent on Now meeting certain performance targets over the next year. (Star)

Evan Solomon named new host of CTV’s 'Power Play'

Evan Solomon will replace Don Martin on CTV's Power Play, the network has announced. Martin is leaving in December. Solomon will start hosting on January 6 and will host Monday to Thursday. CTV Ottawa bureau chief Joyce Napier will continue hosting the Friday edition.

Prince Andrew getting bashed over his TV interview

Piers Morgan Tweeted: 'This is one of the most astonishing interviews I've ever watched. Brilliant forensic dissection by @maitlis - desperate, toe-curling bulls*** from Prince Andrew. Why on earth did he do this? Insane.'
Daily Mail story

 

Christie Blatchford being treated for cancer

NEWSTALK 1010 reported today that Christie is currently undergoing treatment for cancer and appreciates the many listeners who have reached out and sent their best wishes.
"She will be back," the posting said..
Well wishes may be sent through this link

Host Rob Snow let go from CFRA

CFRA host Rob Snow lost his job Wednesday after two decades with the local newstalk radio station, the Ottawa Citizen reports.
Snow said he got the news at 8:30 Wednesday morning.
“I was told I was part of restructuring,” he said. “It’s a shock, but it’s the media. The media — whether it’s newspapers, radio, television — it’s all struggling.”
Snow, 48, took over after longtime CFRA host Lowell Green retired his morning show in 2016. Snow’s show, News & Views, aired on CFRA from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Note from Andrew Coyne

Andrew Coyne on Twitter: "Personal note: I am changing employment. I’ll be joining the Globe and Mail later this month."

Torstar suspends dividend until at least late 2020; stock plunges

Shares in Torstar Corp. plunged after the company reported a larger-than-expected loss and suspended its quarterly dividend, setting in motion a mechanism that could shift the balance of power among the company's shareholders.
The media company reported on Wednesday a $40.9-million loss attributable to shareholders and an 11.6 per cent decline in third-quarter revenue.
The company's publicly traded B shares dropped to 53 cents — the lowest on public record that go back to the late 1990s — following Torstar's announcement, before rising to 60 cents in midday trading. (Bloomberg)
LINK

Robert Frank, pivotal figure in documentary photography, is dead at 94

Robert Frank, one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century, whose visually raw and personally expressive style was pivotal in changing the course of documentary photography, died on Monday in Inverness, Nova Scotia. He was 94.
New York Times obit

New podcast launched "to cover the impact of technology on our democracy" during the federal election

Hosted by Kevin Newman, a weekly election podcast called "Attention Control"  says it will provide Canadians "with exclusive investigative reporting, timely in-depth interviews with influential voices, and ongoing news coverage on how digital tools, platforms and data are influencing public opinion during the election campaign."

“Everything about this project is cutting edge,” says Newman. “We’re bringing proven journalistic experience to what I consider the most important new issue in politics: the digital attempts to manipulate public opinion. Podcasting allows for deep investigation and conversations which will help inform and protect voters. We have already uncovered some surprising data and stories that we will be reporting on in the coming weeks.”

Attention Control is a project of the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University, funded by The David Family Foundation and The Rossy Foundation. The podcast is one of Canada’s first wholly foundation supported public interest journalism projects.

The podcast is produced by Antica Productions. "As Canada's largest independent producer of high-quality narrative audio, Antica's team is thrilled to partner with Kevin, Bell Media and McGill for this uniquely important journalistic endeavor," says Stuart Coxe, Executive Producer.

Link to the podcast

Journalists in English langauge debate all female!

The English language election debate is set for October 7, the French for October 10.
The English language moderators are all female -- a first in debate history. They are:
Rosemary Barton, CBC News; Susan Delacourt, Toronto Star; Dawna Friesen, Global News; Lisa LaFlamme, CTV News and Althia Raj, HuffPost Canada Each moderator will guide a different part of the debate.

For the French debate, the moderator will be Patrice Roy from Radio-Canada, with the participation of:Hélène Buzzetti, Le Devoir; Patricia Cloutier, Le Soleil; François Cardinal, La Presse and Alec Castonguay, L'actualité

There is still a debate under way whether Maxime Bernier will be added to the Liberal, PC, NDP and Green party leaders.

Kevin Newman steps down as host of W5; will run podcast

CTV News announced today that Kevin Newman will be stepping down as Host and Correspondent of W5 when the award-winning investigative series returns to CTV for an unprecedented 54^th season on Sept. 21.

“I feel genuinely fortunate to have done some of the most meaningful work of my career at W5,” said Newman. “After four decades of reporting, it’s time to make room for the next generation, and I am grateful to be contributing to CTV News in new ways.”

Newman’s decision to take a step back from helming W5 allows him time to focus on other projects, including a new podcast series for CTV News and iHeartRadio. With complete details to be announced soon, this new podcast project will be released in the lead-up to and throughout the Canadian federal election and will focus on issues related to technology and democracy.

Ellen Roseman's consumer column to end

The Star's long-running consumer columnist, Ellen Roseman, is ending her stint with the paper. She tweeted:
"MY FINAL COLUMN: After 20 years of championing the consumer cause in the Toronto Star’s Business and Life sections, my columns in the newspaper have come to an end. I’ve had a great run, aided enormously by readers’ support and sharing of experiences."
She doesn't say what is next for her. She has written books and given lectures and will no doubt continue but not in the Star.

Even before first bailout dollar arrives, newspaper industry holds out its hand for more: Andrew Coyne

Andrew Coyne writes:
“Before long,” I gloomily predicted in November of last year, when the government first unveiled its plans to bail out the newspaper industry, “we will be back for more.”
I had thought two, maybe three years – after we had gotten used to taking money from the people we write about and had discovered that, far from solving our problems, it had only encouraged us to put off dealing with them. I had not imagined our sense of entitlement would already have grown so bloated that we would be sticking out our hands for more even before we had pocketed the first dollar.
And yet there it is, on page after page of the report of the coven of industry supplicants — sorry, “independent panel of experts” – the government retained to advise it how best to shower $600 million of public funds on them. Ostensibly the panel’s purpose was to fill in the details: what sorts of publications should be accredited as Qualified Canadian Journalism Organizations, for example, making them eligible for the government lolly, or how to define terms such as “journalist,” never previously the subject of state regulation. (“Journalistic principles” include, if you were wondering, “a practice or correcting errors,” sic.)
Full story

New editor-in chief at National Post

Rob Roberts will be returning to the National Post as editor-in chief, the Twittersphere reports. He was a member of the original staff of the NatPost but left for CP. Now he is returning.
Other changes include Mick Higgins taking up a new position working with politics executive editor Kevin Libin.

BCE CEO George Cope to retire

George Cope will retire in January after nearly 12 years as chief executive of BCE Inc.. the company announced.
The Montreal-based company, which owns Bell Canada, CTV Inc., and a portion of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., said chief operating officer Mirko Bibic will take over from Cope on Jan. 5, 2020.
CBC story

Margaret Wente taking buyout

Margaret Wente has accepted a voluntary buyout and will be leaving the Globe and Mail at the end of August, she confirmed on Monday.
“I’ve had a wonderful run at the Globe–33 years at the paper, and almost 20 years writing my column. I’ve been blessed with great colleagues and fantastic readers,” she told J-Source in an email.
The buyout, or voluntary severance package, was first offered to staff in early May, with publisher Phillip Crawley saying the paper intended to cut $10 million a year from its labour budget.
Wente’s long tenure at the Globe has been…controversial. (J-Source)

Full J-Source story

CBC News foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed to host CBC Radio's Ideas

Veteran foreign correspondent Nahlah Ayed will be the new host of Ideas, the nightly CBC Radio program devoted to exploring contemporary ideas on everything from culture and the arts to science and technology and social issues, the CBC announced.
Ayed will take over in September from Paul Kennedy, who is retiring at the end of the current season.
Ideas has been on the air for more than 50 years and has built a reputation for groundbreaking documentaries.

The Star's Daniel Dale going to CNN!

He Tweeted:

"I’m going to work for CNN! I’ll be on the truth beat full-time starting June 17, dissecting dishonesty from Trump, Democratic candidates and others. https://twitter.com/cnnpr/status/1136257143630389248?s=21 …

CNN Communications "

✔ @CNNPR

We are excited to welcome Daniel Dale @ddale8 to @CNN’s Washington bureau, where he will join as a reporter on the fact-checking beat!

YouTube to close Canadian studio

YouTube says it will close the company’s only permanent Canadian studio later this year as it changes strategies for how it reaches video creators.

The media giant sent an e-mail on Thursday to its online creator community outlining plans to replace its Toronto studio with temporary “pop-up” locations that will roll out in different regions of the country.

It says the move will help YouTube’s production assets reach Canadians in cities where they wouldn’t otherwise have the resources.

YouTube Space Toronto opened at George Brown College in 2016 amid a boom in the growth of the creator community.

The 3,500-square-foot facility was accessible to YouTube personalities with more than 10,000 subscribers, and the more popular their channels were, the more access they had to studio time.

It quickly became a hot spot for Toronto creators to mingle and tap into resources they might not otherwise have, such as equipment, workshops and space to hold launch parties. (CP)

Anna Maria Tremonti leaving The Current to host and produce original podcasts for CBC

Anna Maria Tremonti is leaving The Current after 16 seasons of hosting the weekday morning current affairs radio show in order to produce and host new, original podcasts for CBC, the corporation has announced.
CBC Radio will conduct a search for a new host of The Current, which will continue in its 8:30 a.m. timeslot.
Tremonti, 61, has been at the helm of the acclaimed show since it hit the CBC Radio airwaves in November 2002.

Torstar shutting down Hamilton Spectator presses and looking to sell building

The Hamilton Spectator is closing its printing and mailroom operations and exploring selling its building at 44 Frid St., Torstar Corp. has announced.
The move is effective Aug. 24 and means approximately 73 full-time and 105 part-time staff will be laid off, the announcement said.

Printing work will be transferred to TC Transcontinental Printing, other Torstar-owned facilities and external printers. Torstar has extended its printing arrangements with TC Transcontinental Printing to 2024.

Column on this by editor Paul Berton

 

Trump pardons Conrad Black

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a full pardon for former media mogul Conrad Black, who was convicted in 2007 of fraud and obstruction of justice and spent 3-1/2 years in prison, the White House said.
Black, 74, a Canadian-born British citizen, once ran an international newspaper empire that included the Chicago Sun-Times, Britain’s Daily Telegraph and the Jerusalem Post.

“Lord Black’s case has attracted broad support from many high-profile individuals who have vigorously vouched for his exceptional character,” the White House said in a statement announcing the pardon.

He was found guilty in the United States in 2007 of scheming to siphon off millions of dollars from the sale of newspapers owned by Hollinger Inc, where he was chief executive and chairman.

Two of his three fraud convictions were later voided, and his sentence was shortened. He was released from a Florida prison in May 2012 and deported from the United States. (Reuters)

Shaw Communications sells its stake in Corus Entertainment for $548M

Shaw Communications Inc. is selling its stake in Corus Entertainment Inc. for $548 million.
Under the deal, the cable and telecommunications company will sell 80.63 million class B Corus shares at a price of $6.80 per share through a secondary offering.

Corus shares closed at $8.06 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The sale represents a roughly 38 per cent stake in Corus.
Shaw said the money from the sale will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include the repayment of debt.

Corus will not receive any of the proceeds of the sale. (CP)

Globe and Mail to offer buyouts, aims to cut $10 million from operating budget

Canadaland and other outlets report that Globe and Mail staffers received  news at a midday town hall Wednesday, where publisher Phillip Crawley told attendees that the newspaper is cutting costs by cutting staff.
“The company wants to reduce the portion of its operating budget dedicated to labour costs by $10-million annually,” Mason Wright, the chairperson for the Globe unit of Unifor 87-M, told Canadaland in a Twitter message. “They are offering a ‘voluntary separation package,’ and if they don’t hit the $10-million target with voluntary departures, they’ll turn to involuntary dismissals to make up the difference.”
Wright told Canadaland that employees from all departments, unionized and non-unionized, will be eligible for a voluntary buyout. In a memo to union members (embedded below), Wright wrote that union leadership asked the company for “more generous voluntary separation terms in an effort to minimize the impact on the workforce, but that suggestion was rejected.”
Full story

CTV converting journalists into videographers

A blog being run by free-lancer Steve Faguy reports that staff at CTV News departments across the country were called into mandatory meetings on Thursday, and told that they’ll have to tighten their belts a bit more.
"I don’t have specifics or numbers (I’ve asked CTV News for comment), but the headline is that journalists will be transformed into “videojournalists” who do not only their own reporting but also their own camerawork, editing and even writing for the web," he writes.
"As a result, editors and cameramen will be offered buyout packages or laid off. Layoff notices have been issued in Montreal and Toronto, I’m told, but not everywhere. In Montreal, 15 jobs are being cut and an unspecified number of online jobs added.
"CTV News already employs some videojournalists (there are four at CTV Montreal, all of them young), and they’re used at other networks as well, notably Citytv, which relies almost exclusively on them.
“Today’s announcement from CTV of its shift to ‘digital-first’ airing of local news stories on the Internet was inevitable,” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias. “Retooling local news for digital is necessary and, hopefully, a successful business plan because local TV is being starved for advertising revenues and anything that brings in a bigger audience and more ad revenue is welcome.”
Dias cautioned Bell Media of its responsibility to guide news staff through the technological change

Full story

BBC DJ fired after including chimpanzee picture in royal baby tweet

A BBC disc jockey has been fired after using a picture of a chimpanzee in a tweet about the royal baby born Monday to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry.
Danny Baker tweeted Thursday that he has been fired after posting an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes and the caption: "Royal baby leaves hospital."

The tweet was seen as a racist reference to the heritage of the couple's newborn, Archie, who was born Monday. The duchess's mother, Doria Ragland, is black, and her father, Thomas Markle, is white. (CBC)

Former Global broadcaster Leslie Roberts hired by CTV Morning Live

Leslie Roberts, the former Toronto news anchor who resigned from Global TV following conflict of interest allegations, will be the new co-host of CTV Morning Live in Ottawa, CTV has announced. He is  to start in June.
Roberts previously worked for Global in Toronto for 15 years as an anchor and executive editor. In 2015, Roberts resigned after the Toronto Star investigated conflict of interest allegations against him.
In 2013, Roberts set up a public relations firm, BuzzPR, with a business partner. The Star revealed there were several cases of Roberts’ BuzzPR clients, such as lawyers or motivational speakers, appearing on Global News. Roberts often interviewed them himself, either for the nightly news or the morning show, the Star wrote.

Most of Canada's top websites won't post federal election ads this year

Most of Canada's 20 most popular websites won't be accepting political ads or setting up the ad registries called for under new election rules adopted by Parliament.
A survey by CBC News reveals that many online operations have quietly decided that it would be too difficult to set up a registry in the two months remaining before the new rules go into effect, or to ensure that third party ads don't slip through their systems.
Tech giant Microsoft has decided to completely ban political advertising on its online platforms, including Bing and MSN, rather than adapt to new regulations being introduced around the world, including Canada's new rules. (CBC)
Full story

National Enquirer sold to newsstand chain Hudson News for $100M

American Media Inc. (AMI) is selling its tabloid the National Enquirer for $100 million US to James Cohen, chief executive of Hudson News, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the agreement, Reuters reports.
The National Enquirer had admitted to paying hush money to help U.S. President Donald Trump get elected and been accused of attempting to blackmail Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The weekly tabloid along with two sister publications, the Globe and the National Examiner, will be purchased by the head of Hudson News known for its airport newsstands, Associated Press later confirmed.
The sale is expected to reduce AMI's debt to $355 million, the Washington Post report said.
MORE

Landmark streaming as Appeal Court hears carbon tax test

The Ontario Court of Appeal, highest legal authority in the province, will stream proceedings at Monday’s challenge to the federal carbon tax. “Typically cameras are not permitted in courtrooms,” Jacob Bakan, special counsel in the office of the province’s chief justice told the National Post. “The court is making an exception for the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act.” The case will see the Ontario government and supporters challenge the federal authority over imposition of a charge on gasoline, heating fuel and other pollutants as a way to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Ontario maintains the federal law is unconstitutional. In an order last week, Justice James MacPherson gave the CBC permission to put up to five cameras in the courtroom. The livestream will be available to other media and on the court’s own website. (Courtesy of The South Bayview Bulldog)

Postmedia posts net loss of $5.1 million as digital revenue growth streak continues

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. posted its ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit digital revenue growth on Thursday, but declining print revenues and an impairment charge contributed to a net loss of $5.1 million for the company’s fiscal second quarter, the Financial Post reports.
In the three months ending Feb. 28, 2019, Postmedia, which is Canada’s largest newspaper chain, saw its revenue decline to $145.7 million from $157.6 million in the same period last year.
The drop in the Postmedia second fiscal quarter, the company said, was due to a $10 million decrease in print advertising and a $2.9 million decline in print circulation revenue. The company noted, however, that the rates of decline for both metrics slowed as compared to last year.

Judge orders Quebecor to reconnect TVA Sports signal for Bell TV subscribers

CP reports that a Quebec judge has ordered Quebecor to reconnect the signal for three TVA Sports channels to Bell TV customers.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne refused, however, to prohibit the media company from making negative publicity about Bell, as its rival had requested, citing freedom of expression.

Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau told reporters that the company was going to obey the injunction.

The ruling came after lawyers for Bell Canada and rival Quebecor Inc. were in court Friday, battling over three French-language sports channels that Bell TV subscribers haven’t received since the NHL playoffs began this week.

Bell lawyer Francis Rouleau said cutting the signal “is a conduct that deserves to be highly sanctioned ... to reinstate those who are in the penalty box, who are the consumers and the subscribers of Bell.”

 

CTV reporter Paul Bliss was fired for repeated sexual misconduct, network alleges

CP's Colin Perkel writes:
"A veteran television reporter who left CTV after a woman accused him of lewd behaviour at the Ontario legislature was fired for repeated sexual misconduct involving young women, new court documents allege.
In an untested filing in Superior Court, CTV and its owner Bell Media say they began investigating complaints against Paul Bliss after a former freelancer, Bridget Brown, went public in January 2018 with accusations against him.
“'The investigation revealed that Mr. Bliss had been engaging in sexual activities in the workplace with multiple individuals on multiple occasions for over 10 years,' Bell Media says in its statement of defence. 'The investigation also revealed that Mr. Bliss continued to send sexually inappropriate messages using work resources, despite being warned by Human Resources previously that the conduct was not acceptable.'
The document served on Tuesday was filed as part of a $7.5-million defamation lawsuit Bliss launched a year ago against CTV, Bell Media, Brown and others."
Full story

The story of a successful legislatures newsletter

Megan O'Toole writes in J-Source:
"In the late summer of 2017, after months of contraction and dozens of layoffs in the Canadian media industry, Allison Smith’s digital newsletter service was growing.
"Smith, the founder and publisher of the Ontario legislative chronicle Queen’s Park Today, saw her chance to launch a sister outlet in British Columbia, where a provincial election had resulted in a dramatic power shift: An NDP-Green coalition had taken office after 16 years of Liberal rule. Smith issued a call for reporters, and B.C. journalist Shannon Waters answered it, coming on board just in time to cover the throne speech on Sept. 8, 2017.
"Since then, Smith has hired five additional staff members – a salesperson, a copy editor, a part-time news editor and two more reporters – and launched a third legislative newsletter in Alberta. Her revenues have doubled in the past year as she has transitioned from a one-woman, Ontario-based operation to a fully fledged, cross-country news service."
 Full story

Former Rob Ford chief of staff Mark Towhey will be replacing James Wallace, who left to become deputy chief of staff for Doug Ford

Canadaland reports that on Friday pundit and commentator Mark Towhey announced on Twitter that he was to be the new editor-in-chief of Sun News, responsible for the Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary Sun newspapers. After helping elect Ford to the Toronto mayoralty, and serving in his office as director of policy and strategy and later chief of staff, Towhey co-authored a book — Mayor Rob Ford: Uncontrollable – How I Tried to Help the World’s Most Notorious Mayor — that both detailed his knowledge of Ford’s frequently dangerous, abusive, and illegal activities, as well as his efforts to cover them up in the press and keep the mayor’s reelection viable. (In the book, he maintained that he never lied on the mayor’s behalf, merely dissembled.)
He later helped run Patrick Brown’s successful campaign for the leadership of the PC Party of Ontario but did not follow him to Queen’s Park. Brown subsequently wrote in his own book that, once he became leader, he had the party’s lawyer draft confidentiality agreements for his staff so that they “could not do to me what Mark Towhey, former chief of staff to Ford, did to the mayor of Toronto, namely, write a book about Ford’s time in office.”
Since November 2013, Towhey has hosted a Sunday afternoon show on Toronto’s Newstalk 1010, a job which he indicated he will be continuing. He has also acted as a consultant, obtaining a $100,000 sole-sourced contract from the Town of Caledon, Ontario, in 2015.

Peter Calamai dead at 75

Peter Calamai died at his home in Stratford, Ont., today (Tuesday). He was 75.

Calamai  began his professional career at the Hamilton Spectator before moving to Southam News and postings that took him to London, Nairobi, Washington, Vancouver and Ottawa.Calamai then served as editorial page editor of the Ottawa Citizen before moving to the Toronto Star in 1998 and the job of national science reporter. He retired from the Star in 2008 but stayed active as a freelance writer and editor.
Star obit by Bruce Campion-Smith

Reporter who helped expose corrupt FIFA official killed in professional hit, employer says

An investigative journalist in Ghana who helped expose a high-ranking official at world soccer body FIFA as corrupt was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike as he drove home alone at night, police said Thursday.
His employers said he was assassinated.
Ahmed Hussein-Suale was killed late Wednesday, shot twice in the chest and once in the neck at close range while driving in the suburb of Accra where he lived. He died immediately, according to police.
Tiger Eye PI, the investigative journalism house Hussein-Suale worked for, said it had the hallmarks of a professional hit. (AP)

Journalist Zuhair Kashmeri, author of books on the Air India bombing, has died at age 72

Zuhair Kashmeri, a well known journalist who wrote two books about the Air India bombing and scored a rare interview with Yasser Arafat. died Dec. 21, 2018, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., of heart-related issues at the age of 72.

He wrote hundreds of articles for the Globe and Mail over 15 years, covering crime, business and financial scandals.

He was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, on Dec. 3, 1946.

He earned diplomas in journalism from the city’s Siddhartha College and another from the London School of Journalism in England.

Full obit by Ron Csilag in the Globe and Mail (subscription needed) 

CRTC chairman defends against critics, says regulator remains committed to net neutrality

The Globe and Mail's Christine Dobby writes:

"CRTC chairman Ian Scott says the telecom regulator remains committed to net neutrality, responding to claims that he wants to water down protections around the free flow of information online.

"The federal government is conducting a sweeping review of broadcast and telecom legislation and Mr. Scott came under fire in the fall for saying that any new laws should continue to allow for “flexibility” in the application of net neutrality.

"Net neutrality is the principle that internet providers should treat all traffic equally and not block or prioritize content. Mr. Scott said in a November speech that there could be instances involving public safety, remote medical procedures or self-driving cars “where a certain flexibility will be required.”

"His remarks spurred a backlash from consumer group OpenMedia, which has collected almost 15,000 signatures for an online petition to 'Save Net Neutrality in Canada.' The group argues that the CRTC, along with telecom industry lobbyists, is pushing for looser regulations following the repeal of net neutrality rules in the United States."

Full story (subscription needed)

John M. Scott, editor of TIME Canada has died

John M. Scott, editor of the Canadian edition of TIME magazine in Montreal from 1962 to 1973, died on December 20, 2018. He was 88.
He was editor-in-chief of the McGill Daily while studying at the university. He later became a reporter and assistant city editor of the Montreal Gazette before joining TIME in New York in 1957. In 1962, he returned to Montreal as head of the magazine's first editorial office outside New York.
In 1973, John became chief of the Time-Life bureau in London. After Time closed its Canadian editorial edition in 1976, he stayed on as Time's Ottawa bureau chief, retiring in 1984. He died in the Magog, Quebec, hospital, near to his home in Georgeville, Quebec.

Paul Godfrey steps down as Postmedia CEO, Andrew MacLeod set to take over

Paul Godfrey is stepping down as chief executive officer of Postmedia Network and will be replaced by Andrew MacLeod, the company announced Thursday.
Godfrey, who turns 80 on Saturday, remains as executive chair, serving as a member of the senior management team and adviser to MacLeod. (Toronto Star)
Full story

Veteran film and video editor Tom Latimer dead at 78

Tom Latimer, long-time free-lance film and video editor  at CTV, has died at age 78. According an email from a friend, he had a sudden cardiac arrest at Bloor and Church Streets on December 27.
A funeral service will be held  on Monday, January 14, at 12 noon at the Morley Bedford Funeral Home, 159 Eglinton Avenue West.
Funeral home obituary