Brian Segal to leave Rogers Publishing

Brian Segal, (pictured) the head of Rogers Publishing, is leaving the company after 17 years.
Ken Whyte, the executive vice-president of consumer publishing, is likely to take his place overseeing Rogers Communications Inc.’s print media division, according to a source familiar with the matter. The 68-year-old Mr. Segal, who oversees such magazines and their websites as Maclean’s, Chatelaine, Hello! Canada and L’Actualité, will retire at the end of August. Mr. Segal’s successor faces significant challenges as the company grapples with trying to make money in digital media. For all the talk of tablet devices and the opportunities they offer the industry, publishers have not yet decided on a business model, whether they will erect pay walls around their content, or how to deal with digital players such as Apple Inc. that want a slice of their business for the privilege of publishing on these new platforms.

Ownership of TV Sets Falls in U.S.

For the first time in 20 years, the number of homes in the United States with television sets has dropped. The Nielsen Company, which takes TV set ownership into account when it produces ratings, will tell television networks and advertisers on Tuesday that 96.7 percent of American households now own sets, down from 98.9 percent previously. There are two reasons for the decline, according to Nielsen. One is poverty: some low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas. The other is technological wizardry: young people who have grown up with laptops in their hands instead of remote controls are opting not to buy TV sets when they graduate from college or enter the work force, at least not at first. Instead, they are subsisting on a diet of television shows and movies from the Internet. That second reason is prompting Nielsen to think about a redefinition of the term “television household” to include Internet video viewers.

Hamilton Spectator sweeps Ontario Newspaper Awards

The Hamilton Spectator swept the Ontario Newspaper Awards on Saturday night, collecting eight awards, including the prestigious Journalist of the Year award.
The Windsor Star netted six awards, including the equally high-profile Photojournalist of the Year award. The Guelph Mercury and Waterloo Region Record each went home with three awards, while the London Free Press, Sarnia Observer, Woodstock Sentinel-Review and Brandford Expositor each picked up two. The Ottawa Sun, Owen Sound Sun Times, Chatham Daily News, Orillia Packet and Times, Simcoe Reformer and Sault Star each received one award.

Click on the title to read a complete list of awards.

Elections act limits online comments, social media

An elections law enacted when telecommunications were still in their infancy runs up against the digital age on Monday. Strict rules under the Canada Elections Act prevent any instance of "premature transmission of results" until the last polls have closed in every electoral district in the country. That means extra precautions for online publishers and consumers. Elections Canada has issued a warning to Facebook and Twitter users to use caution on election day when communicating and posting voting results, saying the act also applies to transmissions made over the internet.

Michael MacMillan back in the media industry

As head of specialty channel behemoth Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., Michael MacMillan was one of Canada's most powerful media moguls. He sold the company for $2.3-billion in 2007, generating a personal fortune, part of which he invested in a charitable foundation (Samara) and a winery (Closson Chase, in Ontario’s Prince Edward County, east of Toronto). Now, he's returned to the media business, having set up Blue Ant Media Inc. to take a stake in GlassBox Television Inc., a small outfit with a handful of specialty television channels and ambitious plans to distribute programming over the Internet and hand-held devices.

Click on the title to read the Globe and Mail's interview with Michael MacMillan.