Media Beat: May 08, 2019

By David Farrell

On the eve of the great debate known as CMW it is good news to report that Sharon Taylor will be covering all things radio related for FYI. This year’s lineup for broadcasters promises to stir the pot at a time when the media landscape is in a state of upheaval, and radio’s hold on audiences is competing with an infinite dial of interlopers born out of the digital revolution.

From podcasts to streaming, on-demand services are gatecrashing the preserve of fiefdoms that were once believed to be unbeatable and dyed in a cast that generated quarterly profits that for an eternity pointed nowhere but north. These shifting sands have made engagement a tough road to hoe in a marketplace where audiences are overwrought with choice, and the metrics to sell share of market to advertisers have fallen behind in capturing the channels audiences are tuning in.

Who would have guessed?

Spinning the story from a different angle, launch artist and broadcast superstar Eric Samuels returns to CMW after almost a decade away traveling the world pitching his magic as a mentalist. We interviewed Eric sometime back at his new home in Gibson, BC–Canada’s idyllic picture postcard town on the Strait of Georgia that was made famous by Bruno Gerussi and the Beachcombers crew.

Eric's return promises to pitch a bag of mind games, guffaws and at the end of the session it is hoped that his audience will come out with a new perspective on challenging realities facing them in this brave new world where nuanced campaigns trump reactionary turns and protectively swallowing the Kool-Aid from a font full of consultants. Apologies to Eric for just never quite finding the time to focus long enough to transcribe the interview and put his thoughts in his own words in one piece. Eric’s session, Communicate Like a Mind Reader, takes place this Friday, 4-5 pm in Sheraton A/B

Looking for the big picture? James Cridland is the go-to guy. Blessed with that Mick “Crocodile” Dundee accent, the jet-setting radio “futurologist” keynotes on opening morning, headlining the provocatively titled session billed as The Future of Radio in Canada: A Digital Revolution?  He can be found Thursday, 9:45-10:25 am in Sheraton A/B.

The ever-entertaining and forever knowledgeable Alan Cross tasks a talented crew of broadcast professionals 11:45-12:30 pm in the same salon to explain the digital future and how to get there.

Following in the same room, through to 1:20 pm, Edison Research’s Tom Webster will premiere the results of the 2nd annual Infinite Dial Canada research that looks at how Canadians use media, including smart speakers, social media, and podcasting.

2-2:50 pm, JJ Johnston hosts a Programming Masterclass with an all-star class of Canadian broadcast heavyweights.

The complete line-up for Thursday and Friday sessions can be found on the CMW website. See you around, and be sure to give Sharon the best seat in the house or she will be pointing her sharpened pencil at more than the mic.