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Media Beat: November 18, 2021

By David Farrell

Quebecor moving forward with wireless launch, won’t wait on Rogers-Shaw deal

Quebecor Inc. is moving forward with plans to launch a national cellphone network, rather than waiting to acquire any wireless businesses that regulators may force rival Rogers Communications Inc. RCI-B-T to sell in order to acquire Shaw Communications Inc.


In an interview on Tuesday, Quebecor chief executive officer Pierre Karl Péladeau said the Montreal-based company’s experience in its home province shows there is strong consumer demand for competition. In less than two decades, the company captured 22 percent of Quebec’s cellphone market. – Andrew Willis & Alexandra Posadzki, The Globe and Mail

Rogers removes CEO Joe Natale after boardroom power struggle for control of telecom giant

Joe Natale has been removed as chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc by the company’s board led by chair Edward Rogers, whose desire to replace the CEO led to an unprecedented power struggle that split one of Canada’s wealthiest families and left the telecom industry veteran caught in the middle.

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The company’s former chief financial officer, Tony Staffieri, will be interim CEO, the company said late on Tuesday. – Alexandra Posadzki, Jason Kirby & Andrew Willis, The Globe and Mail

Toronto lands massive new film and TV production hub

Toronto just fired off its latest salvo in a war being waged against Vancouver for the symbolic crown of Canada's film and television production capital, or Hollywood North.

Toronto Mayor John Tory was joined Tuesday morning by fellow city politicians to announce the private development team that will lead the charge for an enormous film, television and digital media hub coming to an 8.9-acre waterfront site in the Port Lands starting in 2023. – Jack Landau, blogTO

The price of truth: Al Jazeera marks 25 dangerous years

Killings, threats, and full-on aerial attacks on its bureaus; Al Jazeera has endured a staggering amount of tragedy and obstacles during its 25 years of covering the human story.

Al Jazeera launched its first TV broadcast as an Arabic-language satellite news channel in 1996 from Doha, Qatar — dedicated to providing comprehensive news and live debate as the first independent news channel in the Arab world.

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Since then, it has grown into the Al Jazeera Media Network, with several outlets in multiple languages. A private corporation for public benefit, the network now includes television channels, websites and other digital platforms.

Al Jazeera has led international coverage of some of the world’s most pivotal events — the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, for example — while reporting on crucial ongoing stories, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the war in Afghanistan. – Farah Naijar, Al Jazeera

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Joseph Marshall
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Awards

Mustafa, Nemahsis, Saya Gray and More Nominated on Polaris Music Prize 2025 Short List

The winner of the award for Canadian album of the year will win $30,000 at the Massey Hall gala on September 16. Here's who made the list.

The Polaris Music Prize has unveiled the 10 albums on this year's short list. The list was voted on by a large pool of music critics, journalists and curators, to find the best Canadian album of the year based solely on artistic merit.

The $30,000 winner will be chosen by an 11-member grand jury and revealed at the Polaris concert and award ceremony at Massey Hall on September 16. That ceremony will also reveal the winner of the brand new SOCAN Polaris Song Prize as well as the Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize winners.

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