CCR People

Colette Watson, currently VP of programming and external relations at Rogers Cable Inc, becomes general manager of the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), a national channel with a budget of $6 million. She replaces Al MacKay on Feb. 1. MacKay will restart his policy and communications consulting business. Producer Robert Lantos has been appointed a member of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp’s board of directors. Lantos co-founded Canada’s first major production and distribution company, Alliance Communications Corp, which later merged with Michael MacMillan’s firm to form Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. Paul J. Williams, former executive VP of both Headline Sports and Telemedia Network Radio, has been named VP and general manager of Chum Group Radio’s newly announced 24-hour national sports radio network. Gerald McGroarty, most recently general manager of Headline Sports Radio, becomes program director. The launch date of the network, which will include Chum’s existing sports radio stations, Fan 590 in Toronto and the Team 1200 in Ottawa, hasn’t yet been announced. Paul Racine becomes president and CEO of the French-language specialty travel channel Canal Evasion, which launched a year ago. He replaces Michel Chamberland, who returns to production activities at Serdy Vidéo. Racine joined BCE Media in 1998 as senior VP of government and regulatory affairs. As well, Jacques Camerlain, formerly director of programming at TV5 Québec, was named Canal Evasion’s director of programming and operations. BCE Inc’s newly formed Bell Globemedia is a majority owner of Canal Evasion with a 50.1 per cent stake, while Serdy Direct Inc controls 19.9 per cent. Janet Callaghan has been named senior VP of integrated marketing at Bell Globemedia. She will develop integrated multi-platform advertising opportunities involving print, TV and the Internet. Callaghan has more than 20 years of marketing and media experience as a managing partner with The Media Company/Media Buying Services. She has appeared before Parliamentary committees and the CRTC on issues affecting advertising in Canada. Peter Bissonnette has been promoted president of Shaw Communications Inc. In his new position, he will be responsible for Shaw’s distribution business, including providing broadband cable television, Internet and satellite services to about 2.3 million customers. He joined Shaw in 1989, getting promoted in 1999 to president of Shaw Cablesystems GP after being named senior VP of operations in 1996. The Toronto Maple Leafs are expected to announce this week the hiring of John Shannon, former executive producer of the CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada, as executive producer of The Maple Leafs Channel, a regional digital specialty channel set to launch in September. Shannon’s contract with the CBC was not renewed last July. Mike Rowell joins Digital Artisans Guild Inc, a Calgary-based producer of interactive HDTV content, as director of business development. Gord Haines has been hired as CEO of Passion Media Inc, which owns Passion TV and The Singles Network, two recently licensed Category 2 specialty channels. He has 27 years experience in the broadcasting industry, including working at Alliance Communications from 1992 to 1996. There, he helped launch Showcase Television. Bill Gray departs Stornoway Communications Inc, which won a Category 1 licence for the Issues Channel. Stornoway is currently restructuring. Gray was named executive VP of operations last June, at which time it was announced he would act as COO if Stornoway’s channels were licenced. Debbie Lawes has been promoted to publisher of Decima Publishing. Lawes was appointed associate publisher and managing editor in January 2000, after spearheading the re-launch of Canadian Communications Reports, Report on Wireless, Network Letter, and Canadian NEW MEDIA. She will continue in her capacity as managing editor of the company, overseeing the editorial direction and daily operations. Now that the publications have been successfully re-established in the marketplace, Gerry Wall has decided to step down as publisher to focus on his role with Wall Communications, an economics research firm specializing in the telecom and broadcasting sectors.

CCR People

Broadcast | February 1, 2001

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