BROADCASTING/MEDIA Episodes

Order of Canada recipient Denise Donlon talks about moving from Whitesnake’s ‘Slide It In’ tour to The New Music, becoming an on-air personality/VJ at MuchMusic, launching MuchMoreMusic, her thoughts on Moses Znaimer/Christopher Ward/Rick Campanelli/Bill Welychka/George Stroumboulopoulos, going into labour while hosting a live television event with the Cowboy Junkies, taking over at Sony Music Canada precisely at the same moment the global recording industry began imploding, moving to our nation...

TVO Superstar Steve Paikin talks about his 5 shows over 31 years [and counting] at Ontario’s public television channel, starting his broadcasting career alongside Michael Landsberg at UofT Radio, chasing ambulances at The Hamilton Spectator, why he agrees with the host that Boston is the City of Champions, why Mikhail Gorbachev [impactful!] & Mordecai Richler [prickly!] were notable interviewees, his interactions with Elwy Yost/Scotty Bowman/Ken Dryden/Hugh Heron/Kenny Stabler/Doug Ford, his Dad...

Global TV’s The Morning Show co-host Carolyn MacKenzie talks about ‘adulting’ while studying Journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa, the transition from reporter to news anchor to lifestyle host allowing her to become more of her authentic self, how her show is effectively ‘an hour with friends,’ why eating crickets first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is NOT advisable, why she preferred the controlled environment of a broadcast studio vs beaming in from home during covid, her gue...

The Region 105.9’s Morning Man Jim Lang talks about the power of hyper-local radio, the awe–inspiring signage he encountered while visiting Lee Eckley at CHUM-FM [‘through these doors walk the finest radio talent in Canada’], his Humber College internship with an absolutely all-star broadcasting team at Q107 [John Derringer, Gene Valaitis, Jane Hawtin, Andy Frost, John Gallagher, Jimmy James, Bob Mackowycz Sr, Steve Anthony], enjoying his one & only LIVE Stanley Cup parade while working in Montr...

Grill On!! BBQ Master Steven Raichlen talks about the 25th anniversary of his landmark book The Barbecue Bible [and how it can stand in for the actual Bible], his new PBS show Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue, why grilling is the world’s most universal cooking method, his newfound love for Planchas & Griddles, why his favourite form of live fire cooking is Cave Man grilling, why he employs not one but two Fire Wranglers on set, how he avoids packing on the pounds with all that food lying around...

With the imminent publication of his memoir A Mic For All Seasons, the most versatile sports broadcaster in North America Kenny Albert talks about learning by osmosis from Dad Marv and Uncles Al & Steve, working alongside The Great One Wayne Gretzky [and #99 writing the foreword to his book], taking over for ‘the Vin Scully of hockey’ Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick, the confusion about how John Tavares pronounces his own name, starting his career as the voice of the AHL’s Baltimore Skipjacks while rooming on...

Narativ’s Zev Shalev has travelled from Israel to South Africa to Bathurst/St Clair [arriving with $2k in a snowstorm] to NYC to LA & back to Toronto, along the way sharing experiences with Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Valerie Pringle, Dan Matheson, Jennifer Hedger, Arisa Cox, Ben Chin, the late Sarika Sehgal, Dina Pugliese, Roz Weston, Billie Holiday, Barb Williams, Moses Znaimer, Cheryl Hickey, Rick Campanelli, Harry Smith, Bob Schieffer, Julie Chen, Leslie Moonves, Wendy Mesley, Oprah Winfre...

Sirius XM/Kool Button Podcast’s Steve Kouleas shares tales from over 30 years in hockey broadcasting via TSN/The Score/Sirius, gives shoutouts to the gang from Woburn CI & Ryerson, shares the parallel universe of his Dad being at Paul Henderson’s Goal of the Century in Moscow 1972 AND Steve being at Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal in Vancouver 2010, talks about sharing a smoke & a drink with St Louis Blues superfan Jon Hamm, supporting Bob Uecker & Bob Costas in the SkyDome broadcast booth, being in...

ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey talks about being a Day One co-host of our domestic version of the iconic Entertainment Tonight brand, moving up the career ladder from Shallow Lake to Owen Sound to London to Barrie to the Big Smoke, the surreal experience of going from watching Rick Campanelli on MM to being his co-host, the multiple life victories achieved in her Le Chateau power suit, her excellent experiences with Oprah Winfrey/Celine Dion/Mary Hart/Matt Damon/Brad Pitt/George Clooney/Don Cheadle, ...

5x Grey Cup Champ/TSN Analyst Jim Barker talks FOOTBALL FOOTBALL FOOTBALL, why Doug Flutie is the BEST, why Michael ‘Pinball’ Clemons is even BETTER, stories behind his XFL experience and winning the ‘Million Dollar Championship Game,’ how he helped convince Vince McMahon to honour his financial commitments despite losing $120MM on the XFL, provides an explanation of the ROUGE [and why he loves it], discloses that he will imminently be dragged kicking/screaming onto social media, shares why he p...

Former Global/CFTO/Sportsnet broadcaster Gerry ‘Dobber’ Dobson talks about his active retirement, 18 years covering Premier League + TFC soccer, being a ‘day-oner’ at Sportsnet, covering 6 Olympic Games and why Calgary 1988/Barcelona 1992 were his most memorable, starting out from a farm outside Barrie doing grades 1-8 in a one-room country schoolhouse, his continuing admiration for the annual Robbie International Soccer Tournament [as BNL sang: ‘held at Birchmount Stadium, home of the Robbie’],...

Postmedia/Toronto Sun journalist Steve Simmons talks about Ironman Phil Kessel’s never-ending Hot Dog story, why Raghib ‘The Rocket’ Ismail was a real pill, expanding his Sunday Notes column from 600 to 2200 words, paring down his 9,000+ columns to select the best mix of 89 for his book A Lucky Life, leveraging Cliff Fletcher’s real estate transactions to score the front page of the Calgary Herald, American blowhard Keith Olbermann calling him ‘the worst person in the world’ [not once but twice!...

Longtime Hockey Commentator & Author Scott Morrison talks about writing his upcoming book 'Draft Day' with pickleball devotee Doug MacLean, serving as a protégé of the late great George ‘The Baron’ Gross at The Toronto Sun, why Harold Ballard called him ‘Whiskers,’ why the 1972 Summit Series is still so fascinating 50+ years later, why Rick Vaive’s #22 should ABSOLUTELY be raised to the Scotiabank Arena rafters, why Nelson Millman remains his trusted Vice-Chair for the annual Conn Smythe Sports ...

Hey Landsberg!! Ex-TSN’s Michael Landsberg shares stories from his 37 year SportsDesk/Off The Record career [Gene Simmons, Thea Andrews, Mark Tewksbury, Stéphane Richer, Vince McMahon, Meat Loaf, Claude Lemieux, Darren McCarty, Dan Hill, Manny Pacquiao, Rick Vaive, Dikembe Mutombo, Jeff Marek, Caroline Cameron, George Cope] and his ongoing mental health advocacy via SickNotWeak.com!

SickNotWeak's online community is here to reach and help that lonely person. Together we can end the stigma that ...

Sports Broadcaster/Author/Podcaster John Shannon talks about 'Team Baby Blue'/Hockey Night in Canada [that themesong, those blazers!], who Dave Hodge telephoned FIRST immediately after his irreverent on-air ‘pen flip’ in 1987, separating Don Cherry ‘the person’ from ‘the performer,’ pivoting from behind the camera to in front of the camera, podcasting with his longtime sidekick Bob McCown, why he is a ‘radio-holic,’ the definitive answer as to whether the rest of Canada really hates the Toronto ...

Sportsnet anchor/host Jesse Fuchs talks about growing up in Scarborough, playing hockey for Birchmount Park Collegiate [Anthony Stewart made the team...Wayne Simmonds did NOT!], interning at TSN for Michael Landsberg, working on his penmanship & video tape editing skills at The Score with Tim Micallef/Sid Seixeiro/Steve Kouleas/Cabbie Richards/Simon Bennett, transitioning from the family-owned Score to the Rogers corporate mothership, getting distracted by Auston Matthews’ quads, explaining to D...

Gaming News Canada Editor/Parleh Media Group partner Steve McAllister delivers a primer on the past/present/future of sports gambling in Ontario, speculates on the gambling prospects for niche sports such as table tennis, cricket, jai-alai & pickleball, talks about moving from Prescott to Ryerson/Toronto to Kincardine, following in his Dad’s footsteps [skates?] as a hockey referee, interesting career stops at The Canadian Press, The Globe and Mail, Yahoo Canada, the NHL Players’ Association & Te...

Four-time Canadian Screen Award winning Producer Stuart Coxe talks about cutting his teeth at CBC’s The National & The Journal, Peter Mansbridge’s calm & consistent presence during 9/11, launching Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank, why Mark Burnett’s track record proves he is the ‘Wizard of Oz,’ working on the late Gord Downie’s ‘Secret Path’ project, first meeting Gord while giving a tour of Robert Scully’s VENTURE set, working with Kevin O’Leary [“your tears add no value”]/Evan Solomon/Robert Herjav...

700+ NHL game enforcer The Grim Reaper Stu Grimson talks about catching a scout’s eye in a Kamloops street brawl, being ‘a player so NICE that I got drafted TWICE’ [first by Detroit and then by Calgary], the liberation he ironically felt after suffering a horrible beatdown at the hands of the Oilers’ Dave Brown, his appearance on The Simpsons as an Instructor at Top Goon Academy, the Disneyland benefits of playing for The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim [owned by Disney], post-NHL career being back on a...

Ed the Sock Creator Steven Kerzner remembers North York’s Newton Cable, shares Ed’s origin story [involves the Crafts Closet] and namesake [think Lou Grant/Carl from UP], talks about Ed’s Night Party transitioning from community cable to CityTV to a national MuchMusic audience, why he thinks Moses Znaimer is responsible for the greatest phase of creativity in Canadian TV history [people love to watch people], and presents the REAL STORY behind the conspicuously similar Robert Smigel/Conan O’Brie...

Financial Literacy Expert & Consumer Advocate Ellen Roseman talks about being BLOCKED by Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey, her Montreal roots, moving from covering Women’s Wear to Business at Maclean-Hunter, going from The Toronto Star to The Globe & Mail [and back to The Star], her initial feedback to David Chilton’s draft for The Wealthy Barber [“Where’s the beef?? You are no John Le Carre!”], interviewing Mr Wonderful Kevin O’Leary, hiring Rob Carrick at The Globe & Mail, whether she is friends/ene...

Former MuchMusic & Entertainment Tonight Canada host Rick Campanelli talks about morphing from ‘Rick the Temp’ into ‘Rick the Franchise,’ how his father unplugging the house phone almost prevented his MuchTemp contest win, meeting both an AMAZING and a HORRIBLE celebrity within the same band interview [spoiler: involves Aerosmith], the endless sea of people at Woodstock ’99, going from 2 suits at MuchMusic [‘funeral + wedding’] to a personal stylist/full wardrobe at ET Canada, experiencing a car...

GZERO Media Publisher Evan Solomon talks about packing up & moving to The Big Apple/NYC, leaving his comfort zone to seek out ‘pleasurable discomfort,’ asking his holiness the Dalai Lama the most sensitive of life’s questions, how he tried with a combative interviewee to “Tai Chi-it but ended up getting rolled,” GZERO trying to see around the political corner to build non-partisan bridges between politics & people, why Canada is ‘the largest small village in the world,’ following the simple fash...

Legendary CityNews Anchor Gord Martineau talks about leaving the desk after 39 years, knowing at 14 what he wanted to do with his life, recognizing John [JD] Roberts was destined for news anchor greatness, being mistaken by the PM for Keith Morrison, Moses Znaimer being a genius visionary, surprising meetups with George Harrison/Janet Jackson/Annie Lennox, giving real estate advice to Ted Rogers on the move to Dundas Square, moving to Global for an 11 day tenure co-anchoring with the mother of M...