Bill Welychka is best known for his time at MuchMusic, but what you might not know is that after his 13 years with the channel, he chose to go into local news, culminating in spending more than a decade at CKWS-TV in Kingston where he was part of cutbacks at Corus Entertainment last year and ultimately chose to walk away from media. Welychka has since published the second edition of his memoir, A Happy Has Been: Exciting Times and Lessons Learned. He joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about his media journey, the aftermath of major downsizing in the Kingston market, his love affair with the city, and what he's up to now.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Inside the CCSA Conference – Where Telecoms Exchange Ideas and Gain the Collective Scale to Win In this episode of Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast we take a deep dive into the vital role of the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) and its CONNECT Conference in supporting independent broadcast and telecom operators. We look at how the CCSA serves as a critical lifeline and a powerful collective brain trust, enabling members to secure essential content deals, forge strategic technology partnerships, and compete credibly with larger national carriers. Highlighting the conference’s unique environment of complete transparency and shared best practices, this episode emphasizes the association’s mission to future-proof its members by encouraging them to stop working in the business and start working on it, particularly by addressing the exponential challenges and opportunities posed by AI and focusing on long-term resilience and community service. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deepa Prashad, the 2025 Young Broadcaster of the Year, joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about her meteoric rise in radio, developing her passion for what's essentially her second full-time job - content creation, representing her West Indian heritage, and more.

For more than 80 years, Dielectric has earned their reputation for providing the most sophisticated antenna signal transmission solutions. Their unique processes help their clients get it right with an up-front design ethos, monitor and predict failures, even respond to and recover from catastrophic weather events in record time.  Keith Pelletier is President of Dielectric and he’s here to provide an update on how they’re doing it! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The 2025 Canadian Radio Awards were hosted by Connie Thiessan (Broadcast Dialogue) and Matt Cundill (The Sound Off Podcast) on Friday November 28, 2025. You can watch the whole show on the Broadcast Dialogue YouTube and Linked In Pages. A full list of winners can be found here. By station, Stingray Radio’s boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) Toronto won three awards, including Program Director of the Year for Troy McCallum, On-Air (solo) Host of the Year for morning man Stu Jeffries, and Music Director of the Year for Wayne Webster. boom 97.3 was also the runner-up for Station of the Year (Large Market), with Pattison Media’s 102.3 NOW! Radio (CKNO-FM) Edmonton taking the honour for a second year in a row. Other stations picking up multiple wins included Northern Native Broadcasting’s CFNR Terrace, BC. The not-for-profit station earned the Best Campus or Community Station honour, while Matt Fisher was named Program Director of the Year (Small Market).  Independent station Moose FM (CKFU-FM) in Fort St. John, BC also earned two awards – Station of the Year (Small Market) and Best Podcast (Small Market). By radio group, Rogers Sports & Media came away with a leading five awards, followed by Vista Radio (4), Bell Media (3), and Stingray Radio (3). Other groups recognized include Evanov Communications, Harvard Media, Pattison Media, Whiteoaks Communications Group, Golden West Broadcasting, Novacast Media, and Newfoundland Broadcasting, in addition to not-for-profit creative collective, the Pro Bono Group.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

While there was little in the recent federal budget for commercial radio and television broadcasters, Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) President Kevin Desjardins believes there's still reason for optimism in the sector. We welcome Desjardins back to Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about the CAB's ongoing lobby efforts to help set private broadcasters up for success, the current climate on Parliament Hill, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Peter Bissonnette's memoir Count On Me reflects on the retired telecom executive's decades in the cable, internet and media industry - from humble beginnings to rising to the position of President of Shaw Communications. Bissonnette joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to share his personal and professional journey, informed by values of integrity, empathy and fairness. He also shares his ethos on the importance of belief in oneself, the power of visualization and affirmations, and takes us behind-the-scenes of some of the most transformative deals in Canadian telecom and broadcast history. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Across the U.S., broadcasters are proving what radio has always known that it drives real results. In this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, our U.S. partner Warren Kurtzman of Coleman Insights sits down to talk about how Cox Media Group is using Validate to show advertisers the measurable impact of their campaigns, connecting streaming and broadcast listening to actual website visits and conversions. As radio faces growing pressure for accountability and attribution, Validate is giving the medium the same kind of data confidence that digital has enjoyed for years. If you’re in Canadian radio, this is your cue. The tools are here, the proof is here and the stations using them are already winning the ROI conversation. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Veteran broadcaster Dini Petty has stepped back in front of the camera after a 25-year absence from television with Trailblazing Talks with Dini Petty, a new series airing Monday nights on The News Forum. Launched with a one-hour special on Thanksgiving Monday, the series promises conversations about resilience, courage, and leadership, with a goal in Petty's words - who is now age 80 - to remind viewers "it's never too late to step forward with purpose." Petty joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, taking us from her days as a child actor and delivering traffic reports to Toronto radio listeners from a pink helicopter, through her other creative ventures, including the new memoir she's working on. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

WABE, the Western Association of Broadcast Engineers, wrapped up the organization's 75th anniversary convention on Oct. 1, setting all-time attendance records. In a time when many media and entertainment-related industry associations are struggling for membership and co-locating their events, WABE has defied the odds, expanding its reach to build a community of broadcast technicians spanning radio, TV, film, content creation, manufacturing & more. We caught up with outgoing President Tessa Potter and Vice-President Cameron Thomson at the close of WABE's milestone conference, to talk about bridging the past and building the future. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Alan Black would like his newly-founded venture Left of Dial Media to be for podcasting what Criterion is for film. In a world of popular podcasts like The Joe Rogan Experience, Call Her Daddy and Theo Von, Black is on a mission to champion the things that are strange, new, weird, trailblazing and genre-defying - shows that will be remembered a decade from now. The problem is unlike film, podcasting doesn't have a canon. That's why he's created the Essential Listening Poll, a rundown of the Top 100 Greatest Podcasts of all time, curated by a cross-section of leading audio makers, journalists and academics that's been unveiled at Podcast Movement, with the support of Amazon Music. We welcome Alan Black back to Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about discoverability, the broken economics of podcasting, and why he believes there needs to be more tastemaking in the audio space.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Veteran Toronto music director and longtime boom 97.3 (CHBM-FM) music programmer Wayne Webster joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast ahead of his retirement at the end of the summer. Often credited with helping shape the sound of Toronto radio, the Broadcast Hall of Famer takes us behind the scenes of his 48-year career.   See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dielectric is a world leader in the design, fabrication, and installation of antenna systems. With renewed focus on its FM radio business, the company has named two new partners - SCMS in the U.S. and Pippin Technical Service in Canada. Dielectric President Keith Pelletier joins this special, sponsored episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about the evolution of the industry and the importance of broadcast industry partnerships. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Since 2019, the MADE | NOUS initiative has been putting the spotlight on Canadian talent in film, TV, gaming, and digital entertainment, aiming to shift the perception of Canadian content both at home and abroad. The industry effort - largely fueled by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Telefilm - is taking its message on the road this summer, led by ambassador and veteran broadcaster George Stroumboulopoulos. Already underway, the tour is making stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Saint John, Moncton, P.E.I., and Nunavut, before wrapping up in Toronto in September - collecting stories along the way on how Canadian film and television has shaped Canadian culture and continues to inspire future generations. Mathieu Chantelois of the Canada Media Fund joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about the MADE | NOUS campaign and why there's never been a better time to celebrate Canadian storytellers. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Broadcast archives and the original tech they were recorded on is the kind of material collectors Barry Silverthorn and Hamza 'Betamax,' as he's known, are on a mission to preserve as part of their project, Mediatheque: The Museum of Broadcast Technology. Currently located in Belleville, Ontario, we welcome Barry and Hamza to Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about fostering their shared passion for nostalgia and raising awareness of the importance of preserving Canada's broadcast heritage.  See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jon Pole, President of My Broadcasting Corporation, believes some of radio's best days are still ahead. The second-generation broadcaster joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about MBC's continued growth, now positioning the company as one of the biggest independent radio operators in Ontario. We also get into the Canadian content debate and regulatory burden on stations, and why Pole says his radio group bucking downward sales trends. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Broadcast Dialogue caught up with Winnipeg Radio Reunion organizer Ralph “Racoon” Carney – an alum of CKRC and 1290 AM (CFRW-AM) Winnipeg, among other stations - to talk about bringing the event to life, June 12-14. He shares some weekend highlights, alongside Paul Graham, Courtney James, Jim Goddard, and Don Percy.

This week on Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast, we’re joined by Jeffrey Maddox, President of Nokia Canada, as the company marks 40 years in Canada and the 100th anniversary of Nokia Bell Labs.

Broadcast Dialogue caught up with "Tarzan Dan" Freeman this week as he underwent a plasma transfusion to boost his immune system ahead of a stem cell bone marrow transplant.

We welcome Kim Wheeler to Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast during National Indigenous History Month to talk about Words and Culture - the radio program and podcast she executive produces on Indigenous language; how she's feeling about the current state of Indigenous representation in Canadian media; and her recent Canadian Screen Award.