Women In Media

My next guest is Laurie Brown. She currently manages country musician Don Amero, but she's also the founder of Porch Swing Entertainment. Porch Swing Entertainment is an artist management and consulting company handling full-time overall career management for artist Don Amero and project management for 'Amero Little Christmas', Don's holiday spectacular. Porch Swing Entertainment also works direct...

Keziah and I had only been in touch for a few months kicking some ideas around about how to elevate Black voices in the music industry when I resigned from my role at SiriusXM. While it feels like we were meant to connect and had some great conversations about the state of the music industry; I really wanted to speak to her about her participation in the recently published 'Closing the Gap' report...

My guest is Aliya Jasmine, a well known television host, producer, and environmental journalist (M.A., F.R.C.G.S.) who you may have first discovered on MTV in Canada, just like I did! Her award-winning work has been part of both national and local network coverage with NBC News, NBCUniversal, CTV Bell Media, MTV News, IMPACT, Discovery Channel, and more.  Aliya holds a Masters in Environmental Jou...

Laura Simpson is the CEO and co-founder (along with artist, Dan Mangan) of Side Door; a dedicated team of artists and technologists committed to building a more efficient, fair and decentralized global ecosystem for the performing arts. The Canadian tech start-up which was founded in 2017 has a mission:  We believe anybody should be able to perform, curate and present shows for their communities....

Although I celebrate women all year long on this podcast, I'm always up for celebrating Women's History Month and International Women's Day. This week also marks the one-year anniversary of this podcast. I'll revisit some of the inspiring conversations I’ve had over the last year; call it a best-of if you will. But, I also have some personal news to share. You know, when I launched this podcast ju...

Melani Mariani is a radio announcer based in Toronto, currently hosting Middays at Indie88 (88.1 CIND FM). She is a former host for 102.1 The Edge in Toronto where she quite literally "worked her way up the ladder" from receptionist to morning show. In this episode of the Women in Media Podcast, Mel talks about being real with her listeners during a global pandemic with divided opinions and unexpe...

Kathleen Newman-Bremang is a writer, editor and producer who recently became the Global Deputy Director at Unbothered; Refinery29’s sub-brand made for and by Black women. Through Unbothered, she oversees content across the UK, U.S., and Canada, and writes about pop culture, race, feminism and the intersection of all three, while championing other Black women writers to do the same. Her essay “For...

Well, no big deal. My next guest is Jann Arden; a multi-platinum award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, author, broadcaster, podcast host, and author with three decades of incredible work in music and comedy. As a good friend of mine noted, she is considered a 'Canadian treasure' by many. She is set to release her 15th studio album, Descendant this week on January 28, 2022, via Universal Music C...

Teri Hart is my first guest of 2022 and I really appreciate how candid she was about all sorts of difficult subjects; like losing jobs and why she decided to share her painful experience about trying to get pregnant.  One of Canada’s most recognized and sought-after media personalities, Teri Hart is a multi-talented host, interviewer, critic and producer. With an encyclopedic knowledge of film and...

Where do I start with this amazing human? Allison Dore is the FOUNDER and CEO of Howl & Roar Records; a female-centric comedy record label that empowers artists and facilitates the creation of content. Understanding the difficulties artists face with distribution and navigating ‍‍‍the many paths content can take, Howl & Roar Records strives to be a trusted resource for artists.‍‍‍ Based in Toronto...

Earning her second Canadian Screen Award (Best Local Newscast) in 2021, Lindsay Dunn has become one of Canada’s most respected talents. Honing her reporting skills for the better part of the last two decades, Dunn grew up in Regina and spent much of her childhood dreaming about reporting on the world’s biggest sporting events — especially those of the WNBA and NBA. Dunn currently holds the positio...

Erin Benjamin is President & CEO of the Canadian Live Music Association (CLMA) and has been since its creation in 2014. Erin has worked in the music industry for over 25 years - first as a touring and recording artist, and then as Executive Director of both Folk Music Ontario (2001) and the Canadian Arts Presenting Association (2008). Erin has been an unflagging champion for the live music sector,...

Lindsay Duncan says she is a photographer, "of people and the things they make - musicians, writers, artists...I view my position as a photographer as a liaison between the public and the artists’ private moments; a position that requires artists to trust my intent and respect their work." I am most familiar with Lindsay's work shooting musicians, but she does everything from professional headshot...

Julie Adam is a name I've known for years; yet we've never had a conversation quite like this. From my early days in radio, she was someone, "you just need to know." If I'm being honest, I was always intimidated to be in the same room as her because I've always thought she was just brilliant! When I asked Julie if there was anything she didn't want to discuss, she said simply: No, I'm an open book...

Ishkōdé Records is a new Indigenous women-owned label created to foster and amplify Indigenous voices. Ishkōdé Records arrives to advocate for Indigenous artists, songs and stories in the commercial music landscape. Led by artists, organizers and activists Anishinaabekwe ShoShona Kish (Digging Roots) and solo artist Amanda Rheaume, Citizen of the Metis Nation of Ontario, Ishkōdé approaches the ind...

Joss Richard is an AAPI Emmy Award winning Producer, born and raised in Toronto where she worked as a Television Producer before moving to Los Angeles. At the age of 28, Joss has been formally recognized by the Daytime Emmy Awards and worked at Netflix, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Walt Disney Company, and recently joined the team at Red Table Talk. She specializes in creating digital content and...

My guest for this episode is Alysha Newman; the current Commonwealth Games champion in the women’s pole vault (she set a Games record at the 2018 competition with a 4.75m jump). She represented Canada at both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games, also placing fifth at the 2019 World Championships. Alysha was born and raised in London, Ontario, plying her trade as a competitive gymnast before a back inj...

Jacie deHoop is a co-founder, and head of partnerships and revenue at The GIST. She led the company’s revenue strategy and monetization through partners like the NBA, FanDuel and Red Bull. Jacie and her team were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Media 2020 and have been accelerated through programs with Facebook, Comcast NBCUniversal and Techstars. Prior to The GIST, Jacie worked as a management consul...

Michelle Szeto is Vice President of the Management Division at Paquin Entertainment Group in Nashville. I first met Michelle with one of her longtime clients, Donovan Woods at a Juno Awards Gala broadcast. Since, we've worked on a few projects together in my work at SiriusXM. Michelle got her first taste of the entertainment industry at an early age in her hometown of Hong Kong, working in concert...

Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and raised in Oakville, Ontario, Evanka Osmak is best known for her work at Rogers Sportsnet in Toronto. A career in sports television was not part of her initial plan, though... She graduated with a Civil Engineering degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. At 24-years-old it became very clear to her; she wasn't excited about engineering the way she migh...

Lately, you've heard many guests that are TV & Radio personalities; the faces associated with certain brands and platforms. Let's head behind-the-scenes for this episode to speak to Melissa Bubb-Clarke. As Vice President of Music & Live Events at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), she oversees the Entertainment portfolio including Live Nation Canada’s award-winning Corporate Partnerships ag...

Shannon Burns is a an announcer and entertainment contributor based in Toronto. She is currently the Midday Host on Virgin Radio Eastern Canada, but at the time of this recording she was hosting the evening show on CHUM 104.5 and iHeartRadio Nights on 15 stations across Canada. She enjoys connecting with her audience and has a passion for interviewing, having had conversations with artists like Ta...

Kayla Grey is an award-winning broadcaster. She's an anchor for TSN’s SPORTSCENTRE and a reporter for the network’s coverage of the Toronto Raptors. When she made her debut on SC in 2018, Grey became the first Black woman to host a flagship sports highlight program in Canada. This year, aside from being named one of Canada’s Top 25 most influential women of 2021 by Women of Influence, she also lau...

iskwē | ᐃᐢᑫᐧᐤ is, among many other things, an artist – a creator and communicator of music and of movement, of pictures, poetry and prose. And through it all, she’s a teller of stories that have impacted our past and will inform our future. You may know her best for her music, but she creates across many different mediums. iskwē is also co-host of the podcast The Chesterfield produced by Friends o...

Jax Irwin is Co-Host of Virgin Mornings on 99.9 Virgin Radio. She is an East Coaster who has been on air across Canada; from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, before calling Toronto home for the past 6 years. Using her platform on radio, television and social media, she is passionate about giving a voice to the LGBTQ+ community of Toronto and beyond.  One organization we discuss on this episode is...