Stewart Johnston, Senior Vice-President of Content at Bell Media, is departing the company to take on leadership of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as its 15th commissioner. The former President of TSN will depart Bell Media on April 24. He had been with TSN since 1997, rising through the ranks to hold the VP of Programming role by 2006. Johnston was promoted to President of the sports network in 2010, before being named SVP of Sports and Sales in 2021. Read more here.

Richard Gingras, longtime Vice-President of News at Google, has been named Chair of the Board of Directors at Village Media. The digital executive and entrepreneur brings over four decades of experience in digital media and journalism innovation to the Sault Ste. Marie-headquarted digital news publisher, including serving as CEO of Salon Media Group, Worldwide Services at Apple, and Vice President of Content at early consumer broadband provider, @Home Network. Read more here.

Boyd Leader, Program Director at Edmonton’s 104.9 Virgin Radio (CFMG-FM) and 100.3 The Bear (CFBR-FM), has parted ways with Bell Media. Leader had been the Edmonton PD since 2021. Prior to that, he was Group PD for Bell’s stations in the B.C. Interior, Kelowna and Victoria. Leader has held previous roles in the Edmonton market as Director of the CFWE Radio Network and Windspeaker Media, and had a 14-year run at Corus Radio Edmonton in various on-air and programming roles.

Greg Johnson has parted ways with Corus Entertainment. Johnson was the Regional Program Director for the Corus Country network, based in Edmonton. He’d been with the company almost 14 years. Eric Stafford has moved into the role of interim Senior Program Manager for Alberta. Stafford, a veteran programmer and GM, was most recently PD at Rogers Sports & Media’s 95.9 CHFM Calgary. He’s done a previous stint with Corus Radio as a Brand Director in Ottawa. Read more here.

George Leith has joined AdCellerant as President, International Partnerships. The Denver-based digital marketing tech solutions provider plans to open its first Canadian offices soon in Calgary and Saskatoon. Leith announced his departure as Executive Vice-President of Harvard Media in January.

Michael Vincent, the founder of arts publication, Ludwig Van, has departed ZoomerMedia. The company acquired the Toronto-based digital site in 2023. Vincent, a former Toronto Star music critic, founded Ludwig Van in 2017 to keep coverage of classical music alive.

Jon Wilson has been appointed the new CEO of Grass Valley. He had served as President and COO since October 2023. Louis Hernandez Jr. remains Executive Chairman and will continue to play a key part in shaping Grass Valley’s long-term strategy, while supporting the leadership team in achieving growth objectives.

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The digital executive and entrepreneur brings over four decades of experience in digital media and journalism innovation to the Sault Ste. Marie-headquarted digital news publisher, including serving as CEO of Salon Media Group, Worldwide Services at Apple, and Vice President of Content at early consumer broadband provider, @Home Network.

Village Media currently owns and operates 26 local news sites in Ontario, five other news-related sites, and licenses its publishing platform, Villager, to another 120 publications across Canada and the U.S. It’s expanded over the past year into social networking, with the launch of SPACES in several communities it serves.

“Richard’s extensive experience in digital media and his commitment to journalistic integrity align perfectly with our mission to innovate and strengthen local news,” said Village Media CEO Jeff Elgie, in a company announcement. “I have worked with Richard for many years and he has become both a mentor of mine and a passionate supporter of the work we do. His leadership will be invaluable as we continue to grow and serve our communities.”

Gingras also helped found global think tank, the Center for News, Technology & Innovation, and the Trust Project, a global initiative to promote transparency and trust in journalism. He currently serves on the boards of the First Amendment Coalition, the International Center for Journalists, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, and PRX, the public media podcast network.

“I am honoured to join Village Media as Chair of the Board,” said Gingras. “Village Media’s dedication to local journalism and strengthening local communities is of critical value and  importance. I look forward to working with Jeff and the talented Village team to further their mission and explore new avenues for innovation in local news delivery.”

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