From Bill Harris of the Toronto Sun:

• ‘Super-new’ host for APTN
  “Tobacco won’t be dressed as a unicorn or as Ronald McDonald’s sister at the NAAAs, which were hosted by Adam Beach last year. Tobacco understands there’s a serious element to the job in terms of her emergence as a role model for Native Canadians, but it’s supposed to be a fun celebration, too.” Read more.

From a media release:

THREE OUTSTANDING CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS SELECTED AS FINALISTS FOR THE 2008 SHAW ROCKET PRIZE

The best in children’s television will contend for $50,000 prize
with the winner decided by a 700-member National Student Jury

The Shaw Rocket Prize is pleased to announce its three finalists for this year’s $50,000 winner-takes-all prize. The Shaw Rocket Prize recognises this year’s best Canadian television programming targeted for children 12 and under.

An international jury of highly esteemed industry experts in children’s television and media selected the finalists for the Shaw Rocket Prize. Jury members Adina Pitt, Vice President, Content Acquisitions and Co-Productions, Cartoon Network and Boomerang; Finn Arnesen, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Original Series and International Development, Turner Broadcasting; Frank Dietz, Head Acquisitions & Co-Productions, Super RTL; Marc Buhaj, Senior Vice President of Programming, Jetix Europe; and Michael Carrington, Controller, CBeebies BBC Children’s, made the announcement at a reception held today during the 9th Annual KidScreen Summit in New York City.

Continue reading Shaw Rocket Prize finalists announced →

Mark Dillon of Playback wants the Geminis to focus more on Canadian TV:

• Gems show needs to give more hype to Canuck shows
  “There were certainly things to like about the Gemini Awards’ Regina telecast on Oct. 28, but as a vehicle to promote Canadian television, it fell short of the mark.” Read more.

John Doyle of the Globe and Mail has a suggestion to improve the Geminis — kill them and combine with the Genies:

• An awards show in need of a therapist
  “The idea occurred to me while watching the Geminis on Sunday. It appears that CBC, which took the Gemini broadcast back from Global this year, called in George Stroumboulopoulos and his team from The Hour to shape and produce the shindig. Stroumboulopoulos acted as both host and executive producer. Watching, it seemed to me that calling in George wasn’t the solution. Somebody needed to call in a shrink. The thing was drenched in self-loathing and hesitation and had a distinct lack of generosity.” Read more.