In this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Publisher Shawn Smith talks with MusicMaster, Director of Operations, Jerry Parker about where radio programming technology is headed and how MusicMaster is evolving to meet it. 

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Combining engineering precision, faster delivery, and long-term reliability to help broadcasters modernize transmission infrastructure.

In this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast, Publisher Shawn Smith speaks with Dielectric President Keith Pelletier about how the company is using deep legacy knowledge, digital twin design, and strong industry partnerships to deliver faster, more reliable RF transmission solutions for broadcasters. Pelletier explains how Dielectric’s engineering approach has dramatically shortened time to market, why long-term reliability remains central to its design philosophy, and how the company is blending veteran expertise with younger technical talent to keep pushing innovation forward ahead of NAB.

Visit Dielectric at NAB 2026 | April 18-22, 2026 | Las Vegas Convention Center

Central Hall - C1446 - TV & Radio

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Some of the most influential voices in music, film, TV and media will gather in Toronto, May 4-10, as Departure Festival + Conference gears up for its second annual event.

We welcome festival co-founder Kevin Barton to this episode of Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to tease this year's lineup and the event's evolution, including why the festival is much more than Canadian Music Week "reimagined."

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Erica Ehm has been doing a lot of reflection as she looks to add the title of author to her long list of credits. 

The MuchMusic icon, multi-platform host and entrepreneur joins Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast to talk about the process of writing her forthcoming memoir, how the ongoing theme of reinvention continues to play out in her life, and the importance of supporting Canadian artists.

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The new book, Track Changes, examines the rise of all that came with the internet and how it changed Canadian music from new media to message boards, fan sites, MP3 blogs, and more, diving into how legacy brands were forced to evolve, including major record labels, retailers, and of course the media and radio.

Authored by Cam Gordon, Track Changes essentially chronicles the shared cultural history of music, technology and media in the 1990s and 2000s. He joins us on Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast.

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CPAC President & CEO Christa Dickenson is sounding the alarm that the Cable Public Affairs Channel is running on fumes.

The CRTC announced in November, it would put off making decisions on requests from CPAC, TV5, and Canal M to increase their mandatory per-subscriber monthly wholesale fees until the commission completes a larger policy review. 

Dickenson says that's left CPAC in a critical position of uncertainty, at a time when Canadians' interest in democracy has never been greater.

She joins us on Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast.

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Rob Hopkins - aka "Radio Rob" has used his DIY ethos to become a pioneering force in community broadcasting and open-source innovation in Canada's North. He's the founder of Yukon community stations CJUC Whitehorse and the low-power CFET-FM in Tagish, Yukon, as well as OpenBroadcaster - a web-based, open-source system to run community radio and TV broadcast transmitters.

He joins us on Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast ahead of World Radio Day 2026, with this year's theme "AI and radio," underscored by the tagline "AI is a tool, not a voice."

We talk to Hopkins - who was named to Yukon's Hall of Innovators last year - about his work with Indigenous communities, local radio's enduring ability to connect, and how OpenBroadcaster is using AI.

OpenBroadcaster will host their World Radio Day online event - An Insightful Look at Radio & Artificial Intelligence - beginning at 2 p.m. Yukon time on Friday, Feb. 13.

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Since its launch in 2017, Kristi Lee has built the Canadian True Crime podcast into a global hit with over 75 million downloads and a consistent chart presence. More impressive yet, the podcast has turned a profit, all while retaining its financial independence without the backing of a network.

Lee joins us on Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast as Canadian True Crime publishes its milestone 200th episode this month with a fresh look at the Robert Pickton case.

She joins us to share the ups and downs of her podcasting journey, including managing burnout and perfectionism, the case that stays with her more than others, and her advice to other Canadian podcasters.

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The Pro Bono Group's latest PSA is a call to action, asking Canadian advertisers to apply the "Buy Canadian" message to their media buying.

A merging of the not-for-profit creative agency's Pro Canada Project - which has been running for the past year urging Canadians to "shop as if your country depends on it" - and their Pro Radio Project, promoting the value of radio, The Pro Bono Group has enlisted one of its founders Terry O’Reilly to make their case.

O'Reilly, alongside The Pro Bono Group's creative leads Mike Occomore and Larry MacInnis join us on Broadcast Dialogue - The Podcast.

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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. 

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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.

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