It feels weird to review this as "print media" when I almost never pick up a copy…read more As a returning/mature student, I do find many articles are geared towards people younger than I. But I'm a fan of the Gazette for many reasons. One, their Web site. They realize that their target population is online a good deal of the time so have online-only content and make the majority of print content online as well. Two, their social media. They connect via social media such as Facebook and Twitter to entice you to their site. Three, timeliness and relevance. Not always but often. The Gazette's pretty good for staying on top of issues that are trending. Something that can't always be said fro "traditional media." Four, range of topics. The Gazette doesn't just cover on-campus events, they reach out into the community and bring global issues home. All in all, good stuff.

I was very impressed with the customer service I received from the Chronicle Herald the other day…read more I called them to see if I could get my hands on a particular newspaper dated May 2009. I originally sent an email (found the email on their website). I emailed them to ask them if I could get one but after a week of hearing nothing, I decided to email them again. I explained in my email that this was my second request and that I wasn't even sure if I was reaching the correct department. The lady (name Rebecca) was so sweet and so sincerley sorry for not getting back to me. There must have been a glitch somewhere because she didn't get my original request. Needless to say she found me what I was looking for. When I went in there she had it ready with my name on it. She was incredibly nice and I felt as if she truly valued my business when I left.

Watch out y'all, The Chronicle Herald, the grand daddy of Halifax newspapers, has a new format;…read moresaddling up and taking a stand against extinction at the hands of digital media. They've jazzed up their font and created a modern new look, making the newspaper easier to peruse and more palatable to a 'one second attention span' public. The new format is conducive to discriminative reading, making it possible to simply pick out the stories of interest without having to ingest any other factoids. This type of format is created for a fast paced, no time to spare population, which has its downfalls as well. The font is larger and the stories seem slightly cropped, begging the question as to whether details are being lost in translation. Journalists are having to cater to a digitally accustomed crowd who have become used to simple clicking and scanning, opposed to taking the time to actually read anything in its entirety. Hey, I'm as guilty as the next reader - simply scanning most of the time, picking out the meaty details and leaving the rest behind. But I can't help but wonder, whether this is another nail in the coffin of the printed press. I quite enjoy The Chronicle Herald with all its talented writers, and the new look certainly facilitates a comfortable reading experience. I mean with the Metro as the alternative, I pray that The Chronicle Herald can keep things up and running for a long time to come. I just hope that this precarious step in the direction of modernization keeps this paper inching towards a larger readership instead of falling off the edge of relevancy, into a a blue bag of old news.

Get your queer on!…read more Wayves is a free semi-monthly magazine produced by volunteers from within the Atlantic Canada LGBTIQ (etc) community. Physical copies are distributed to a variety of locations throughout the region or you can download a copy off their Web site. What I love about Wayves is that it tells "our stories." I've found out about a lot of events or groups through Wayves. I've even written for Wayves to inform others about events I know of that they may not. A great, free resource for the queer community.

CBC Radio: The high point of Canadian Culture. I'll forever love curling into my reading perch with…read morethe conversations of CBC serving as a solid backdrop. This is a station that has my utmost love and respect. Although times are tough and job cuts have sadly shaken its core, CBC continues to strive for excellence. International and local news are well-conceived, with conversational approach. CBC avoids the fluffy stuff: it delves deep into our country's creative cultural center-point, and gives listeners an enlightened analysis on many topics. Personal stories, interviews, late night overseas broadcasts, skits, music analysis and more... there is always something different on CBC, and I find it a great source of education. A few favourite shows of my own include Sook Yin Lee's "Definitely Not The Opera". "The Q" with Gene Ghomeshi is a great show for music fans, and "Wire Tap" is hilariously good times. I subscribe to a number of CBC podcasts that get me going during a run and a workout. CBC is all around a fantastic Canadian broadcast, and perhaps a dream job of my own. Hats off, as this station keeps everyday thought outside of the box.

My most serious radio relationship is with CBC. Yes it's true, I do engage in the odd tryst with…read moreother more hip stations. But when the makeup comes off and it's me in my jammies with a cup of tea, it's just CBC for me as I curl up, book in hand, with ears primed for listening. I'm all ears when I rise for Maritime Morning. My internal clock seems to always get me moving on the half hour or on the hour, so I'm just on time for a news update. When I'm working around the house, I love listening to the great interviews and debates that are being had over this relevant station's airwaves. The local news is great, and in the evening, it's nice to hear familiar voices giving me the day's details along with a great playlist of contemporary local artists as well as hip international acts. On the weekend, I dial in to hear Brent Bambury along with The Debaters and of course, 'contest nana,' if not solely for the theme song. This is a great station, both for it's local flavor and national programing. The coverage on international events is unparalleled by any other station, and the informative stories sought out by talented journalists are thought provoking and expertly executed. CBC Radio, you're the top daddy for me.

I am a recent transplant from Ontario and I really like the St Stephen area of New Brunswick and…read moreCTV supplies great news coverage.......Except you are too Nova Scotia centric. I realise demographics play a role in your coverage, but even your weather reports are skewed towards Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.....It's like living in the shadow of Toronto, not a great aspiration. Charly Lyon Dufferin, Charlotte Co. NB

The centralization of Canada's news is on…read more Hard to ignore it, the local evening news is dying. CTV is fighting that, and it needs to be supported. The one evening news team I still watch and follow. I am a stickler for the old ways. Miss having my family gathered around the TV, getting our daily dose of our city, and our local businesses. I like knowing about my city, and prefer to get it from a local news anchor.. not from a news desk in Vancouver, or Toronto. For a local flavor to your news... support CTV

CKDU is the Campus Radio Station for Dalhousie University. It is also something that almost none of…read morethe other radio stations in Halifax are: Interesting. While other stations around town are full of boring, same ol' same ol' tunes, CKDU is almost always playing something you haven't heard. It may be great, it may be terrible, but it's something different, which is what radio should always be in my opinion. Because the station is volunteer based, some of the shows are better than others. Even the not so great programs are interesting to listen to and I can highly recommend you tune your radio dial to 88.1 on any day, at any hour to find some form of entertainment. My favorite programs are the classic "Let's Get Baked! With Mat And Dave" (Thursday's at 5:00) and "Car Bomb To The Heart" (Tuesday's at 7:30). Be sure to have a listen the next time you're spinning your radio dial!

Seldom do I stray from my CBC habits, but in a recent flip through The Coast, I noticed an…read moreadvertisement for this seemingly hip radio station. The ad listed a top 10 list with some great bands sans the radio-play stigma. Curious, I tuned in. Is this the solution for the anti pop? Perhaps... ! With a smooth flow of fine musical taste and a side note of educational interest, this is a great station for those devoted to upcoming and indie types. Apparently run by Dal students, I'm certainly glad to have tuned into such tidings. And while I maintain a CBC regular, I will certainly switch things up with a little 88.1. Lovely.

I used to be a big fan of radio. When I was younger, I wanted to work in radio. And growing up in…read moreNewfoundland, we had OZfm which was unlike any other radio station I encountered while traveling or online. When I moved to Halifax, there was no OZfm so the first station I became friends with was C100. Before the days of Z103, 101.5 The Bounce and Live 105, there was only C100 and Q104, plus CKDU and the country and talk-radio stations. I like a certain level of familiarity when it comes to music I hear on the radio and C100 provided me best with that. However, like most radio stations, familiarity is one of the most apt descriptions of radio. They thrive on familiarity to keep listeners in. People want comfort and radio knows that. C100 is no different. It didn't take me long to sourly realize that. What made C100 different from Q104 in my eyes was that C100 evolved its playlist and still had enough variety to suit my wants. They play mostly lighter rock, pop, some hip-hop, and whatever suitable crossovers are out at the time. After a few months, songs go through the expected levels of rotation, from light to heavy, back to lighter and eventually into "recurrent" rotation if it was a big enough hit, which means it'll likely stay in their playlist for a few years for occasional play. Their "gold" list (Gold = songs older than 3 or 4 years old that they play) I always found was quite limited. With literally thousands of hits from the last 20 years and they always seem to latch on to the same 10 or 15 at any given time, which I always was confused by. (Red, Red Wine is a bloody head-scratcher...!) I enjoy their morning show as I get ready for work. It's friendly and comforting. I purposely tune to 100.1 for that reason. What I always found that C100 lacked was their weekend programming. I grew up on Weekend Countdowns and C100 has their own countdown but I liked hearing Top 40 shows. Z103 has American Top 40 and Rick Dee's Top 40 but there are programs for other radio formats (like C100's Hot Adult Contemporary format) that C100 could acquire. I also really enjoyed their evening Battle of the Block Rockin' Beats. An opportunity to hear new songs...even if the winners would never make their regular playlists. Sadly, they eventually abolished this. Since my days of wanting to work in radio, I've come to realization that like anything, the radio industry isn't what I thought. It's a business and in a lot of ways, is quite flawed. Radio isn't quite as about the music as I'd like to believe. So, knowing this, C100 isn't that bad. Also, hearing people complain about C100 overplaying their songs brings to mind another sobering fact. C100's most played song is played maybe 45 times a week. That's about once every four hours. Compare that to a lot of American radio stations that play songs upwards of 120 times a week. That's about once every hour and a few minutes. Most of my friends hate the radio. I can understand it when you have the internet and endless musical choices at your finger tips. I still enjoy some aspects of radio and for what I expect from radio's limitations, C100 provides suitably.

I'm referring here mainly to CBC Radio One, which used to be the only reason I owned a radio…read more What's left of CBC is an embarrassment: (1) way too many music playlists for a talk station (I already have 20 music stations, thanks); (2) too many "5 minutes of this", "10 minutes of that" shows for people with low attention spans; (3) TERRIBLE local coverage (they would even break away from the coronavirus briefing to give us "top of the hour" news!); (4) what passes for news on CBC is pablum -- it's bland, anemic, irrelevant, giving us the impression that there's really nothing going on in our country. Listen to Democracy Now" cover any news story in Canada for how CBC *should* sound. It just isn't what it used to be, and the management is in no way responsive to user feedback. It's time for CBC to go.

You needn't speak elegant French or altogether understand the language in order to tune into this…read morewhimsical station. Espace Musique is CBC's French language equivalent to CBC Radio 2. As it crackles into my kitchen, I feel transported to a time when gramophones reigned supreme and belting tenors seduced the masses. From classical pieces to contemporary artists, all of the song choices seem to be smooth and reminiscent of waltzing along Parisian streets, hand in hand with an attractive mate. I love listening to the hosts speak the news, and even if standard information is being conveyed, it somehow sounds more lustful when spoken in French. Perhaps I'm romanticizing it all, but nonetheless, it makes me happy. Oooh, a sassy samba has just come on! I love this station. Their international palate is diverse and always streaming, with loads of different cultures represented through crooning voices and assorted beats. Don't let the language barrier deter you. Listen to 91.5 for the relaxed vibes and sexy beats. It's a great station.