The 25-year journey of what started as a Montreal magazine may culminate in a fire sale to a reconstituted media behemoth, according to a report from Vanity Fair. Vice Media’s valuation declining from $5.7 billion to under $1.5 billion is cited as a factor.
Mounties may be probing Yaniv
While the RCMP wouldn’t confirm the existence of an investigation, Jessica Yaniv claims that she was arrested and held overnight after showing off an illegal Taser in a YouTube interview.
“Has Doug Ford finally put the cronyism scandal behind him?” Robert Benzie reports on a new calm in the premier’s office. There’s talk of Ford giving a “mea culpa” speech. Meanwhile, a senior Ontario PC operative is speculating about a leadership change.
A pivot to panicked podcasts
CTV’s W5 will no longer be anchored by Kevin Newman, who’s instead joining the trend of pseudo-McLuhanist audio programming about issues related to technology and democracy:
Kevin O’Leary has a mutual fan in Donald Trump. “Mr. Wonderful” got a presidential endorsement on Twitter for praising the White House’s approach to China. O’Leary is also taken seriously by the libertarians at Reason.
Finally, ride till I can’t no more
Billy Ray Cyrus signed on to co-host the next Canadian Country Music Association Awards, amidst his star turn on the longest-reigning hit in Billboard Hot 100 history. But he still remembers the diligence of the young reporter who boosted him at the start: