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Greetings
Over the past few months we have been working on significant improvements to the www.mediamag.ca website, to the online media directory and to the monthly newsletter.
We have also completed an extensive update to the online media directory. It now includes phone, fax and email addresses for key reporters and editors at 23 television stations, 112 radio stations, 245 daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and 175 magazines in Alberta. If you ever need the most up-to-date media directory in Alberta, we invite you to purchase a subscription. We now offer a 30 day money back guarantee that it is the largest, most comprehensive and up-to-date media directory in Alberta. We will be sending you a special subscription offer in an email to follow.
We have finally been able to migrate the newsletter from the EZINE section to the home page of the website so that it is where it should be, front and centre. You will find the April issue in the EZINE section and our May issue on the home page. We will be migrating all our past issue to the newsletter archive section in the next few weeks.
The program we are now using to produce the magazine section of the website -- iJoomla magazine, a commercial extension for the Joomla Content Management System we use to manage the content on the website -- also enables us to send mailings to any or all of the registered users which will make it easier to communicate with subscribers and workshop participants.
We have summarized some of the articles in our May 2008 issue that you will now find on the home page of the website below. We hope you find the information helpful in your media relations and communication efforts.
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Media News
CRTC will hear 27 applications for new radio licences in Edmonton, Leduc, Red Deer, Lacombe and Drumheller on May 27; CHQT to make transition from Cool 880/The Boss to the all news station iNews880 to incorporate citizen journalism on May 20: Rogers to launch two new television stations in Alberta in September.
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Media Moves 
As a result of the extensive update we just completed to the online media directory which resulted in our having to completely revise 30% of the 555 records, we are not including the media moves department in this issue. If you are a subscriber to www.mediamag.ca, you will see the changes reflected in the online media directory you will find in the DIRECTORY section of the website. This department will resume next month as we continue to update the media directory with changes to key reporters since the end of April. |
Media Events 
Three national media related conferences will take place in Edmonton over the next few months:
1] The Canadian Association of Journalists National Conference runs from May 23 to 25; 2] The Editors' Association of Canada National Conference: Editing in the Global Village runs from June 6 to 8; and 3] the Canadian Authors' Association National Conference runs from July 3 to 6. Read all about it and more...
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Media Awards 
This month we feature the winners of the Alberta Film & Television Awards, the Alberta Book Publishing Awards finalists and Alberta-based winners of the Canadian Daily Newspaper Awards and the Canadian Bookseller Awards.
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New Departments
We have increased the number of items we feature in our "Of Interest" department. In addition to featuring an book of interest, a magazine of interest and a site of interest --because they are Alberta based or because they provide an interesting perspective on media relations -- we are now featuring a podcast of interest, a video of interest, and an RSS feed of interest as well as a department we call Spotlight on Social Media where we feature an organization using social media networks in an innovative way to get their message out.
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Web 2.0 for Writers & Editors: Getting the Word out in the Social Media Networks
 If you write or or edit for a living, you might want to sign up for the pre-conference workshop, Web 2.0 for Writers & Editors we are giving as part of the upcoming Editors' Association National Conference in Edmonton from June 6 - 8. This workshop runs on Friday, June 6 from 1 to 4:30pm. Cost is $75 for members, $100 for non-members. For more detailed information on the conference, on this workshop, and to register go to www.editors.ca. |
Notable Print Newsletters Workshop 
Learn to publish your first or improve your next electronic newsletter and enjoy doing it! Edmonton, May 14 from 9 to noon
Calgary, May 21 from 10 to 1pm
$125
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Electrifying Electronic Newsletters Workshop 
Learn to publish your first or improve your next electronic newsletter and enjoy doing it! Edmonton, May 14 from 1 to 4pm Calgary, May 21 from 2 to 5pm
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Social Media Relations Workshop 
Learn to engage the social media networks to get the word out on your organization, product or service fast, easy and free!
Edmonton, May 28 from 1 to 4pm
Calgary, May 29 from 1 to 4pm
$125
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Social Media Releases Workshop
 Learn how to create a media release that will attract the attention of bloggers and social media networks and enjoy doing it!
Edmonton, June 4 from 1 to 4pm
Calgary, June 11 from 1 to 4pm
$125
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Magnetic Media Plans Workshop 
Learn to communicate with the right media, at the right time, to deliver the right message and enjoy doing it!
Edmonton, June 18 from 1 to 4pm
Calgary, June 25 from 1 to 4pm
$125
Learn more...
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Workshop Registration News You can register and pay online now by selecting the buy now link below the description of the workshop you would like to attend. Or, you can view more information on the workshop by selecting the Learn more... link which will direct you to the WORKSHOP section where you can also register and pay online with a credit card or by cheque.
We are using a new program to manage the workshops on the website. For some reason, we are unable to get the program to repeat the workshop dates for Calgary in the sidebar in the workshop section. Although you will not see the Calgary dates in the sidebar, you will see the Calgary dates at the bottom of each workshop description. When you register, we will receive a notice which will include your address so we will know whether you have registered for the Edmonton or the Calgary session. We should have this glitch figured out soon. We appreciate your patience while we wrestle with the new programs we are now using that were supposed to make workshop registrations easier for both of us!
If you have any questions, please call us at (780) 695-5675 or (780) 444-8996 or send us an email through the Contact form in the CONTACT section of the website. | |
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Special Report
How to Write Effective Letters to the Editor
To complement the new Letters to the Editor category and contact information we added to the online media directory, this month we feature a Special Report on How to Write Effective Letters to the Editor. |
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We built www.medianews.ca so that our full service subscribers can submit their news releases for us to distribute to the media using our offline media list. As a recipient of our newsletter, you're welcome to post your own news releases on this site for free until further notice. This website is indexed by search engines such as Google News, MSN News and Yahoo News so you will get additional exposure for your news announcement. All you need do to post your news releases is register for an account and confirm your email address. Then you're free to post your news releases.
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