Broadcaster Kevin Shea named OMDC chair

For those in the magazine industry who feel that the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) is too focussed on film, television, or any cultural industry other than magazines, then it won't be welcome news that Kevin Shea, a broadcaster to the bone, has been appointed as the new chair.

Shea is owner and president of SheaChez Inc., a consulting firm whose clients include the CBC, Telus Communications and Standard Broadcasting. The former president and CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio as well as YTV Canada, Shea led both companies through the CRTC licensing and start-up processes. He also served as president and COO of the Global Television Network, and executive vice-president at Bell Globemedia Inc. Shea chaired the Toronto Tourism Recovery Alliance in the aftermath of SARS, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters TV Board, and the Canadian Film Centre. Shea holds several directorships, including one with Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc., of Arthur, Caillou and Doddlebops fame.

“I am thrilled to become the OMDC’s new chair at such an exciting and pivotal time in its history,” said Shea in an OMDC release. “In particular, I look forward to the challenge of leading the implementation of the cultural media industries strategy. The sector will be among the top three growth industries over the next two decades. We need to ensure that Ontario’s industries not only thrive but grow.”

The Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) was established in 2000 to stimulate investment and employment in six cultural industries: book publishing, music, interactive digital
media, film, magazine publishing, and television. The OMDC also administers cultural industries tax credits programs...for everyone but the magazine industry.