• A political bombshell sets the tone for the holidays on Parliament Hill
    Dec 20 2024
    Our Now and Next C.A.S.T. (Comms and Strategy Team) weighs in in the chaos ignited on Parliament Hill by the sudden resignation of Finance Minster and Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland.

    Nobody saw it coming. But the Prime Minister should have expected it - considering he FIRED Freeland from Finance mere days before she was expected to table the Fall Economic Statement.

    The strangest thing in a weird political week us Trudeau wanted Freeland to present the FES even after telling her he was moving her out of Finance!

    LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW! Let us know what you think.

    Go to www.davetrafford.com, hit the TALK BACK button and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!

    Meet the NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T!

    Brad Ross has made a career leading the communications strategies for the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission.

    Lindsay Broadhead brings her comms experience and insights base on her time leading teams at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and, most recently, the Chief Communications Officer at the City of Toronto.

    Bob Reid applies his earned experience as a major market journalist and a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to his analysis of the communications "Touchdowns and Fumbles".

    Anne Marie Aikins is a "media relations maven", a sought after pundit and speaker, and a strategic comms adviser specializing in public transit in Ontario.

    Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media.
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    48 mins
  • NOW and NEXT LIVE from the PAAC Conference in Toronto
    Dec 11 2024
    It's a NOW and NEXT first!

    Our Comms and Strategy Team (C.A.S.T.) presented this edition of the podcast LIVE at the Public Affairs Association of Canada conference in Toronto. It was held in November at the waterfront campus of George Brown College.

    We riffed on the emergence of podcasting a powerful weapon in the comms and stategy arsenal for brands and organizations in a day and age when "earned media" is increasingly more difficult to land.

    We also talked about the political power of podcasting - particularly against the backdrop of the US Presidential election that gives Donald Trump another four years behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

    YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!

    Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about.

    Go to davetrafford.com, hit the TALK BACK button and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!

    YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE

    Meet the NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T!

    Brad Ross has made a career leading the communications strategies for the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission.

    Lindsay Broadhead brings her comms experience and insights base on her time leading teams at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and, most recently, the Chief Communications Officer at the City of Toronto.

    Bob Reid applies his earned experience as a major market journalist and a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to his analysis of the communications "Touchdowns and Fumbles".

    Anne Marie Aikins is a "media relations maven", a sought after pundit and speaker, and a strategic comms adviser specializing in public transit in Ontario.

    Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media.
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    53 mins
  • Does it really make sense for pollsters to track "the Black Vote" in America?
    Nov 28 2024
    This week on NOW and NEXT:

    Cliff Young, President of Polling and Societal Trends at Ipsos in the US joins the podcast and breaks down how and why the Democrats got it wrong, the GOP got it right and addresses pollsters' under estimation of Trump's support.

    LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!

    Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about. Go to davetrafford.com and hit the TALKBACK button and record your message.
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    45 mins
  • From RFK's Big Mac Order to Southeby's latest offering - it's all BANANAS!
    Nov 21 2024
    This week on NOW and NEXT

    Our C.A.S.T. (Comms and Strategy Team) is here!

    We go deep on the grassroots ground game that's grooming the political landscape at Toronto City Hall. Was Anthony Furey a victim of a voter suppression campaign or did he just lose the Don Valley West byelection to a well oiled Orange Machine?

    Donald Trump's photo op with RFK eating a Big Mac says all you need to know about the president-elect's next administration.

    Who's on Bluesky Social?

    And who considers a banana taped to the wall as ART? And who's going to pay 7 figures for it?

    LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW!

    Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about.

    Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/NOWandNEXT and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!

    Meet the NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T!

    Brad Ross has made a career leading the communications strategies for the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission.

    Lindsay Broadhead brings her comms experience and insights base on her time leading teams at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and, most recently, the Chief Communications Officer at the City of Toronto.

    Bob Reid applies his earned experience as a major market journalist and a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to his analysis of the communications "Touchdowns and Fumbles".

    Anne Marie Aikins is a "media relations maven", a sought after pundit and speaker, and a strategic comms adviser specializing in public transit in Ontario.

    Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media.
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    57 mins
  • NORAD's former Director of Ops says Trump's re-election makes the world a more dangerous place.
    Nov 16 2024
    This week on NOW and NEXT:

    First, a passion project.
    I'm producing a benefit concert for St. Clare Inn - transitional housing for homeless women in Toronto who have mental heath challenges.

    The performance dates are Dec. 20 and 21. Three shows. It's music I wrote for a youth choir over a fifteen year period.

    Buy tickets or make a donation. http://www.stclareinn.com/events/ Help us make room at the Inn this Christmas.

    ALSO this week...

    Retired RCAF Major General Scott Clancy weighs in on Trump's next term in the White House.

    A Trump Presidency means:
    • NORAD is at risk.
    • A potential quick end to the war in Ukraine and that may well mean the end of Ukraine.
    • Putin has no reason to negotiate a peace. He has no reason to think he's losing.
    • The world is a more dangerous place.

    LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW! Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about.

    Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/NOWandNEXT and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!
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    41 mins
  • There were nearly 3.5 million visits to Toronto food banks in the last year.
    Nov 15 2024
    This week on NOW and NEXT:

    First, a passion project.
    I'm producing a benefit concert for St. Clare Inn - transitional housing for homeless women in Toronto who have mental heath challenges.

    The performance dates are Dec. 20 and 21. Three shows. It's music I wrote for a youth choir over a fifteen year period.

    Buy tickets or make a donation. http://www.stclareinn.com/events/ Help us make room at the Inn this Christmas.

    ALSO this week!

    Daily Bread Food Bank released its annual Who's Hungry Report and the numbers are not only alarming, they're being wilfully ignored by all levels of government.

    CEO Neil Hetherington says the current course at the Food Bank is not sustainable.

    LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW! Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about. Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/NOWandNEXT and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!
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    31 mins
  • It's TRUMP 2.Oh No!
    Nov 6 2024
    The NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T. (our Comms and Strategy Team), weighs in on the historic election win by Donald Trump.

    The Democrats were too busy trying to "connect" the WRONG dots for voters while Trump played to the concerns that resonated with more than 70 million American voters.

    Get ready for the MAGA CARTA, (Project 2025). The election result not only gives Trump a strong mandate, it gives the MAGA movement permission to do what it wants.

    YOU CAN NOW LEAVE US A VOICE MESSAGE ABOUT THE SHOW! Let us know what you think. Comment on the discussion. What would you like us to talk about.

    Use this LINK https://www.speakpipe.com/NOWandNEXT and LEAVE YOUR MESSAGE!

    YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE

    Meet the NOW and NEXT C.A.S.T!

    Brad Ross has made a career leading the communications strategies for the City of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission.

    Lindsay Broadhead brings her comms experience and insights base on her time leading teams at the Toronto Region Board of Trade and, most recently, the Chief Communications Officer at the City of Toronto.

    Bob Reid applies his earned experience as a major market journalist and a Senior Advisor to the Premier of Ontario to his analysis of the communications "Touchdowns and Fumbles".

    Anne Marie Aikins is a "media relations maven", a sought after pundit and speaker, and a strategic comms adviser specializing in public transit in Ontario.

    Dave Trafford is a “Podcast Journalist”, the Chief Executive Producer at Story Studio Network, and a Recovering News Director, (having led the news operations at Global News Toronto, Newstalk 1010 and AM640 radio in Toronto) with more than forty years of experience in Canadian media.
    Show More Show Less
    50 mins