Change is becoming a Regular thing

Eighteen months ago, Ken Regular left his job as video-journalist with NTV to take a position as a web journalist with CTV News Online.

Now Regular has taken a new work role, with the CTV Toronto newsroom. In an email exchange, Regular said he will be leaving the national newsroom, where the web service is based, and going to the local Toronto TV newsroom.

“My work at the website was focused on Toronto news, so I was regularly in contact with the local newsroom's assignment desk and reporters,” Regular wrote. “In about three weeks I'll start the new position as a writer. The plan is to begin 'learning the ropes' towards producing with some opportunities for field reporting and other roles along the way. It's one of those 'open door' kind of positions where it could evolve into so many things with time… It is a return to the television business for me and one that has me feeling very excited.”

This is not to suggest that Regular didn’t benefit from the web exposure. “It was an amazing experience that honed my writing skills, offered me endless opportunities to see my photography published, and allowed me to report on a variety of stories that ranged from simple crimes to detailed political issues,” he said.

“We did a number of things there but the most memorable was our municipal election coverage last year. We did a 2.5 hour webcast for the site. Only 30 minutes of the program aired on television. The rest was seen exclusively online. Imagine a full studio, anchors, reporters in the field via satellite, and real-time results produced only for a web audience. It was - as far as we can tell - the first time it had ever been done in Canada. And the effort won CTV Toronto an award at the RTNDA this year.”

So can we expect to see Regular filing pieces soon for Lloyd Robertson? “I think national CTV News stories are a little ways away yet,” said Regular, pointing out that he will start by “getting my feet wet in a host of writing, producing, and reporting roles.”