J-Links for July 11: Bell’s first move in Astral Media deal; A journo’s horseback trek; Calgary: the greatest city in Canada

In Canadian media:

Bell Media to sell, change stations to fulfill Astral Media deal

Bell Media’s first move in its steps to becoming the owner of Astral Media Inc. is applying to the CRTC to replace TSN Radio 990 (Montreal’s English sports station) with a French-language sports station. Bell also said it would sell stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg in order to comply with CRTC regulations that state a common owner can only own three stations per language in any market, with only two of them on the same frequency band. In acquiring Astral, Bell would own four English-language stations in Montreal, so changing one of the AM stations to French would allow it to retain all of them.

What happens when a cowboy meets journalism? A documented 16,000 km journey

Brazilian-born Filipe Masetti Leite works as a journalist in Toronto but has set out on a journey that will cover 12 countries, 16,000 km and take two years — on horseback. He left the Calgary Stampede grounds on Sunday and his journey will end in his birthplace of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Throughout his trek, Leite will be updating followers on his Twitter page and making mini documentaries that will be posted on his blog.

Conrad Black wants his voice heard to keep his Order of Canada

Conrad Black received his Order of Canada in 1990 and having since being convicted of fraud and obstruction of justice, he was informed last July that a council is considering revoking the honour. Black is asking the Federal Court to force the Order of Canada advisory council to allow him to present oral arguments, not just written ones.

In international media:

Two more journos arrested, widening Operation Elveden

Two more journalists have been arrested in London in Operation Elveden (an ongoing investigation into allegations of inappropriate payments to police) which, to date, has seen 40 arrests — 21 involving journalists. An early morning raid of two journalists’ homes prompted the arrests. The reporters are not connected to News International.

Today’s read:

Stephen Harper: Calgary is the greatest city in the greatest country

During the Calgary Stampede’s opening ceremonies Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Calgary is the greatest city in Canada. Some say he just got a little carried away in the excitement of the event, others say he meant it and a few point out that as his home riding, it’s a natural proclamation.