Canadaland names former Hot Docs director Alan Black
as Chief Operating Officer

Canadaland, the first and largest independent podcast company in Canada, announced today the appointment of Alan Black as its Chief Operating Officer, effective June 20, 2022.

Black, the former Managing Director of the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and founder of the Hot Docs Podcast Festival, brings to Canadaland over 20 years of experience in media leadership, audience growth, subscriptions, and strategic partnerships.

“Alan Black is a champion of nonfiction storytelling who grew Hot Docs into the world’s best documentary festival,” says Canadaland publisher Jesse Brown. “He’s an innovator who understands how to harness the passion audiences have for the content they believe in, and how to convert it into growth and sustainability for mission-based cultural organizations. We’re thrilled and lucky to have him.”

Black will oversee all non-editorial operations of Canadaland, both internally and externally. He will spearhead Canadaland’s growth strategy as the company expands its subscription program and develops projects for film and television.

“As a longtime listener and supporter of Canadaland, I am thrilled to bring my experience, insight, and passion to the team to support and amplify the incredible work they are doing. Jesse, Fatima, Arshy, and Canadaland’s intrepid team have fearlessly devoted themselves to telling important Canadian stories that have the ability to engage people in conversation and debate in a way that is utterly necessary.  I am excited to roll up my sleeves and do my part to get these stories told and to make sure they are heard.”

Canadaland is the leading independent podcast publisher and news organization in Canada. Its news and current affairs shows are downloaded over 700,000 times a month. Canadaland’s reporting leads the national conversation and breaks major stories such as the WE Charity scandal. Its critically-acclaimed podcast miniseries include Cool Mules, winner of the 2021 Gold Award for Best Podcast (Arts & Culture) from the Digital Publishing Awards, and Thunder Bay, which has been adapted in partnership with Entertainment One into a four-part Crave Original documentary TV series, scheduled to debut this winter.