Communications and Media | News and Releases

Keyword: Communications and Media

Alumni in their own words - Chloe Friesen (CMU ‘22)

Monday, June 29, 2026 @ 10:10 AM

Where has your life taken you since you left CMU?

Since graduating with my Bachelor of Arts in 2022, I have been working full-time as an associate producer with CBC Manitoba in the Current Affairs department. During my final year of studies, I worked casually as a radio show technician, so it was exciting to continue doing what I loved at CBC in a larger capacity. Since then, I've taken on a variety of roles within the public broadcaster, including producing stories and interviews for radio programs, directing live radio shows, writing and presenting for television, editing social media content, and—my favourite—filling in as host for Information Radio, Radio Noon, and Up To Speed. I've also had the opportunity to write, host, and produce my own hour-long radio documentary, The Case for Cursive. For someone who has always been fascinated by radio, it has been a stellar opportunity.

CMU student's involvement in Chatterbox research project leads to deeper understanding of storytelling

Wednesday, June 24, 2026 @ 4:22 PM

Amanda Dueck may have a background in filmmaking, but her experience at CMU in an audio recording studio has given her a whole new perspective on storytelling.

Dueck, who entered CMU's Communications and Media program to follow her passion for filmmaking, has, for the past two months, been helping run a special mobile audio-recording studio retrofitted out of a 1978 camping trailer called 'the Chatterbox'.

CMU alumna earns national recognition as a rising writer

Thursday, June 18, 2026 @ 12:16 PM

A national writing award is helping CMU alumna Emma Siemens take the next step toward a career in journalism.

The 2023 social sciences graduate is the recent recipient of the Wendy Elaine Nelles Award from the Word Guild, an organization of Canadian Christian writers and editors. The award recognizes emerging writers studying journalism, literature, media, and communications in Canada and includes an $850 prize to support their professional development.

How a camper-turned-recording studio became a gratitude mission on wheels (CBC)

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 @ 10:15 AM

Inside a golden yellow circa 1978 camping trailer, strangers are sharing moments of gratitude.

And armed with a microphone and a few prompting words of encouragement, David Balzer is capturing their stories.

Chatterbox — a mobile recording studio — is Balzer's antidote to social isolation and bad vibes.

Balzer, an associate professor of communications and media at Canadian Mennonite University, parks the camper-recording studio at community events and block parties and invites people to share a story of gratitude about a neighbour.

Clicking this link will take you way from media.cmu.ca.

Alumni in their own words - Marnie Klassen (CMU '21)

Monday, April 6, 2026 @ 10:42 AM

Where has your life taken you since you left CMU?

After graduating I very quickly got a job doing communications and admin support with A Rocha Manitoba, a Christian nature conservation organization. I was eager to explore volunteer and service opportunities elsewhere, and through some encouragement I applied and was accepted to the worker program at Romero House in Toronto. Taking this step felt so big for me, in a wonderful way. In the one-year term, I lived and worked with refugee claimants in Toronto's west end. I was the volunteer coordinator for the organization, which had me managing a team of over 140 volunteers, and was a settlement case worker for several claimant families. I learned a lot about the refugee claimant system in Canada, and a lot about interfaith and intercultural relationships. During my time in Toronto, I made connections at Eglinton Saint George United Church and ended up getting a job with that congregation as the Growth Initiatives Project Coordinator, which meant I was coordinating and running food justice-based events and programs through the church. All during this time I began freelance writing and preaching for organizations and churches, mostly exploring the themes of faith and climate. When the contract at the church came to an end, I decided to move back to Winnipeg and focus on developing a podcast called 'The Schism Between Us', which explores religious polarization in Canada, particularly within the Mennonite community. I've also recently taken on work as communications assistant for a worship resource hub called "Together in Worship."

David Balzer reflects on teaching, creativity, and finding your voice

Monday, April 6, 2026 @ 9:25 AM

David Balzer, Associate Professor of Communications and Media, has worked at CMU since 2009. He and Karen Ridd, Teaching Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies and of Conflict Resolution Studies, are co-recipients of the 2022 Kay and Lorne Dick Teaching Excellence Award.

The award, established in 2022, is granted annually to two faculty members who best exemplify the commitment to excellent teaching at CMU.

A journey shaped by connection, storytelling, and lifelong learning

Monday, September 29, 2025 @ 12:00 AM

Grace Bruinooge is all about "creative connecting."

Graduating with a major in Communications and Media in 2024, Bruinooge has worked in an array of specialized arenas—from graphic design, communications assistant, to now working with the National Screen Institute (NSI) as their operations administrator.

How a local professor spent 20 years exploring the meaning of 'Oh My God'

Thursday, February 13, 2025 @ 10:22 AM

Does the phrase "Oh my God" offend you? Have you ever wondered how it became something that people blurt out multiple times a day?

David Balzer, an associate professor of communications and media at Canadian Mennonite University and a storyteller at heart, is preparing to release an audio documentary that will answer all of these questions and more.

"I was doing the radio show [God Talk] and I had some friends at the University of Manitoba. They wanted to do something creative on campus and I got this idea to do a live show out of the university centre," said Balzer. "And so we're trying to pick a theme and during that week I was going to campus that week and I'm like, what could we do that would kind of bridge between our interest about who God is and culture and this phrase, 'oh my God' came up in my thinking."

Clicking this link will take you way from media.cmu.ca.

CMU alumna brings climate action into the provincial election

Monday, July 17, 2023 @ 10:14 AM

In 2019, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating that a global average temperature increase of 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels would significantly increase the severity and occurrence of extreme weather events, forever altering Earth's ecosystems.

The World Meteorological Institute estimates we are on track to hit that sustained average temperature increase in roughly a decade. Worse yet, there is a 66 per cent chance of that occurring temporarily within the next five years. The time for climate action is now.

Wittenberg Radio hosts push the boundaries of traditional podcasting

Tuesday, February 1, 2022 @ 3:34 PM

You can't find it on traditional radio airwaves, but broadcasting humbly, once a month from the studio space on Canadian Mennonite University's (CMU) campus, the hosts of Wittenberg Radio treat their listeners to content they call "by students, for students."

Hosts Chloe Friesen and Daniel McIntyre-Ridd are Communications and Media majors who have been writing, editing, and producing the historically audio-only podcast Wittenberg Radio roughly every month since fall 2019. Each episode is between 30-40 minutes long and, according to the program's website, "focuses on a variety of topics that relate to CMU students."

Older Posts

Print This Article

First Name *

Last Name *

Email *