Midtown Radio

It’s construction season in Midtown. A quick update on what we’re building.

It's construction season in Midtown And we've been busy little beavers!

Great kickoff to the new Brains On Tap: The Non-Lecture Experience series at TWB Co-operative Brewing

Podcast version coming soon on the Midtown Radio listening app.

Free download available through our website. Link in bio.

📸: David Harmes

Like many in Waterloo Region, we were saddened to hear about the demise of 570 News and The Mike Farwell Show in particular.

As local media producers we've shared a common purpose: telling local stories, celebrating our community, asking important questions, and creating spaces where people feel informed and connected.

Mike Farwell has been a familiar and trusted voice for many years. Through his interviews, conversations, and genuine commitment to the region, he has helped shine a light on the people, organizations, and issues that make Waterloo Region unique. We want to thank Mike and everyone behind the scenes who made the show possible.

This moment is also a reminder that local media of every kind—commercial, public, campus, independent, and community—are facing significant challenges. Every time we lose a program or a newsroom, our community loses more of its shared conversation, and connection to one-another.

If local media are going to survive in our community, it will take all of us: more listening, more engagement, more advocacy, and more support.

At Midtown Radio, we'll continue doing our part to create opportunities for local musicians, artists, podcasters, and community organizations to share their voices. We believe the future of local media depends on collaboration, community support, and a shared commitment to ensuring that local stories continue to be told.

If you value local media, tell your friends, support the business that advertises with them, and tell your local representatives that we need to do better.

To Mike, the 570 News team, and everyone affected by these closures, thank you for your contributions to Waterloo Region. We wish you every success in whatever comes next, and look forward to hearing your voices again. 🙏

Happy Pride from Midtown Radio! To shine the spotlight on the incredibly talented LGBTQ+ artists we have in the region, we have curated a playlist of all local talent for TWB Co-operative Brewing 's Pride Patio Party this weekend! Spanning tons of genres, we have so much to celebrate in this region!

Give it a listen and enjoy! 🏳️‍🌈🎶❤️

This Sunday! 🤩

Come join us as we celebrate 8 years of community radio! 5-8pm on the rooftop patio! 🥂

Midtown Radio 8th Anniversary Social Join us for Midtown Radio’s 8th Anniversary Social—good vibes and great tunes, on the rooftop patio!

Recognize any of these characters? 🤩

If you do, you should join us for an awesome in-person celebration as Midtown Radio marks its 8th anniversary! 🎊

Sunday, June 14th. 5-8pm on the rooftop patio! 😎

It’s the perfect chance to hang out, meet fellow supporters, and toast to a great eight years! 🥂

After eight years in the community you never know who’s going to show up!

Limited number of 2 for 1 tickets available. Link in bio.

🎙️ New episode of Midtown Conversations airs this Saturday and Sunday at 11am! 📣

This week’s show explores:
• The future of local journalism
• Media trust in the digital age
• Why local media matters as social infrastructure

Featuring:
• Melissa Bowman (Citified)
• Stewart Grant (Grant Haven Media)
• Ken Seiling (former Regional Chair)
And guest host Shannon Knelsen.

Recorded live at the Princess Cinemas in Waterloo with support from

Available on demand through the Midtown Radio Mobile App (link in bio). 🙏

Some good learning at the podcast day, and in Toronto this week!

Great to meet so many people working on interesting and other audio projects. We're looking forward to some future collabs!

Still concerned about local media in our region?

Join us for this timely panel discussion
Tuesday, May 5th at the Journalism Film Festival 2026 in Waterloo! 🎤📰

In partnership with Ink-Stained Wretches and we will be hosting a discussion on one of the most important conversations happening right now:

The future of local journalism… traditional media, independent media, podcasts, media as social infrastructure, and the rise of misinformation.

We'll be joined by:

👉 Former Regional Chair, Ken Seiling;
👉 Community advocate and author of the Citified substack, Melissa Bowman; and
👉 Stewart Grant, publisher of 12 community newspapers and president of the Ontario Community Newspapers Association.

… for what promises to be a really interesting conversation about where media is headed, how people are consuming information now, and what still needs to be preserved from traditional journalism.

Then we’ll be screening the award winning film, Spotlight 🎬

📍 Princess Twin Cinema – Uptown Waterloo
🗓️ Tuesday, May 5 | 6:00 PM

Early bird tickets are available now. https://princesscinemas.com/movie/journalism-film-festival-spotlight

Deren Atkins (of podcast fame) giving an update on the mobile listening app to the good folks at (who built it last season).

In a nutshell, it’s great! 🙌

If you haven’t tried the app yet you can download it for free from your preferred App Store.

📷