Leora Kornfeld is a digital media researcher and consultant and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting ''
RealTime
''RealTime'', also known as ''RealTime Arts'', was a free Australian arts magazine, published by Open City in print from 1994 until 2015 and online from 1996 to December 2017.
History
The free national arts magazine ''RealTime'', also known as ...
'' on
CBC Stereo
CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
technologies such as
IRC
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for group communication in discussion forums, called ''channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via private messages as well as chat and ...
internet chat into its program format.
Kornfeld got her start in radio at
CITR-FM
CiTR-FM, is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its transmitter is also located on ...
, the campus station at Vancouver's
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
where fellow disc jockeys included Terry McBride, founder of the
Nettwerk
Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk Management, and Nettwerk One Publishing.
Established in 1984, the Vancouver-based company was created by Nettwerk principals Terry McBride and Mark Jowett as a record ...
label, and former ''
Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' music critic Chris Dafoe. After graduating from UBC she went on to work at
CFOX-FM
CFOX-FM (identified on air and in print as ''CFOX'') is a Canadian radio station in Vancouver, British Columbia. It broadcasts on an assigned frequency of 99.3 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 100,000 watts (peak). The ...
, first as a technical operator during the 2-6 a.m. shift and then as the writer for the syndicated program ''The Rock Journal''. Following her stint at CFOX she ventured into television writing at the
CBC. Her first job there was on the short-lived late night teen series ''
Pilot One
''Pilot One'' is a Canadian television variety series, which aired in 1989 on CBC Television."Teen TV show Pilot One not yet flying high". ''Toronto Star'', January 20, 1989. A late-night series aimed at teenagers, the series mixed music, intervi ...
''. She then went on to work on the final season of ''
Switchback'' and the inaugural season of ''
Streetcents''.
Kornfeld made the leap from CBC Television to
CBC Radio
CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...
, starting as a writer/producer and eventually as host of the music magazine program ''The Beat'' heard on CBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 in the early 1990s, and continued her hosting duties at CBC on the programs ''RealTime'' (1994–1997) and ''Radiosonic'' (1997–1999). ''RealTime'' was merged in 1997 with
David Wisdom
David Wisdom is a Canadian artist and former radio personality, best known as the host of ''Night Lines'', ''RadioSonic'', ''Radio-On'', and ''Pearls of Wisdom'' on CBC Radio 2.[Night Lines
''Night Lines'' was a Canadian radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1984 to 1997.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. . The show, which aired on Fri ...]
'' into a new program called ''
RadioSonic
''RadioSonic'' was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2003.Michael Barclay, Ian A.D. Jack and Jason Schneider, '' Have Not Been the Same: The Can-Rock Renaissance 1985-1995''. ECW Press. .
''RadioSonic'', which aired ...
'', and Kornfeld and Wisdom continued as cohosts of ''RadioSonic'' until 1999, at which time Kornfeld took a leave from CBC to pursue graduate studies in Media & Communications at
Goldsmiths College, University of London
Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...
. In 2002 Kornfeld founded Ubiquity Interactive, a company that developed early mobile technology such as multimedia museum guides and cell phone applications.
metroCode
The company's mobile museum guide, the VUEguide, was recognized with the Gold Award in the category of History & Culture by the American Alliance of Museums.
From 2008 to 2014 Kornfeld was a researcher at Harvard. Her work there focused on the new models of communication and new business structures enabled by digital, connected networks. Her published work includes cases on digital marketing
Digital marketing is the component of marketing that uses the Internet and online based digital technologies such as desktop computers, mobile phones and other digital media and platforms to promote products and services. Its development duri ...
in the music industry, politics in the age of social media, and how organizations such as Coca-Cola and Ford have pioneered new marketing strategies based on user-generated content. From 2015 to 2016 she was an adjunct faculty member at York University's Schulich School of Business.
In 2018 Kornfeld was commissioned to host the Canada Media Fund
The Canada Media Fund (CMF, french: Fonds des médias du Canada - FMC) is a public-private partnership founded on April 1, 2010 by the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Canadian cable industry. It is used to fund the creation of original ...
's podcast series ''Now & Next'', which debuted on the iTunes charts as one of the country's top technology podcasts.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornfeld, Leora
Canadian businesspeople
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
CBC Radio hosts
Canadian women radio hosts