INDUSTRY JOURNALIST, Cartt.ca contributor and our friend, Norma Reveler died Thursday night after a long battle with cancer. She was 46.
Norma was well known among cable, radio, television and telecom industry folks as a determined, hard working journalist who knew this industry as well as anyone.
“Norma was a terrific reporter and very committed to her craft,” said Greg O’Brien, editor and publisher of Cartt.ca. “And she loved this industry. She worked as long as she could, covering last month’s Banff TV Fest for us. She was so hopeful that she even accepted another assignment from me for next month.”
“Norma contributed well over 150 articles to Cartt.ca over the years and had such knowledge of the industry she was an excellent sounding board for me, as well,” he added.
Besides Cartt.ca, Norma also provided editorial to the likes of Playback and the Hollywood Reporter and she spent a number of years as editor of Canadian Communications Report when it was owned by Decima Research.
“She was a wonderful person,” said Debbie Lawes, her friend (they went to journalism school at Carleton together) and former boss at Decima. “And she always had this incredible curiosity to know what was happening in the industry. Plus, she didn’t play the PR game. She called things as she saw them.”
“Norma was ‘unspinnable’, and that’s a sign of a good reporter” added Denis Carmel, director of media and parliamentary relations at the CRTC and who has dealt with Norma through her various positions for the past dozen years. “She was thorough, persistent and reliable.
“She’d often come down to the public examination room to pore over materials – and sometimes she knew more than I did.”
“She’s been writing about this industry for a long time,” added Mario Mota, vice-president, broadcasting policy & regulatory affairs at the Canadian Film & Television Producers Association and a former co-worker. “She loved what she did and was pretty tenacious in pursuit of her stories.
“Norma always had her finger on the pulse of this industry,” added Jan Innes, VP communications at Rogers Communications. “She was very professional and a pleasure to deal with. She will be missed.”
"Norma was not only a class writer, she spoke Japanese. How cool is that!” added Etan Vlessing, a friend of Norma’s who is also the Canadian bureau chief at the Hollywood Reporter.
“Norma was our Tokyo stringer for six years before returning to Ottawa and covering the CRTC and other mysteries of the Canadian industry for us.
“The Canadian industry is poorer for her lost voice.”
Hulse, Playfair & McGarry, Ottawa, is holding visitations from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 25. A funeral will be held Monday at 1 p.m., followed by a reception at Hulse’s Central Chapel, 315 McLeod St., Ottawa.
Norma is survived by her husband Will Butler, father Dwight, mother Margaret, brothers Doug and Ian, sister Elaine and six nieces and nephews.
– Cartt.ca staff
