Running the Risks
Two young men died months apart in 2019 at two of Ottawa's biggest running events, Ottawa Race Weekend and the Canada Army Run. The film asks the running community what can be done to prevent these tragedies in the future.
Michael A. Smith
Let me help you tell your story.
Podcast editing, mixing and live production, plus writing and editing from a journalist and former magazine editor.
WriterEditorProducer
Media Production & Consulting
01 Services
Media production & consulting
You bring the conversation. I handle the production: the edit, the mix and the stream, plus the writing and editing around it.
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Podcast editing
Send me your raw recording and get back a finished episode: stumbles, false starts and dead air cut out, the pacing tightened, and a clean run from intro to sign-off.
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Mixing & mastering
Voices balanced so every host and guest sits at the same level, music and sound placed under the conversation, and a final file that sounds consistent from one episode to the next.
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Live streaming & production
Take your show or event live: I set up and run the stream on the day, then turn the recording into a finished episode afterwards.
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Writing & editing
Features, web copy, scripts, show notes, newsletters and speeches, plus copy and structural editing, fact-checking and CP style. It's the work I did for years as a reporter and as assistant editor of Legion Magazine.
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Video & storytelling
Short documentaries and video for the web, from research and interviews through shooting and the final cut, and help finding the stories inside your organisation.
Have a show, an event or a story in mind? Tell me what you're making, how often you record and what you need, and I'll get back to you with how I can help.
Book a project02 Selected work
Stories, shot & cut
Journalism is where I learned to produce: reporting, writing, editing and cutting stories for magazines, radio and the web.
NomineeEmerge Media Award 2020
Left in the Cold
Ottawa saw a surge in the number of people living on its streets, driven in large part by a lack of affordable housing. While politicians debated solutions, this film asks how those most affected were surviving in the meantime.
The B'ys back
Newfoundland repatriates an unknown First World War soldier
I travelled to France to cover the repatriation of Newfoundland's Unknown Soldier from Beaumont-Hamel, and wrote the feature for Legion Magazine.
From the repatriation
Clips
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Face to FaceLegion Magazine · Opinion
Legion Magazine's point–counterpoint debate, where I've argued both sides: NO to Canada instituting mandatory military service (Nov. 2022), and YES to Canada investing in its Arctic capabilities.
Opinion -
Mushroom MagicWriting sample
A writing sample from my portfolio folder.
Writing -
Caplin Roll & Caplin ScienceCBC Radio · The Broadcast · 2019Radio
Two radio stories about capelin, pitched, recorded and edited for CBC Radio's The Broadcast in St. John's.
More in the portfolioAudio, writing samples and clippings in one folder, plus my bylines at Legion Magazine.
03 Experience
On the masthead
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Mar. 2022 – Aug. 2025 · Ottawa
Assistant Editor
CANVET Publications: Legion Magazine & Canada's Ultimate Story
- Fact-checked, edited and executed the publication of more than 20 print issues of Legion Magazine and 13-plus issues of Canada's Ultimate Story.
- Managed and edited the magazine's two staff writers and their weekly columns, along with its many freelancers.
- Reported on live events, from press conferences and the National Remembrance Day ceremony to conventions and academic conferences.
- Travelled to France to cover the repatriation of Newfoundland's Unknown Soldier, documented in the feature "The B'ys back."
- Organized and budgeted all national and international travel.
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Oct. 2021 – Apr. 2022 · Ottawa
Head Copywriter
RVezy
Wrote and edited external and internal content and RV lifestyle blogs, and created a company-wide style guide.
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Apr. 2021 – Oct. 2021 · Ottawa
Communications & Research Assistant
Ottawa Festival Network
Marketing campaigns for festival safety, government advocacy, online stories and a podcast with industry leaders.
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Aug. 2019 – Sept. 2019 · St. John's, NL
General Reporter
VOCM News
Covered municipal, provincial and federal politics, local news and community events.
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May 2019 – Aug. 2019 · St. John's, NL
General Reporter
CBC Radio, The Broadcast
Pitched, recorded and edited weekly radio stories; wrote greens, ran pre-interviews, streeters and documentaries.
04 About
From the newsroom to your podcast
I'm a trained journalist who has worked across print, radio and video, as a reporter, an editor and a documentary maker.
I'm the former assistant editor of Legion Magazine. From 2022 to 2025 at CANVET Publications, home of Legion Magazine and Canada's Ultimate Story, I fact-checked, edited and saw more than 20 print issues of Legion Magazine and 13-plus issues of Canada's Ultimate Story through to publication, managed the magazine's staff writers and freelancers, and travelled to France to report on the repatriation of Newfoundland's Unknown Soldier from Beaumont-Hamel. I was also part of the Legion Magazine team recognized at the 2024 Canadian Online Publishing Awards.
Before that I reported for CBC Radio's The Broadcast, the Ottawa Citizen and VOCM News, was head copywriter at RVezy, and wrote online stories and produced a podcast for the Ottawa Festival Network. Along the way I've built websites, coordinated social media outreach and helped run marketing campaigns. I'm also an award-winning speech-writer and poet, and an award-nominated documentarian.
Now I bring all of that to media production and consulting: I edit, mix and stream podcasts, and I write and edit for people and organisations who want their story told well.
05 Education
Schooled in the craft
Master of Journalism
Carleton University · 2020
Master's research project
Carleton University
BA, Philosophy & Anthropology
Memorial University of Newfoundland · 2018
Behind the scenes
In the newsroom 
In conversation 
Editing a D-Day story 
At the newsstand 
Reading 
Winter 
On film
06 Contact
Book a project
A podcast to edit, mix or stream, or a project that needs a writer or editor? Tell me about it and let's tell your story.
Book a project- Email: michaelasmith709@gmail.com
- Phone: 416-436-5412
- Location: Ottawa, ON