I did the same thing in Vancouver.  You learn, and believe me callers LOVE to point it out..

Tsawwassen, Coquitlam, Semiahmoo Road, Whalley, Keefer St. 

You can't know everything on day 1.  Hell, I'm into day 17,270 and I still regularly screw up.

RadioActive wrote:

It's pretty rare these days that a traffic reporter utterly destroys the name of a well known Toronto street but it happened on NT1010's 8:30 PM "Timesaver Traffic" break on Thursday.

The woman told us there was a problem on Strachan Ave.

And yes, she did pronounce it as Strack-can. 

I'm guessing she ain't from around here! This - along with Balliol - is the tell tale sign we're not dealing with a local. Jody Thornton may know this because he did it for so long with CTN - how do they vet these people and do they ever warn them about these common mispronunciations? This one was especially obvious. 

from the youtube page...

In 1992 we asked the music industry to sing the National Anthem, for free - to put a copy in every school in Canada - for free. We did it! Some said YES and couldn't make the schedule (Geddy Lee of RUSH for example) Some said no thanks (you'd be surprised) But 244 stars and entertainers managed to donate their precious talents and time. This is the result. From Rita MacNeil, GIno Vanelli, Randy Bachman and Tommy Hunter to country stars, rockers and rappers we did something no country had done before or since. THANK YOU, from the bottom of our Glowing Hearts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SXXiV7CBus

We played the hell out of this on Adler's show, and I've always thought it was pretty awesome.  Just an excellent version of it.  Maybe it's time it came back  

I have the CD somewhere, but this is the only version I can find easily.

https://www.discogs.com/release/14580880-Various-O-Canada-The-Revitalization?srsltid=AfmBOooHIBevb8awDkQxqJ6jWkp5-jB1MIP35C7tzIaW6CN0c7Y2DMnr

ig.

Here's the story of the making...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OS3dJsaXPsI

 

I've known Robert since he walked into CFRB almost 30 years ago, thrilled to be there and one of the few 'younger folks' to fully appreciate the heritage of the station.  He was thrilled to be part of it, as was his family.

On August 14th, 2003, during the North East blackout, he was part of the team (as were many others) that was at the station from the first flicker till the lights came back on.  His family showed up that evening with sandwiches and snacks for everyone working there, and many of us have never forgotten that gesture.  There have been so many historical events that he has been part of, and made the station coverage that much better because of it.

He's an incredibly nice guy and hands-down one of the smartest and funniest people I've ever known.  His wit is second to none, and he'll be unstoppable when he gets the other half of it.

Few share his secret, but he listens, really listens to the shows he was part of, and reacts accordingly, not just pulling something off the pile that worked in a previous show.  

He's been APD at 1010 for a while and is now promoted to PD.

I'm so proud of the guy; nobody deserves this more than he does, and the station and staff are on an excellent trajectory because of it.

Congratulations!  

PS.  I don't need to kiss up because I've worked there since Fessenden was an op, and I'm old and not looking for a gig. 

Lone Michaels is at that magic point of fame and power where he can trust nobody to tell him something sucks.   Much like a US President, everyone stands around nodding at his 'great' ideas, then leaves the room rolling their eyes.

RadioActive wrote:

So let me get this straight. They had half a century of classic material in their vaults, along with some amazing performances both comedic and musical. And THAT was the best they could do in a three hour special? Boy, was I ever disappointed in what I saw Sunday night. 

The hype for this thing was immense. The return on watching it wasn't. Instead of using at least some of their most famous sketches, they decided to go for mostly new skits. And almost every one of them fell flat. From "Black Jeopardy" to that less than hilarious Q&A to that abysmal UFO piece about abductees and that awful musical wedding production, I watched the first two of three hours with my mouth dropping at how bad that was. 

Only Steve Martin's opening dialogue made me laugh. The rest just lay there. 

I admit I don't watch SNL anymore and I can see by their anniversary special it was the right decision. With some great comedy material to look back on over 50 years, they didn't pull anything. Except, perhaps, one over on the audience, who I feel sure was expecting more.

Wow, what a wasted opportunity.  

I still can't believe with so much talent assembled on that stage, it was so terrible. As far as I'm concerned it was "Saturday Night Dead."

I doubt he's rolling in his grave.  I imagine now that he's no longer composing, he's excited about the song bringing some $$$ to his family via Ott & The Ontario Teachers pension fund.

https://www.saltwire.com/prince-edward-island/stompin-tom-connors-family-signs-record-deal-to-release-his-music-59314

https://ca.billboard.com/fyi/teachers-fund-acquires-ceo-stake-ole-founder-robert-ott-stays

 

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

Is anyone having issues trying to access SOWNY? It was not loading properly for me. I can access it now.

This reminds me of a call I got in the middle of the night back around 1982 at CHFI.  We were off air for maintenance at the tower and some woman called in livid that we weren't announcing we were off air, on air.

I gave her the Chum-FM bat line number and suggested they might be able to help by making an announcement for her.

I sat in the transmitter hut in Delta for the first 24 hours on and off of 'full power' for 1040.  The signal is a crazy powerhouse.  50lk Day & Night.  We got calls and cards from all over the place, including the Azores.  When the transmitter was off, WHO in Iowa came crashing in.  

When I first got the chance to turn on the mic. I knew it was something special.  It really did put the 'broad' in broadcasting.  I did a ''call us collect' just let the operator say where you're calling from and I won't accept the call bit, and we had calls from all over Canada & the US.  

It was a great, fun place to be while it lasted.

Saul wrote:

BowmanvilleBob wrote:

Corus says the west coast's news/talk leader will move to the frequency vacated when they closed the former all traffic station.

CKNW on the move.

Never heard either of these. I would imagine Corus owns both channels and the CRTC hasn't yet officially deleted 730. (Just as CHML wasn't officially deleted until just a few days ago). A London ON DXer  managed to hear 730 a few years ago, so maybe... 1040 would also have been a good channel, but the station there was owned by Bell. That one made it out here often enough. I would imagine all Corus needed, given the time lapse, was the go-ahead from Industry Canada?

Well done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh8jadDavgk&t=468s

Tq345 wrote:

DaCosta wrote:

I watch Corrie and a few years back one of the bad-un characters was a hospital radio host/DJ.  It was interesting to see him at work. 

I had the same thought, remembering the dastardly Geoff Metcalfe. He was indeed a bad'n.

I also seem to recall an episode of the hilarious Scottish sitcom Still Game (available on Netflix I believe) where Jack and Victor tried their hand at being hospital radio DJs.


 

Wish I'd thought to post this .  Let me jump on now though and say thank you.  

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !!

ho ho ho...

Shorty Wave wrote:

I would like to thank RadioActive for doing a great job of moderating and hosting the SOWNY board, and wish him and my fellow posters a Merry Christmas/happy holidays and all the best in 2025! Onwards!

and Connie Sinclair.

Lorne wrote:

Gordon and Gord Sinclair
Brian and Kori Skinner

Dick Smyth & Stephanie Smyth aren't related.

Marilyn Denis & Adam Wylde.

Scruff & T.J. Connors

A million years ago at 'RB, as cell phones were becoming more and more popular the annual Sick Kids Radiothon was coming up, and Sick Kids foundation wanted to take phone donations from cell phones as well as POTS. 

They were thrilled they had managed to get an MDC number, but the * prefix was getting tight.

They settled on

#KIDS    Toll Free, anywhere in Canada.

Say it out loud.

Till we mentioned it in a meeting, nobody there had.

We never ended up using it.  Surprise

I always thought #SAND would be a fun talk show number for those who disagreed and a direct line to the far more interesting callers

ig.

Davenet wrote:

ig wrote:

Doubt it.  416-870 is (was?) a Bell Choke exchange.  Designed to deal with massive incoming calls, for contests, radio promotions etc.  Otherwise it could knock out the entire exchange.

Reminds me of when I was involved with the startup of Flow 93.5 back in 2001. The powers-that-be there chose a small third-party provider to handle all of the station's phone needs. That included 4 lines for on-air use. Bell's Choke exchange services were NOT used, presumably because of the expense.

On our first call-in show we announced the number to call and, within a couple of minutes, completely crashed the provider's systems! We got no calls at all for the rest of the hour.

mace wrote:

I don't know how you lookup the history of telephone numbers, but the AM640 phone number was probably previously assigned to another business or private residence.

Doubt it.  416-870 is (was?) a Bell Choke exchange.  Designed to deal with massive incoming calls, for contests, radio promotions etc.  Otherwise it could knock out the entire exchange.  Since most stations were downtown,  92* / 86* / 36* it would have been bad

870-6400 was always the number for 640.

ig.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choke_exchange#:~:text=A%20choke%20exchange%20is%20a,stations%20and%20event%20ticket%20vendors.

It was February 10, 1981—just three months after the devastating MGM Grand Hotel fire—when the Las Vegas Hilton (now the Westgate) went up in flames. The clock had just ticked past 11, and the CP printer in the newsroom started dinging like a slot machine on a lucky streak. Everyone’s nerves were still raw from the MGM fire that claimed 85 lives, so no one was about to take this lightly.

I held the lofty title of "Night Assignment Editor" at CHUM, which, in truth, was a fancy way of saying "the guy who updates the Club & Concert line at midnight and makes sure the wire machines don’t drown in paper overnight."  I also had to write Smyth's 5:30 am, and there's another excellent story there .

Anyway...CHUM-AM was on autopilot at that hour, but Larry Wilson was live on FM. Larry was a news guy, and I figured he’d want to know about the fire. So, I prepped some copy, grabbed a couple of audio clips, and channelled my inner Bucky the Newshound as I headed into FM control.

Larry Wilson was one of those rare people who managed to be both incredibly talented and genuinely kind. He always had time for the newsroom keener (me) with a million questions.

As I walked in, he was finishing back-selling a record and heading into a commercial break. He waved me over to sit at the broadcast table to the console's left. We chatted briefly, and I handed him the copy and carts. I was ready to bolt—getting caught in there could mean serious shit—but Larry gestured for me to stay. “Hang out for a bit,” he said. I didn’t need to be asked twice.

Coming out of the stop set (it was a Beckers spot if you’re curious), Larry turned on the mic. He read the intro about the fire and then, without warning, said, “From the CHUM newsroom, here’s Iain Grant with more details.” As he flung the copy at me, and to put it mildly, and without hyperbole, my heart stopped.  I have never been so terrified in my life. But somehow, I got through it. My voice didn’t crack, a