paterson1 wrote:

Newspapers started this type of geotargeting about 12 years ago for advertising on their websites.  An advertiser could have their ad show up on a newspaper website in specific zones of a city, other cities, or only a few blocks around the store. Many had customized ads with specials and offers to test the response.  This sounded interesting and for the advertiser cost effective but in reality didn't really work that well for most of them. 

Maybe radio will be different. 

Paterson1, why/in what ways did it fail?

Syrett was one of my first mentors where the production of talk radio show content was concerned. Sharp mind, soft-spoken off-air as John D stated.

I will always remember Richard lamenting his role in defiling episodes of beloved black and white classic TV shows and sitcoms (like McHale's Navy) back in his youth. He revealed to his listeners that he once had a job in Toronto where he 'colourized' the shows. I can't recall if he altered the original version of these shows, or if he was merely tampering with copies. At any rate, he said it was a regret he likely still harbours years later!

RadioActive wrote:

She's been a news director, a news anchor, and a guest commentator. And next week, Stephanie Smyth will be something else - a talk show host. The longtime broadcast pro will be taking Kelly Cutrara's place on AM640 Monday for the show that airs from noon - 3 PM.

Smyth should be comfortable behind that mic - she used to be the station's news director and has also served in that position at CityNews 680 and Global.

Stephanie did some very limited talk show fill-in work during her time as news director at AM640 Toronto in the mid-to-late 00s (likely within the 2006-07 time period). In fact, she was paired with the venerable Dick Smyth on at least one of those occasions when subbing on Stafford's afternoon drive show.

Hansa wrote:

They're legally entitled to severance so Metroland may be forced to pay it out. I don't know if bankruptcy protection exempts Metroland from that responsibility.

Unfortunately, bankruptcy does change the game when it comes to severance packages: https://stlawyers.ca/blog-news/metroland-eliminates-605-jobs-bankruptcy-stops-print/

Was just served this ad online: https://www.shaw.ca/corporate/shaw-videotron-rogers.

Shaw suggests that this acquisition is happening solely for the benefit of the Canadian public, and that it will miraculously result in increased competition (somehow). And that it will "clear a path towards lower prices," as if Rogers hasn't had the power to slash prices up to this point in time.

Also, Rogers good, Bell and Telus bad.

 

RadioActive wrote:

I've written about this before, but it keeps making more and more of a comeback on talk radio stations (if it ever diminished at all) and it's one of the most irritating things you can hear. 

It happens with nearly every random caller they take to comment on a topic, and they should ban it immediately. If only that were possible. The phrase that doesn't pay is "As I was just telling your screener..." after which the caller launches into the subject he or she called about and presumably detailed to the producer. 

I realize a lot of this is nervousness on the part of the listener, but there must be a way to get them to realize no one cares what they just told the screener, no one knows that they talked to the screener and it ruins the magic of radio somewhat to even acknowledge that there is a screener in the first place.

I'm not sure how you stop it, because it's becoming a bad habit and a crutch for too many. And as I was just telling my screener, I wish there was a way to make that happen. 

Having worked in talk radio for years, I concur. I alway cringed when I heard a caller take to the airwaves and immediately announce "I was just telling your screener." Whenever I heard that, it meant that I, or the producer working with me, failed during the screening process.

A bad producer will allow a caller to yap for minutes as they share their detailed thoughts on the subject, pouring their opinion and emotions into that initial conversation. The caller will then have to essentially "reenact" the conversation to a lesser degree with the host. By that point, and depending on how long they wait on hold, they've already vented a bit, and a great deal of wind is out of their sail.

A good producer will spend only 15 seconds or so with a caller before either "racking them up" (putting them on hold for the host) or dropping their call (either politely and quickly if they're good peeps but just not what your looking for, o

grilled.cheese wrote:

Fjiri wrote:

grilled.cheese wrote:

I have quite a few entire shows of Staff et all saved in my archive, including commercials and news broadcasts. 

Is this archive localized on a single, physical hard drive, or is it part of the cloud?

My man;  Currently they are sitting comfortably on my hard drive but can be uploaded to Dropbox if requested. 
 

I recall Michael's blood pressure rising after being grilled about how he came to know the tale of 'Wrong Way' Corrigan.

Maclean's, September 10, 1960: The glamorous television interviewer may not be able to clown, dance, sing or act, but she's as far from being a dumb blonde as she is from being the plain girl next door

https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1960/9/10/joyce-davidson

 

RadioAaron wrote:

Today  I learned!  At the very least it allows them to merge and minimize Bad News Days.

Now THAT is true! lol Better to do it all in one shot, ride that wave for a short while, and then walk away like nothing ever happened.

RadioAaron wrote:

The FM in only in the logo, and not actually part of the name.

Here's my guess - The morning show change was planned a while ago, but they need to wait out the new host's non-compete. They waited for two things to fire the current show 1-The date of the new host's availability gets closer and 2-Wait for there to be another nation-wide set of layoffs so they can claim that the morning show firing was a layoff, not a dismissal without cause. They've protected themselves from a bit of legal trouble. 

RadioAaron, you are completely incorrect with regards to a "layoff" not being a dismissal without cause, and therefore allowing a company to avoid any legal issues aka severance payments.

A "layoff" is not a termination for cause. An employee who is "laid off" is still owed severance pay.

RadioActive wrote:

If you ever worked in radio, chances are pretty good you used to listen to someone who made you want to get into this crazy industry. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to hear him or her on a regular basis. If you’re more fortunate, you’ll get to meet them. And if the stars really align, you’ll discover they’re as great a human being as you always hoped.
 
That’s what happened to me on Wednesday, when I got to treat one of the guys who inspired me to lunch in the Distillery District. His on air name was the Real Bob James and he toiled in the 70s and 80s at such great Top 40 stations as WGAR Cleveland and WNBC New York, with lots of other stops along the way.
 
This guy was one of the greatest jocks I’ve ever heard, an inspiration to me of how really great radio can be done. He came to Toronto for his first ever visit this week and he was nice enough to ask to meet me.
 
We talked about the loss of personality radio, the state of the industry today, some of his amazing career highlights, the fact his high energy approach (which included producing bits and taking requests on the fly) lost him about 5 lbs. per shift, and his post-radio career (he quit the biz at age 40 and went back to college to earn his Ph.D in media studies, followed by a tenured professorship at two prestigious American universities.)  

How talented was he? Consider this: in the 70s, the local Emmy winner auditioned for an opening for a TV game show that needed a new host. He played a fake game with fake contestants and aced the thing. But in the end he came in second, as the production company decided to give it to a local L.A. weatherman, simply because he was better known in that market. The winner was Pat Sajak and the show was Wheel of Fortune. If not for that one quirk of fate, he might have been a household name.  
 
But despite that near miss, he never lost a beat and remains as smart, nice and gracious as I could have hoped. (Dale Patterson has an air

…