If this is an official change, and it appears to be with the logo, I think it's a good idea.
I hated CITY News instead of 680 news.
By saying 680 you are identifying a source of news, not a geographical location.
CITY seemed to suggest all you would hear was news about the CITY of Toronto.
I haven't been to Vancouver for a few years but the Rogers station  always referred to themselves as News 1130.  Technically they were CKWX..
 

The colour scheme for the website and the CityNews 24/7 channels have changed to red/white/back - very much resembles CP24 or Global's news channels. Guess we should expect a graphics change on the TV newscasts today.

I’ve seen some staff post on instagram, and it looks like they’re going for the traditional anchor desk on the main cast too.

Someone forgot to tell 310 Reno. They still say Citynews radio.

Last edited by Radiowiz (March 25, 2024 4:58 pm)

Hey CityNews @ 5 & 6 (on City TV)
Please put the clock back in the bottom right corner of CityNews. Thanks. 
 

Last edited by Radiowiz (March 25, 2024 5:59 pm)

680 NewsRadio Toronto is more descriptive. Someone new to the city would know what "news radio" means where "CityNews" might not be as obvious (could be news about city government, for instance). 

Interesting as well that attempts to co-brand both Global (Global News Radio), and CityNews tv and radio have been abandoned by Corus and Rogers respectively. I guess this means Bell is unlikely to try to rebrand NT 1010 with either CTV News or CP24.

Maybe it's my imagination or I haven't been listening long enough, but during the first few minutes of tuning into CFTR Tuesday morning, it appears it's now back to "680 News" for most of the news readers. I've only heard the "Newsradio" reference once in a promo in an entire half hour.

peter wrote:

I listen for the news and don't complain/moan/whine about all the peripheral stuff like set colours, logos, where the clock is, where they are broadcasting from....Yikes  

Um ... wakey!  wakey!  This is a radio and television board.  Formatics, positioning, etc .. are actually a thing here since they're part of the business.
 

Hansa wrote:

680 NewsRadio Toronto is more descriptive. Someone new to the city would know what "news radio" means where "CityNews" might not be as obvious (could be news about city government, for instance). 

Interesting as well that attempts to co-brand both Global (Global News Radio), and CityNews tv and radio have been abandoned by Corus and Rogers respectively. I guess this means Bell is unlikely to try to rebrand NT 1010 with either CTV News or CP24.

It hasn't been abandoned entirely. The other 5 Rogers all-news/news-talk radio stations are still branded as CityNews. It's only been dumped on 680. As for Corus, they only own 1 all-news station (CHQT 880 Edmonton) and it's still branded as "Global News Radio". 
 

I've written about this before, but we have many new members since then. 

Sometime in the early 1980s, when CFTR was still an AM Top 40 powerhouse, things were clicking along fine and I felt lucky to be working at a top rated station. Those were great days and it was probably the best job I ever had.

And then, one afternoon with no notice, around the lunch hour, the jock stopped referring to the station on air as "CFTR," as it had since the first format switch to rock in 1972. Instead, he was saying "TR 68" after each record. 

Everyone in the station stared at each other. WTF was going on? When did this happen and why? Between songs, someone went into the announce booth and asked the guy why he was doing the new ID. "I was told to," he replied, mentioning someone in management had come in and immediately ordered the change. 

And so it became "TR 68." It may not have created a buzz among listeners, but internally, there was a frenzy. It was such a big change and no one knew it was coming. 

It lasted until the P.D. returned from a lunch meeting. I've been told when he heard the new station I.D. on air, he went ballistic. He wanted to know who ordered this change and why he wasn't told. And before you knew it, "TR 68" died a quick death and it was known as CFTR again. It stayed that way until they went to the all news format many years later. 

I never did find out what happened or whether this was being workshopped behind closed doors and someone decided to put it on air. But whatever it was, it didn't last long. If you were listening during those bizarre 120 minutes, you heard it. Otherwise, it disappeared into the ether, never to be heard from again.

So RIP "TR 68." We hardly knew ye. Literally. 

Not diggin' this bold Red. Natasha Ramsahai used it on her radar map for city/town names and I found it distracting. Red has always been a colour to highlight safety and caution in industry so it's going to take a little time to recalibrate.

The only visual I see on my radio is the number 680.

RadioActive wrote:

I've written about this before, but we have many new members since then. 

Sometime in the early 1980s, when CFTR was still an AM Top 40 powerhouse, things were clicking along fine and I felt lucky to be working at a top rated station. Those were great days and it was probably the best job I ever had.

And then, one afternoon with no notice, around the lunch hour, the jock stopped referring to the station on air as "CFTR," as it had since the first format switch to rock in 1972. Instead, he was saying "TR 68" after each record. 

Everyone in the station stared at each other. WTF was going on? When did this happen and why? Between songs, someone went into the announce booth and asked the guy why he was doing the new ID. "I was told to," he replied, mentioning someone in management had come in and immediately ordered the change. 

And so it became "TR 68." It may not have created a buzz among listeners, but internally, there was a frenzy. It was such a big change and no one knew it was coming. 

It lasted until the P.D. returned from a lunch meeting. I've been told when he heard the new station I.D. on air, he went ballistic. He wanted to know who ordered this change and why he wasn't told. And before you knew it, "TR 68" died a quick death and it was known as CFTR again. It stayed that way until they went to the all news format many years later. 

I never did find out what happened or whether this was being workshopped behind closed doors and someone decided to put it on air. But whatever it was, it didn't last long. If you weren't listening during those bizarre 120 minutes, you heard it. Otherwise, it disappeared into the ether, never to be heard from again.

So RIP "TR 68." We hardly knew ye. Literally. 

Just as well. TR 68 is pretty close to the infamous TRS-80 (Trash 80) Radio Shack computer that was becoming a big thing then - but was also considered a bit downmarket compared to the Commodore PET computer and the Apple 2 so I don't think CFTR would have benefited by the association. 
 

Hansa wrote:

TR 68 is pretty close to the infamous TRS-80 (Trash 80) Radio Shack computer that was becoming a big thing then - but was also considered a bit downmarket compared to the Commodore PET computer and the Apple 2 so I don't think CFTR would have benefited by the association.

This was my immediate concern, too. People confusing computers with radio stations has plagued humanity since it crawled out of the ocean.

RadioActive wrote:

Is it the angle of the shot or does Melissa genuinely have tiny arms?

Last edited by Binson Echorec (March 26, 2024 3:34 pm)