The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Big Bell Bloodbath Hits Properties In Toronto

eladb · February 4, 2021 11:14 am

Mark Towhey's Sunday afternoon show is gone from 1010 as well. Confirmed by him on Twitter
https://twitter.com/towhey/status/1356944888747741185

RadioActive · February 4, 2021 11:15 am

Not only are they now airing TV audio at 6 and the CTV National News at 11, but the CFTO local Toronto News has replaced the Roundtable reruns at 11:30 PM. Not great on radio (I heard now-sole and pre-taped weather person Lyndsey Morrison invite listeners to look at the map to follow the coming snow storm on future radar, which of course is impossible on radio.)

But hey, at least it's live, local and not a repeat. For whatever that's worth.

Seems many of the Bell stations in Ontario are doing the same thing now at 6 & 11:30. CP24 1050 Lives!

RadioActive · February 4, 2021 11:24 am

eladb wrote:
Mark Towhey's Sunday afternoon show is gone from 1010 as well. Confirmed by him on Twitter
https://twitter.com/towhey/status/1356944888747741185

So Woloshyn is gone. Towhey, too. Is Hudak still there? What will RB's weekend line-up look like now? All shill shows? More rerolls?

One thing's for sure - you'll be getting more trivia. And not just on CFRB. From Jason Agnew's Sunday Morning Trivia Facebook page:

"Starting this week (Feb 7). Sunday Morning Trivia returns to THREE HOURS! Join me from 9am - Noon on Newstalk 1010... and a few other stations as well "

He does not indicate which other stations it will be airing on, only that it will be an hour longer.

RadioActive · February 4, 2021 12:01 pm

David Farrell, the Grand Poobah over at FYImusicnews.ca, devoted his entire Media Beat section on Thursday to the goings on at Bell this week. It's not only a terrific overview of how they got to this place, but also about the company's miscalculations about the value of broadcasting and getting involved in a business they really didn't understand.

And it's not short on reality. Here's a sample:

"Most of the cuts that Bell Media is making this week, cuts that follow a procession of earlier layoffs, come from its AM stations. These are money losers, though not always so. News editors, writers, reporters and show hosts across the country have been shown the door. Local news doesn’t pay for itself. Centralized news feeds have proven to be more economical. Original shows cut, once iconic brands like CJAD and CFRB (News 1010) discounted, cast to the back of the bus. It’s a step away from disinheriting them altogether, and that will come when the cost of replacing aging transmitters is assessed and the land values they sit on is appraised."

David Farrell On The Bell Media Cuts

Calhame · February 4, 2021 1:13 pm

Interesting question from Jerry Agar at the end of the Howard Levitt half hour "hypothetical question if a company made a committment to a regulatory agency do the employees have any recourse if they don't comply with that commitment" Levitt's reply "the employees have no recourse only the regulatory agency"

Dale Patterson · February 4, 2021 1:33 pm

This Broadcast Dialogue article names some of the people who lost their jobs in the Bell purge.

https://broadcastdialogue.com/twb-rsa-020421/

RadioActive · February 4, 2021 5:28 pm

Hitting the west coast too, where slashing cuts deep - an entire show is eliminated.

Anchor gone, along with weekend newscast for CTV News Vancouver Island, amid Bell cuts

Centerline · February 4, 2021 6:39 pm

Dan O'Toole gone from TSN, as per his twitter, Dan O'Toole[/url] [url=https://twitter.com/notontvotoole]@notontvotoole·54m Had I known last night was my final show, I would have tried a little harder. Ahhhh, who am I kidding. I probably wouldn't have. It was a wild ride. If you got our show, then you laughed along with us. Thank you! Peace and love and let's raise a glass together once Covid is over.

paterson1 · February 4, 2021 7:46 pm

grilled.cheese wrote:
Will anyone still be working with Bell once this is all over?

Bell Media is a big concern. Randy Lennox former President of the company last month in an exit interview said they had 7,000 employees, which is similar in size to CBC/Radio Canada. BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) which is the whole company has about 52,000 employees.

Again to me unless there are many more to come, it sounds like the approx. 210 let go was across the country and not just Toronto. Last night on the CTV National News they reported on the layoffs and Lisa Laflamme made it sound like the cutbacks were mostly Toronto and Montreal but in some other smaller centres too. I know in KW one announcer from KFUN was let go.

MJ Vancouver · February 4, 2021 8:35 pm

paterson1 wrote:
grilled.cheese wrote:
Will anyone still be working with Bell once this is all over?
Bell Media is a big concern. Randy Lennox former President of the company last month in an exit interview said they had 7,000 employees, which is similar in size to CBC/Radio Canada. BCE (Bell Canada Enterprises) which is the whole company has about 52,000 employees.

Again to me unless there are many more to come, it sounds like the approx. 210 let go was across the country and not just Toronto. Last night on the CTV National News they reported on the layoffs and Lisa Laflamme made it sound like the cutbacks were mostly Toronto and Montreal but in some other smaller centres too. I know in KW one announcer from KFUN was let go.

I understand someone from Pure Country 93 in London was also let go.

RadioAaron · February 4, 2021 8:39 pm

Yes, it's everywhere. Just hard to track when only relying on prominent personalities twetting.

~10 in Ottawa including a Morning Live Host, Pure Country afternoon host, and CFRA weekend host.

RadioActive · February 4, 2021 9:36 pm

As noted in another thread, one Bell fired another.

Steve Bell, who was at CKLW as sports director for an incredible 41 years, was given the boot by his Bell Media bosses this week. I understand that you can't always let someone go back on air after they're let go, but if anyone deserved to be able to say goodbye to listeners, it was this guy.

I shudder to think what they would have done had Wally Crouter still been doing mornings at RB.

Windsor Star: Angry reaction at radio layoff of Steve Bell after 41 years

Citypulse News 15 · February 4, 2021 9:50 pm

Never turns out well when phone company's buy radio and tv stations! Someone a couple of weeks ago
mentioned that a few days after Let's Talk the layoffs happen.. how right you were!

Last edited by Citypulse News 15 (February 4, 2021 10:41 pm)

Citypulse News 15 · February 4, 2021 10:41 pm

The other thing that Bell and Rogers are doing besides cutting people is having them reapplying for their jobs
with added responsibilities, making some unqualified for the new positions. Another way of culling the herd.

RadioActive · February 5, 2021 5:55 pm

Broadcast Dialogue has published what it says is a comprehensive list of those laid off at Bell. It notes Ashley Legassic and Tiffany Hendsbee are among them - although they remain on the air, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

Interestingly, it also mentions David McKee, but says his status remains "unconfirmed." Hmmm....

Jon Pole has already started a podcast and addresses what happened at CJAD - and how he was fired in less than 90 seconds. You can hear it here.

Anyway, for what it's worth, hopefully there's no one you know on the list:

Bell Media layoffs: The List

Leslieville Bill · February 5, 2021 6:26 pm

Interesting that there have been tweets from Jim Richards' twitter account but nothing about the layoffs. Some are retweets of current affairs with comments so they are not likely scheduled.

AspectRatio · February 5, 2021 7:42 pm

RadioActive wrote:
Broadcast Dialogue has published what it says is a comprehensive list of those laid off at Bell. It notes Ashley Legassic and Tiffany Hendsbee are among them - although they remain on the air, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

Agreed. It also lists "Russ Courtney, Reporter/Anchor", but he was on the air doing doing the morning news (John Moore show) on Newstalk 1010 this morning (Friday, Feb 5th) so not sure about him either. If the 1010 newsroom was "gutted" or entirely shut down (including news director Kym Geddes, a role she took over from former ND Dave Trafford, who remains doing weekend mornings), where's Courtney working out of? Just reading copy from elsewhere in a newsreader booth and not "gathering" news or working stories based out of the newsroom? Covering multiple stations with voice tracking and tape-delayed news, maybe?

JT · February 5, 2021 7:57 pm

Dave Agar wants his name removed from the CFRB newsroom.Not that anyone from Bell will give a RAT`S ASS.
And good for him.

February 5, 2021 8:08 pm

Leslieville Bill wrote:
Interesting that there have been tweets from Jim Richards' twitter account but nothing about the layoffs.

Might it have something to do with protecting his $everance?

Chrisphen · February 5, 2021 9:04 pm

RadioActive wrote:
Broadcast Dialogue has published what it says is a comprehensive list of those laid off at Bell. It notes Ashley Legassic and Tiffany Hendsbee are among them - although they remain on the air, so I'm not sure how accurate this is.

Training their replacements? This happens in other businesses.

AspectRatio · February 5, 2021 10:22 pm

geo wrote:
Leslieville Bill wrote:
Interesting that there have been tweets from Jim Richards' twitter account but nothing about the layoffs.
Might it have something to do with protecting his $everance?

Rumor has it that Richards is being slated for some kind of late night/overnight network show across their multiple stations. If true, it's understandable he wouldn't want to anger his current employer.

betaylored · February 5, 2021 10:48 pm

AspectRatio wrote:
geo wrote:
Leslieville Bill wrote:
Interesting that there have been tweets from Jim Richards' twitter account but nothing about the layoffs.
Might it have something to do with protecting his $everance?

Rumor has it that Richards is being slated for some kind of late night/overnight network show across their multiple stations. If true, it's understandable he wouldn't want to anger his current employer.

Doing overnights is hard even when you're in your twenties, but I'm sure Jim would handle the schedule flip well, and his listeners would love to still be able to enjoy his humour and way of looking at the world.

He could even end up with a larger than average overnight audience with the pandemic and people keeping all sorts of quirky hours.

Last edited by betaylored (February 5, 2021 11:50 pm)

eladb · February 7, 2021 10:19 am

RadioActive wrote:
One thing's for sure - you'll be getting more trivia. And not just on CFRB. From Jason Agnew's Sunday Morning Trivia Facebook page:

"Starting this week (Feb 7). Sunday Morning Trivia returns to THREE HOURS! Join me from 9am - Noon on Newstalk 1010... and a few other stations as well "

He does not indicate which other stations it will be airing on, only that it will be an hour longer.

Agnew said this morning his show will air on NEWSTALK 1010, Newstalk 610 CKTB, News Talk 1290 CJBK & 580 CFRA. However, only 1010 and CFRA are airing his show right now.

TOdude · February 7, 2021 6:52 pm

I haven't seen this reported elsewhere, but I believe CTV Windsor's local 6 p.m. newscast on the weekend has been axed as well. Last night, they aired a regional show at 6 p.m. on CTV London and CTV Windsor similar to what they've been doing for the weekend 11 p.m. newscasts for years.

Norman peters · February 8, 2021 9:12 am

Ashley is doing the newscasts this morning. Russ Courtney is on vacation, getting a well deserved break, or just another number in the ever shrinking CFRB news department.

mace · February 8, 2021 9:47 am

Just wondering, Has any other discussion reached five pages?

Norman peters · February 8, 2021 10:29 am

mace wrote:
Just wondering, Has any other discussion reached five pages?

Maybe CKNT had that many pages, if not more?

RadioActive · February 8, 2021 3:15 pm

Norman peters wrote:
mace wrote:
Just wondering, Has any other discussion reached five pages?
Maybe CKNT had that many pages, if not more?

You're correct. I just looked back about 30 or 40 pages in the site, and one CKNT thread had an amazing 7 pages of posts. It started in February 2019 and petered out in early Nov. of the same year. Why it became such a huge thread I'll never know, but there is something admittedly fascinating about an odd and weak AM station from Mississauga that waited seven years before it finally signed on.

CKNT Thread

Next in line is a similar topic - 1220 CFAJ. It finished (for now) with 4 pages in the thread, and started with a notice that the signal was on the air. Like CKNT, it's been almost a year and they're still not up and running, with no word on when the official sign on is.

CFAJ Thread

RadioActive · February 8, 2021 4:28 pm

What a great 15 minutes of radio on CKTB Monday, as the subject of the Bell cuts (or "changes" as host Tom McConnell insisted on calling them) finally came up on air.

A listener phoned in to discuss the Super Bowl halftime show and then suddenly pivoted to the new programming schedule on the St. Catharines station, which he didn't much like. McConnell was forced to respond, and then went to commercial. When he came back, to his credit, he decided to address the "pachyderm in the room." about what happened last week.

He never once mentioned the name "Bell" or called anything that happened "cuts." But he did explain its effects on CJBK. His show used to be on 1290 for the first two hours from 2-4 PM, and then they went to local London programming. When the powers-that-be told London they wouldn't have any live or local originating programming during drivetime (a pretty horrible decision for those who live in that city) they asked McConnell if he would extend his non-local programming for the whole show.

When McConnell refused, noting it would be too much not to talk about local issues at all, CJBK was forced to pick up The Rush out of CFRB. That's right. Drivetime afternoons in London are now all-Toronto based, and I'm sure not a single word about the Forest City is ever spoken. What a disservice to listeners there.

Then Sonny from Richmond Hill, one of those regular callers who's been banned from most other talk shows, got on the air and complained about CFRB and especially "that redneck" Jerry Agar, and demanded the previous programming be reinstated.

McConnell's response: "We can't do all local programming. It's just too expensive." Again the words "Bell" and "cuts" were never uttered.

Sonny then complained about all the "syndicated programming" out of Toronto, especially that Evan Solomon. To which McConnell replied, "Yeah, he's actually out of Ottawa." But he acknowledged the changes were financially necessary and every talk station in the chain went through them. When Sonny said he hoped CFRB would fail, he was gone.

Not a huge revelation (although I didn't know The Rush and all its local Toronto references is now airing in London) but it was an interesting peek behind the curtain on a subject radio rarely covers - itself.

eladb · February 8, 2021 4:48 pm

I heard the same segment on Tom McConnell's show and kudos to him for dealing with the issue of the cuts and not avoiding it.
Personally, even though I live in the GTA, I prefer McConnell's show to The Rush on 1010.