RadioActive wrote:

Agreed. I tune out The Rush's hours until the rush hour is over. I can't imagine how it's relevant to a London audience.

It's interesting - I feel the separated, remote broadcasting necessitated by the pandemic over the last year has really killed the flow and conversational vibe "charm" of "The Rush". Ryan Doyle and Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels are both solid broadcasters; the show was never my favorite, but I'd hear it in passing and the back-and-forth chemistry and banter really had a very specific rhythm to it that they could do while looking across the table at one another.

They've, of course, had to adapt to a remote way of working (and Michaels moved back east to Nova Scotia, not making a secret of it, during the economic downturn; not sure if that's still the case, though) which can be very challenging for a show like this - and I know that they've said they use FaceTime while broadcasting for themselves for non-verbal cues and gestures about who takes lead, etc.  But for many months and even still I hear them talking over each other, each pausing for the other to jump in, one of them on a delay by a few seconds and not adding much to addressing the guest or caller. Frequently, any momentary kinetic energy that might otherwise be there is deflated and gone - gradual build-ups ruined by timing or technical issues.

Admittedly It's gotten *slightly* better as they figure out their new way of working - and I don't envy trying to do a rapidfire "banter" show like this while physically separated - but I'm surprised at how often a show like this falls down completely by not being in the same studio together and picking up on conversational rhythms from each other in-person.

On Sunday night, Andria Case was forced to do a brief weather report on CFTO's 6 & 11:30 news, since it appears Lyndsay Morrison somehow can't work seven days a week. Go figure. Since anchors already do highlights when a Toronto team plays (since they previously fired all their local sports anchors) I suppose this was no surprise. 

But one day it's going to bite them hard. There will be a winter blizzard and they won't have a weather person to go to for more information. That's when those people are really needed. But someone on tape or not working that day can hardly tell viewers what they need to know. 

I recently watched a few of the New York City TV stations as they endured the worst Nor'easter in 2 years, with at least 18 inches of snow falling in about 48 hours, creating a state of emergency. They not only brought in one of their regular meteorologists to cover the event, they also had another one doing different angles. And they went live for hours, interrupting network programming when needed. It was great coverage and was exactly what viewers needed to see and hear, complete with all the maps. 

You won't see that on CFTO, since there's no longer anyone there to do it.  

Bell Media: pennywise and pound foolish. But that's the way the wind is blowing there. Not there's anyone there to tell you which direction it is. 

I feel for CJBK and the listeners, when I worked there, it went from hits to "Light Rock" a new ownership group took over and well, that decision lost us half of our ears...listeners went to FM96 and CKSL which was like CFTR in the days of Tom Rivers, Mike Cooper and Tarzan Dan...

For 1290 not to have local programming in that city is a disgrace and they need to think things through and re-design programming to fit these fringe markets that have lost that local feel.

It has been a disheartening week for sure in this business we love... actually it is the art we love, the business of it, not so much.

 

mace wrote:

I also noticed that about the NYC network affilliates AND they all still have real, live sports reporters to deliver the local teams activities and scores.

The only station around here that still covers local sports with a sports director and anchor is CHCH.  As a matter of fact in addition to sports director Bubba O'Neil channel 11 also has two sports reporters that cover local teams. 

And weather, they have three on air weather specialists on staff.  So good on CHCH, showing the over rated big guys in Toronto how it's done! 

Norman peters wrote:

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.

Russ back at it this morning.

Seems to be some confusion on the actual branding to use for those multi-station "network" shows, i.e. Jerry Agar's. I've heard it referred to as both "The Bell Media Talk Radio Network" in other host intros/voiceovers as well as "The iHeartRadio Talk Network".

AspectRatio wrote:

Norman peters wrote:

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.

Russ back at it this morning.

Seems to be some confusion on the actual branding to use for those multi-station "network" shows, i.e. Jerry Agar's. I've heard it referred to as both "The Bell Media Talk Radio Network" in other host intros/voiceovers as well as "The iHeartRadio Talk Network".

I thought Newstalk didn't have a 12 noon news anymore?  They had a noon hour cast today and it sounded local to me. To be honest with you listening to the station yesterday and today, I haven't really heard much difference at least during the day.  The only change I have noticed is in the afternoon with Jim Richards gone and the annoying frat boys new time.  Never listen to 1010 in the evening anyway so I can't comment on their evening programming.   

TomTV wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

On Sunday night, Andria Case was forced to do a brief weather report on CFTO's 6 & 11:30 news, since it appears Lyndsay Morrison somehow can't work seven days a week. Go figure. 

I noticed this too, but I suspect that the situation is only temporary. Lyndsay will go back to working just noon and 6pm shifts on weekdays once Bell hires a new weekend weathercaster (not a real meteorologist of course, but someone cheap who wants to crack into journalism for some reason and will cost far less than Anwar and Tom).  

 

Doesn't CP24 have a weekend weather person? They'll probably get them to do CFTO's weekend weather.
 

It looks as though Jerry Agar's show is now also simulcast on CJBK in London, in addition to the previously reported simulcast on 610 CKTB.

We've already noted that The Rush from 1010 is simulcast in London. Add in Evan Solomon and it looks like the CJBK morning show is the only remaining local offering on the station.

RadioActive wrote:

eladb wrote:

We've already noted that The Rush from 1010 is simulcast in London.

To add insult to injury for those other stations taking the show, they only give out the Toronto phone number for callers, even though there is a toll free long distance line. Completely irrelevant for anyone in London. 

I don't disagree, but please take note that few people worry about paying long distance charges anymore. Mind you, those sitting in their London kitchens, still paying monthly rent to Bell for that old wall-hanging rotary dial phone, may not realize that still paying long distance charges is the equivalent to driving a Model T on the 4nought1.
 

ED1 wrote:

TomTV wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

On Sunday night, Andria Case was forced to do a brief weather report on CFTO's 6 & 11:30 news, since it appears Lyndsay Morrison somehow can't work seven days a week. Go figure. 

I noticed this too, but I suspect that the situation is only temporary. Lyndsay will go back to working just noon and 6pm shifts on weekdays once Bell hires a new weekend weathercaster (not a real meteorologist of course, but someone cheap who wants to crack into journalism for some reason and will cost far less than Anwar and Tom).  

 

Doesn't CP24 have a weekend weather person? They'll probably get them to do CFTO's weekend weather.
 

Saron Fanel did the weather on the 6pm CTV News. Anyone know where she came from.

We're about to get one of the worst snow weeks in Toronto in years, with two huge storms, and CFTO not only doesn't have a meteorologist on staff, they barely have a weatherperson. It's not going to be enough to have Lyndsay Morrison on tape at night, when 30cm of snow (estimated) falls by or around Thursday night into Friday morning. 

I watched Saron Fanel try to do the weather on Sunday's 6 and it wasn't pretty. While she seems to be OK on air, she clearly wasn't familiar with the map, called for a Toronto temperature that wasn't shown and had to backtrack, and breezed by the long range forecast, with Thursday and Friday's major dumping barely being mentioned. Kind of important to know.

Bell did not do themselves any favours by cutting CTV's senior weather people in the middle of February, arguably the worst winter month of the year. I'll be watching either Global's Anthony Farnell or City's Adam Stiles - both bona fide meteorologists - for the updates I need as winter's worst approaches.

time check

cash wrote:

time is a hour ahead 

This time change thing seems to only affect certain people on Boardhost, (including yours truly) and I've never been able to understand why some see the wrong time while others don't.

But if it really bugs you, the fix is very simple. I outlined how in a previous thread a while ago. You can read it here, but remember with the Daylight Saving Time change coming exactly a month from today, you'll have to readjust it again then. Hope this helps. 

We now return you to your regular bitching about Bell, already in progress. 

RadioActive wrote:

We're about to get one of the worst snow weeks in Toronto in years, with two huge storms, and CFTO not only doesn't have a meteorologist on staff, they barely have a weatherperson. It's not going to be enough to have Lyndsay Morrison on tape at night, when 30cm of snow (estimated) falls by or around Thursday night into Friday morning. 

I watched Saron Fanel try to do the weather on Sunday's 6 and it wasn't pretty. While she seems to be OK on air, she clearly wasn't familiar with the map, called for a Toronto temperature that wasn't shown and had to backtrack, and breezed by the long range forecast, with Thursday and Friday's major dumping barely being mentioned. Kind of important to know.

Bell did not do themselves any favours by cutting CTV's senior weather people in the middle of February, arguably the worst winter month of the year. I'll be watching either Global's Anthony Farnell or City's Adam Stiles - both bona fide meteorologists - for the updates I need as winter's worst approaches.

Agree with your take on this. I saw the same newscast and it wasn't good.  Not blaming the individual;  but the decision makers responsible.
 

Radiowiz wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

We're about to get one of the worst snow weeks in Toronto in years, with two huge storms, and CFTO not only doesn't have a meteorologist on staff, they barely have a weatherperson. It's not going to be enough to have Lyndsay Morrison on tape at night, when 30cm of snow (estimated) falls by or around Thursday night into Friday morning. 

 

When Bell was making the cuts for Toronto, why didn't thy just shut the CFTO weather department down all together and let Lyndsay go too?
Just go to weather from the CP24 newsroom. Wouldn't that work?  
Is there a meteorologist @ CP24? 
 

Yes, both Chris Potter and Bill Coulter are meteorologists at CP24...