I remember that because in the warehouse of the company that employed me then, the radio was always tuned to 92.5. I loathed country music and still do. After the format switch, I wasn't going to tell them about KX96. I think they eventually settled on what was then known as Y95.

We just discussed the truth about 92.5, CISS-FM last week on my show.
Jeff Lumby and I were there. And there was no meal... Envelopes were handed out right there.
There was no "On my God, we're locked out" drama.. Who wrote that garbage?
Here's what actually happened...(But it was still really bizarre...And still really bad)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLoer3dzuj0

Last edited by Mike Richards (February 3, 2022 10:06 pm)

Mike Richards wrote:

We just discussed the truth about 92.5, CISS-FM last week on my show.
Jeff Lumby and I were there. And there was no meal... Envelopes were handed out right there.
There was no "On my God, we're locked out" drama.. Who wrote that garbage?
Here's what actually happened...(But it was still really bizarre...And still really bad)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLoer3dzuj0

Wow. I'd always heard the version in the accompanying RPM article. It's fascinating to find out what really happened. Still a rotten thing to do to their (former) employees. (Did I hear you say they made you pay for your own drinks and you never even got a meal? The story is actually worse than the one in the article.) Thanks for setting the record straight. It can be a mean business but that was a classless way to fire people.

Last edited by RadioActive (February 4, 2022 1:18 am)

Tomas Barlow wrote:

It's interesting to us here but but does the average person listening to talk radio in 2022 care about the demise of a country station 20 years ago?  That's a conversation for a bar full of co-workers, not listeners to a morning show.  We're too self-indulgent sometimes.

Well either you were a terrible program director or a pompous consultant. I've never heard of you, so I think you're neither...

  If you hate the recanting of a story that was of "human value," you're missing the point of interviewing period, regardless of how long ago an event happened. And ironically, in dealing with consultants from across North America for the last 30 years, achieving an atmosphere that is "like a conversation in a bar," is a home run for both the listeners and the host....

But thanks for the condescending slight... I hope for everyone else, sharing moments from a current working show is still welcomed on this board...

 

I think Julie Adam - President, News & Entertainment, Rogers Sports & Media - was one of the few who made it through the move of that then country station. And it must be said - Julie has done very well. And it must also be said that Julie is an exceptional person. 

Meanwhile when Rogers moved from that Ontario Street address we moved Iceberg Media into the entire floor. Studios - Production facilities - offices and more. We used it all. At one point in the Iceberg experience we had close to 40 DJs working the various channels. Many 24/7 streaming channels.....

1 - 2 Kool For Radio
2 - 1 Groove 
3 - Prime Ticket 
4 - Illnoiz
5 - Vinyl FM 
That's all my memory will take at this time. 
We also had a full on line magazine called Deeper. 

The studios left behind by Rogers were excellent. 

And just for fun - James Earl Jones could sometimes be seen in the building, but on a different floor - doing VO for a client. 






 

Well, this thread certainly took a tone I wasn't expecting when I originally posted it. 

I'm actually able to see both sides on this. I appreciate Mike Richards setting the record straight on this story. I had always heard the version printed in RPM and it has become something of almost a folk legend in the industry. I was fascinated by the video he posted and I'm grateful to hear the inside info by someone who was there. 

I also can see Mr. Barlow's point of view. He's wondering about the wisdom of a radio host spending so much time addressing something that happened years ago. Maybe some non-industry people wouldn't want to sit through 10 minutes of the story. But on the other hand, I suspect those who are fans of Mr. Richards and have followed him to other radio stations might like to hear his experience. 

The story linked to in the original thread was about a website whose CEO fired 900 people over Zoom. That attracted a huge amount of press attention, and I'm sure most of us have never even heard of Better.com. I think the key thing is the way it was done, not so much the business that was involved. Beyond the fact it was about radio, that's what makes the CISS story so intriguing to me. If they'd called these people into an office one-by-one and fired them, we certainly wouldn't even be talking about it today. 

Worth noting also that both John Moore and Greg Brady frequently launch into stories - albeit admittedly shorter - on things that have happened to them in their careers. I always find them interesting when the former talks about his radio days in Montreal and the latter offers tales of his time on the air in Detroit. 

And yes, I'm someone who has worked in the industry and would naturally gravitate to such tales. But if one of them brought on, say, a trucker giving his opinion on the current protests downtown (pro or con) and relating some of his bizarre experiences on the road, I'd probably give that a few minutes of my time, as well, provided he was articulate enough to tell a good story.  

An old News Director of mine once emphasized the importance of anecdotes. Dry stats are just that on the radio. But if someone can tell you a personal story about what happened to them, you're more likely to stay tuned to it and remember it. I think that's what Richards was doing and I, for one, enjoyed it a lot. And I honestly think I might have felt the same way even if I wasn't in the industry.

My two cents, but I can certainly understand the point both sides are making. I just hope we can turn down the vitriol a bit and simply agree to disagree. Both are welcome to post here anytime and I appreciate their passion and their involvement. 

Bentwater wrote:

Was there another station, other than Rogers, that owned "Power", which forced Rogers to change  the name change?

Does anyone recall how long Power 92 lasted in Toronto until its next name change?

Btw, Nice thread starter - RA!
 

Power 88five was on the air at the time. Rogers just assumed that because 88five is not licenced for Toronto that they could use the name. 
Evanov radio group sued. They won, but went Country anyway shortly after, even though Power 92 already became Kiss after only two weeks.
Funny how the radio business does things some times. lol

This isn't the only time something like this has happened in Toronto btw
94.9 in Oshawa used to be called The Edge...but then CFNY decided to start calling themselves the Edge.
To solve that problem, I do not know if there was a lawsuit, but I do know 94.9 switched their name to Magic @ 94.9. Problem solved.

Last edited by Radiowiz (February 6, 2022 3:31 pm)

Radiowiz wrote:

Bentwater wrote:

 

Power 88five was on the air at the time. Rogers just assumed that because 88five is not licenced for Toronto that they could use the name. 
Evanov radio group sued. They won, but went Country anyway shortly after, even though Power 92 already became Kiss after only two weeks.
Funny how the radio business does things some times. lol

This isn't the only time something like this has happened in Toronto btw
94.9 in Oshawa used to be called The Edge...but then CFNY decided to start calling themselves the Edge.
To solve that problem, I do not know if there was a lawsuit, but I do know 94.9 switched their name to Magic @ 94.9. Problem solved.

As I recall from someone who was on the inside at the time, Oshawa was reluctant to change because they had the name first. However, they hadn't trademarked it so CFNY's owners did which forced 94.9 to change.