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Is it me or is Ben Mulroney slowly preparing for a future time without traditional radio. Right now he is on 3 platforms that I am aware of ( radio, podcast and YouTube video.) I like his content and some of his rants, but when you look at the background on YouTube it makes you wonder. When other radio personalities go on YouTube you see the station brand in the background, but in this case you only see Ben's name in the background,
I don't think this is a bad thing, but with all the bad news coming out of Corus this small thing starts to make you wonder if he is slowly preparing for a day without Corus and traditional radio
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I would assume that he is making contingencies for a point when he might not be on Corus, due to budget cuts more than any other reason. Since he's yet another right-wing big mouth I don't personally want to give even a second of my time to, as most lefties won't, he's undoubtedly going to aim for becoming the Joe Rogan of the north. Enjoy listening to anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theoriests, since that is undoubtedly the direction he'll have to head in to cash in.
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TomTV wrote:
I would assume that he is making contingencies for a point when he might not be on Corus, due to budget cuts more than any other reason. Since he's yet another right-wing big mouth I don't personally want to give even a second of my time to, as most lefties won't, he's undoubtedly going to aim for becoming the Joe Rogan of the north. Enjoy listening to anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theoriests, since that is undoubtedly the direction he'll have to head in to cash in.
A conspiracy theorist crying about other conspiracy theorists is pretty funny.
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I was willing to give Ben the BENefit of the doubt but he's now just screaming out typical right wing nonsense -- more right than his father was -- .
He lost me during the federal election campaign where he praised all the ideas and policies of Poilievre, saying "That's the kind of Canada I want to live in."
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Retaw wrote:
A conspiracy theorist crying about other conspiracy theorists is pretty funny.
Despite their fake accusations of a rigged election, it was the Republicans were actually caught cheating in the 2020 election, you can find the 60 Minutes segment online yourself. They also have a history of finding ways to change the law to suppress the votes for blacks and women. Their SAVE Act this year does just that for women. It's not a conspiracy when one party has been infiltrated by a far-right gang of lunatics that want to send the US back to its "golden era" of white supremacy and idiocy.
I used to be right-leaning as a young man, not a lefty at all. You know when that changed? The second I saw that the 2016 GOP candidates running for president, most of them scummy people maybe with the exception of Carly Fiorina (former HP CEO, though she didn't do a particularly good job as CEO) and of course, Trump. Even back then I knew he was the WORST choice to ever become president. The right-wing stopped choosing good, moral candidates a long time ago and opted for inane screaming, racism, homophobia, con men, anti-vaxxers, and outright losers who rely on gullible fools to scam.
I don't see genuine good people on the right-wing parties anymore, not in the US and not in Canada for sure. They're the worst kinds of hypocrites (the Doug Fords, Scott Moes, Danielle Smiths, Poilievres...) accusing the other side of the same things that they themselves end up doing once they get elected. I don't see that in the left-wing parties, nowhere to that same degree. The only way that right-wing parties win NOW, is to use loud mouthpieces like Ben Mulroney to entice young, stupid (especially male) voters into rage-baiting conspiracies and anger over "taxpayer waste" (for hypocrisy at its finest, you only have to look to Doug Ford breaking the Beer Store contract 1 year early and paying over $200,000CAN of taxpayer money, all to help out Stephen Harper, who conveniently sits on the CircleK Board, get alcohol into retail chains).
If you want to counter my point, show me how everything that the so-called left-wing conspiracy theorists said about Project 2025 has NOT come true under this orange moron. Canada doesn't need more right-wing morons like Mulroney amplifying stupidity and hypocrisy on the airwaves. Margaret Atwood made a great point earlier this year that the best place for any of us to be, is either center-left or center-right of our politics and to be cautious about drifting too far to either extreme. I'm actually against a lot of the far-left more woke stuff like requiring pronouns to be posted on your twitter handle, or the ridiculous Hollywood "Girl Boss" movies that treat male characters like punching bags for feminism... but the worst case for far-leftism is shitty movies that bomb at the box office. The worst case for far-right crap that we see in the US and that has encroached into right-wing politics in Canada, is Christian authoritarianism and oligarchy.
My apologies to Radioactive in advance for making this too political, but Mulroney's career ambitions are obviously tied deeply to right-wing politics.
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Many have tried to move from radio or TV over to podcasts or youtube, it has not worked for everyone, but for a very small group it has worked. I just think a slow move over to podcasts is something to watch, let's see if Ben can make the transition or not.
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Aren't we being a little too critical of Ben? Overall he has had a successful broadcast career and is respected in the business. And he is highly thought of in the entertainment industry from his many years on ETalk.
He has never run for office and is entitled to his opinions which generally are fairly moderate. So I fail to see all of the slagging of him. He is a much better host IMO than what is up the dial at 1010 during his time slot. He should slow down a bit since he tends to get wound up fairly easy. But he isn't mean, condescending or angry all of the time like his tired, grumpy competition on RB.
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I like Ben Mulroney as host from 9 to noon on 640. The only time I change the channel is when he has that useless 'Dilemma' panel segment. If I want 'Dear Abby' or 'Ask Ellie', I'll find it elsewhere, not that I will.
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It's hard to talk about radio and TV and not venture into politics.
Once upon a time I primarily listened to and watched Corus stations, Global News and 640. I tolerated Alex Pierson up to a point but found it easy to turn her off. I found Kelly Cutrara to be pleasant, not too political, and not overbearing. I enjoyed Alan Carter's presentation style especially when he had his 1 hour noon radio show and gave his personal comments and perspectives. Farah Nasser was a competent news broadcaster.
So what happened? They fired Alan, Farah, and Kelly. Alan was replaced with Antony Robart (he with the pinky finger problem) and they added Ben Mulroney. His rants became less tolerable for me as time went on but he went too far, again for me, when during the election campaign, he actually said that you'd have to be an idiot (words to that effect) to consider voting Liberal. So I guess, proportionately, we're a country of idiots! I wrote Corus a letter, got no response and I stopped listening to those stations.
It's no wonder to me why Corus is doing so poorly when they water down and then pollute their talent pool.
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You may hate his politics (he was the son of a Conservative Prime Minister of Canada, so no surprise where his loyalties would lie) but I think Corus believes Ben Mulroney is a major "get" for them. A well known name who knows the political arena very well, thanks to his family ties.
You don't have to agree with him to know who he is, and that's half the battle for a company struggling to get their shows heard or noticed. I would love to know how he stacks up ratings-wise vs. Jerry Agar, another right wing voice on Toronto radio.
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RA I agree with everything you said however I don't see the need for a host to insult any listener based on their voting intentions. Both Jerry Agar and Greg Brady (obviously) said their voting intentions were Conservative but they didn't hurl insults at listeners. Lively conversations are welcomed by me but Ben went too far. Maybe he's bucking for a job with Fox News. He'd qualify.
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Don't kid yourself - Corus would have set up his background and platforming so if he is preparing for a day without Corus, he's doing it in cohoots with them
Aytononline wrote:
Is it me or is Ben Mulroney slowly preparing for a future time without traditional radio. Right now he is on 3 platforms that I am aware of ( radio, podcast and YouTube video.) I like his content and some of his rants, but when you look at the background on YouTube it makes you wonder. When other radio personalities go on YouTube you see the station brand in the background, but in this case you only see Ben's name in the background,
I don't think this is a bad thing, but with all the bad news coming out of Corus this small thing starts to make you wonder if he is slowly preparing for a day without Corus and traditional radio
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Walter wrote:
I like Ben Mulroney as host from 9 to noon on 640. The only time I change the channel is when he has that useless 'Dilemma' panel segment. If I want 'Dear Abby' or 'Ask Ellie', I'll find it elsewhere, not that I will.
I was reminded today, while listening, that the only other time I switch over to the resident blow-hard on 1010, is when Mulroney welcomes his 'good friend' Tony Chapman. Can't stomach him for 3 seconds.
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Ironically, he also turns up once a week on CFRB, so he's hard to escape.
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Here is my two cents, which is worth what you paid for the $0.02. Ben is the son of a Canadian Prime Minister, and while that doesn't make him perfect, it gives him a lens most of us can never imagine. He has seen things, heard things, been places most "normal" people will never see, hear and be. Thus, I like when he puts some historical or geographical context on a story. He's a right winger. He's a conservative. Of course, he's a Mulroney. However, he's also a well educated, non-practicing lawyer who can hold a conversation with anybody. I give him a lot of credit for reinventing himself on radio.
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Whatever you think of Ben Mulroney, he just told an amazing tale that only he would know.
He was interviewing a memorabilia collector/auction guy and said he and his brother were moving out of 24 Sussex Dr., the official residence of the Prime Minister, after his father resigned. As the then young kids were packing up to go for the final time, they spotted something behind the register in one of the rooms.
Try as they might to get at it, they just could not reach it and had to leave it behind. The place has been pretty much abandoned by all subsequent PMs since, but he says there's a pristine Mickey Mantle rookie baseball card behind that register and that it's probably worth more than the house itself, if someone could just get to it.
No one else could possibly tell that story.
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RadioActive wrote:
I think Corus believes Ben Mulroney is a major "get" for them.
When Ben Mulroney is considered a “get” you know the radio industry is dying.
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Hammy wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
I think Corus believes Ben Mulroney is a major "get" for them.
When Ben Mulroney is considered a “get” you know the radio industry is dying.
By a "major get," I was simply referring to the fact he's a well known name, both for his family history tied to having a P.M. for a father, and his copious exposure on TV for decades. That's the kind of publicity that leads to increased listener awareness.
Whether people tune him in or agree with his opinions is another matter, but you have to get their attention first. Putting on a famous personality is half the battle. The rest is up to Mulroney himself to capitalize on it.