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On air hosts like Wally Crouter, Red Robinson and Roger Ashby get lots of attention for their longevity, but traffic guys rarely do. And now one is. Russ Holden, who has been with Rogers Radio for an incredible 50 years, is officially retiring on Wednesday.
He started at CFTR back in the station's glory days of Top 40 and simply never left. The past few years has seen him do the same job of traffic reporting for City's BT, which is making a big fuss over him on his final broadcasts.
Pretty amazing sticking power, especially at a place known for its frequent cost cutting purges.
Hope he doesn't get caught in a traffic jam on his last commute home!
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Well he must've been on board for some of the last years of CHFI-AM. Didn't CFTR adopt a CHR format in 1971? (well OK Top 40 back in those days ...lol). And that's 46 years ago right now. Congrats nontheless.
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Jody Thornton wrote:
Well he must've been on board for some of the last years of CHFI-AM. Didn't CFTR adopt a CHR format in 1971? (well OK Top 40 back in those days ...lol). And that's 46 years ago right now. Congrats nontheless.
I thought I remember him being production manager before John Howard took over.
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grilled.cheese wrote:
50 year radio careers will likely never happen again thanks to Robber$ and Bhell.
I don't know about that.
I'd like to say thankfully AM 740 is not owned by Bell or Rogers.
Sadly though, all my best examples of long time Great announcers there passed away before they could have their 50 year celebration.
Is anyone over at today's AM 740 anywhere near celebrating 50 years in the biz?
Radiowiz wrote:
Is anyone over at today's AM 740 anywhere near celebrating 50 years in the biz?
Station policy demands adherence to Libby Znaimer's ZooomZooom reports so just a matter of time til someone clocks in 75 yrs
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From
Holden joined the company in 1967 in the operations department at 98.1 CHFI, followed by years in commercial and program production. Soon after, Holden took to the sky as an airborne traffic reporter, spending decades informing Toronto and cottage country radio audiences of the latest traffic news. He later moved to 680 NEWS when it first hit the airwaves in 1993 as a traffic reporter, helping solidify the success of the all-news radio station. Most recently, Holden has been a fan favourite on Breakfast Television Toronto.
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Radiowiz wrote:
grilled.cheese wrote:
50 year radio careers will likely never happen again thanks to Robber$ and Bhell.
I don't know about that.
I'd like to say thankfully AM 740 is not owned by Bell or Rogers.
Sadly though, all my best examples of long time Great announcers there passed away before they could have their 50 year celebration.
Is anyone over at today's AM 740 anywhere near celebrating 50 years in the biz?
Jody said:
>> Didn't CFTR adopt a CHR format in 1971? (well OK Top 40 back in those days ...lol) <<
It wasn't quite Top 40 and it happened in 1972. Not long after, they paved paradise and put
up a parking lot. Geez, that has a ring to it...
We were in new digs next door at 25 in 1973.
Nice job, Russ!
Last edited by mike marshall (September 7, 2017 4:52 pm)