Here's a taste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvRrz4B7YBA

Can we have the Coles Notes TLDR version?

Huh. I'm enjoying this. CFRB sounds like a dimly-lit but glistening orgy of censorship.

I was never a fan, but it had absolutely nothing to do with her political philosophy, her gender, ethnicity or any other superficial trait. I just didn't think she was very good on the radio and putting someone on with so little appeal on a fast-paced afternoon show didn't make much sense to me.

That said, I'm sure she's a nice person and very good at writing and other talents. No matter what, though, no one deserves that kind of abuse. 

I have to admit her claims of censorship are surprising - management explicitly dictating what could and could not be discussed. How widespread is this?

Chrisphen wrote:

I have to admit her claims of censorship are surprising - management explicitly dictating what could and could not be discussed. How widespread is this?

Every news & commentary organization

1. Can someone introduce that guy to concision. It takes him 3 minutes to say "The batter hit the ball and ran to first base".

2. My goodness she is toxic. A human grievance factory. "I hated working at CP24" - and on and on. Alright. I've taken on new employment in good faith too and everything turned awful and I quit. A wise person speaks well (or at least neutral) of the experience. That's how to get the next job.

What I derive from her is Identity Marxism. It comes with a locus of hate, division and intolerance (the very profile she accuses her imagined antagonists of holding) She actually questioned if John Moore was an ally.

And she didn't mention her boyfriend during the late stage Newstalk1010 time. Did he not extend support?

Lastly, several times I have heard Jerry Agar mention that he has never been told what he cannot say on air. While I don't doubt this it hasn't gone unnoticed that the entire station stopped talking about mRNA vaccines and covid and such ALL AT ONCE.

When you get fired from a job for whatever reason, that individual is  going to say negative things about your employer. Keep in mind, this it's just one side of the situation. Who knows if what she is saying has any validity.

I remember listening to her a few times but stopped because she would never let the callers say anything if she didn't agree with it and always interrupted them. She obviously is not suited for broadcast media.

Last edited by Stefanie (October 28, 2025 8:12 am)

Shorty Wave wrote:

She was quite possibly the worse for talking over guests. The last time I tuned into The Rush(?), she was talking and I thought she was by herself, two or three minutes later she asked a question and the guest chimed in. Yes, never tuned in again. Mind you, it took Bell quite a while to rework their afternoons.

Luckily, they replaced her with someone even more adept at interrupting and talking over guests and callers. Curiously there have been less complaints about it on this forum.

I have a question for people here who have hosted a talk show on 1010 or 640.

If you haven't heard this episode, watch this very short clip of Reshmi Nair telling me about orders she'd receive to avoid certain news topics or opinions. 

https://youtu.be/cNRB-1cQ48I

My question is rather simple... is this commonplace on these stations?

torontomike wrote:

My question is rather simple... is this commonplace on these stations?

I think it depends entirely on who is in charge. Some PDs trust and support their hosts. Some PDs think they know more than their hosts. Some PDs treat their station like a personal jukebox.

This post prompted an email from a veteran Toronto talk radio producer that I'll paste below.
--
Mike, I've worked on over a dozen talk-radio shows in Toronto over many years.

I only recall two hosts ever being asked to reconsider topics/guests:
Reshmi Nair and Jamil Jivani.

For the most part, hosts are free to have the guests they wish to have on the show and talk about the topics that matter to them (and they are not told which side of the debate they should land on). 

That was not always the case with Reshmi or Jamil.

Last edited by torontomike (October 31, 2025 10:47 am)

Being told not to say negative about the Queen when she died reminds me of what happened to Joyce Davidson. She was a huge star on CBC in the 50s as host of Tabloid - CBC's marquee light news talk show among other shows as well as a favourite celebrity on TV commercials (back when it wasn't seen as a problem for current affairs hosts to also pitch products on commercials).

Then one day 1959 she was in New York City as a guest on the Today Show and asked about the Queen's first tour of Canada that was then underway. She told David Garroway "Like most Canadians, I am indifferent to the visit of the Queen,"adding "we're a little annoyed at still being dependent."
You would have thought she'd called for the Queen to be executed. The response in Canada was furious- the CBC was inundated with hate mail and angry calls, sponsors boycotted her show, Conservative MPs complained to the prime minister and Davidson was suspended by the CBC and she then resigned. But it didn't end there - her gigs appearing in commercials dried up, her kids were bullied at school, and she ultimately left Canada and moved to New York where she had a successful career as a television host and producer.

There are fewer monarchies in Canada today than in the 50s but I'm not surprised a station like CFRB would still be afraid of provoking their wrath.

Hansa wrote:

Being told not to say negative about the Queen when she died reminds me of what happened to Joyce Davidson. She was a huge star on CBC in the 50s as host of Tabloid - CBC's marquee light news talk show among other shows as well as a favourite celebrity on TV commercials (back when it wasn't seen as a problem for current affairs hosts to also pitch products on commercials).

Then one day 1959 she was in New York City as a guest on the Today Show and asked about the Queen's first tour of Canada that was then underway. She told David Garroway "Like most Canadians, I am indifferent to the visit of the Queen,"adding "we're a little annoyed at still being dependent."
You would have thought she'd called for the Queen to be executed. The response in Canada was furious- the CBC was inundated with hate mail and angry calls, sponsors boycotted her show, Conservative MPs complained to the prime minister and Davidson was suspended by the CBC and she then resigned. But it didn't end there - her gigs appearing in commercials dried up, her kids were bullied at school, and she ultimately left Canada and moved to New York where she had a successful career as a television host and producer.

There are fewer monarchies in Canada today than in the 50s but I'm not surprised a station like CFRB would still be afraid of provoking their wrath.

Some journalists read the room wrong and really don't know the audience.  This is what happened to Joyce Davidson and her comments. Even though she was speaking on a US talk show, she should have been more careful with her comments.  "Like most Canadians I am indifferent to the visit of the Queen..."  Sorry Joyce, who appointed you "queen" to speak for most Canadians when out of the country?  1959 Canada was very much attached to the monarchy and queen.  Just because Joyce didn't see it that way didn't qualify her to speak for most Canadians, especially on talk show outside the country.  The response in Canada was a bit over the top but not surprising for the late 1950's.

What do you mean there are fewer monarchies in Canada today?  It is the same number...one.

Fitz wrote:

I believe that was a typo and the correct word is monarchist

Yes.