I think that when you have a job that involves having an audience, it effects you differently as you feel you essentially have followers, or fans in some cases. So when you walk away from a radio job, you’re walking away from your fame in a way, which many find hard as that’s a large part of who they are. My two bits worth!

My radio career came to a sudden halt in the fall of 1987. Not by choice, I was handed a pink slip via a corporate takeover. The prospect of finding another job , and quick, was about as good as winning the lottery without a ticket. I drove a cab for about 6 months, collected UIC and thanks to my late dad, who paid the freight for me, took the tractor trailer training course, got my AZ license and was hired by The Brick to deliver furniture and appliances. That lasted for about a year, and ended up with destroyed knees from carrying heavy shit up and down flights of stairs. I was then fortunate to by hired by UAP , now Napa Canada, and for the next 18 years did overnight store deliveries around southern Ontario. Night time radio was the best during the 80's and 90's with all the big US stations booming in. In 2002, Napa moved operations to Cambridge, I lived in Collingwood, so became a tow truck service provider there until 2024 , and retired to the north.  Ironically, now , I'm working for the local Napa store in Sudbury delivering parts again, but now in a Kia Soul. I can state emphatically, radio here during the day is limited to 5 stations that have very short playlists, CBC, or a Christian station. No AM that comes in clearly, in some areas of the city, 640 can be heard but is very hard to hear clearly so I don't bother. I loved my time in broadcasting, 1974-1987, and still miss the adrenalin rush of hitting that mic button. 

Last edited by mic'em (February 1, 2026 10:07 am)

My exit from radio many years ago wasn't entirely by choice, although a number of events in my life at the time more or less forced me to take a step back and reassess whether I still wanted radio to play a major part in my life.

Throughout the years, I've worked at a number of jobs that have utilized my communication skills, so I do consider myself fortunate in that regard. Still, like many who have been in radio and have had to exit it, there's that aspect of your personality and identity that never totally goes away, no matter how hard you try and force it down. It's a frustrating itch that still begs to be scratched from time to time. My attempts to re-enter a field where cutbacks and layoffs were becoming the norm of the day proved to be unsuccessful, and I oftentimes found myself questioning my own abilities and capabilities. Was I not good enough? Do I still have something to offer radio? Am I not trying hard enough? Or am I not trying hard enough because radio is not offering enough in the way of rewards and compensation for me to get motivated? A myriad of questions like those would often swirl inside my head, making it impossible to come up with a definitive answer.

One thing I did know was that I still enjoyed radio, at least to some degree, even if it wasn't loving me back. Having not being totally able to scratch that itch, I thought I'd take a stab at internet radio, which I've been doing for the past almost 18 years now. 

Is it the same as terrestrial radio? Not quite, but I do find there's enough elements that provide me an outlet for that "urge" and have provided me with many years of enjoyment where I'd otherwise be going stir crazy.  I still follow current events and recent developments in radio, mostly by way of this forum, and I can truthfully say that given the amount of downsizing and cutbacks over the years, I find myself missing it less and less, almost to the point where I really don't miss it at all. These days, I find that my station is more than enough "radio" for my liking, even if I'm not getting paid for it and it's considered "play radio" by some. That's okay, I'm playing around with it and having fun! And isn't that the reason most of us get into this field in the first place?


PJ

Last edited by Paul Jeffries (January 31, 2026 2:49 pm)

If I hit the scroll function on the car radio, it just continues through the band endlessly. There is an AM station out of North Bay, but cuts in/out, 640 actually comes in a tad better. I highly doubt 550 would, that's the Buffalo one I'm thinking, I will attempt 740 tomorrow and report back. 

mic'em wrote:

If I hit the scroll function on the car radio, it just continues through the band endlessly. There is an AM station out of North Bay, but cuts in/out, 640 actually comes in a tad better. I highly doubt 550 would, that's the Buffalo one I'm thinking, I will attempt 740 tomorrow and report back. 

You might be surprised by WGR.I would occasionally visit my sister while she was attending Laurentian in the early 1980's. GR still had their music format then. I could hear them clearly two thirds of the trip before overpowered by the then Sudbury 550. 

While I miss turning on the mic and the people I used to work with over my 20 years in the business, leaving it was easy. And I am one of a lucky group who got to leave on their own terms. At the time of my departure, multi-station ownership in markets was just becoming a thing and I could see the writing on the wall. It also coincided with the realization I had come as far as I wanted to go. No regrets. 

mic'em wrote:

mic'em wrote:

I tried both 550 and 740 in my Kia Sorento yesterday here in Chelmsford, just static on both. I expect the same in the Napa Kia Soul I will be in later this morning. But, neither is known for great AM radio signal reception. I will also try in my 2010 Malibu on the way to work this morning. 

At 5.20 pm yesterday along Municipal road 35 between Sudbury and Chelmsford, I scanned through the AM band in my Malibu. I was surprised at what I could hear. 550 was good, as was 570 Kitchener, 590 , 640, 680 and even 1010 from the GTA. A US station at 990 I didn't get the call letters for, and 710 WOR from NYC where Sean Hannity was kissing Trump ass and called us a foreign adversary . That was enough, I went to 770 WABC which was having a round table debate about the current mayor and had no interest for me, so I went back to 640 . As I got into the power lines around Chelmsford , everything became pretty much static so I went back to CBC for the rest of the drive home. 

Could the 990 have been from Rochester? Was it Christian/Religious programming?

mic'em wrote:

It was a female speaking, I didn't stay tuned in long enough as I wanted to see if 1010 would come in, which mentioned, it did. I didn't go above 1010 , maybe I will try that on the way back tonight. 

If 590, 640 and 680 come in fairly clear, 740 and 860 should be easy to receive.