The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » John Tory Coming Back To Fill-In On CFRB Morning Show

RadioActive · August 25, 2023 7:09 am

He's barely been seen, let alone heard, on radio since he resigned in disgrace earlier this year. But now John Tory is coming back to his old radio stomping ground to host Monday's CFRB morning show in John Moore's absence. It's been 9 years since he did a regular program and it was before his time in office.

This isn't a return to the station or the medium for good, just fill-in for now. But you have to wonder if a guy who was so public for so long and has on-air experience might be itching to come back again in the future.

Listener · August 25, 2023 7:13 am

I can do without listening to John Tory!

RadioActive · August 25, 2023 7:26 am

It appears just to be for the one day. But there may be a bigger Tory story here.

Is this the first step in an attempted public rehabilitation for his reputation? He comes back gradually and by the time the people get used to it, he's fully resumed public life.

Worth watching to see what he does next.

Walter · August 25, 2023 8:15 am

Listener wrote:
I can do without listening to John Tory!

Amen! An utter failure as mayor. He is the last person anybody needs to hear pontificating about current events.

RadioActive · August 25, 2023 8:47 am

You can listen to the announcement here.

Hansa · August 25, 2023 9:50 am

I always found it ironic that someone so closely associated with Rogers and Ted Rogers in particular also has such a close association with CFRB, the Bell station founded by Ted Rogers Sr which Ted the younger always wanted but could never get.

paterson1 · August 25, 2023 9:52 am

I don't live in Toronto and have no skin in the game. However as an outsider I thought Tory was one of the better mayors that Toronto had in a long long time. Interesting that Ms. Chow has only been in office for one month and already has proposed various tax increases. I get the feeling this is only the beginning.

It will be great to have John back on Newstalk 1010 again. God knows they need some help right now.

Chrisphen · August 25, 2023 10:01 am

Put the call screeners on danger pay. I'd love to ask Tory on-air about the FIFA deal...

RadioActive · August 25, 2023 10:53 am

Chrisphen wrote:
Put the call screeners on danger pay. I'd love to ask Tory on-air about the FIFA deal...

He's doing the morning show, which usually means no callers, unless he chooses to take some.

Doug Thompson · August 25, 2023 4:11 pm

His afternoon gig on CFRB was very good for his brand and his public profile, pre-mayoralty run.

Now, not so much. He is, as I understand, still very much a part of the Rogers board of directors.

paterson1 · August 25, 2023 5:04 pm

When John Tory first announced he was running for mayor, I remember what Bill Carrol said. Bill was up against John in the afternoon on AM 640. Bill said that since John was running for mayor he would no longer be on the radio in the afternoon every day. Carrol paused and said..."that's really good news for me.."

Dial Twister · August 25, 2023 5:08 pm

One irony in all of this. Doug Ford's 'strong mayor' powers, gifted to Tory, are now in the hands of Mayor Chow.

That must be driving Doug bonkers. ;-)

newsguy1 · August 25, 2023 5:35 pm

I don't think Tory was a "disgraced" mayor.
I also think he was stupid to resign.
C'mon, billions of people have extramarital affairs.
He and the woman were consenting adults.
As for being on city hall staff, where else is Tory going to meet a love interest?
At a bar or nightclub?
Tory obviously settled the matter between him and his wife.
I am reminded when the former leader of the Liberals in England, Paddy Ashdown, was discovered to have an affair.
He was surrounded by the press who asked him to explain himself and he said what happened was between him and his wife and they are working it out together... any more questions?
There was none.

betaylored · August 25, 2023 9:27 pm

thanks for linking the announcement RA, John Tory sounds like he's ready to return to the airwaves

I'll be listening bright and early at 5:00 but for those who aren't up and about to hear the first half hour, there's always The Breakfast Wrap podcast

would it be premature to hope to hear John Tory guest? hosting the afternoon drive show as well sometime in the near future

Last edited by betaylored (August 25, 2023 9:34 pm)

Hansa · August 25, 2023 9:53 pm

Given his record of non-achievement over more than two terms the last thing anyone wants to hear is Tory pontificating on the radio about what's wrong with the city and what needs to be done.

The permanent closure of the Scarborough RT by an accident that sent to hospital - because the RT was forced to operate long past its useful life - is the perfect epilogue to Tory's mayoralty. Had Tory backed the construction of LRT lines the RT could have been replaced by now with a network of lines that would have covered Scarborough (particularly if Rob Ford hadn't cancelled Transit City). Instead, Scarbetians will have to take wait 8 long years before the RT's replacement is ready - and Tory's Smart Track scheme which promised 22 stations will end up being only 5 new GO stations. Smart Track was supposed to be Tory's legacy.

What does Tory have to show for after 9 years in office? Not a hell of a lot.

Stinand · August 26, 2023 3:58 pm

Well, it's not like the mayor personally drives every TTC bus or subway train (although that would be quite the sight to see). But yeah, it's a bit of a team effort when it comes to public transportation. And let's face it, blaming everything on one person is so last year. *cue eye roll*

newsguy1 · August 26, 2023 9:51 pm

I'm from Vancouver originally where it was was common for politicians to become radio talk show hosts and talk show hosts to become politicians.
The result was you got very well informed radio broadcasters who really knew what they were talking about unlike a lot or talk radio here where you get people who were nothing until they became talk show hosts.
Both Vancouver and Quebec have a long tradition of talk radio where the hosts had a lot of real world experience and did not become talk show hosts after going from high school to radio operators etc.
Just look at heavyweights like Jack Webster, Pat Burns and Barry Clark and Bill Good.
Compare them to Jim Richards, John Oakley and Alex Pierson.
The latter are just manufactured talking heads with no experience in anything.

paterson1 · August 27, 2023 11:22 am

newsguy1 wrote:
I'm from Vancouver originally where it was was common for politicians to become radio talk show hosts and talk show hosts to become politicians.
The result was you got very well informed radio broadcasters who really knew what they were talking about unlike a lot or talk radio here where you get people who were nothing until they became talk show hosts.
Both Vancouver and Quebec have a long tradition of talk radio where the hosts had a lot of real world experience and did not become talk show hosts after going from high school to radio operators etc.
Just look at heavyweights like Jack Webster, Pat Burns and Barry Clark and Bill Good.
Compare them to Jim Richards, John Oakley and Alex Pierson.
The latter are just manufactured talking heads with no experience in anything.

That's a very good point newsguy1. When John Tory had his afternoon show on Newstalk 1010, and he spoke of government, business and politics, he knew and understood quite a bit more than the average host. He had been leader of the PC party, been on the board of Rogers, commissioner of the CFL, secretary to premier Bill Davis, he was a lawyer, ran for office and had failures and success. All of this before he was mayor of Toronto, and host an afternoon talk show.

What happened with Tory was unfortunate, but minor. He did what most politicians wouldn't do. He admitted his error, said that it was inappropriate behaviour, planned on healing the damage he created for his wife and family, and he resigned. He took responsibility, didn't make excuses, which is rare today, and for that he earned the respect of many.

newsguy1 · August 27, 2023 5:13 pm

CKNW is still the best talk station for Vancouver.
Simi Sara has good news background and experience.
Mike Smyth is excellent.
I knew him in Toronto and he has always been really smart funny and also a real journalist with roots going back to The Canadian Press and of course a ton of experience at the BC legislature.

paterson1 · August 27, 2023 6:00 pm

Some radio historians will know more about this than me. But does Toronto actually have much of a history of talk/opinion radio?

CFRB eased itself into all news/talk over quite a few years, starting in 1990. But it wasn't until November 1996 with the retirement of Wally Crouter or soon after, that RB became a full fledged news/talk station.

CHUM actually had more of a history for talk phone in programming in the 60's/70's than RB ever did. The very popular and somewhat opinionated phone in Larry Soloway and John Gilbert shows were legendary. CFRB didn't really have an equivalent.

Other markets like Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, VOCM in Newfoundland and certainly in Montreal, Quebec City with a few French stations had huge success with talk radio and hosts.

Toronto did have failed attempts decades ago with CKO, CKEY and CJCL who all made valiant efforts, but phone in talk/opinion radio has never been that successful in the GTA as far as I am aware. The only exception would be Soloway and Gilbert. In 1973 John Gilbert was averaging 120,000 listeners for his mid day talk show on CHUM.

Today and for quite a while CBC Radio One seems to be the destination for talk/information radio. I am surprised that they also do well in medium sized markets like Kitchener/Waterloo and London, especially in the morning. CityNews 680 does well and has for a long time with it's news wheel, but talk stations other than CBC not so much.

So why didn't Toronto warm up to talk radio, especially opinion radio while other markets across the country for years have had more success?

Hansa · August 27, 2023 6:18 pm

Stinand wrote:
Well, it's not like the mayor personally drives every TTC bus or subway train (although that would be quite the sight to see). But yeah, it's a bit of a team effort when it comes to public transportation. And let's face it, blaming everything on one person is so last year. *cue eye roll*

No, but if you recall Tory's bullshit Smart Track promise was his marquee promise for his first term and was supposed to, among other things, replace the RT. Instead the RT was run long after its useful life ended (hence the accident) and Smart Track is a failure.

RadioAaron · August 27, 2023 6:36 pm

Hansa wrote:
What does Tory have to show for after 9 years in office? Not a hell of a lot.

Yep. He didn't do anything particularly *wrong* other than not doing much of anything, leaving Rob Ford's mess to further decay.

Walter · August 27, 2023 6:39 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
Hansa wrote:
What does Tory have to show for after 9 years in office? Not a hell of a lot.
Yep. He didn't do anything particularly *wrong* other than not doing much of anything, leaving Rob Ford's mess to further decay.

Tory was totally useless. An utter disappointment. I listen to Moore in the morning, but I won't be tomorrow. If I never hear Tory's voice again, it'll be too soon.

Dial Twister · August 27, 2023 6:47 pm

Tory was more of a spokesperson/cheerleader, for the city, rather than a mayor.

g121 · August 28, 2023 7:49 am

Almost 3 hours in & John Tory is doing just fine filling in for John Moore.

Morning Drive has more moving parts than most time slots & Tory admits it's a challenge but, for the most part & with Robert Turner's help, is doing just fine.

What's a nice change from Moore's regular fill-in, Tory can challenge an interviewee without derision & attack (ex. the chat with the Ottawa teacher about AI). It makes for a much better interview.

All in all, Tory is a good fit as a Moore fill-in .. or heck, is better than most of the other CFRB hosts.

RadioActive · August 28, 2023 10:12 am

If you missed Tory's sign-on just after 5 AM, you can hear a good part of it here.

There were several indirect references to the scandal that forced him to resign as Toronto mayor, but nothing overt. And the name Mike Bendixen, who of course was fired from his role as Brand Director, came up within the first three minutes.

Perhaps what most surprised me, though, from watching the CTV video of the return was on the wall and the mic flashes. They read "In-Depth Radio." Didn't they drop that slogan and branding years and years ago? I guess if no one sees it, it doesn't matter, but you might think they would have changed that by now.

Jody Thornton · August 28, 2023 10:48 am

RadioActive wrote:
Perhaps what most surprised me, though, from watching the CTV video of the return was on the wall and the mic flashes. They read "In-Depth Radio." Didn't they drop that slogan and branding years and years ago? I guess if no one sees it, it doesn't matter, but you might think they would have changed that by now.

Perhaps you could call and ask ... oh, wait - don't bother, since they're also no longer the place where "Toronto Gets Answers"!

RadioActive · August 28, 2023 11:12 am

Aren't you "The Source?"

Dial Twister · August 28, 2023 11:25 am

From RA's CTV link...

Then, almost an hour into the show, Tory introduced an NBC news correspondent who mistakenly greeted him as mayor.

“I’m not the mayor anymore but I’ll take it for a second,” he said before pivoting back to his line of question.
----------------------

Americans tend to carry senior governmental titles beyond actual service. The NBC correspondent likely knew that Tory was a former mayor.

Deference.

RadioActive · August 28, 2023 12:02 pm

Interesting that CFTO chose to lead with the Tory story. Global's noon news lede was about changes to the TTC's schedule for back-to-school.