I was stunned when City stopped doing those NYE specials from City Hall. It had become such a big part of the station's community identity and a publicity-generating event, that to just shut it down was, to me, a huge mistake. 

Even those who never watched it knew it was there and associated it with what was once the most local of all local stations. And without referring to City, other TV stations would show highlights from it - but everyone knew who was behind it. An opportunity forever lost. 

For such a big company, Rogers was/is extremely cheap. They swung the axe shortly after taking over Citytv including the NYE’s broadcast. I wish they had kept Speakers Corner, possibly the lowest costing show to produce! So cheap Rogers.

mace wrote:

Much easier and cheaper for CITY to simsub Rockin' New Year's Eve from 8-11 and 11:30 -2ish.

In Alberta, Citytv simulcasts the Pacific Time Zone feed of New Year's Rockin' Eve, which means midnight on the show actually airs at 1 AM. Rogers has been doing this for YEARS, and it's ridiculous how no one has bothered to change it.
 

Didn't Niagara falls recently get a fresh new Concert theatre? 
Live New Year's TV coverage would be a great way to promote that fact.
 

When ONtv became CH, they started doing New Years Eve from Niagara Falls. Then Canwest took that away, and gave it to Entertainment Tonight Canada doing the show from the Falls, then it just went away.

I hope the acts are better than last year. They had some girl singing so slow and low, and was putting me to sleep. It was funny because there was a crowd around, and I was wondering if anyone else was so dozing off. They were just in the next studio from CHCH News, which I can't imagine is that big. They did have two stages last year, which were basically beside each other.
 

Tomas Barlow wrote:

Old man comedy at its finest.

Pretending not to know who Ryan Seacrest is after nearly two decades of being one of the top media personalities in North America isn’t an insult to him. It makes you look out of touch with what has been happening for the last nearly 20 years. Did you pretend not to know who Walter Cronkite was until after he stopped hosting the CBS Evening News? Because that’s the length of time you’re pretending to oblivious about.

Calm thyself, o angsty millennial. Forgive me that I didst take the name of the Lord thy God Seacrest in vain.
 

I haven't listened to 1010 in more than a decade. 
So Tomas, how about you tell us what we "should" be talking about here? 

Well, that's the beauty of forums like this. You can see my offhand comment as lame, and I can see your response as stopping just short of fangirling. To each his own, right?

Like you, I occasionally roll my eyes at the myopic focus some board members have on technical flubs, pronunciation issues and the constant "who's-in-and-who's-out" at a bunch of low-rated talk radio stations. That's their thing and they're certainly entitled to it.

Let me ask you this: Off the top of your head, can you think of one thing that Ryan Seacrest has said in his hundreds of radio and TV broadcasts that will be remembered 20 years from now? While I don't care for Rihanna's music, I respect her for her accomplishments as an artist, humanitarian and philanthropist who has put her money where her mouth is to support causes she believes in. On the other hand, Seacrest is just one of the latest group of a long line of empty suits who are paid to stand up straight, smile and make inconsequential chatter about nothing at all. It's like fast food - great for an occasional cheap and filling meal, but not something that should be an integral part of a well-balanced diet. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours from me and mine.

I believe one of the female singers of July Talk has a local media tie - her dad is Lorrie Goldstein, the Editor Emeritus of the Toronto Sun. He talks about her often in numerous radio interviews whenever he can find a place to squeeze it in!

Tomas Barlow wrote:

Off the top of my head he introduced Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood to the world and both have become very well known. He did a very nice tribute to Dick Clark on the New Year’s Eve after he passed away. He spoke eloquently about Casey Kasem when he passed away on a special tribute show that iHeart Radio produced. He also called Fergie and her mom live on the air to tell her she had the number one song of the year during an emotional interview early in his tenure at American Top 40. I’m not a big fan and I don’t watch much of what he does but those things I remember.

Not exactly comparable to Winston Churchill's "we shall fight them on the beaches" or Dr. Martin Luther King Junior's "I have a dream" (or even Taylor Swift's "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs") remarks in terms of immortality. but to each his own.
A couple of points. He didn't introduce Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood to the world. The program he hosted was responsible for that. All he did was stand alongside them after they sang and read the words that someone else wrote for him off the teleprompter. As for the other stuff, I'd invite you to stop ten people randomly on the street in downtown Toronto and ask them if they are aware of who either Dick Clark or Casey Kasem was and report your findings to us on this board.
 

Last edited by BowmanvilleBob (January 1, 2024 4:09 pm)

I didn't see much of the CHCH New Year's Eve production.  What I saw wasn't very festive or upbeat.  The opening act was too low key and wasn't a strong opening for the show.  Rick Campanelli was trying to get the crowd going a bit at the beginning and then the opening artist was on and pretty much killed what little excitement was happening.  Guess they were trying to make it more like a concert with people in the studio standing around.

Anyway kudos to CHCH for at least doing something NYE.  CP24 just had a few camera crews out and interviewing people live around downtown and at the fireworks on the lakeshore.  That can be more interesting and entertaining than almost anything else.