I’m sure like top 40, talk stations have “hits.”
Hosts will know what generates a reaction and what lights up the phone lines, so they’re going to go to those topics frequently. The hot button topics are probably the same for both stations.

Stinand wrote:

And when 1010 had an 8 and 9 share, 640 was very much in play.

They really need to update their branding from 'NEWS TALK 1010' to 'MANAGED DECLINE 1010'. Fewer people would then be surprised when they listen.

Stinand wrote:

So we compare TV to radio ? And when 1010 had an 8 and 9 share, 640 was very much in play.

...and in the golden days for RB in the 60s and 70s, before 1320 became 640, CFRB had an audience share of 30% and a weekly cume of around 1.75 million. To think that it's now at 3% of its former self (on a good day).

Most people here know these are the main outlets I listen to, because I just don't find music all that compelling anymore. But that's not to say they both couldn't be done a lot better. 

I think one of the reasons they both cover so much of the same ground is that there are only so many big headlines on a daily basis and those are the ones that tend to get talked about.  

I see a few problems here. The biggest one is the ownership. Bell, especially, is one of the cheapest organizations there is. They have cut CFRB's news room to nothing, using only newsreaders at the top of the hour for headlines, and throwing to tape (if any) from CTV, their sister television station. (Why they don't make more use of CP24 is beyond me.)

But what it ends up meaning is they have no reporters to go and follow a breaking story and bring it to air live while it's going on. Instead, if it didn't air on CTV's Noon news, there are no real updates until 6 PM. And if something happens after the suppertime TV show is over, well, that's too bad. The 11:30 reports, now hopelessly dated, will get re-stripped in the morning. And the beat goes on. Losing those live reporters who could be sent out to cover something going on at say, 2 PM, has been a devastating loss. So cutbacks are the #1 disaster factor to me. 

Another problem, as Stinand rightly notes, is this excessive devotion to Toronto, especially the downtown core. It's often described by conservatives as where the "liberal elite live." Well, if that's the case, why are they concentrating on an cohort that clearly won't be tuning into conservative-leaning talk radio? Plus, with those cutbacks, more stations outside the GTA (i.e. CKTB) are taking the Toronto-sourced programs, like Jerry Agar. 

Love him or hate him, I'm sure talk of traffic cameras being set up in Toronto neighbourhoods is as intensely uninteresting to people in St. Catharines as you can get. It's even worse for the Jim Richards hosted "NewsTalk Tonight" which goes across the country. Yet almost every single topic is GTA-oriented, perhaps because the producers or Richards don't bother to look for other stories beyond the city limits. If I'm in Regina, why do I care what Doug Ford did today in Ontario? Yet it goes on this way day after day after day. 

Bell clearly doesn't care about these stations and I'm not sure why they're hanging on to them only to make them worse. 

In some cases, Corus does the same thing, taking Alex Pierson's show into Hamilton and London, while heavily focused just on Toronto. Why would someone listening on CFPL care about what Olivia Chow had to say about anything? Or Peel Region's fight for separation? Tune outs. But again, no choice, because local talent costs money. And they're no longer willing to spend it. 

Finally, because there are no more radio reporters, all these guys use the same source - newspapers. So everyone reads an exclusive in the Toronto Star and with no researcher of their own, they all wind up refencing the same articles. I used to joke that if there was ever a newspaper strike in this town, all the talk stations would go off the air. Except all these years later, I'm not so sure it's a joke. 

paterson1 wrote:

Getting back to what Stinand was talking about and the negativity of Toronto talk.  I listened to Jerry Agar for the first time in a few months yesterday for about 40 minutes and you would think that Toronto and Canada were the most repressed backward places in the world.

Unbelievable how negative this guys is.  I have read that he has a great sense of humour.  Well, it never shows up on air.  He sounds like a guy who doesn't know much or very interested in the city or country he lives in.  Agar's show seems to be all about his gripes and things he doesn't like, and that gets really tiresome very quick to my ears. 

Also yesterday I listened to CKTB in the afternoon with Jon Gonzo.  What a difference, and a much better afternoon drive show and host than what CFRB usually has.  Actually I haven't enjoyed RB's drive show for years and rarely listen .  Last afternoon host I enjoyed was when John Moore was on about 100 years ago or maybe John Tory.

Gonzo moved smoothly from topic to topic, he had a side kick on with him (didn't get his name) and both were very entertaining and natural.  I really liked the way he moved from politics to entertainment to sports and would go back to a earlier topic if a listener touched on it.  Best of all he sounded like he was enjoying himself and had fun.  Something lacking on Newstalk 1010. 

So you can't always blame everything on Bell like someone in particular always does.  CKTB is owned by the same company and from what I heard yesterday, a better and more interesting afternoon program with local news, traffic and weather. TB sounds like they know their audience and who they are broadcasting to, unlike CFRB who seem lost somewhere in the fog in Lake Ontario, and far too negative.  

I agree with all of this and am also glad to hear that Jon is back on the air. Didn't realize he'd landed at CKTB after being laid off at Corus in Ottawa.

Part of that can be laid at the feet of the hosts. Generally newsy people, who are safe, but boring. Not many laughs. Old school talk radio. 

paterson1 wrote:

 =12pxI listened to Jerry Agar for the first time in a few months yesterday for about 40 minutes and you would think that Toronto and Canada were the most repressed backward places in the world. 

Agar honed his 'craft' on major stations in the good ol' USA. Perhaps he thinks he's still living there.
 

memories of wbz's larry glick.

the original hank wrote:

memories of wbz's larry glick.

617-254-5678.

One more thought about this, as I flipped between 1010 and 640 on Monday, as everything gets back to the regular post-holiday schedule. 

I think others have expressed this before but it's worth repeating that one of the problems I see with both major talk stations is having the same guests over and over and over. Take CFRB's twice daily morning Roundtable (or is it called The Free For All? I'm never sure.) We hear the same voices all the time - Deb Hutton, Tim Hudak, Michelle Morrow (a music teacher. Why?) Shelley Carroll, various city councillors, Toronto Star columnists, Mark Warner, etc. etc. etc.

My personal pet peeve is the constant presence of Laura Babcock, who is so ubiquitous, she's often on three shows on the same day! The fact she never stops talking on her completely predictable positions means no one else gets their say. 

I know the point of the Roundtable is "interesting people with interesting things to say," but surely there must be others they can invite on. 

640's clone "Think Tank" suffers from the same problem, with Mark Saunders, Anthony Furey, Steve Paikin et. al, on every other day. 

Variety, they say, is the spice of life. Maybe a little more spice would help.