I think Newstalk 1010's dilemma is a local issue and not so much who owns them.  Other Bell talk stations (what is left of them) like CJAD Montreal, CFRA Ottawa, and CKTB St. Catharine's sound fine. Even TSN 1050 on the rare occasion I tune them in sound better than CFRB.   1010 needs some major shake ups, as much on air and whoever is in charge.  The station is stale sounding, boring, not entertaining and needs some new hosts, shows and management. 

And since national advertisers and many broadcasters have written off the wealthy 55+ demographic anyway, do ratings really mean much anymore for a station like Newstalk 1010?

 

paterson1 wrote:

And since national advertisers and many broadcasters have written off the wealthy 55+ demographic anyway, do ratings really mean much anymore for a station like Newstalk 1010?

 

Yes. They're still the biggest correlation to revenue in bigger markets.

His name is Jeff MacDonald and he's been looking after both 1050 and 1010 for just over two years. He was the sole PD for TSN 1050 for over nine years prior to that, and worked for Sportsnet as Director of Content for about a year before landing at Bell Media. He's also previously worked for the Discovery Channel and the CBC. 

Here's his resume from Linked-In.

His assistant PD is a board fave - Robert Turner, who has certainly seen the changes at 1010. He's been there for over 25 years. 

RadioAaron wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

Even TSN 1050 on the rare occasion I tune them in sound better than CFRB.   

Who is the current PD for 1010? At one point, to keep costs down, they let Mr. Bendexin go. 
The "Sports guy" took over as PD for both stations. No need to make 1010 look better if Sports is your baby...
 

Yes, a PD with two stations in a company constantly looking to cut costs is going to intentionally neglect 50% of his job because he's a "sports guy." Good post.

Thanks! & 1010 is just a dumping ground for other sports when 1050 already has a sport to cover.
Bell does not care about 1010. They only care about Sports. (in Toronto)

Last edited by Radiowiz (January 10, 2024 1:25 pm)

Radiowiz wrote:

RadioAaron wrote:

Radiowiz wrote:

Who is the current PD for 1010? At one point, to keep costs down, they let Mr. Bendexin go. 
The "Sports guy" took over as PD for both stations. No need to make 1010 look better if Sports is your baby...
 

Yes, a PD with two stations in a company constantly looking to cut costs is going to intentionally neglect 50% of his job because he's a "sports guy." Good post.

Thanks! & 1010 is just a dumping ground for other sports when 1050 already has a sport to cover.
Bell does not care about 1010. They only care about Sports. (in Toronto)

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And obviously it looks like they are trying to push Jerry Agar out by increments.
First by cutting his show down by an hour
But on the other hand they don't seem to have anyone waiting with fresh new blood.
John Moore seems to keep trying to soldier on but is saddled with warmed over guests like what's his name the ex cop and a worn out former premier Kathleen Wynne talking about "what works and what doesn't"
C'mon can't a Toronto radio station find anyone better qualified than a small town right wing hick with a weird speech impediment and former board operators with no journalistic experience?
Add to that a mess of an afternoon drive show, and repetitive topics.
Not to mention unlistenable weekend programming consisting of informercial programs about buying gold, real estate buying and employment beefs.
Don't get me started on three hours of a trivia program on Sundays hosted by a dolt who constantly makes mistakes (and I don't even listen for more than about 20 minutes.)

 


 

RadioAaron wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

I think Newstalk 1010's dilemma is a local issue and not so much who owns them.  Other Bell talk stations (what is left of them) like CJAD Montreal, CFRA Ottawa, and CKTB St. Catharine's sound fine. Even TSN 1050 on the rare occasion I tune them in sound better than CFRB. 

 

This is correct.

CFRA, for example, moved aggressively to evolve from right-wing-deshboard-pounding outrage radio. Additionally, the GM (Now the head of CTV News) took full advantage of CTV Ottawa's absolute local TV dominance to promote and enhance the programming of the station. CTV anchors don't just read the news, they host shows - successfully. 

It's all very vanilla and boring, but it's Ottawa, so that works.

Further, Ottawa talk stations have traditionally have had an advantage in the market as CRTC regulations intentionally suppressed listening to FM music stations.  

Not so sure about the last comment.  Ottawa/Gatineau has always had a lot of great music stations.  I think the fact that they are both big government towns has a lot to do with talk's popularity. CBC/Radio Canada radio traditionally are popular in the National Capital Region, in addition to CFRA and to a lesser extent sports talk and any private French talk radio.   

I used to listen to 1010 a lot more than I do now, especially after the massive cuts Bell Media made last year. I now find myself generally tuning in only John Moore and Vassy Kapelos, with an occasional check on Jerry Agar. Otherwise, I've moved most of my attention to AM640. 

There was a time, back when CFRB called itself "The Source," and "The People People Listen To," that it was one of my main stations when I first got bored with music. Radio has changed a lot since then, but it never recovered after Bell dismantled the powerhouse line-up and its famed newsroom, which also included a pretty good sports line-up. (Notice the AM Stereo reference in that last ad.)

I miss those early days of talk when the line-up was fresh, the format was still new and you never really knew what to expect. Now, thanks to the current owners, I do. And it's pretty disappointing most days.