When you look at the line-up of the people who populated CKO on air, it's almost surprising they did so poorly around the country. Truth is, as bad as the place sometimes sounded, there was a lot of talent that passed through those doors during the short time it existed. 

In addition to the names listed in the ads above, there were a number of others who tried their best to make it work - people like the great Bob Holiday from CFTR, Mike Robbins, a former 680 newscaster, Erin Davis, later of both CHFI and E-Z Rock, one time CTV co-anchor Harvey Kirck, Bernie MacNamee, Phil Godin (the latter two both worked at CKEY), David Onley - would go on to work at City TV and became Lt. Gov. of Ontario - Denis Woollings of both CHUM and City TV, and the much-respected Jim Morris - just to name a few. 

The problem, in my mind, was two-fold. It was the late 70s and 80s, when talk on FM wasn't generally an accepted thing on the radio. And it had absolutely atrocious ownership and management, which anyone who was there can go on about for hours. I never worked there, but I knew a lot of people who did. 

That led to what I still consider the greatest quitting story in radio history. (I've posted about it before and you can read it here.) 

But here's another one. And I know it's true, because I was talking to the person involved as it was happening. An employee, an extremely bright woman who had worked at a number of very successful Toronto radio stations, was at CKO (or CK-Zero as she would later call it) in the late 80s. Like many there, she was made a ton of promises but had to make do with a lot less - terrible hours, awful equipment, lack of supplies, unkept vows from her bosses, not great pay, etc. 

Finally, one day, she'd had enough. I happened to phone her that morning while she was at the station because I knew she was having a tough time. She told me she had decided to resign that day, so she went looking for the big boss but couldn't find him.

She then tried to search out the G.M. Not around.

Her next stop was the P.D./N.D.'s office. He was AWOL, as well. 

She went back to her desk when I called her to ask how she was doing. In a plaintive wail that I've never been able to forget, she half-seriously, half-jokingly made a statement that's stayed with me all these years. "THERE'S NO ONE TO QUIT TO!" she yelled into the phone in frustration. I couldn't help it - I laughed out loud at the absurdity of that sentence. But it was true. 

A few weeks later, the end would come, the station shut down and everybody wound up bounced from the place. But she never got the chance to go first!