The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Some Broadcasting Questions About Election Coverage

**Posted by RadioActive** April 28, 2025 8:39 am

It's been a long time since I've seen the rules about covering an election on air. So here are a few questions about what's coming Monday night.

1) Coverage on the major Canadian networks starts at 7 PM, which means a lot of vamping until the local results start flowing with the polls here not closing until 9:30 PM. That sounds like a lot of filler. But here's the thing - I recall a rule that said you couldn't talk about any results until the polls in your time zone are closed. The idea was that you didn't want the results from elsewhere to influence local voting here. Has that changed?

If that prohibition is still in place, how can they show the coverage nationwide? If it's 9:30 here, it's only 6:30 in B.C. and the polls there are still open. Yet the election shows will begin at 4 PM Pacific Time. If they can't give Atlantic, Quebec or Ontario results on air, what will they talk about to fill the time? Or will they simply not show anything out west until everything is over out there?

2) John Moore and Bill Carroll are acting as pundits for CTV coverage. With the results not expected to be final until B.C. polls close after midnight our time, how long will they stay on, having to be back in at 5 or 6 AM for their all important post-election radio morning shows?

Moore actually answered this question on Monday, noting he and Carroll will have to "pull our parachutes" at some point to leave and get enough rest to be able to do their regular radio shifts.

3) If Greg Brady loses in Whitby, will he really be back as host of AM640's morning drive show? If so, how long will it be before he returns?

All these answers, including who our new Prime Minister is, will be revealed in the coming days. The only sure thing is it's going to be a long night for staffers and viewers alike.

**Posted by BowmanvilleBob** April 28, 2025 9:15 am

Election night blackouts on reporting voting results ended a few years ago. While the major OTA networks will sequence their coverage to begin when the polls close in each region, the cable networks like CBC NN and CTV News Channel will run from the moment the polls close in Atlantic Canada. The CRTC recognized that with social media, the concept of keeping voters out west in the dark about results in the east was tilting at windmills.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/election-night-results-blackout-a-thing-of-the-past-1.3259787

**Posted by paterson1** April 28, 2025 9:32 am

Also Elections Canada staggers the voting times across the country. Here in Ontario we can vote from 9:30am to 9:30pm. In Vancouver voting hours are from 7am to 7pm. I looked at the Vancouver TV schedule for tonight and CBC, CTV and Global all begin their coverage 4pm local time, which is 7pm in Ontario.

**Posted by ED1** April 28, 2025 9:45 am

BowmanvilleBob wrote:
Election night blackouts on reporting voting results ended a few years ago. While the major OTA networks will sequence their coverage to begin when the polls close in each region, the cable networks like CBC NN and CTV News Channel will run from the moment the polls close in Atlantic Canada. The CRTC recognized that with social media, the concept of keeping voters out west in the dark about results in the east was tilting at windmills.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/election-night-results-blackout-a-thing-of-the-past-1.3259787

Actually, this year CBC, CTV, and Global will also start their coverage as soon as polls close in the east. Citytv’s the only one staggering their coverage start time.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 28, 2025 9:47 am

John Moore just provided further details about his schedule. Turns out John Tory will cover the 5AM hour (which is usually a reroll) and Moore will be joining him at some point during the morning run. So it will be co-hosts for at least some point in the show Tuesday.

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 28, 2025 9:58 am

RadioActive wrote:
3) If Greg Brady loses in Whitby, will he really be back as host of AM640's morning drive show? If so, how long will it be before he returns?

They're not going to go through the hassle and expense of firing him without cause, especially right as the show's gaining traction and routinely beating 1010.

**Posted by RadioActive** April 28, 2025 10:02 am

RadioAaron wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
3) If Greg Brady loses in Whitby, will he really be back as host of AM640's morning drive show? If so, how long will it be before he returns?
They're not going to go through the hassle and expense of firing him without cause, especially right as the show's gaining traction and routinely beating 1010.

Ah, but couldn't one argue he left his job to pursue another and therefore isn't guaranteed that he can get his position back?

**Posted by BowmanvilleBob** April 28, 2025 10:35 am

ED1 wrote:
BowmanvilleBob wrote:
Election night blackouts on reporting voting results ended a few years ago. While the major OTA networks will sequence their coverage to begin when the polls close in each region, the cable networks like CBC NN and CTV News Channel will run from the moment the polls close in Atlantic Canada. The CRTC recognized that with social media, the concept of keeping voters out west in the dark about results in the east was tilting at windmills.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/election-night-results-blackout-a-thing-of-the-past-1.3259787
Actually, this year CBC, CTV, and Global will also start their coverage as soon as polls close in the east. Citytv’s the only one staggering their coverage start time.

I stand corrected. Thanks everyone.

A couple of quick anecdotes from the pre-social media era in this vein.

One of my first jobs was at a station in Western Canada where the local cable company featured a number of eastern CBC and CTV affiliates as part of its basic package. It was a real mom and pop operation, and the owner made the mistake of telling us and the local newspaper that he had no intention of scrambling those cable signals on federal election night until the polls in our area closed. He tried to frame it as a free speech issue, but everyone suspected he was simply too lazy to do the work. He backed down when he was told he'd be facing some big fines if he didn't so something.
Flash forward to 1993, I'm working for SBN and covering the Campbell campaign in Vancouver on election night. Our affiliate stations were strictly told they could not run any newscasts containing election results or join our network coverage until the polls closed in their areas. One station in Vancouver, an oldies/nostalgia outlet, didn't get the memo and in the midst of everything I was doing, I had to call them to try and figure out why they were running the wrong newscasts. The kid on the board at that station who ran the reroll tapes from programming earlier in the day claimed he never saw the memo and in any case, he had no idea how to pre-tape and run the alternate newscasts that we were supplying to the Mountain and Pacific time zones before their polls closed. I passed the matter up the line to our GM, who apparently got in touch with someone who knew what they were doing and order was eventually restored.

Last edited by BowmanvilleBob (April 28, 2025 10:40 am)

**Posted by AspectRatio** April 28, 2025 3:11 pm

RadioActive wrote:
Ah, but couldn't one argue he left his job to pursue another and therefore isn't guaranteed that he can get his position back?

This is interesting, and we'll see how things play out. We're not privy to the particulars of the agreement/arrangement with 640 - might it be possible he just took (unpaid) "leave" vs. outright resigning?

Frankish in his first week would occasionally say "in for Greg Brady" - not "filling in", but "in for". That was dropped, but Frankish can't surely think the gig is 100% his.

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 28, 2025 4:00 pm

RadioActive wrote:
RadioAaron wrote:
RadioActive wrote:
3) If Greg Brady loses in Whitby, will he really be back as host of AM640's morning drive show? If so, how long will it be before he returns?
They're not going to go through the hassle and expense of firing him without cause, especially right as the show's gaining traction and routinely beating 1010.
Ah, but couldn't one argue he left his job to pursue another and therefore isn't guaranteed that he can get his position back?

There would have been an agreement before he did this.

Even if they could find cause, or decided to eat the cost of no-cause, why would they? It's by far the best performing show on the station.

**Posted by KenkuKwanchi** April 28, 2025 9:34 pm

What I'm noticing is the Canadian Media outlets (Citynews, CTV News, CBC news) are livestreaming on YouTube.

I thought the news outlets are banned!

**Posted by RadioAaron** April 28, 2025 11:08 pm

KenkuKwanchi wrote:
What I'm noticing is the Canadian Media outlets (Citynews, CTV News, CBC news) are livestreaming on YouTube.

I thought the news outlets are banned!

Only on Meta properties. Google paid the ransom.