edmonton radio news archives - 2008
around the local radio dial
An archive of selected recent events in Edmonton and area radio history.
january 2008
Whitey's back | CRTC calls for diversity
february 2008
new edmonton fm radio licence - applications received | reporting from the courthouse
march 2008
cool 880 flips to all news | gord robson (1951 - 2008) | big earl belly flops
april 2008
edmonton radio ratings - spring 2008 | this and that
may 2008
out with the oldies and in with the news | new edmonton fm radio licence - hearings held | this and that
june 2008
Rogers answers back | this and that
july 2008
edmonton radio ratings - late spring/early summer 2008
october 2008
edmonton radio ratings - summer 2008
november 2008
edmonton radio ratings - fall 2008
main radio news page | 2006 archives | 2007 archives | 2009 archives
related pages
January 2008
Whitey's back
CHED's program director Sid Smyth got his New Year's wish – and on just the second day of 2008.
Not only could he sleep in for the first time in months, he could do so knowing the CHED Morning News program was back in the capable hands of Gord Whitehead » full details »
CRTC Calls For Diversity
With the current call for a new radio licence in Edmonton in the wings, statements made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission have suddenly become relevant.
On January 15th, 2008 the CRTC introduced new policies to ensure that a diversity of voices was maintained in the Canadian broadcasting system » full details »
February 2008
New Edmonton FM radio licence - applications received
The deadline for applications for a broadcasting licence to carry on a radio programming undertaking to serve Edmonton, Alberta has come and gone and the CRTC released their list of finalists on February 8th, 2008.
14 applicants have filed for one – possibly two – spots on Edmonton's already crowded dial » full details »
Reporting from the courthouse
For fans of ex-CHED radio reporter Byron Christopher's unique take on courthouse developments, it's been a long time since his hard-boiled style has been heard. Some of those memories can be brought back to life through a collection of clips rescued from the station's logger tapes – just head to the bottom of the who is that man? page.
March 2008
Cool 880 Flips To All News
For months it's been a case of not if but when ...
On Friday, March 14th, 2008 employees at Corus Radio in Edmonton learned that as of May 20th, 2008 CHQT Cool 880 would switch from their oldies format to all news.
It appears station manager Doug Rutherford had made good on his promise "to defend our turf" and stave off competition in the news market.
Called "iNews880" the station will feature a 30-minute news wheel format with a rotating menu of news, weather, traffic, sports and business » full details »
Gord Robson (1951 - 2008)
He was one of the best-looking guys you'll ever hear. He was also one of the most respected.
Gord Robson was found dead March 21st, 2008 at the age of 56. And with his passing, a small chapter in Canada's history of rock and roll radio turned over its last page » full details »
Big Earl belly flops
When Corus announced March 14th, 2008 that they were flipping CHQT 880 from oldies to all news, an opportunity was presented to a frequency that has had more format changes than Joan Rivers has had facelifts.
On March 28th, 2008 the station once known as K-Lite, Mix 96, 96X and the one that "played anything country" became The New 96.3 Capital-FM Edmonton as Big Earl belly flops » full details »
April 2008
Spring 2008 ratings
Local Corus Entertainment honcho Doug Rutherford can proudly wave the CHED flag as the station came in with its second-highest rating since Spring 2005. CISN also comes in strong for Corus as does their JOE-FM outlet, but CHQT Cool 880 is sacrificed as a hedge against news competitors seeking Edmonton's newest licence application.
The Bear seems to have eaten K-Rock for breakfast while the rest of the pack seems to have lined up in the same old same old pecking order and without surprise.
For all the juicy numbers visit the Last Link Edmonton radio ratings - Spring 2008 report.
This and that
Proving once again that it's not if but when, Lochlin Cross can now add "Former K-Rock program director" to his resume.
Seems Cross and Newcap have parted ways (the going word was "axed") and media-watchers need only look at any ratings period since summer 2006 when Cross arrived in Edmonton at the then suddenly Terry Evans-less station to see reasons why.
Others may point to the costly (and hare-brained) What The Hell Happened To K-Rock? TV campaign. Ironically, the question has become what the hell happened to Lochlin Cross? Newcap's national programming director, Steve Jones, fills in until a replacement is found.
And proving once again that when you do a good job they give you more to do ... Bounce general manager James Stuart can now add miles to his car commuting Calgary to oversee operations at Energy 101.5 FM, CTVglobemedia's under-performing hot adult-contemporary Calgary station.
Prior to running the Bounce, the former Mr. Michelle Boden worked for the Corus folks, first at CKNG and then as program director at CHQT.
May 2008
Out with the oldies and in with the news
Edmonton radio news junkies got a new place to score their fix when Corus Entertainment flipped CHQT Cool 880 to iNews 880, a cutting edge internet-driven news service » full details »
New Edmonton FM radio licence - hearings held
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission began holding public hearings on May 27th, 2008 to entertain applications for one – possibly two – new FM radio licences for the already crowded Edmonton market.
14 applicants are set to appear – see the » full details »
This and that
Proving once again that when you do a good job they give you more to do ... 100.3 The Bear program director Ryan Zimmerman is now tasked with handling national director of rock programming duties for Bear parent company Astral Media.
The promotion likely reflects the Bear picking up a pair of Canadian Music Industry Awards – for Rock Station of the Year and for On Air Talent of the Year (unbelievably, The Paul Brown Show) – back in March 2008.
Returning to Edmonton is news veteran Sheila Gardner, whose track record includes stints at CIRK-FM and CJCA in the early eighties, CFRN in 1986 and 1987, and at various stations in Vancouver over the past two decades.
Gardner has signed on with Corus for their iNews 880 operation. No word if she and Lesley Primeau have negotiated dog territory.
Also recently returning from the left coast to the CHED/Corus newsroom is to Don Lawson.
Lawson has put in stops at Red Deer, Kelowna, Grande Prairie and worked previously at CHED from 1991 to 2003. He was most recently at CTVglobemedia's recently-acquired (from CHUM) CFAX 1070/CHBE 107.3 Kool FM operation in Victoria (along with recent stints in the Alberta construction trade).
Changes continue at the West Edmonton Mall Newcap cluster known as the Edmonton Radio Group.
As of May 12th, 2008 Pat Cardinal (see also) takes over as operation manager with enough call letters in his resume to to fill several alphabets.
Starting at CJRL in Kenora, Ontario in 1979, Cardinal's put in stops at CFRW Winnipeg, CKLG Vancouver, CHED and CKNG Power 92 in Edmonton, and CILQ-FM Q107 and CISS-FM/CJAQ-FM in Toronto (and numerous other stations not mentioned for sake of brevity).
Also on board overseeing things as program director at 97.3 K-Rock is James "Gruff" Gushnowski, most recently handling the same duties at CHEZ 106 Classic Rock Ottawa.
The Alberta native cut his teeth at CHLW in St. Paul and CHAT in Medicine Hat before he scooped up a pair of Canadian Music Industry Awards for "Radio Personality of the Year (Secondary Market)" and "Program Director of the Year (Secondary Market)" while at CKLM 106.1 The Goat in Lloydminster.
Gushnowski takes over the void left by Rob Mise.
After being dropped like a hat when Big Earl belly flopped and flipped from playing anything country to becoming the home of "Edmonton's Greatest Hits," former morning mates Greg Shannon and Tera Lee have landed on their feet (albeit in separate cities).
Greg is now wearing a Medicine Hat smile as he wakes folks up at newly-minted CJCY-FM “102.1 The Lounge,” a Clear Sky Radio operation. Meanwhile, Tera is set to take the bull by the horns at CKGY KG Country 95.5 in Red Deer.
For the first time in 27 years, "Play ball" will be called by somebody else when Edmonton's premier baseball team hits the field currently known as Telus and John Ducey Park before that.
Leduc-born radio veteran Al Coates, who first started calling Edmonton Trapper games in 1981 for CKO, had a falling out with the Florida-based Edmonton Cracker-Cat ownership and headed over to cover games for the International Basketball League Edmonton Chill for Sports Gaming Radio, an online streaming service.
Coates, whose longevity on the local sports scene is matched only by the likes of John Short, Rod Phillips and Bryan Hall, was honoured during a Chill pre-game ceremony held May 23rd, 2008.
Deposed CHQT Cool 880 morning man Chuck Chandler (see also) has found a new home – at 96.3 Capital FM.
The Chucker was first heard at the station that took advantage of Corus deserting the oldies format on May 24th, 2008. The legendary radio personality helps validate the Newcap station's slogan of being home to "Edmonton's Greatest Hits." No word yet if he's been assigned a regular shift.
June 2008
Rogers answers back
On March 14th, 2008, when Corus Entertainment announced that as of May 20th CHQT Cool 880 would switch from oldies to iNews 880 (all news), many wondered how Rogers Broadcasting Limited would broach the subject when they applied to the CRTC for their own all news licence at hearings held May 27th.
However, what local media watchers weren't expecting was news that Rogers was taking action of some sort against Corus Entertainment regarding similarities between certain iNews 880 elements and Rogers all-news stations already in operation » full details »
This and that
This time it's a case of not when but if ...
Fans of former K-Rock program director Lochlin Cross got a pleasant surprise when he appeared as a pd-wannabe for Frank and Ed Torres' DAWG-FM blues station proposal at recently held CRTC hearings for a new FM licence.
Media-watchers figured K-Rock's poor ratings since summer 2006 and the costly (and hare-brained) What The Hell Happened To K-Rock? TV campaign led to the demise of Cross when he was at Newcap.
Speaking at the hearing, Cross ensured the CRTC that listeners would hear familiar sounds should the Commission throw the DAWG a stick-huh?
"Blues music has had a massive influence on a number of music genres and Edmonton will be presently surprised at how much music they'll recognize on 107.3 on the FM dial," Cross said, likely much to the dismay of Frank and Ed who singled out rhythm & blues from the fifties and sixties, soul, contemporary rhythm & blues performances along with classic blues and delta blues as selling points in their application.
In other news, this time in the air, there are familiar voices back on the air – but at different stations.
Flying for the Corus folk since their launch in April 2006, Garrette McGowan has flown the coop and migrated over to the Torres-owned Skywords service which offers airborne traffic surveillance from their Cessna 172 fixed-wing airplane for AM 790 CFCW, 97.3 K-Rock and the New Capital 96.3 FM.
McGowan takes over from Bob Preston who, according to some sources, didn't handle heights so well. Taking over from McGowan at Corus is Shane Blakely.
SAIT grad Ashley Wiebe turned in her Skywords wings and returned to the Corus fold. Ashley's last stint at CHED ended when she hopped aboard the Skywords service when it signed on for Newcap in September 2007.
Rounding out the re-assignments at the Corus-contracted Canadian Traffic Network, Kris Burkholder and Chris Hayden have been handed duties for Joe-FM and CISN, while Daintre Christensen and new-guy Shane Blakely can now be heard on CHED and iNews 880. Mileage for viewers of CTN's Global Edmonton TV coverage may vary as a result.
One-time radio fixture Chuck Chandler, who was heard "auditioning" at Capital 96.3 FM during a one-off Saturday shift in May, told the Edmonton Sun's Graham Hicks the response to his show was "incredible." Sources close to Newcap management say the opinion wasn't shared. As far as a regular shift for Chuck goes, no word is still the word.
Late reports from the iNews 880 camp suggest "staffing issues" are being sorted out. No doubt the grind of an all news operation is separating the wheat from the chaff. Stay tuned.
July 2008
Late Spring/Early Summer 2008 ratings
The big news coming out of the latest ratings book is that Edmonton radio listeners are back in the country saddle again, with CISN claiming king of the hill and CFCW ponying up with its best book since the summer of 2006.
Two stations were caught in transition and five stations posted historic lows.
For all the juicy numbers visit the Last Link Edmonton radio ratings - Late Spring/Early Summer 2008 report.
October 2008
Summer 2008 ratings
Against the backdrop of news of some of the biggest shake ups in local morning radio in years, the Summer 2008 book weighed in with its own surprises.
While most of the new morning lineups had yet to take to air, for two stations that flipped formats in the spring of 2008 the latest ratings were the first indication of where their fortunes may lie.
The Summer book also marked some of the worst numbers for Corus Entertainment in over a decade, with both CHED and CISN missing their usual brass ring grab of first place.
For all the juicy numbers visit the Last Link Edmonton radio ratings - Summer 2008 report.
November 2008
Fall 2008 ratings
Despite a series of unprecedented shake-ups in morning radio, the latest ratings showed that things are much the same: better for some and worse for others.
CHED re-bounded after their worst showing in years, The Bear and The Bounce held their own while K-97 and 102.9 Sonic faltered. Surprises came on the news front as CBC Radio leaped upward in the standings and iNews880 remained nowhere to be found.
But it's a tragic situation at Magic 99. Long on a death spiral, the loss of morning man Rob Christie has put the station into the intensive care required ward.
Also, coming soon to the Edmonton radio market: Portable People Meters. For all the juicy numbers visit the Last Link Edmonton radio ratings - Fall 2008 report.
Related Pages
- edmonton radio ratings
The latest ratings book is in -- good news for some, bad news for others. - television in edmonton
The Last Link look at the local dial. - final credits - wes montgomery
Legendary Edmonton radio morning man. - final credits - radio
Reflecting lives that have contributed to the world of radio.
movies | television | radio | web watch | final credits | edmonton | about this site | site map | contact us
The Last Link on the Left. Copyright © 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009. Stuart P. Bayens. All rights reserved.
This page updated
00:47 2008-11-28.