In this 157th episode, Mike chats with CFNY's Ivar Hamilton about his days at the Spirit of Radio, his memories of Martin Streek, how he was responsible for the Bon Jovi banner at the ACC and what he and David Marsden are up to these days. This episode is exactly
I tweeted this news yesterday, but only a handful seemed to notice. So it's time to kick it old school with a blog entry. Sources tell me Bill Carroll's last day at @am640 is Friday. He's taking another gig, but not in Toronto. #radio— Toronto Mike (@torontomike) February 2, 2016Bill
I received an email from a reader named Billy who has a question for the hivemind. What is the more impressive line up? CFNY 102.1 The Edge circa 1997 or the 2015 Toronto Blue Jays? The 1997 CFNY 102.1 the Edge lineup was: Humble and Fred - weekdays
When Pete Fowler visited for his appearance on Toronto Mike'd, he told a great story about co-hosting The Thursday 30 with Martin Streek in 1994 when Martin Streek dropped an F-bomb. He even brought in the memo sent by Stu Meyers about this incident. I read this memo in its
In this 155th episode, Mike chats with Barry Taylor about David Bowie, his years on 102.1 the Edge, why he was fired, his work at Y108, his stand-up career and his Raptors podcast. This episode is exactly 1:00:28. You can listen to this episode in a variety
I used to listen to Mike Cooper on 680 CFTR. I'm too young to remember the heydays of CHUM. Legend has it the man rode a ferris wheel at the CNE for 21 days. This past decade, Coop has co-hosted with Erin Davis, first at EZ Rock and then at
In this 153rd episode, Mike chats with radio personality and television host Stu Jeffries about Good Rockin' Tonight, Switchback, Acting Crazy, his work with Colleen Rusholme at Country 95.3 and EZ Rock and his very cool story of rebirth at Boom. This episode is exactly 1:15:46. You
In this 152nd episode, Mike chats with former 102.1 the Edge announcer Pete Fowler about his years at the station, his relationship with Martin Streek, why he left radio to become a cop and his new show, The Lost Indie City. This episode is exactly 1:21:20. You
My buddy Andrew passed these audio treats along, so I thought I'd share them with the masses. This is how CFNY 102.1 sounded in 1983.
The recent bad news from Bell Media likely had you wondering which stations they own in Toronto. You're forgiven if you're not up to speed with who owns what in Toronto. Here's a handy chart I just put together which I believe includes the vast majority of companies that own
We're learning now who has been cut as part of Bell Media's restructuring. The vast majority of those let go were behind the scenes, but I'm going to focus on those in front of the microphone and/or camera, known to those tuning in from Toronto. I'll update this entry
CHFI's Facebook page has declared that they're now playing nothing but Christmas music. Here's the official announcement. "98.1 CHFI is now Toronto's Christmas Music Station! We're playing 100% All Christmas Music all the way to Boxing Day!It's November 15, so that means they're playing nothing but Christmas music
In this 141st episode, Mike chats with former Fan 590 program director Nelson Millman about his years at the station, the on-air talent, the lack of females on the sports radio roster, competition from TSN Radio and what he thinks of recent changes at 590. This episode is exactly 1:
In this 138th episode, Mike chats with 102.1 the Edge host Adam Ricard about his decade at the Edge, his feud with Alexisonfire, the Blue Jays, the Casby Awards, job security in radio and lots more. This episode is exactly 58:59. You can listen to this episode in
I'm going to preface this entry by saying there's no smoking gun here. Everything you read is pure speculation on my part, based solely on observations I've made as a fan of sports and sports radio. In 2002, Rogers Media, a division of Rogers Communications, purchased CJCL, better known as
There's some great behind-the-scenes footage of Humble and Fred recording their CFNY morning show in 1994 in this clip. Also, bonus Dan Duran, Jason Barr and Marla West. [via Dave Thielking, h/t to @retrontario]
Most listened to stations in Toronto, as per recent radio ratings (% Share of Hours Tuned): 1. CHFI 2. CHUM-FM 3. Boom 4. CBC Radio One— Toronto Mike (@torontomike) September 12, 2015Most listened to AM stations in Toronto (% Share of Hours Tuned): 1. News Talk 1010 2. 680 News T3. The
Karim Mosna sent me a link to this little documentary about CFNY thinking I might be interested. It's 22-minutes long and includes chats with Alan Cross, David Marsden, Ivar Hamilton and Dani Elwell. If you're looking for a more long-form deeper dive into this subject, I strongly recommend the following
Corus Entertainment is shaving its payroll again with a series of radio layoffs. The names of those affected are still trickling in, so I'll update this entry as I learn more. Most of the changes are at Q107. Longtime host Jeff Woods, who recently moved back from Calgary, has been
Back in January 2013, Humble and Fred signed on to have their daily podcast aired on Newstalk 1010. The Humble and Fred show started airing weekdays at midnight where it stayed through last week. Here's how the early morning lineup looked last week on Newstalk 1010. Newstalk 1010 has cancelled
Happy ratings day, my radio friends! Just this morning I was chatting with Roger Ashby in my basement (I can't believe I just typed that) and he had a deadline because of a meeting he had to attend, all because it's ratings day. It's a big day for everyone in
In this 125th episode, Mike chats with CBC Metro Morning host Matt Galloway about how he ended up at the CBC, how Andy Barrie is doing, how Metro Morning is produced, the future of the CBC, the lack of diversity in Toronto talk radio and his favourite cycling trails. This
I'm always interested in the PPM rating results for our local radio stations. Often, when I learn the numbers, I'll even write about it. I just assumed PPM (Portable People Meter) dependably measured stations encountered, but apparently it has "blind spots". This article was enlightening for this radio fan. Depending
I attended the Canadian premiere of I Am What I Play at The Royal last night. You might recall me writing about this documentary. It features Meg Griffin, Charles Laquidara, Pat O'Day and our very own David Marsden. Marsden was at the premiere, and we chatted before the curtains went
Demographics are everything to a station. Performances in a targeted demo determine a station's revenue generation potential. Dave Shoalts writes in today's Globe and Mail about Dean Blundell's rating improvement in The Fan's targeted demo of men aged 18-34. I have it on good authority that The Fan is actually
