Toronto radio is about to get a reality check. We're about to get a clearer, more accurate look at who's listening to what stations and how often. 9000 people across Canada are, as of today, wearing PPM devices. Here's what these PPM devices do, according to the BBM Canada press
I don't listen to CFRB 1010. I recently visited CFRB and sat in on Jim Richards' show, a guy I actually find to be quite funny, but I can't say I ever listen to the Astral station. Today, Astral let go 12 people at CFRB. Among those let go are
I first heard of Fearless Fred when I broke the firing from CFNY / Edge 102 of Martin Streek and Barry Taylor. I was informed by my trustworthy tipster that Fearless Fred had been hired from Edmonton and would debut sometime in August. About ten days ago, I wrote that Fearless
In the Globe's Ballad of Martin Streek, Program Director Ross Winters claimed CFNY's limit for song repetition was now 7 times in 24 hours. I actually believe that limit to be much higher. In January, during one 12-hour random spot check, a song had already been played 6 times. CFNY
Last night, I wrote about George Stroumboulopoulos' "new, independent FM". Earlier today, I had a direct message from Strombo on Twitter. He wanted a phone number he could reach me at. I gave him my Blackberry number and went about my afternoon, which primarily consisted of picking up my son
David Haydu a.k.a. Geets Romo and Pete Griffin were the Pete and Geets morning show on CFNY from 1982-1987. I must confess, I was a little young for Pete and Geets, preferring to listen to Tom Rivers and the Rivers Air Force on CFTR, but I've heard great
Strombo has dropped a clue as to the future of his radio show now that he's parting ways with Corus. He just posted a teaser on his blog. George Stroumboulopoulos is talking about "a new, independent FM". That's the change coming this fall, referenced in his Facebook message on The
Back in May, when CFNY / Edge 102 showed Martin Streek and Barry Taylor the door, I reported that Fearless Fred from The Bear in Edmonton had been hired as a replacement. The Twittersphere has exploded the past 24 hours with news Fearless Fred has aired his last show on The
Steve Macaulay was nice enough to send me a Spirit Reunion 2003 souvenir CD. This thing is awesome. It's 46 stellar clips from CFNY 102.1 that aired between 1977 and 1989. I promise to share some very soon. In the words of Don Berns: The audio tracks on this
Following his death, Martin Streek's official site, MartinStreek.com, was chillingly frozen in time. It alluded to his current DJ gig of 25 years, a gig he lost two months before his death. It was a painful visit. MartinStreek.com has finally been updated and is actually hosting the 3-hour
As seen on Canadian Thinker, former Humble and Fred producer and all around good guy Dan Duran is returning to Toronto radio as a swing announcer starting later this month. Dan Duran will be heard Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings from seven till midnight, then again from noon till six
I swear this isn't meant to be a CFNY / Edge 102 blog or Corus blog, it's just a collection of things I'm personally interested in, and this past month that seems to be dominated by a certain local alt rock station. A few Sundays ago, I wrote about the absence
On the heels of The Ballad of Martin Streek comes another super revealing look into the culture change at CFNY / Edge 102.1 under the direction of Program Director Ross Winters. Glove tap to Shane Fame Alexander for this find. Barry Taylor, fired Edge DJ, reveals all on his MySpace
Over the past week or so, I've been communicating with Bert Archer who's been writing an article for the Globe and Mail on CFNY / Edge 102. Bert and I had a nice phone conversation and exchanged several emails and Gtalk messages. He was interested in where CFNY was going following
I just listened to the 3-hour tribute to Martin Streek aired on CFNY / Edge 102. Actually, I missed the first 10 minutes, because I wasn't planning to tune in, but then curiosity got the better of me. Tomorrow night marks two weeks since Martin Streek took his own life. Yesterday
Edge 102.1 / CFNY won't be airing The Strombo Show for the second Sunday in a row. They're giving up that timeslot today to air a tribute to Martin Streek. Personally, I'm uncomfortable with that station airing a three hour tribute to Martin Streek because I can't get passed the
If you missed David Marsden's tribute to Martin Streek, aired on 94.9 The Rock out of Oshawa, don't fret. The Rock has kindly made the entire show available on MP3. This is great radio. Download the five MP3s below and throw them on the iPod. » Martin Streek Tribute with
Last June, I took a closer look at the Edge 102.1 playlist and then took another gander this past January. I was curious how many different songs were in rotation at CFNY. While I was crunching the numbers, I assigned each song a label: New, Recent or Classic Alternative.
Heres what I know to be true. I know CFNY / Edge 102.1 did not air The Strombo Show on Sunday. I know the other Corus radio stations who carry Strombo's show did air it as usual. What I don't know, and I've tried to find out but failed, is
Last night, after our ball game, the Mikes and I got talking about the Phoenix. The Phoenix, for you out-of-towners, is a club at 410 Sherbourne Street that I used to frequent in the mid-90s. I was there for the moshing anthems but you never knew who you'd bump into.
I'm plugging myself back in after a long weekend of kayaking, BBQing, chilling with the family and playing beach volleyball under sunny skies. My radio is tuned into Edge 102.1 for The Strombo Show, one of Corus' best radio shows. I've always liked George Stroumboulopoulos. This is the first
I've been blogging here since 2002 with almost 10,000 entries under my belt. During that time, I've broken a few stories, usually local radio hirings and firings. Last night, I broke a story here that still has me dazed. The comments in my entry about Martin Streek's death, from
I'm not sure how to write this one, so I'm just going to tell you what I know. As a long time fan of CFNY / Edge 102, I was sad to learn recently that Martin Streek had been fired after over 20 years of service. As of this writing, that
Norm Rumack has been with THE FAN since its inception in September 1992, but you won't hear him on THE FAN 590 any longer. Stormin' Norm Rumack has been fired as Rogers-owned stations axed four ad reps, Rumack and an unidentified behind-the-scenes employee. Back in the 90s, when I listened
I got an interesting email from Race Coach the other day. He had a couple of neat stories as to how he won prizes from CFNY / Edge 102. Here's his email. I was thinking it might be interesting to blog about prizes people have won at CFNY, err The Edge.
