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Fitzroy Gordon

Fitzroy Gordon, 65, on Apr. 30. The founder and CEO of G98.7 (CKFG-FM) Toronto, Gordon is credited with bringing radio reflective of the city’s Caribbean community to the airwaves. Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, Gordon arrived in Canada in 1979. His first foray into radio was on multicultural station CHIN where he started hosting a midnight to 6 a.m. call-in show that earned him the nickname “Dr. Love.” He also took turns as a cricket writer for the Toronto Sun and as a co-host on The Fan 590’s (CJCL-AM) World Sports Report. He left CHIN in 1998 and started work to obtain a broadcast licence to serve Greater Toronto’s Caribbean and African communities. The proposed frequency, 98.7 FM, was met with opposition. Milestone Radio, the founder of urban station Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM), also had concerns about duplication. After three weeks of testing in 2010, the CRTC finally gave Gordon’s Intercity Broadcasting Network approval to use the frequency over the objections of CBC, Rogers Media, Astral Media, Bell Media and Durham Radio. G98.7 went live on Nov. 28, 2011. The last two letters of the station’s call sign – CKFG – are a permanent tribute to its founder. Read more here.

Jason Botchford

Jason Botchford, 48, on Apr. 28, of apparent heart failure. Botchford grew up in Aurora, ON. After graduating from Western University, he entered the advanced journalism program at Centennial College in Toronto, and began his journalism career at the Toronto Sun. He joined The Vancouver Province in 2005 and quickly moved from news into sports, covering the NHL and Vancouver Canucks. His post-game Provies Report, which debuted during the 2013-14 season, became one of the paper’s most popular posts. After 13 years, Botchford left The Province in the fall of 2018 to join The Athletic Vancouver. He was also a longtime contributor to TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) and TSN’s That’s Hockey. Read more here.

Don Taylor

Don Taylor, 75, on Apr. 24. Taylor started his career in radio in Portage La Prairie, MB in 1966. He went on to work in North Battleford, SK, before landing at Golden West Broadcasting’s flagship station CFAM Altona, MB where he worked until 1997 as the longtime overnight operator, among other roles. Taylor retired to his hometown of Minnedosa, MB in 2009.

Douglas Linn

Doug Linn, 79, on Apr. 20 in Chilliwack. Linn was on-air at JR Country (CJJR-FM) Vancouver as part of the morning show from 1985-87. He then signed on as one of the original voices on Star FM (CKSR-FM) Chilliwack, retiring in 1996. In addition to his love for radio, Linn was an artist and cartoonist, using his talents to create logos and cards, among other work.


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