SIGN-OFFS:
Betty Kennedy, 91, famed for her work on CBC-TV’s long-running quiz show, Front Page Challenge, and her 27 years at CFRB Toronto. Kennedy’s work earned her spots in both the Canadian Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1982, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Bob Elsden, 90, in London. His radio career began in 1950 in the sales department at CFPL London. Three years later, he transferred to the new CFPL-TV and worked his way up. Elsden stayed with the Blackburn-owned property for 42 years, retiring as president. He also was chairman of the board for the Television Bureau of Canada in 1982-83 and first chairman of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters television board from 1985 to 1986. Elsden was named Broadcaster of the Year by the Central Canada Broadcasters’ Association in 1989.
Reg Sellner in Kitchener after a lengthy illness. He was one of the first on-air personalities at CKCO-TV Kitchener when the station signed on in 1954. Over the years he was a news anchor, morning show host, game show host and one of the hosts of Canadian Bandstand, a take-off of American Bandstand. Sellner eventually became promotions manager for the TV station and its local radio stations, CFCA-FM and CKKW.
Bob Robertson, 71, in Nanaimo. Robertson worked in programming, production and on-air at CKXL-AM Calgary, CKDA-AM Victoria and CFAX-AM Victoria before joining the Frosty Forst morning show at CKNW NewsTalk 980 Vancouver in the mid-1980s. Later, he and wife Linda Cullen created the CBC Radio series Double Exposure. In recent years, they produced a podcast called Double Exposure Radio. Robertson also did fill-in hosting for Rafe Mair at CKBD Vancouver.
Jim Weir, 70, at home in Woodstock, Ont. after a sudden illness. His 30-year on-air career began in the 1960s at CFPL London. His last gig was a morning host at CHOK Sarnia.
Kerry Gray, 50, of brain cancer. The American radio man was PD at HTZ-FM (CHTZ-FM) St. Catharines in 1999 and was working at 105.9 FM (KWNG-FM) Red Wing, Minn., while being treated at the nearby Mayo Clinic when he died. Gray and Ben McVie worked on-air together at HTZ, then took their show to Dave FM Kitchener and JACK FM Toronto before moving to Y108 Hamilton/Burlington where they did the Ben and Kerry morning show from June 2008 to July 2013. McVie still does the Y108 morning show.
John Cummings, 68, in New Westminster from an aneurysm. His radio career began at CHTK Prince Rupert in 1973. Later, he made moves to CKOK Penticton, CJCA Edmonton, CJVI Victoria, CKXR Salmon Arm, CKXM Edmonton and CHQT Edmonton. He signed-on CJJR-FM Vancouver when the station launched July 1, 1986. Cummings left the station in 1989 for CISL Richmond, retiring from broadcasting in 1991. He became a special education assistant at the Richmond School Board, a position from which he retired eight years ago.
Tom Power of CBC Radio’s q, will host the 2017 JUNO Gala Dinner & Awards presented by SOCAN, on April 1 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa. The private industry ceremony will see 34 JUNO Awards given out, the 2017 Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award presented to Bell Media president Randy Lennox and the Allan Waters Humanitarian Award handed to Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Ex-Calgary TV producer Neil Chandran has been arrested in the U.S. on fraud charges. Chandran was banned from trading in Alberta securities in 2015 and is now accused of grand larceny, forgery and securities fraud in New York State related to an alleged scheme to steal from investors in a business selling 3D computer tablets. Chandran’s media production business employed up to 100 people and produced programs, including Energy TV, which aired on Global TV Calgary and Edmonton,
REVOLVING DOOR:
Brock Hunter is leaving News 1130 (CKWX-AM) Vancouver after eight years on the anchor desk. He’ll pursue a career in North Vancouver real estate.
Sharon Stevens will be joining Hollywood Suite in Toronto as director of programming, a newly-created position. Most recently, she was senior director of scheduling and multi-platform content at Blue Ant Media.
David Garby of Quebecor Media is the new president of the Canadian Association of Broadcast Representatives (CABR), succeeding Bryan Press. CABR’s new VP and treasurer is Gregory Trought of Blue Ant Media. Press remains on the board.
Dan McKeen has been appointed vice chair of Bell MTS & Western Canada, as BCE completes its acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services. He also continues as senior VP, Small Business. Glen LeBlanc, Bell’s chief financial officer, will assume the role of vice chair, Bell Aliant in addition to his CFO responsibilities. Martine Turcotte continues as vice chair, Québec.
RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:
Red Robinson, one of only two people to emcee shows for both the Beatles and Elvis Presley in North America, turns 80 this month. The City of Vancouver has proclaimed Mar. 30 as Red Robinson Day to mark the milestone. He continues his weekly Red Rock Diner show every Sunday on CISL 650 Vancouver. On his birthday, Robinson will broadcast a live four-hour special of tunes symbolizing the evolution of rock n’ roll music.
Newcap Radio Alberta has launched a Gofundme campaign to raise money to build a memorial in the tiny community of Amisk that will honour five people killed in a two-vehicle crash last month near Hardisty. Four of the victims were from the same family.
George Orr, a former Vancouver broadcaster and BC Institute of Technology journalism instructor, has produced and directed a documentary on the rise and fall of talk radio in Vancouver. TALK! covers the format’s 50-year history in the Vancouver market, from Jack Webster and Pat Burns to Gary Bannerman and Rafe Mair. To see the one hour, 25 minute film, click HERE.
CKUA Alberta announcers David Ward and Hayley Muir are embarking on a 4,000 km province-wide road trip April 2–7 to mark the 20th anniversary of a five-week shutdown in 1997 that almost marked the broadcaster’s death. Back then, Albertans contributed $1 million to get the provincial network back on the air. The six-day, Touch The Transmitter tour will also feature concerts showcasing local talent.
CBC Radio Windsor’s afternoon show is about to be relocated to CBC London. The move coincides with the opening of the public broadcaster’s new station in London. Three of four jobs associated with the show will move to London while a reporter will remain in Windsor.
SiriusXM Canada will broadcast season-long coverage and play-by-play of all three Canadian MLS clubs, Toronto FC, Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
TV/FILM/VIDEO:
Bell and Rogers will remove TSN and Sportsnet from bundled cable packages available to businesses with a liquor licence. Bell said the new rates are designed to more accurately reflect the commercial use of the sports channels and the value they represent to commercial establishments. Postmedia reports smaller bars with less than 100 seats will be charged about $120 monthly for both channels, on top of existing fees, with the cost increasing according to seating capacity. The new prices, effective May 1, will also apply to customers who subscribe to those channels through a third party such as Shaw or Telus.
Rogers, Shaw/Shaw Direct, BCE, Vidéotron, Cogeco, TELUS, and MTS – as a whole – continued to lose a record number of TV subscribers in 2016. But, according to Ottawa-based consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services, not as many. Cable companies, it says, lost considerably fewer subscribers and IPTV providers saw subscriber growth significantly slow. The providers lost a record 202,000 TV subscribers (or 2 per cent of the total market) in their respective 2016/2017 fiscal years, up from 160,000 lost in their 2015/2016 fiscal years.
About 55 so-called ‘Free TV’ Android box retailers will continue to be blocked from selling the devices after the Federal Court of Appeal in Montreal dismissed their appeal of an injunction banning the sale of the controversial devices. Bell, Rogers and Vidéotron won the temporary injunction in June. The boxes allow users to stream pirated TV and movies for a one-time fee, typically about $100. Bell and Rogers say the decision bolsters their legal argument that the boxes are a clear case of copyright infringement.
CBC Sports has struck a broadcast partnership agreement with the Toronto Wolfpack rugby league club of the Kingstone Press League 1. All matches throughout the 2017 season will be live-streamed and available on demand at CBCSports.ca, as well as the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices within Canada.
ONLINE CHANNELS:
Remembering Gary Miles
By Chuck McCoy
I met Gary Miles for the very first time on the day we began our employment with Rogers Broadcasting. The year was 1989 and from that day forward, and right up until his retirement in 2007, the two of us worked side by side in Vancouver for a time and then later in Toronto. Gary was the Radio CEO, I was one of his station managers and for nearly 20 years I was fortunate enough to learn my trade “at the feet of the Master.”
Gary Miles taught all of us that winning is hard work. Gary had a work ethic that was unmatched and he would regularly be in his office before 6 am. Gary was always punctual. When he scheduled his weekly call with a manager, that phone would ring no more than 30 seconds before or after the scheduled time. You could literally set your watch by it.
We often traveled together stopping by the different Rogers stations across the country. I remember the first time we visited a station together and I suggested that in the morning we might meet in the lobby of the hotel around 8:30 then head over to the stations for our Company meetings. Gary would have none of it. He said, “No, we’ll leave at 8, that way we can stop and visit with the on-air morning teams at the stations.” Gary was the CEO of the entire radio division, and yet he always held in high regard all the people on the “floor”
Gary was shrewd, hardworking, and a true leader of people in his illustrious Hall of Fame business career. But the other side of Gary was his capacity for kindness and compassion to those who were experiencing some of the real challenges of life. Gary was always there to help, guide and advise those who sought him out for advice on how to deal with personal problems such as financial struggles, marital difficulties, or perhaps the loss of a job along with other assorted difficult life issues. As many can verify, Gary was also particularly adept at helping people with substance abuse problems. He took on that task very seriously and effectively. Now Gary did a lot of this very quietly, but at the same time very consistently. Gary Miles will always be remembered as a brilliant business leader, but rest assured there are many who will remember him most for his sincere caring and compassionate ways.
I will forever remember our last conversation barely 48 hours before his passing, when we spent time recalling so many events in our lives together and all the wonderful people that we had been privileged to know and work with. He closed our call by saying, “You know Chuck we were pretty lucky.”
Gary chose a quote from the words of Pericles –
“What we leave behind is not what’s engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others”
Reg Johns, President, Mass 2 One Interactive:
Forty-five years ago, I was working at CFAR Flin Flon doing the top 40-night shift. Unbeknownst to me, Gary was up north on a duck hunting trip. For some reason, he turned on the radio at night and heard me on-air. I don’t know what he heard, because I certainly didn’t have much content, nor any funny jokes, nor a deep voice, but I did say the call letters with energy and I ran a tight board playing the hits. I’m sure he said to himself; “Now there’s a DJ we could probably hire for next to nothing”.
As many will attest, Gary never bragged about himself or his accomplishments. As a true mentor, he was always more interested in your growth and was always there for you with objective guidance and help no matter what obstacle you faced at work or in life.
I was blessed to have spent the last nine years with Gary working on radio projects that took us around the world. We spoke every Monday morning at 9 a.m. sharp (you could set your clock to his call). FYC (for our consideration) was his approach to guidance. With the amount of reading he did, and his natural inquisitiveness on business and life, Gary always stayed current. A great person to throw new ideas at. He’d listen and could often find a piece missing, or a nuance of some kind (Typically: “where’s the money?”). If you were feeling the blues, he’d often advise: “Just hold your nose, take the steps – you’ll get through it”. I gathered new insight on each call. Strong, observant, philosophical, considerate, supportive, with humour to the very end.
Elmer Hildebrand, CEO, Golden West Broadcasting:
Gary was punctual and an early riser, as am I, so we were often on the phone in the morning before anyone was in the office. For more than 30 years, he and I would talk on the phone Christmas Eve – early in the morning – to catch up on our families, health and the industry.
When he was working in Winnipeg radio – he wanted desperately to get to Toronto where the major broadcast head offices were located. I helped him get the job as President of the Radio Marketing Bureau in Toronto. He worked very hard at this job, while at the same time cultivating broadcast executives in the big city so that he would be positioned to land a real broadcast job there when his term as RMB president finished. He did just that and had great career in the industry.
Pat Bohn, President, Bohn & Associates Media Inc:
I woke on Feb. 25, a Saturday, leisurely having a coffee and preparing myself for the gym. On the way out, I dropped by my office to pick up my phone. Strange. Voicemail from Gary Miles. The message was as courageous as it was clear. “Pat, this is Gary. As you know I have been having tests. They are back and not good…” For the next three minutes my heart broke and a flood of memories reaching back 30 years flashed in front of me.
Gary touched many of us. Julie Adam (SVP, Rogers Radio) wrote to the employees of Rogers: “As the CEO of radio, Gary built Rogers Radio into a world-class business with an incredibly strong portfolio, and an even stronger workforce in both programming and sales. The list of his contributions to our business and our people is endless.” And to that end, what I hold dear in my heart, Gary’s words: Dream big. Take a chance. Fail fast. Have fun.
Lannie Sibian, President and Executive VP Sales, CTN
Gary Miles was the epitome of generosity, authenticity and caring, with a work ethic like no other. In addition to the enormous success he brought to companies he worked for and boards he sat on, one of Gary’s greatest legacies is the number of people he has mentored. He wanted people to be the best they could be and he took the time required to make that happen. He had the unique ability to make everybody in his presence feel like they are the most important person in the room. It didn’t matter who you were or what you did, everybody mattered. I had the incredible honour to work with Gary closely over the past five years and I learned more from Gary over that time than I have in my entire 30-year career. Gary was my friend, mentor, role model and hero. He was a force of nature and will be sorely missed by many.
Mike Henry, Paragon Media Strategies:
I met Gary when I was 30 and he was 52. For the next 26 years, he was the closest thing I had to a father as an adult. Despite our age gap, we became fast friends. At our first meeting, which was in Denver where I took him to a wild game restaurant with dead animals all over the walls only to find out he was vegetarian, he said “our next meeting will be on the ski hill.” He wasn’t kidding. The next winter, he was at my house to meet my wife, two daughters and my one month old son on our way to the slopes.
Geoff Poulton, President, Vista Radio:
In late 1999 I was both mortified and elated when Gary Miles told me I was being promoted to General Manager of NewsTalk 570 in Kitchener. Elated because it was a great move for my career, mortified because he told me I would now report direct to him. Gary was a taskmaster and was known for keeping his direct reports on their toes at all times. Let’s be honest. He scared the crap out of most of us. This was a slight change for me after reporting in to Chuck McCoy (Chuck once gave me my performance review while standing at the photocopier).
So one day, Gary came to Winnipeg for the annual mid-year reviews. I was now running 92 CITI FM and 102 Clear FM and he laid into me. It was brutal. I didn’t know my numbers well enough, the station wasn’t clean enough and WHAT WAS THAT GOD-AWFUL SONG CITI PLAYED YESTERDAY AT 2:17 PM! It was one of those meetings where I wondered if I’d have a job much longer. But in typical Gary fashion, later in the day as I walked him to his cab, my head held low, he turned to me just as he was opening the cab door and said “I am really damned proud of you, you’re doing a great job.”
Gary had this incredible ability to drive you, to make you uncomfortable, to stretch you and yet there wasn’t a single person I knew that wouldn’t walk through walls for him. Me included.
Jean-Marie Heimrath, founder and partner, Clear Channel Group:
Although Gary was a fierce competitor of mine, he always remained a gentleman. We had our differences, however, he was respectful of an opposing position and that is what made him a senior statesman in the broadcast industry.
I will miss his laughter and his presence, but will never forget what he did for the industry and me.
