Radio & Podcast News – Third-party investigation into ‘Derringer in the Morning’ concludes

Corus Entertainment says a third-party investigation into former Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto morning show Derringer in the Morning has concluded, but it will not publicly share its findings or recommendations. The investigation into the show’s working environment, conducted by Turnpenney Milne LLP, was sparked by the filing of a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission by former Derringer in the Morning co-host Jennifer Valentyne, alleging gender discrimination. The show was subsequently placed on hiatus in late May pending the outcome of the external review. Following Valentyne coming forward, other former Q107 staffers including Jacqui Delaney, Andrea Rooz, and Raina Douris took to social media to relate their own experiences, however it’s unclear who and how many current and former staff took part in the process. Both Valentyne and Delaney told the Toronto Sun in June that they would not be participating due to the investigation’s confidentiality requirement and parameters, which purportedly was limited to current working conditions at the station. John Derringer and Q107 officially parted ways in August. Read more here.

radioCount’s fall data release indicates tuning is up with younger demos, year-over-year. The release covers 22 secondary markets including Charlottetown, Fredericton, Saint John, Sydney, Belleville, Chatham, Cornwall, Guelph, North Bay, Owen Sound, Pembroke, Peterborough, Sarnia, Thunder Bay, Timmins, Wingham, Brandon, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Chilliwack, Kamloops and Prince George. Overall, radioCount found those 12+ in the measured markets listened to radio for an average of 17.6 hours of radio per week, down just slightly from average weekly tuning of 17.9 hours in fall 2021. Time spent listening to radio was up with adults 18-49 and 25-54. Year-over-year, tuning by those demos increased by 6.7% and 5.5%, respectively. By genre, Pop music stations – Adult Contemporary, Hot AC and CHR – also recorded tuning increases, compared to fall 2021. Read more here.

Luminate says music audio streams in the U.S. crossed the one trillion mark this past Saturday, the first time that the streaming milestone has been reached in a single year. Luminate says U.S. music listeners have spent roughly 960,000 years streaming music in 2022 with audio streaming up nearly 25% globally during the first half of the year. Among the year’s streaming highlights, Taylor Swift’s Midnights accounted for one out of 42 streams in the U.S. during its release week, Oct. 21 – 27, with streams for Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” seeing a surge of +20,995% in the U.S. during the week of May 27 as Season 4 of Netflix’s Stranger Things dropped. Read more here.

Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights have released their Fall 2022 Podcast Download report, which highlights trends from prior studies as well as an indepth look at the habits of 603 weekly podcast listeners conducted by MARU/Matchbox in October. Among the study’s takeaways are that for the first time, podcast ads are being used by a majority of marketers. It also found nearly a third of the podcast audience prefers to “actively watch” a podcast with a video component. Podcast listeners who prefer having a video option lean male and are more likely to be heavy podcast consumers. The report found that audio and video podcast preferences are driving choice of platform with Apple Podcasts the most used platform among listeners who prefer an audio-only platform, while YouTube is most-used among those who prefer some form of a video podcast experience. 

CBC Radio’s winter slate will include a reimagined Q with Tom Power and several new CBC Podcasts as unveiled Wednesday at the CBC Live at Massey Hall industry event in Toronto. Starting Jan. 30, CBC Radio’s Q will feature an hour of longform interviews, followed by Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, a new, half-hour arts and pop culture conversation. The complimentary show promises to tap into the national arts and culture conversation, trends and their impact with guest columnists, superfans, and reviewers, among others. Q, which previously occupied a full 90 minutes on the public broadcaster’s morning schedule, will transition to a shorter format, featuring a main interview and a secondary interview with emerging talent. The show will be available next day in podcast form. New original CBC Podcasts debuting this winter include Let’s Make A Rom-Com from the team behind Let’s Make a Sci-Fi and The No-Good, Terribly Kind, Wonderful Lives and Tragic Deaths of Barry and Honey Sherman, which takes listeners back to the 2017 murders of the billionaire Toronto couple. Read more here.

Corus Radio’s talk network is set to introduce two new national shows this weekend, while 640 (CFIQ-AM) Toronto will also debut two additional local shows. Premiering across the network is the one-hour For What It’s Worth with Rubina Ahmed-Haq, featuring personal finance and workplace stories ranging from interest rate numbers to how mortgage payments have changed and what to do if you win the lottery. At Your Best with Yonah Budd premieres this Saturday night in the 11 p.m. – 1 a.m. ET time slot, nationally. A performance coach and therapist, Budd highlights inspiring stories of those overcoming mental and physical obstacles to become their best selves. 640 will introduce Toronto This Weekend with Maggie John and Tasting Together with André Proulx and Miroki Tong. Read more here. 

Patrick Monaghan, host of The Buckslide Blues Cruise on Canoe FM (CKHA-FM) Haliburton, ON, has been named Blues Booster of the Year by the board of directors of the Toronto Blues Society. In addition to his radio programming, Monaghan is the President of the newly-formed Highlands Buckslide Blues Society and has volunteered as Artistic Director for the Monarchs & Music Blues Festival in Haliburton. He’s also served as Assistant Artistic Director for the Stonebridge Wasaga Beach Blues Festival, and as a talent buyer for McKeck’s Tavern in Haliburton and Mulligan’s in Minden. Monaghan will receive the Blues Booster award at the 26th annual Maple Blues Awards gala on Jan. 30 at Koerner Hall in Toronto. 

JAZZ.FM91 (CJRT-FM) Toronto is establishing The Mary & Alistair Stewart Fund for Artistic Advancement in Jazz, thanks to a $75,000 gift from their son, Ian Stewart. Both arts educators, Alistair and Mary met at Ryerson University, where Alistair graduated with a degree in radio and Mary received her degree in costume design. Alistair’s history with JAZZ.FM91 dates back to the station’s days as CJRT-FM at Ryerson. JAZZ.FM91 says the gift will have an enormous impact on its education and youth outreach programs, Jazzology and JAZZ.FM91’s Youth Big Band, which are offered at no charge to participants. The gift will also allow JAZZ.FM91 to further assist early career artists in their development.

CKNW Vancouver’s annual Pledge Day 2022 on Tuesday raised a record-breaking $2,752,168 for the CKNW Kids’ Fund, in support of children with special needs. The station charity has been running since 1944 when it was initially founded to raise money for gifts for New Westminster, BC orphanage, the Loyal Protestant Home. Monika Coen, Regional Senior Manager of Marketing and Promotion for Global BC and Global Okanagan, was this year’s recipient of the Gina Steeves Award which recognizes a Corus employee who goes above and beyond in supporting the station charity.

Global BC & Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver will be back at the 35th annual Pan Pacific Christmas Wish Breakfast on Dec. 14 from 6 – 9 a.m. After a two-year hiatus, the in-person event is back with the team from Global News Morning and Rock 101’s Willy in the Morning broadcasting LIVE on location. Viewers and listeners are asked to come down and donate new and unwrapped toys in support of the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau and enjoy a complimentary breakfast from the Pan Pacific.

Global Calgary and 770 CHQR are getting into the holiday spirit with two important fundraising initiatives, Pledge Day on Dec. 2 and Morning of Giving taking place Dec. 7. Now in its 30th year, 770 CHQR dedicates the first Friday in December to children in Calgary and local charities that are creating positive change in the community. The 12-hour broadcast, in support of the Calgary Children’s Foundation and in partnership with The Westin Calgary, will broadcast from the hotel from 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. ​After a two-year hiatus, Global Calgary also welcomes its fifth Morning of Giving on Dec. 7 in support of The Magic of Christmas. From 6 a.m. – 9 a.m., viewers can see Global News Traffic Reporter Leslie Horton at the donation drive-thru at Global Calgary and drop off a new, unwrapped gift for any age or a gift card to help Calgary families in need.

LISTEN: David Phillips, who is about to step away as NLogic’s President and COO, is on the Sound Off Podcast discussing what radio stations can do to enhance their monetization opportunities and business models of the future. Listen on your favourite podcast app or here: