Roger Ashby is returning to the airwaves as host of the syndicated The Roger Ashby Oldies Show. The show has already been picked up by 16 Bell Media, My Broadcasting, Durham Radio, and Evanov Radio Group affiliate stations. It’s also available to stream at iHeartRadio.ca and the iHeartRadio app. The three-hour weekly show will focus on hits from the 50s, 60s, and early 70s, curated by the longtime CHUM 104.5 Toronto host, who’ll also play archived segments like “Behind the Hits”, “The Roots of Rock”, “The Top 5 of the Week”, and “Double Play.”
LISTEN:Terry O’Reilly joins Broadcast Dialogue – The Podcast to talk about the new family business, Apostrophe Podcast Company. The longtime ad man and Under The Influence host explores great audio storytelling, why he hopes podcasting will shake up terrestrial radio, and tells us how his vintage airstream studio came together.
World Radio Day was celebrated last Thursday and to mark the occasion, we talked to Radio Connects President Caroline Gianias about the medium’s staying power. According to Fall 2019 Numeris data, supplied by Radio Connects, radio’s weekly reach in Canada actually went up 1% year-over-year to 27,641,015 with listeners 12+, reaching 13,104,125 listeners a week in the coveted A25-54 demo. Read Gianias’ thoughts on why radio has weathered the digital disruption better than some other media segments, here.
Vista Radio has rebranded CHNV-FM Nelson, BC as 103.5 The Bridge, the name the station previously held from 2010-14. In May 2014, the station abandoned the Adult Album Alternative format and flipped to Variety Hits as 103.5 Juice FM, Nelson’s Biggest Variety. The new incarnation of 103.5 The Bridge – Nelson’s Vibe plays a blend of pop from Coldplay, Billie Eilish, and The Black Keys to more alternative artists like Modest Mouse and Foster the People, with classics from the likes of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith also in rotation. The station’s lineup features program director Sheldon Button on the morning show, Middays with Matt and new Australian recruit Ellie in the afternoon.
The CRTC has approved an application from Dufferin Communications to swap formats on CFWC-FM and CKPC-AM Brantford, ON. The commission’s decision will allow English-language Christian music station, CFWC-FM Brantford, to delete certain conditions of licence to allow the station to operate as a mainstream music radio station. It will move forward under a Country and Folk music format, while CKPC-AM will adopt a Christian music format. Dufferin submitted that both it, as the operator of the two stations, and the Brantford radio market would be best served by exchanging the stations’ formats to increase tuning to its Country music offering, which in turn would help it recover some of the advertising revenue that currently flows to out-of-market Country music stations. The commission did not receive any interventions in response to the applications.
Buffy Sainte-Marie
Buffy Sainte-Marie has been named the 2020 recipient of the Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award. Each year, Slaight Communications and Canadian Music Week (CMW) recognize an outstanding Canadian artist for their contribution to social activism and support of humanitarian causes. Sainte-Marie will be honoured for her work over the last six decades as a trailblazing musician, activist and educator. She’ll be recognized at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards on May 21 at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts. Read more here.
Kim Mitchell
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame (CSHF) will induct rock legend, songwriter, and broadcaster Kim Mitchell to the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame during Canadian Music Week. Mitchell will be honoured during a special presentation and joined by friend and musician Ed Robertson of Barenaked Ladies to perform on stage. The induction will take place during the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards, May 21. In addition to Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award winner Buffy Sainte-Marie, the first slate of inductees includes Debra Rathwell to the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, and Erin Davis and Nevin Grant into the Broadcast Hall of Fame.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CBC have confirmed the final group of artists confirmed to perform during the 2020 JUNO Awards Broadcast. Québecois neoclassical pianist Alexandra Stréliski, R&B and rap artist Ali Gatie, acclaimed singer-songwriter City and Colour, Indigenous artist iskwē, rising country singer Meghan Patrick and bluegrass ensemble The Dead South will take the stage. Canadian icon Anne Murray will also make her first JUNO Awards appearance since 2013, as she returns to induct Jann Arden into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The 2020 JUNO Awards will be broadcast live from the Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre, Sunday, March 15 at 8 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC Radio One, CBC Music, the CBC Listen app and cbcmusic.ca/junos.
The Rosalie Award, which annually honours Canadian women in broadcasting who have blazed new trails, is open for nominations. Rosalie Award winners are women who are successful broadcasters and seen as leaders, mentors and people making a difference in the business. The nomination deadline is Mar. 2. Last year’s honouree was Carmela Laurignano, vice-president and Radio Group Manager at Evanov Radio Group.
Benztown has announced the call for entries for the 9th annual Iron Imager Contest, the international radio imaging contest where audio production professionals compete for the title of World’s Best Imager. The contest is open to all radio imaging, production and programming professionals, 18+, and will be judged by top producers and programmers from the U.S. and around the world, including Brian Phillips, EVP, Content and Audience, Cumulus Media; Ashley Bard, Head of Production, Capital FM & Capital XTRA, London, UK; Andrew Berger, Imaging Director, Power 106/KPWR, Los Angeles; three-time Iron Imager titleholder Dan Kelly, Imaging Director, WNSH, New York, and readers of the Benztown Blog. The 2020 Iron Imager Contest will culminate in a live imaging competition at WWRS 2020 on Mar. 26 at Castaway in Burbank, CA. This year’s Iron Imager will be pitted against 2019 champion Brendan “BT” Tacey, Head of Production, Triple M Network, Southern Cross Austereo in Melbourne, Australia. To enter, visit the official Iron Imager Contest 2020 website. The submission deadline is Feb. 28.
The Podcast Academy, a membership-driven organization that will run annual peer-based awards of merit called The Golden Mics, was announced at Podcast Movement Evolutions in Los Angeles last week. The first annual Golden Mics ceremony will be held in Los Angeles in early 2021, with the organization’s goal to “drive creativity, quality and excellence, and elevate the status of podcasts as an entertainment medium.” Overseen by an elected Board of Governors, The Podcast Academy also has plans to host monthly webinars on industry topics, hold networking events in Los Angeles and New York City, and publish whitepapers on best practices. As Tom Webster of Edison Research wrote in a follow-up blog post, the announcement was met with some controversy amidst an increasing divide between independent and “big” podcasting.
Kyle Gutscher and Lauren Hunter
107.5 Dave Rocks (CJDV-FM) Cambridge, ON hosted an in-studio wedding on Valentine’s Day as part of the station’s Nail ‘Em Down contest. Kyle Gutscher, 30, and Lauren Hunter, 27, were wed Friday morning with the nuptials officiated by Dave Rocks Morning Buzz announcer Darryl Law.
Derek Welsman
FEATURE: In Andy Sannemann’s latest blog post, the Benztown CEO talks plug-ins, workflow, audio inspiration and more with award-winning Stingray Toronto imaging producer Derek Welsman. Read more here.
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