CJOB's New Morning Radio Team

[Nasty Nate]

Local media outlets are reporting perennial senior ratings powerhouse CJOB has put together a new morning team to replace the recently fired Hal Anderson.

 

The new team includes primary anchor Richard Cloutier (CJOB's long-time news director) and veteran newsreader Kathy Kennedy (KK) who's previous incarnation was as straight 'man' on 92 CITI FM's Tom & Joe show.

 

CJOB has suffered a tragic ratings slide in the last few years, now only a hair ahead of public-subsidized CBC 990. Anderson had evidently made the tragic mistake of crossing long-time talk-show host Charles "Addy" Adler and despite his high local ratings and great presence in the community (for the record Hal is approx. 6'6" and 450 lbs) Anderson lost the battle.

 

CJOB has the bomber rights despite TSN's constant attempt to wrestle the rights away. Corus Entertainment continues to pay the piper to keep those bomber rights cuz if they lost them their ratings would probably plummet.. 

 

CJOB has a secondary sports presence after 24 hour TSN 1290 and has been whipped in the hockey slots and the Hussler & Lawless slot. Troy Westwood with Paul Edmunds and a junior named Matt Leibl is the low spot in TSN's ratings.

 

Lots of good things about TSN. Dennis Beyak, Westwood, Lawless, Hussler, Rick Ralph, extensive pre and post game Jet coverage, Shane Hnidy. Bad things - morning show is very argumentative and Leibl just argues with everyone for the heck of it. Repeat of Rick Ralph's mid-day show is unnecesary. They dropped the Goldeye games when Edmunds left the Goldeyes and now broadcast a ton of Bluejay games. 

[Brandon]

Troy Westwood is a good thing?

[JuranBoldenRules]

CJOB cheaped out more than anything else with Hal Anderson, shifting two people already on the station into that slot is further proof.  The morning show is likely the highest rated show on their station, they are only really competing with CBC on the AM dial in the morning.  Both incarnations of 1290's morning show have been awkward and cringe inducing.  Arguments that seem to get personal, sometimes kind of felt that Jay Richardson was on the verge of crying, sometimes when he went too strong on an opinion/argument and was called out on it he'd go into a tantrum.  The show is better now, but still awkward as all hell.  If you're going to have guys bicker about sports, it's better if the audience feels that they actually like and respect each other on a basic level, not that they are personally attacking each other and would literally drop the gloves if it didn't mean the end of their career.  Sports talk radio is not a good fit for broadcasters with fragile egos, I think moving Leibl into another role or off the station altogether would make it even better.  They haven't found a crew with chemistry yet.

 

TSN dropped the Goldeyes, or more accurately, the Goldeyes dropped TSN because they wouldn't guarantee that all of their games would be aired live on 1290.  The Goldeyes are gambling that they have a strong base of listeners who will make the move to 100.7 FM.

[Rich]

I rather enjoy the morning show and have never gotten the feeling that they "hurt each other's feelings".

Wasn't happy when Jay was ousted. It felt very forced when Edmunds first started but they've grown some chemistry since.

Won't put anything else on in the morning. The only time my car radio moves off of 1290 is for Bomber shows or when they air their syndicated crap.

[iso_55]

What did Nate mean when he said Hal Anderson crossed Charles Adler & lost even though he had high ratings? 

[Mark H.]

What did Nate mean when he said Hal Anderson crossed Charles Adler & lost even though he had high ratings? 

 

Chuck was doing some kind of segment on the morning show. Hal called him on something and pretty much exploded. 

 

Can't recall the topic...

[Mr Dee]

 

What did Nate mean when he said Hal Anderson crossed Charles Adler & lost even though he had high ratings? 

 

Chuck was doing some kind of segment on the morning show. Hal called him on something and pretty much exploded. 

 

Can't recall the topic...

 

 

That's too bad.

I used to listen to Hal A. and he was the best thing on CJOB in the morning in my opinion.

Nate's mate….C. Adler…well let's just say…nothing, and that is too flattering already.

[The Unknown Poster]

The way I heard it from someone in the know was simply that Hal wanted some changes and CjoB didn't. Hal was working without a contract for awhile.

[Jacquie]

The way I heard it from someone in the know was simply that Hal wanted some changes and CjoB didn't. Hal was working without a contract for awhile.

 

He was still under contract when he was let go. From the FP:

 

Anderson confirmed in an email that he and the Corus radio station had parted ways and he was considering his options. The Alberta-born on-air host learned he was out at CJOB after completing his Tuesday morning show. He was paid out for the rest of his five-year contract, which was due to end in September.

 

[Goalie]

The problem with CJOB isn't who is on the radio, really.. all that is somewhat irrelevant in the big picture, it's the content and the constant commercials. Used to enjoy CJOB lots, parents always listened to it when i was younger and it was pretty decent back then, along the way though they started having less talk and more commercials. That's their biggest problem.. too many commercials and too much whining hosts.

[iso_55]

The commercial thing goes back to the 80's when I used to listen to the Football Hotline. They'd do an a hour & a half show & after a 5 minute newscast at the top of the hour , there'd be two minutes of commercials followed by the intro to the show some small talk until quarter past & then over 5 minutes straight of commercials. They'd come back at twenty past the hour to discuss & take some calls to 25 minutes past the hour & then five minutes of commercials to the bottom of the hour where they did the freaking news & on & on &  on. So,it's been going on for a long, long time. Bob Irving or Les Lazaruk did the shows & all you'd hear was their four word phrase, "Let's  take a break" & truly I wanted to break my radio in frustration. 

[Jacquie]

The news breaks are conditions of their license. I doubt the number of commercials they air is any different from any other station that is not commercial-free - it just seems like more because of the news breaks.

[iso_55]

The news breaks are conditions of their license. I doubt the number of commercials they air is any different from any other station that is not commercial-free - it just seems like more because of the news breaks.

I don't listen much to CJOB except online occasionally. I can't really judge if it's better or worse than the 80's. I just know back then it was frustrating to listen to. I used to scream four letter words at the radio when "Let's take a break" was said!!

You have to understand that The Football Hotline was the only true sports show on the radio in Winnipeg back then. No 24/7 sports talk radio  & even CJOB didn't do a lot of Bomber coverage. There wasn't even a Winnipeg Jets call in show wghich in today's world seems absolutely insane. Just The Football Hotline.

I do remember the 2 minute radio comments Jack Matheson used to make. For  me, it was a must hear on CJOB. "Furnasman fires up Jack Matheson, Sports Editor of the Winnipeg Tribune..." Jack did two different comments EVERYDAY five days a week on OB for probably 15 years... Two completely different topics one at 8:45 am, 12:45 pm & then a different comment at 5:45 pm. The man was just a prolific sportswriter & sportscaster. He also did 3 or four columns in the Trib every week as well as  being the Trib beat writer for the Bombers & Sports Editor as well. A brilliant commentator. Ninety five per cent of the time he was bang on, also. On radio & in the paper.

[Nasty Nate]

CJOB has one other nasty tendency. They hire a ton of RRCC creative communications grads - some of who can't breathe, let alone speak with a microphone. Once these grads get to a certain level they tend to bolt to other media or other jobs altogether creating a constant merry-go-round of talent. 

Its true Big Hal only had a couple months left on his contract when he was told to go home. The fact it occurred shortly after the incident with Adler is interesting. 

The one thing CJOB has always been good at is selling ads. They can fill any hour between 6am and 6pm with 35 to 40 minutes of commercials that kind of kill any content momentum they might have. I thought all crap would break loose at CJOB once they dropped under 12 in the ratings (they were near 20 at one point).

Well, they hit 12 on the button. Now they're teaming a rather unpleasant news nerd (Cloutier) with a rather unpleasant crabby Kathy Kennedy (both of whom are over 50)

Hal was going to pot a bit too. His shows relied on bringing in a bevy of cranky fellow CJOB'rs like 65 year old traffic dude Brian Barkley, a young female content producer, the board guy and 66 yr old Bob Irving or Kelly Moose to convene 'panels' on international affairs or local politics where most of the speakers knew diddle squat of the subject.

[Brandon]

Ads on cjob are cheap that is why they can fill them easily.

[Nasty Nate]

Ads aren't really that cheap on CJOB. Of course, rates differ depending on the resistance a merchant may provide. OB will take full boar when the opportunity to dunk an advertiser presents.

 

Also, the demographics skew to a 70 to 100 crowds - prolly 80% or more of their listenership. You don't get bargains if your demo is 18-40 at CJOB.

[iso_55]

CJOB has always been for the older crowd. Like my parents when I was growing up in the 60's & 70's. CKY & CKRC were cool while CJOB was not. They had George McCloy with the "Shut Ins" program. When I was a kid I had no idea what a shut in was. Just some sappy violin music. And McCloy reading messages to people. That was riveting radio,I tell ya.  Then there was "Beefs & Bouquets" in the weekday morning show with Red "Good Morning, Good Morning" Alex, the original ***** fest. Remember that, Nate?

[rebusrankin]

I believe articles have said Anderson was doing well or even winning his morning slot. CJOB is clearly going downhill. Disagree on 1290, most of it is terrible. If you get a chance, listen to ESPN, that's good sports radio.

[The Unknown Poster]

I misread the message from my source. He told me Hal's contract was up in August and I assumed he meant last August. Obviously this August makes more sense.

RRCC cut their own throat when they went to war with their own radio station. That station was giving real experience to their students. But their board was made up of people from other stations that didn't like a student radio actually getting listeners and competing. Plus the relationship between RRCC's pres and the free press was an issue.

[iso_55]

Kind of a conflict of interest when the RRCC Board is made up of competing broadcasters. How dumb is that? 

[Nasty Nate]

I misread the message from my source. He told me Hal's contract was up in August and I assumed he meant last August. Obviously this August makes more sense.

RRCC cut their own throat when they went to war with their own radio station. That station was giving real experience to their students. But their board was made up of people from other stations that didn't like a student radio actually getting listeners and competing. Plus the relationship between RRCC's pres and the free press was an issue.

Your old rasslin' buddy Marty Gold was totally shivved when RRCC cowardly closed their own radio outlet. A school that has a decent creative communication program swallowing the cyannide on its own station? Severe! But the RRCC Prez (a woman) has had a shadowy time with legal matters and so far she's managed to survive. But Marty Gold was the anti-Adler, a verbose media personality that exposed various frauds and shysters on his shows. Silencing Marty was despicable. 

[Nasty Nate]

I believe articles have said Anderson was doing well or even winning his morning slot. CJOB is clearly going downhill. Disagree on 1290, most of it is terrible. If you get a chance, listen to ESPN, that's good sports radio.

CJOB will prolly hit a 10 rating next time out. The programs are stale, the personalities and announcers are either too green or veteran mopes who've washed out elsewhere. 

TSN 1290 does a great service in both professional and amateur sports. Hussler & Lawless is obviously their anchor program - Lawless does some amazing work breaking stories and has a great rolodex of guests he calls upon when issues break. His only problem is he has no problem patting himself on the back whenever he does a good job. Hussler is a great little guy who has blossomed into a very good radio host. Westwood and Paul Edmunds are good in the a.m. with the obvious problem of Matt Leibl, a 28 yr old ego freak with limited media experience. Rick Ralph does a nice job in the 11 to 3 spot (the first two hours repeat themselves) but Ralph never takes open-line calls and goes 15 to 20 minutes sometimes without taking a breath. In other words, he's verbose. 

 

The problem at TSN is they abandon the party on weekends, relying on repeat golf shows, Bluejay broadcasts, Jim Rome, prior week hi-lites, etc. Their only local programming is a group of young rogues called The Illegal Curve, where these guys parse the game of hockey more than anyone could imagine. Sometimes its very good, sometimes its awful.

[iso_55]

 

I believe articles have said Anderson was doing well or even winning his morning slot. CJOB is clearly going downhill. Disagree on 1290, most of it is terrible. If you get a chance, listen to ESPN, that's good sports radio.

CJOB will prolly hit a 10 rating next time out. The programs are stale, the personalities and announcers are either too green or veteran mopes who've washed out elsewhere. 

TSN 1290 does a great service in both professional and amateur sports. Hussler & Lawless is obviously their anchor program - Lawless does some amazing work breaking stories and has a great rolodex of guests he calls upon when issues break. His only problem is he has no problem patting himself on the back whenever he does a good job. Hussler is a great little guy who has blossomed into a very good radio host. Westwood and Paul Edmunds are good in the a.m. with the obvious problem of Matt Leibl, a 28 yr old ego freak with limited media experience. Rick Ralph does a nice job in the 11 to 3 spot (the first two hours repeat themselves) but Ralph never takes open-line calls and goes 15 to 20 minutes sometimes without taking a breath. In other words, he's verbose. 

 

The problem at TSN is they abandon the party on weekends, relying on repeat golf shows, Bluejay broadcasts, Jim Rome, prior week hi-lites, etc. Their only local programming is a group of young rogues called The Illegal Curve, where these guys parse the game of hockey more than anyone could imagine. Sometimes its very good, sometimes its awful.

 

IN Calgary it's the same on the Fan 960. Totally abandon local programming It's ESPN  all day Sat & Sunday. Who really wants to listen to that? Talking MLB, NFL OTA's & NBA playoffs now.  Very little NHL. Sports talk is cheap filler to me. TSN isn't committed to local cities in any market except Toronto.

[rebusrankin]

Disagree on Westwood, he is terrible. Uninformed and arrogent. Disagree on Lawless being a huge breaker of stories. Also don't think Hustler and Lawless is an amazing show but Lawless is getting better. I do like how H&L  devote a lot of time to the local teams (Jets and Bombers).

[rebusrankin]

Oh and I miss Marty Gold, he was great.