CJOB Turfs Laurie Langcastor
CJOB has parted ways with its afternoon drive host Laurie Langcastor (left).
We’re told the talk radio station let her go after Monday’s show and has made Karen Black her permanent replacement.
Langcastor was recently on vacation and Black was filling in for her until she returned.
It appears station brass like what they heard during Langcastor’s absence and decided to change things up.
No word on where her radio career will take her next.
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February 2nd, 2010 at 8:14 pm
That is cold way to let someone go.
February 2nd, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Harsh!
kevin stewart Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:34 pm
sorry to hear that laurie is gone…i enjoyed her show and especially her humour and slight sarcasm…now the only OB show i listen to is geoff currier on the nighthawk
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:16 pm
I listened to her and always found her a little bit abrasive, and humorless.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Cold and harsh yes but its business,she seemed to know the writing was on the wall…was it just me or did she seem to try to act more intellectual and less sappy since she returned,even her voice seemed lower.She never fit in any time slot or role in her time anyways.That being said I don’t find Black to be any better still annoying and juvenile,the aft drive concept needs to be reworked there.Mind you OB seems able to put on anyone in any role and clobber the opposition.
mean jean Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:25 am
Hot 103 is the #1 station Adults 12+ for that time slot.
Also the #1 station A25-54 where as CJOB sits in 6th.
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:52 pm
And that’s why you shouldn’t take a vacation…
February 2nd, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Didn’t she get the job a few years back because of some ‘Radio Idol’ contest that CJOB ran? Cuz when I heard her on the air, I always thought she was some amateur CreeComm grad that struck it lucky. Then I read her bio on the CJOB site and she’s been around for ages and is supposedly some barrier-breaker for women in radio… listening to her, I sure didn’t get that impression.. There was zero chemistry on her show, I mean, it was bad. then Karen was on for those few weeks and she hit the ground running, slick & smooth, the show was/is great. Good move.. but it took wayyy too long to fix the problem.
Pat Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 2:43 am
Dude — you honestly believe Langcastor’s CLONE is an IMPROVEMENT???
You, sir, are a perfect illustration as to why OB continues to put slop on the air – because most of their existing listeners have zero ear for content quality.
February 2nd, 2010 at 10:45 pm
@WpgCameraMan:
I’m sorry you didn’t like her delivery, but I worked with Laurie in radio for many years in Thunder Bay and Winnipeg; she is a friend, and a consummate professional both on and off the air. She has style and grace to spare, and I wish her all the best. Her career will take her anywhere she wants to go.
February 3rd, 2010 at 2:22 am
She did try to alter her delivery when she came back but it was far too little to help. She was dreadful the entire time she was on the drive show. The fact Black was a noticible improvement only emphasizes how awful LL was.
Regardless of how she gets along with her co-workers, an audience that didn’t know her personally found her completely uninteresting and obnoxious to listen to. They dumped an hour of Adler for that??
This is the second ‘big name’ in a row that OB has gassed in that slot, John Wells being the first. That tells me they have a big problem. No matter which “consumate professional” OB tries, more and more people have turned away their 25 minutes an hour of ads and in-house promos, and recycled press release “news” and puff pieces.
The drivehome show on 92.9 Kick takes callers, has way better guests and interviews and news analysis and way less commercials. CJOB had the host on last summer filling in at night and he did really well, maybe they’ll get smart and bring him in yet to replace Black so people have someone interesting to listen to.
mike Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
which means absolutely nothing. gee, where did you dig that up?
compare karen’s on-air voice to laurie’s. uh, maybe don’t.
karen is sooooooooooooo slick.
the bigger mystery is how the hell does “Courtney James” get to stay “on air”. there’s not a newscast which goes by that she, courtney, doesnt stumble over the easiest of pronunciations. what a dumb-bell.
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:10 am
Another thing about CJOB, kinda off topic, but it seems that almost every host is a conservative(nothing wrong with that). I think the only Liberal at the station was Larry Updike, but he is gone. Now, all you are is bombarded with right of center ideology, that is only challenged by people who call in, and then are talked over, and cut off, only to have their point picked apart by the host. I find myself only listening to CJOB at the top of the hour, for traffic, and weather. I can’t stand the partisan commentary filling in the hour.
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:58 am
Thats just part of the fascist mentality that people like Adler, station mgr. Garth Butchko and former program director Vic Grant (retired) bring to the table. Its actually done nothing for the conserative movement in Manitoba, cuz most fair-minded people know they don’t mean what they say (except for Grant perhaps) and are just trying to ‘Go Rush Limbaugh’ cuz they heard right-wing talk radio does boffo ratings business. Currier and Cloutier have also been forced to go harder to the right and it shows in how they handle phone calls from the public, very curt and quick to cut callers off, especially those who disagree with them. Adler is the worst, but occasionally will extend a caller, especially if the caller is a ‘poor communicator’. Then Adler goes for the kill-shot and uses the unsuspecting victim as morsel of entertainment. Adler is now virtually lost unless Dave Menzies is on the air to rescue his sinking ship.
Pat Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 2:46 am
I agree…OB is stuffed with boring conservatives. How about a libertarian for once????
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
I agree with all the criticism so far about CJOB. Listen, Karen Black was fired just a few weeks ago from the top country station in town so obviously a great voice music DJ gets fired from a music format but is good enough to do an interview show on the only real AM talker? Puzzlin’ huh?
Laurie Langcastor was caught in between. She’s a bit too intellectual and smarmy to be on a low-intellect station like CJOB but she’s not strong enough intellectually to be a force on CBC. Personally I have a hard time deciphering their voices. Black and Laurie almost sound like twin sisters although I know Laurie is late 40s and Black is no more than late 30s, maybe 40 tops. Either way, neither gal doing interviews with the the latest gronks from visiting shows at the Convention Centre or american psychologists is very appealing. Plus, their demographic is killed by the lead in show. The ultra-fascist Charles Adler is akin to Jay Leno killing the audience off for Conan O’Brien. Look what happened there folks. Adler is a well-produced but terminally awful radio program – saved occasionally by the brilliant mind of Menzoid Menzies (I guess Corus actually hired him to back-fil ideas for the desperate Adler)……
CJOB will struggle something fierce against both CBC 990 and 92.9 FM’s Martin Gold….CBC goes talk from 4 to 6, Marty is on from 4 to 5:45 or so. CBC is more professional than CJOB, Kick FM is more interesting and takes wild unexpected turns and Marty goes berserk the odd time….
OB tried a bunch of hands at the afternoon drive slot but its killing them softly, as is Adler. They still have a top morning show with Happy Hal Anderson, their morning talk show is a bit sniffly (Rich Cloutier), their noon host is a bright fresh radio vet named Courtney James but she hasn’t consulted a pronounciation guide since grade school….quite funny, actually.
CJOB has a couple strengths. Great overnight show from Los Angeles in George Nouri/Art Bell. Solid new sports show at 6 to 8 with Hussy and Lawless and Geoff Currier still delivers a half decent evening program from 9 to 12 that is fairly listenable the odd time, especially when Geoff stops trying to be Adler, Jr.
I think BIG CHANGES are in the way for CJOB to come back to its prominence and that means they have to rid themselves of Adler, Cloutier, etc. and somehow find some better thinkers and communicators to be on-air.
ron Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I could not have said it better. I like Laurie over Karen but they are both simular in style. They give up one for the same type of show.
mike Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
communicators. i dont think you get those from a 2 year diploma course at RRC. how cloutier & james remain on air is a mystery. notice how both have the most difficult time getting a handle on the most easiest of words. cloutier still cant pronounce “garage masters”. and that lame shtick, the feigning of sadness he puts on, is ridiculously frustrating to listen to. he’s such a disingenuous a**hole.
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Laurie was more than a bit irritating. She was far from professional, and behaved more like a blonde bimbo than a radio personality. Karen is a huge improvement. She is polished, knowledgeable, and her voice is smooth. As much as I hate to see someone become jobless, in the radio business you either got it or you don’t. The drive was no position for Laurie. Now if we can just get rid of Maureen and the “Last re-wind” my 20 minute drive will be much more enjoyable
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:43 pm
I find it ridiculous that anyone can mention in the same sentence, let alone compare this “kick fm” to the top radio station in the market.
There must be alot of RRC students that read this blog, because no one in the general public has even heard of kick fm.
Anonymous Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:55 pm
This blog is like the homepage for most CreComm students. LOL
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:58 pm
You have to have an open mind to listen to college or RRCC radio. But there are programs on all these stations that put the best of CJOB’s putrid programming to shame. Marty Gold’s hard-core late afternoon talk is one example…the other is Democracy Now with Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez….U of M has Tell the Band to Go Home, Jazz Classics with Ray Alexander and many more shows. Maybe not as many production effects, promotion, or commercials but all it takes is one more person to listen to these stations and decide for yourself….CJOB is no longer the top radio station in the market. . . . but they sell the most advertising at the highest rates…..great for hearing aid companies, vitamin scammers, etc.
mean jean Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 pm
sell the most advertisng….yes
at the highest rates…Hell No!!
harry Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
do us all a favour and crawl back to your astral sales cubicle where you belong. no one cares.
mean jean Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
1) Not Astral
2) Stating a fact
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:49 pm
I agree that Karen Black is a polished DJ. More from a music presentation point of view. What exactly are her interviewing and deep civic knowledge credentials? I’ve heard her a few times and she can be extremely crude on-air and her pronounciation of semi-difficult people and places is only fractionally better than the worst one in the business – CJOB mid-day personality and news-reader Courtney James….a former valet for Don Percy…
February 4th, 2010 at 8:18 am
Probably around 80% of the staff at CJOB graduated from RRCC Cree-Comm program….
February 4th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
The decision to remove Laurie and replace her with Karen is very wrong. I became a CJOB fan when Hal went to the morning show but found myself enjoying Laurie as well. I just told some friends that CJOB was making a wise move to secure a younger demographic. Karen Black puts me to sleep, nothing personal but she is boring. Bad move CJOB. Laurie had spark and whit. If she (Laurie) stays in the Winnipeg market I will follow her and “turf” CJOB.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Scott, its gonna be a tough go for Laurie to secure similar employment in the Wpg. radio market. She’s too smart to be a simple disc jockey, spinning computerized formats for HOT, BOB, Breeze, etc. She’d be great on KICK-FM before Marty Marty but how do they pay her (with burger king coupons?), so she’ll probably be forced to move again…..back to her home in Edmonton or Ontario…..I think she’d be great in Saskatoon or Regina with a talk format but she has a fairly young family (for a near 50 year old woman) so I don’t know what her propects are. If I were Dave from NCI-FM I’d take a run at her to do spot talk programming. The ideal format was the one Laurie first came to Wpg. for, the Cool-FM concept but that station was run by a maniac. It should have really been a winner but it folded and turned into TANK-FM (errr Hank FM, another Newcap success story!!! lol
February 4th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
It’s too bad about this “BLOG” site. I thought I had found a site where there were people who actually knew what they were talking about and could share their thoughts. Aside from ones opinion about Karen vs. Laurie, to suggest that CJOB is no longer the number one station in Winnipeg shows that either people have no clue, or this site is bogus. Other stations are so far behind OB they can only wish to have half the audience. It has been that way since Blick went on the air in the 1940’s. The others stations can only dream of having any audience numbers close to that. Still stand by my previous comments. Karen is MILES ahead of Laurie. Laurie should re-think her career path.
Joey Zasa Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Easy James. Let’s ease up on “half the audience” statement.
http://www.chrisd.ca/blog/18066/2009-winnipeg-fall-radio-ratings/
As you can see from the fall ratings, there are 3 stations that have better than half of OB’s ratings. Also, OB is down from the same time the year before.
1. CJOB — 16.2 (fall 2008 = 17.0)
2. CBC Radio One — 11.3 (11.7)
3. Hot 103 — 11.2 (9.8)
4. QX104 — 9.1 (7.5)
February 4th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Great Move!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can listen to the drive again
Karen Black is way Better!!
February 4th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
Grabbing a younger demo would benefit CJOB greatly. I enjoy Hal in the morings but that’s about all I can handle.
The programming is enough to drive one mad.
February 4th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Right on Joey. At least you are informed. Someone who can speak with some intelligence. The numbers you present do help my case. Having a broadcasting background, I understand what those numbers mean, and they do in fact represent the audience numbers I stated. But my point was, let’s not cloud this blog with crap about OB not being number one. The facts are the facts. In my opinion, like TV, radio has very little to offer. I think the ratings indicate what people want. The overwhelming majority want radio to inform them. Why else would OB and CBC outperform the other “pre-programmed” stations that play the same music over and over? With that in mind, the announcers need to be easy to listen to, and speak with an intelligent voice. My personal favourite is Roy Green on Sat/Sun (OB)
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
You had me going tell you tipped me off about your personality type be being a Roy Greene mark. Roy is about the worst type of fascist-hater going on god’s green earth. This guy has about two moves and both of them were yesterday…. continually putting out his brave challenge to Al Gore to debate him about global warming. Green tends to shout down callers that don’t agree with him, at least Adler just cuts them off and dials up Dave Menzies. Not much to pick between Black and Langcastor. Black has the slightly better/deeper voice but has limited interview skills (its still a talk show right?) while Langcastor is a career vet with decent social skills. Neither gal has much of an on-air sense of humour, both try and fail to be self-deprecating. I’ll give CJOB credit, at least they didn’t try to give the slot to Courtney James….but perhaps they should have considered somoeone like Joanne Kelly (Shaw TV) or Kim Babij (Shaw TV) for the slot.
Another point – take away all the plus 75′s, the welfares, the indigent, the angry, the fascist and the haters and CJOB actually has a tiny audience….
February 5th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Interesting how a number of people take shots at cree com at RR. Just a reminder that quite a few hugely successful people graduated from cree com. People such as Rod Black, the head of ctv sports, Holly Doan who was ctv’s China correspondant when the wall came down as well as local sports writer Jim Bender of The Sun to name a few.
Joey Zasa Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 2:31 am
Who’s taking shots at cree com.
February 5th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Hey Morris, talk about revealing. Obviously your distaste for CJOB and the announcers have nothing to do with the quality of the sound, and everything to do with your political views. Just like your buddy Al Gore, you don’t reveal the truth. There is a reason you don’t like CJOB and the rightwing Conservative views. Because they ARE right. I mean why won’t Al Gore debate ANYONE about his position on “Global Warming”? Because he knows the truth will come out, and there is no money in selling the truth. See Al Gore is just like you Morris. You fake people out, and try and sell your views. The one difference between you and me is I respect your views. You resort to name calling, which is always an indication that your argument is weak By the way there are holes in your stats Here are the MOST recent radio ratings. Again, not even close the “factual” numbers you tried to sell here on this website
1. CJOB — 17.6 (15.6)
2. CBC Radio One — 10.9 (10.7)
3. Hot 103 — 10.5 (10.0)
4. Clear — 8.5 (8.0)
5. QX 104 — 7.9 (8.9)
6. Bob — 7.8 (7.6)
7. Power 97 — 7.2 (6.6)
8. CITI — 6.9 (8.1)
9. Curve 94 — 3.5 (3.5)
10. CBC Radio 2 — 2.9 (2.9)
11. CFRW — 2.2 (3.2)
12. Groove — 1.8 (1.8)
13. Hank — 0.9 (1.3)
14. CKSB — 0.3 (0.3)
I stand by my last statement. Laurie needs to re-think her career path. Just because she is a “vet” doesn’t mean she belongs in the business. There are far too many “announcers” who are pathetic and should not be on the air. Adler for one is a total waste. Not because of his views, because he is a pompous jerk. A waste of any radio airtime. He talks for 20 minutes and says nothing.
That’s enough for me. I am done here. Nice talking to you.
There is no need for you to reply.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I always reply James. Especially, if as you say you respect my views without agreeing with them. Thats the first sign of an open mind. And we do agree that Adler is bad news, for righties and lefties and centrists alike. However, you should know that while CJOB salesmen routinely sell their gross numbers advantage, all other stations NEVER use this material. First its not in their best interest and second, in a day and age where you look for market segments, the only segment where CJOB excels is the elderly demographic. They’re totally eviscerated in segments of 14 to 39 and barely hold their own in segments of 40 to 54….look at those numbers my friend, they tell a different story. And btw, Karen Black is unlistenable – she got really really crude this afternoon almost despondent when she heard Tiger Woods wife Ellin is taking Tiger back (after rehab)
February 6th, 2010 at 7:22 am
Morris, you make some strong points. I suspect the reason the other stations don’t use the ratings when they sell, it’s because they really don’t have much to offer. Think about those numbers. Hot 103 is the top music station, because they cater to the younger crowd, and QX is country. Both offering something different. After that, there is very little choice. We have CLEAR on at work. I have written them numerous times that it is in-human to play the same songs, six times a day 5 days a week. I liken it to the Chinese Water torture. The speaker in my office has been turned off so I no longer listen, but I can’t hear my pages either. (Not that that is a bad thing) The reality is the level of professional and talented announcers in this city is sub-par at best. ACE Burpee does well for two reasons. He speaks to the audience he is targeting, and he has the freedom to be creative. After that, there is really not much else. All the others are programmed by someone else, living in another city (most likely Toronto) given “scripted” programs. Like I said before, Radio, like TV is really no longer entertaining. It’s just a whole bunch of noise. Some may argue I feel that way because I have gotten crankier as I got older, I won’t argue with that. That may be why Laurie grated on my nerves so much. Her high screachy voice, and the countless number of times she had no clue about the subject she was interviewing about. I suspect Karen was more depsondent about the fact we are still talking about Tiger Woods than anything else. I mean who really cares what he did to his wife and family? He is a professional golfer. Did he cheat during his last tournament? No? So why is this news at all? Ah, don’t get me started on the whole level of intelligent news….that’s for another day
Joey Zasa Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 10:42 am
Not to disagree with you, but if QX does well because they are country, what about HANK? Why are they always dead last? You’d think they’d be able to steal a bigger piece of the pie. I don’t mean to sound ignorant, but I don’t listen to country so I don’t know the difference between the 2 stations.
As for HOT, you mention they do well because they cater to a younger crowd. Someone posted earlier that that they’re number one for A25-54 (drive anyway). That’s certainly not a young crowd.
February 6th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
It would be interesting to see those numbers (25-54) broken down more. I suspect that the majority of those listeners are in the lower end of that age range. I have friends who “listen” to Hot 103, because it keeps the arguing down in the car with their teenage daughters. I am not sure what the percentage is of people over say 35 that listen to radio enough to be considered an audience. If anyone has those numbers I would love to have a look at them. I think that would be very interesting.
My opinion on QX vs. HANK is simply maturity. When QX first went on the air we played “Bright and Beautiful” music. A copy of the Gordon McLendon stations in the US. When CJOB’s sister station dropped country and changed to rock (now Power 97), we tried to convince management to pick up that audience. No go. It wasn’t until they went bankrupt and new owners came in that they made the move. That was in the late 80’s. Until then there was only CKRC AM, and CFRY AM (Portage) providing country music. There were no FM stations. Right about the same time, country started to become main stream. The music changed, and started to appeal to a younger audience. QX gobbled up a hungry audience and have not relinquished that hold since. HANK can’t decide from day to day what their format is. I listened in the beginning, but they constantly changed formats, and announcers. I think that really turned off the listeners.
I am really enjoying this dialogue, and I look forward to your response.
Joey Zasa Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 11:26 pm
I’d like to see those numbers too. Everyone talks about the 25-54 audience. I take it that is the money demo? If that is the case, and a station like Hot 103 is number one in that demo over “older” sounding stations like Clear, Citi or Bob, wouldn’t you attribute that to superiour programming? It’s easy to make excuses when you don’t care for the station personally and say “it’s because of this or that” but how do you argue with the consistant ratings? I say this because people tend to make the mainstream a target of wraith and I’m trying to remain objective in order to put forth valid points as opposed to opinions that boil down to “I like this station better, so all the other ones suck!” Just stickin’ to the facts. Everyone considers themselves too cool and hip for mainstream. No one I know will admit to liking Nickelback, but they always sell out the show sand sell a million albums.
On the country topic, Hot 103 usd to be country, no? Aren’t 103 and Qx 104 owned by the same company? They had 2 country stations? Obviously they’ve since rectified that, but I have to ask how that even happens?
James Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 8:04 am
HOT 103 play a different format than CLEAR, CITI and BOB. The music they play caters to the younger audience. Correct me I am wrong, but CITI still plays “Classic” Rock. Songs that were popular when I was 16-25. BOB and CLEAR play the exact same packaged programming, and again it is “HITS from the 80’s” I would suspect the majority of HOT listeners were not even born in the 80’s. I know my boys weren’t. So HOT offers something completely different than the other stations. Also ACE Burpee is creative, and has the opportunity to use that creativity freely. Overall that has been my point. The level of quality in the broadcasting in this city is less so low. Some of that is the announcers, most of it I attribute to the fact these stations are owned by companies that are not here in Winnipeg, and really don’t care about what they put on the air. If it works in Toronto, it will work everywhere. Don’t deviate from the format. Thus no creativity and as a result boring radio
Joey Zasa Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 11:03 am
I get the different format, but I guess the point I was trying to get across was that the station that caters to a younger audience (your words) is the one pulling down the money demo over the others. If it comes down to offerring something different, what about Groove or Curve? They’re different (now I’m purposely being a bit of a smart-ass).
mean jean Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
I can’t speak for all stations but MOST stations don’t just throw anything they want on-air without consultation, meetings, and advisement. There’s well over 50 million dollars in radio advertising up for grabs each year and although HQ may be in Toronto they are quite interested in what happens with their investments in Winnipeg.
HOT does well for a number of reasons, one of which is that Ace does a fantastic job on promoting all things 103. It’s a stations easily shared between parent and child (as per comment by James) and contrary to popular belief, they have a great deal of 25+ listeners. It’s not just a teeny bopper station.
As for BOB they are more 70′s 80′s and whatever.
February 6th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Changing the subject from Laurie, I believe Hal Anderson has done a commendable job replacing Larry Updike on the morning show. Both personalitities have different views, but, interesting and entertaining in their own rights, even though I have problem with them mentioned below.
My issue is the Brian Barkley waste of constant air time. Obviously, it’s great to have traffic updates, but his ego is taking over beyond belief. He truly believes (because Updike and Anderson coddle him)he’s better than all. He’s annoying and just loves the accolades dished out by the aforementioned morning guys.
I actually try to turn the volume down when he (Barkley), comes on the air. Along the same lines as the “you’ll find us” guy.
Just my opinion.
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 6th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
I used to think Barkley was a fairly useless broadcaster and his occasional spot fill=ins for Updike were very nervous and confused. However, in the last 5 or 6 years he’s really come into his own. Super at remembering all the traffic problems and conversing glibly with Heavy Hal or Updike or whoever. He was particularly good with Langcastor but CJOB brought in another girl to do air=traffic (via leased helicopter service) and she’s OK to. Barkeley is at least 62, maybe 63, Adler is 55 or 56, Roy Greene is late 50s, Langacaster was almost 50, Karen Black is mid 40s, Barry Burns the news guy is late 50s, early 60s, and so on. CJOB has a ton of older folks catering to older folks. Even Anderson, who’s at least 10 years younger than Updike does not broadcast to a younger demographic (cuz he can’t go Power 97 style or he’d get fired)….
February 6th, 2010 at 9:59 pm
I worked with some stations with little to no ratings. Even university stations. The key to making advertising work is to assume low numbers but make those numbers respond to the ads. You can spend tons advertising on CJOB to 40,000 or 45,000 peeps in the morning but if your message is weak and lacks salesmanship you’re gonna get bagelled at the box office, so to speak. If a small station gives its advertisers good value in promos and straight ads it can actually work better than a high ratings station that just sells ads but not salesmanship….
James Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 8:12 am
You are absolutely right a creative, well prepared advertisement can have tremendous success no matter what the medium used. That is the basis of my comments thus far. The level of creative talent in this city is either low, or squashed by upper management, that the whole package is bland. .
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 7th, 2010 at 10:29 am
But the college stations are prep factories for the super creative or the super-bland. Creativity tends to be co-opped once a person reaches a high level commercial station. Whereas, a college station or a low rating performer can take more risks and see more rewards. If a small business takes a risk on college radio they can do well with the 17 to 35 demographic, if they don’t what are they out, a few hundred bucks? With CJOB, HOT, Pewter97, STANK-FM, if you get the bad creative, you’re sometimes out thousands of dollars in wasted coin.
February 8th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
Great Move by CJOB,Karen Black is a HUGE improvement over Langcastor.Now if they would just can the annoying Brian Barkley and Barry Burns. While they are at it ,dump Adler too.
Ron Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Is this Bob guy on drugs or what. Karen is okay but at least Lautie had some humour in her voice. And Barkley is the one person that keeps this show in its place. Bob get a life.
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 8th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Much as I loathe the disturbed ‘Babbler on Whine’ Charles Adler, this guy is supplying more than 30 hours of daily programming on the Corus affiliated stations. Approx. 11 or 12 stations that are Corus (not all) run Adler’s gasbag stream during the afternoons, some running him the maximum 3 hours. CJOB in Wpg. is wise enough to know that 3 hours of Adler is way too much – that they’d lose listeners by the bushel if they did so. However, no matter if Adler is getting paid $150,000 to spout his abhorrent views, HE’S CHEAP. REALLY CHEAP….cuz you take his reported $150k salary and divide it by 10 or 11 outlets – thats basically less than $15,000 a station, about minimum wage. Outside of Wpg. and Calgary most other canadians don’t bother listening to him. But he gap-fills difficult mid-day programming and he sells advertising so he’s a bargain regardless of his reckless broadcasting style.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Re Ron’s reply
Ron ,you are a little man. A person can’t even have an opinion without some stupid comment about drugs.If you think Barkley is the man,i’ll just fake an annoying phoney laugh.Seems that kind of radio appeals to a wanker like you.
James Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I agree with Bob’s point. A healthy debate is a good thing. We all do not have to agree with each other. As a matter of fact that would make this BLOG boring. But let’s keep it professional. To quote confucius “He who throws the first blow admits he has lost the argument”. Share your opinions and debate them.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I’d like to hear Nick Ternette weigh in on this argument. Of course, Nick knows that Charles Adler is just a pumpkin-faced Chicken Hawk…..not much more!
James Reply:
February 9th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Nick Ternette? He and Adler are cut from the same cloth. Lots of hot air coming out, but no substance. Neither Adler nor Ternette have ever offered anything more than filling time in a space that wasn’t empty. They both talk to hear themselves, and in the end, say nothing.
February 10th, 2010 at 3:00 am
I would like to see the return of Gerald Fast!!! The best flood reporter that ever was, and the best book end for the great Dr. Laura Show!
February 10th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Gerald is too good for the verminous world of Winnipeg talk radio. SO was the extreme right-wing guy John Collison, but at least Collison was fair. Nothing like the Chicken Hawks currently infesting CJOB…..Babbler, Cloutier, Geoff Currier.
As for Nick Ternette. Nick did more for this community in 10 days that Adler has done in his 10 years of perpetual gas-bagging…..yes, Nick can talk forever but he’s a volunteer, a protest specialist and well-versed in the goings on in politics (local and national) and history……Adler’s program director is Wikipedia and Glenn Beck….
James Reply:
February 10th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Ah…protest specialist. You’re right. That describes Nick Ternette. In other words someone who is paid to protest things he knows nothing about, but who’s special talent is holding a sign in front of some high media local shouting “heck no, we won’t go”. Sort of like that bunch on WKRP in Cincinnati. Nick Ternette did very little for this city except hold up traffic during rush hour while the real tax paying population endeavored to make it home from their real paying jobs. He hid behind his signs, and hid his true agenda. That is the real reason lefties hate OB. The truth hurts their agenda, so it’s better to try and silence the truth than let it speak. Doesn’t mean I like the voices speaking the truth, but it IS the truth. There is a reason they call it the rightwing. Because we are right!
James Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 7:36 am
See the results of “protest specialist” in Vancouver. First, what are these people protesting? Second, and this is my main point of “protest specialist”, protestors have the high potential to turn violent if anyone questions their position.
February 11th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Although i respect Nick Ternette’s years of community service.It still bugs me that back in the 70′s,he was protesting at a rock festival (Manpop ?)demanding it should be free admissiom.He figured the musicans,whom some have travelled from Europe and the Deep South should perform for nothing. That leftie hippie dippie thinking was even too far out for me.I would love to have gotten in for free but a performer should be paid for his work just like a baker or plumber.
February 11th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Nick would be the first to admit that he made some mistakes, particulary in his early days but I should let Nick speak for himself. When I first saw nick working the circuit back in the 70s I must admit I thought he was an abysmal goof.
But I learned to respect his integrity, persistence and striving for government transparency over the years.
Vermin like Chicken Hawk Adler and Glen Beck never admit to mistakes, although their main one has something to do with going to work.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:30 am
I’d like to see Marty Gold on 92.9 do an entire show about Radio in Wpg. with Laurie Langcaster as one of his guests…..
James Reply:
February 14th, 2010 at 8:12 am
I am going to listen to 92.9 for a week, and offer my opinion of the broadcasting integrity of this station. Unlike some, I will not allow my politics to jade my objectivity. Adler is has no business being in broadcasting. He has no interview skills, and thinks he is funny. His political views have nothing to do with the fact he should probably be parking cars for AirPark instead of polluting the air with his words. Cloutier is just as bad, as he ALWAYS seems to do each of his shows with a sombre note as if this is the biggest tragedy to hit the news room. This is just my opinion, but at least it is an opinion of the broadcasting cabalists of these individuals. Not their political agenda. Not sure what Chicken Hawk has to do with anything? I mean did you lose a game of marbles to this guy?
James Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Day two on 92.9. Music is not really to my taste, but is enjoyable to listen to. Tuesday morning they played a song from a local band. Thought it was pretty good. Listened to “The Great Canadian Talk Show”. Following this they started the music portion. Same song again. I mean really. What is it about Wpg stations that they insist on playing the same songs several times a day? Today Marty did a show on the parking authority. He talked fast, loud, and interrupted the guest the entire show (sort of like Adler) and sensationalized the topic (sort of like Cloutier) so not really much difference. My opinion of Winnipeg radio has yet to be changed. No creative thinking and pre-programmed music with a bunch of wind-bags. Where is the station that offers something different?
February 16th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
The thing i hate about CJOB and their On-air personalities,is the under current of conservative christian (or christian friendly I.E. Adler)ideals.I wonder if you apply for a job there,do they question political and religious views and beliefs asked to the applicant
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Don’t know but I’d sure be interested to find out. Actually, its probably illegal to do some of that in job interviews but crafty interviewers have ways around that. Its easier just telling their announcers what to say….
James Reply:
February 17th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
We need something to combat the regulated and legislated CBC programming.
February 18th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Don’t get me started on CBC radio, cuz its hugely supported by taxpayers yet the professionalism usually stands on its own compared to say CJOB. ON CBC most announcers and presenters have basic skills in pronounciation and diction, on CJOB not so much. Ever try listening to Tamara ‘Little Girl Voice’ King or Courtney ‘Mistake a Minute’ James or Karen ‘Syruppy Interviews’ Black???
CBC has the advantage of producers and editors working on the pieces so its not just an inexperienced RRCC cree-com grad trying to do the work of 3 or 4. But that comes with a price. Ever since Peter Gzowski died, CBC has had virtual crappola in the mornings with Sheila Rogers being no more than a professional bore. Jian Gomeshi does some good things but his obvious lack of preparation is quite alarming and his ego kicks in when he knows he’s in trouble.
CBC’s local radio is iffy, with far too many meaningless segments that are basically gap-fill. Their afternoon host, Margaux Watt has a pleasant demeanour but the results are spotty. The weekend morning shows have been nothing short of a disaster ever since Ron Robinson ‘retired’.
James Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 6:25 pm
No argument here. CBC started going downhill in the late 70′s, and has not stopped. So then what is wrong with the broadcasting schools today that keep producing crap for announcers. Could it be that the corporate thinkers just don’t care about what they put on the air here, or is our expectations now that low that this is the best there is?
mike Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
are winnipeg expectations are that low. on “ourbombers.com”, lefors and jyles are considered a good group of QB.
James Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Lefors and Jyles are a good group of QB’s that Winnipeg can get. Thanks for Kelly, we have no bargaining power to snag someone like Ray, or Burris. What would we have to offer? So the best we can hope for are these two. Sad.
February 18th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Today Cloutier and the rest of the CJOB Christian army are sharpening their swords against Pat Martin’s non-support of federal funding of a Christian youth treatment centre.The youth of today need honest solutions to their lifesyle, not salvation and beliefs of invisible madeup beings and gods.
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Its funny though Bob, if Martin hadn’t ‘Gone Off’ on the christian aspect of the thing, CJOB’s yappin’ heads (Cloutier, Heavy Hal, Currier) probably would have found some reason to oppose the big 50,000 sq. ft. facility.
Now, CJOB is in the pocket of the developers….. just because Pat Martin exploded in opposition..!!
James Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
I don’t see Pat Martin, or any of those “sneaks” from the NDP down in the core offering up a hand. Typical opposition response, slam anything and everything especially if it’s not their idea. If Pat thinks he can do something better….then let’s hear it. And why has he not offered it up till now? He doesn’t deserve the press coverage.
mike Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
nahh, i dont buy that. those 3 are cheerleaders for stuff like that – especially disingenuous Cloutier.
James Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
It’s not that they are cheerleaders. It’s that they are lazy. They don’t want to put the effort in to report on anything that matters, they only want to sensationalize. Again, I say no creativity, no professionalism. There isn’t anything offered on Wpg radio that is anything better than the radio equivalent to Entertainment Tonight. Garbage. I mean a two hour talk show on the Parking Authority. Really? Is there nothing else to talk about in this city?
February 21st, 2010 at 10:18 am
Karen Black’s new nickname is Karah Palin….
She sounds so hokey and countrified at times….
Her interview style in a word – ATROCIOUS!
James Reply:
February 21st, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Not sure what station you are listening to, but the interview she (Karen Black) did with Elvis Stoyko last week was exellent. I guess your expectations are lowered enough now you really can’t tell the difference from a good announcer to a crappy one. (Why else would you think Marty Gold is so great) Either that or your objectivity is clouded. Tell me, did CJOB fire you for just cause? Were you a sales rep that couldn’t sell the easiest product in Winnipeg? (OB advertising) There must be something, because “methinks thou dost protest too much”. Although you are entitled to your comments, I still say you are hiding the real reason you dislike CJOB so much. Your comments on the station, and in particular certain announcers reveal a much deeper issue.
Morris in the Village Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:35 am
Karen Black’s interview with Elvis was terrific. Best thing she’s done since arriving at the SUPERSTATION!!!
Getting rid of VIc Grant was also a winning move for CJOB…..
mike Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:48 pm
morris i agree with u on vic grant and ‘OB in general, but james is right in that you appear to carry deep-rooted resentment of that station.
i just hate ‘OB because their personnel is sooooooooo poor – top down.
mike Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 12:41 pm
that so-called interview was great because elvis stoyko laid it on the line. karen asked the standard lame-a$$ed questions and left it up to elvis to add the garnish and that he did. he was fantastic; a bit snarly but great.
James Reply:
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:58 pm
So my question to Mike and Morris. If you despise CJOB so much, why are you still listening?
February 22nd, 2010 at 7:19 pm
First of all, CJOB is the only all-talk radio station in Wpg. Thankfully they don’t play music. I was weaned on CJOB so it goes back a long way. I must say I stray over to CBC the odd time but Marksy Markutsa (sic) is really long-winded and her bits are way off the mark. I also like listening to Hot 103, cuz Ace is the best in the business but I’m not a top 40 guy anymore.
Hal Anderson and Larry Updike were very solid morning men. Heavy Hal is a fantastic self-promoter and he truly is a radio man. (When you’re 6’6″ and 450 lbs. do you have a choice?)
After the morning show, Cloutier is virtually unlistenable, Courtney James at noon hours is horrid, Adler has a hard-on for the sound of his own voice, Karen Black is way too Palin and then they shift into the Two Sports guys, Hussler & Don’t Call Us after 6pm, with Courier cleaning up the night.
Listen to the 2 sports guys when they’re talking pro football or Olympics but don’t bother with Currier. Listen to George Nouri/Art Bell so I can wake up to Heavy Hal….
I was also banned from calling into CJOB during the Jets leaving the city controversy for asking questions ‘that were just a bit too harsh for the nerf-brains that were shilling for the corporate bozos that were trying to steal the Jets’….
mike Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:50 am
i listen because i enjoy a good train wreck. i really have no other reason. im weird that way.
February 24th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
BTW, there’s absolutely nothing to listen to on CJOB while the Olympics are on. Radio didn’t do a very good job lining up olympic coverage. In fact the good ‘ol CBC is doing the best radio from the site. The private stations have let down the side, Adler is trying to schmooze in with some angled coverage but they didn’t even send any Corus people to Vancover. SO much for radio, eh?
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Take a look at the current line-up folks and the long list of women that have come and go from CJOB i.e. Eleanor Coopsammy etc. and you do the math on what kind of atmosphere there is at the Superstation for both genders. Good luck to Laurie she is likely better off. I no longer listen to ‘the drive’ because is not on. By the way its the year 2010 and not 1910 Corus.
March 4th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
Funny stuff Doug. But obviously some gals like Courtney James and the little kid voiced Tamara King do quite nicely at CJOB. But they lose a ton of gals, I agree. Mostly they recruit RRCC cree=comm grads and as soon as the grad gets good and shakes off the shakies the person gets hired by CBC or a larger market……ITS A LONG LIST!
I think Natalie Strecker or Maureen Murphy from Sugar ‘n Spice was the first real female hire at CJOB, but they don’t seem capable of keeping them for long. Perhaps its the management culture or there’s some real sickos behind the scenes at CJOB radio…..Corus entertainment….
March 8th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
John Collison FAIR?! PUH-LEEZE, the guy was a 24/7/365 narcissistic JACKA$$. Oh yeah, and had no appreciable talent!
Gerald Fast should be working for the nearest Christian radio outfit. One time, he was a fine reporter. But when he got the front half of the afternoon gab festival at 1290, he became this self-righteous superstar who couldn’t keep his Christian beliefs out of ANY TOPIC AT ALL!
March 9th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Gerald might have had a few biases but he was light years ahead of the sadsacks CJOB currently employs to do ‘talk radio’, ie. Lorne Edwards, Adler, Currier, Cloutier.
Hal Anderson or Joe Aiello would be light years ahead of these pretenders. So too would be Fast or Collison.
CJOB is getting hammered in the ratings in the afternoon cuz most people are listening to college radio or CBC (or HOT 103) in the early afternoon slot and then switching to Marty Gold of Kick-FM after 4pm. Marty was killing Laurie Langcastor, now he’s doing same to Karen Black.
mike Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 1:29 am
the other day cloutier had me going by hinting ‘OB had some BIG news to announce. sadly it wasnt re: cloutier’s departure, BUT OBs imminent move to the CTV BLDG.
the money spent on a lease (yes a lease) could have been better spent on training cloutier for the gardening show. No?
BTW, does cloutier have a learning disability? Seems he has quite a time editing/reading email.
mike Reply:
March 12th, 2010 at 9:11 am
sad sacks indeed. but, i will quibble with you on adler.
i’ll give adler this: although he’s a pompous, belligerent as*hole, he’s clearly light years ahead of currier and cloutier in terms of talent. you can’t argue on this point.
you know what’s funny about cloutier? he fervently believes he can hang with the bigboy broadcasters. thing is most everyone seems to laugh at cloutier’s capabilities except for the people who employ him. weird.
Morris in the Village Reply:
March 15th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
From a pure production point of view Adler is a talent and he has a book full of repetitive bits. Usually when the heat is on him he’ll read some emotional Readers Digest type of bit to get his audience crying and do the fake breaking up of his voice to accentuate the piece.
Adler is basically the Rush Limbaugh franchisee in Canada but he can’t get no traction cuz Canada would never accept a fascist as far right as Limbaugh. So Adler trolls for funny bits, allows callers about 7 or 8 seconds of time before he cuts them off and so it goes.
The only thing Currier has learned from Adler (and Vic Grant I suspect) is how to cut callers off before they get any steam. Now that takes talent!!!!
April 3rd, 2010 at 11:25 am
Sorry=late reply to Morris in the Village from March 4/10
Good points about Courtney James and Tamara King but there is a slight difference to having more editorial control over an entire afternoon segment over reading script and ‘chasing ambulances’ and other government spot news (which is not easy and Tamara does quite well by the way balancing her NDP husband Colin Lemoine.) Women at CJOB just can’t seem to crack that editorial ceiling even with the also short-lived former CBC veterans Jim Eng. and Sandy Coleman that were also on the same time slot awhile ago. I think Courier is hilarious by the way and extremely underused there and could more than replace Cloutier in a heartbeat but Cloutier has more than paid his dues and is a fair as they come in my opinion. My point is not Langcastor vs. Black or Langcastor vs. anyone else currently there, its just balance it out Corus-Laurie was sharp. Overall OB is still way ahead of the crap CBC spits out. Kudos to anyone in broadcasting/journalism who survive on the whits of far, far, away land managers like those in Corus.
April 11th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Well, I love CJOB, always have. BUT I cannot stand listening to Hal in the morning; his constant self-promotion is over the top. He belongs on an FM station – much too hyper and loud. His laugh grates on my nerves.
If CJOB is looking for a younger demographic, then they’re succeeding with the very loud and annoying Hal Anderson.
Give me back Larry Updike (with Brian Barkley). I don’t turn on CJOB until 9:00 when Cloutier is on.
Courtney James plain and simply sucks. I switch to another station or listen to CDs.
Karen Black is like a chick flick, a lot of female type topics (and I’m a woman).
Adler’s program is interesting and entertaining, especially on Friday’s with David Menzies.
My opinion only. I appreciate all other comments altho’ I disagree with most of them.
April 24th, 2010 at 7:06 am
Some parting thoughts. This whole blog started because CJOB took Laurie Lancaster off the air. We have no idea what a big favour ‘OB did for us. Laurie reminded me of that sound a car makes when you first start it up, and a belt is loose. I mean if that is the benchmark for talent in this city, then folks fire up those CD’s, because radio is truly dead. Overall the level of talent, from a technical and an imaginative point of view is sub-par at best. I have channel surfed the past few weeks and have come to the conclusion that anyone who can make some sort of noise, doesn’t even have to be understandable, can get a job on radio. After listening to RRCC radio, if that is what they are teaching our future broadcasters, then I can see why the level of talent is so low. Radio is bland, unimaginative, and lacking of any sort of talent. The music stations are all pre-programmed and play the same half dozen songs all day long. But at least the music prevents us from having to listen to the babble that is supposed to be professional announcers. There you are. Those two words. “Processional announcers”. Radio colleges need to raise the bar as to what constitutes a professional announcer. Then maybe radio can enjoyable again. There are two exceptions to my comments. Bob Irving and Paul Edwards. The rest should take note of these two professionals on how to perform on the air.