CFTR (AM)
Ted Rogers[1] | |
Technical information | |
---|---|
Licensing authority | CRTC |
Class | B |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°12′51″N 79°36′31″W / 43.21417°N 79.60861°W |
Repeater(s) | 92.5 CKIS-FM HD2 (Toronto) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | toronto |
CFTR (680 AM; “680 NewsRadio Toronto”) is a commercial all-news radio station licensed to Toronto, Ontario, serving the Greater Toronto Area. Owned by Rogers Radio, a division of the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications, the station became Canada's first solo station to broadcast an all-news radio format, following in the footsteps of the CKO national all-news radio network, a format that has since been replicated in major markets across the country. The CFTR studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis Streets in downtown Toronto, while the station transmitter is located on the southern edge of Lake Ontario at Oakes and Winston Road (near the QEW and Casablanca Blvd) in nearby Grimsby.[2]
While CFTR broadcasts at the maximum power for Canadian AM stations, 50,000 watts, it must use a complicated directional antenna system to avoid interfering with other stations on 680 AM. In addition to a standard analog transmission, CFTR is simulcast on the second HD digital subchannel of CKIS-FM, and is available online. Its audio simulcasts on Bell Satellite TV channel 958.[3]
History
Early years
The station launched on August 8, 1962.
In 1971, so as to distinguish itself from CHFI-FM, the station changed its callsign to CFTR; the "TR" being a tribute to
In 1972, CFTR abandoned the beautiful music simulcast of CHFI and adopted a Top 40 format. For many years, it was the primary competition to Toronto's original Top 40 station, CHUM.[5]
In 1973, programmer Chuck Camroux upped the ante in the Toronto radio "Rock and Roll Wars" by tweaking CFTR's notoriously bad signal, adding some
CFTR also hired John Records Landecker from WLS in Chicago in 1981. Landecker spent two years at the station before returning to Chicago to work at WLUP.[5]
All-news era
Through the 1980s and 1990s, music listeners switched to FM, prompting AM stations like CFTR to find non-music formats. On June 1, 1993, at 10 a.m., CFTR announced it would be discontinuing the Top 40 format,[9] and began broadcasting a countdown of "the top 500 songs of the (then) past 25 years" titled "The CFTR Story". At 6 a.m. on June 7, after playing Phil Collins' "Against All Odds" (which was the #1 song in the countdown) and Starship's "We Built This City" (which also ended CHUM's Top 40 era in 1986), CFTR adopted its present all-news radio format as "680 News". It was the first all-news radio station in Canada since the end of the former CKO network in 1989.
The station offers listeners a "weather guarantee" jackpot, which is drawn from a pool of listeners who enter the contest.[citation needed]
In June 2021, Rogers announced that it would rebrand CFTR and its other all-news and news/talk radio stations under the CityNews brand.[10] The rebranding took effect on October 18, 2021.[11][12]
CFTR rebranded as "680 News Radio Toronto" on March 25, 2024.[13]
Notable staff
- Bob McAdorey (1970-1976), formerly CHUM, later Global News entertainment editor and co-anchor[5][14][15]
- John Records Landecker - morning man (1981-1983)[5]
- Jesse and Gene - (Jesse Dylan and Gene Valaitis) (1989-1993), first in afternoon drive, moved to morning drive in 1991[5]
- Chris Mavridis - reporter (1997-2000)[5]
- Rick Moranis (using the stage name Rick Allen) - (ca. 1973)[16][17]
References
- ^ ISBN 9780470739747.
- ^ Rossiter, Eric (September 3, 1979). "CFTR Move Gets Approval" (PDF). DX News.
- ^ "None" (PDF).
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-249
- ^ a b c d e f g h "CFTR-AM | History of Canadian Broadcasting". www.broadcasting-history.ca.
- ^ Rock image fades as CHUM goes upmarket, Henry Mietkiewicz, Toronto Star, June 6, 1986
- ^ CHUM ends teen rock image to woo baby boomers, Henry Mietkiewicz, Toronto Star, June 7, 1986
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1986/RR-1986-06-13.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ CFTR dumps pop music to launch day-long news, Greg Quill, Toronto Star, June 2, 1993
- ^ "Rogers extends CityNews brand to five more of its news radio stations". Medicine Hat News. The Canadian Press. June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
- ^ "CityNews". toronto.citynews.ca.
- ^ "CityNews". toronto.citynews.ca.
- ^ "The Weekly Briefing". Broadcast Dialogue. March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- ^ "TheStar.com | HtoM | Bob McAdorey, 69: DJ led heady days at CHUM". Toronto Star. February 24, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-02-24.
- ^ "CFMJ-AM | History of Canadian Broadcasting". www.broadcasting-history.ca.
- ^ "Rick Moranis | the Canadian Encyclopedia".
- ^ "CFTR-AM | History of Canadian Broadcasting".
External links
- CityNews 680
- CFTR-AM at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CFTR: The Legend 1978-1982 tribute page
- CFTR in the REC Canadian station database
- Radio-Locator information on CFTR