CFRB

City of license	Toronto, Ontario
Branding	Newstalk 1010
Frequency	1010 kHz (AM) 6.07 MHz (Shortwave)
First air date	February 19, 1927
Format	News, Talk
Power	50,000 watts
Class	A
Transmitter coordinates	43°30′39.67″N 79°37′48.07″W / 43.5110194°N 79.6300194°W / 43.5110194; -79.6300194
Callsign meaning	Canada's First Rogers Batteryless
Owner	Astral Media
Sister stations	CHBM-FM, CKFM-FM
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	Newstalk 1010

CFRB, Newstalk 1010, is an AM radio clear-channel station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting on 1010 kHz, with a shortwave radio simulcast by CFRX-SW on 6.070 MHz. The station broadcasts a mix of talk and news throughout the day from its transmitter located in the community of Clarkson, in the city of Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. The main offices for CFRB are located in midtown Toronto at 2 St. Clair Avenue West on the corner of Yonge Street.

History[edit]

Founded in 1927, CFRB was not Toronto's very first broadcaster, but it is Toronto's oldest broadcaster still operating today. It has also retained its original call letters from 1927 to the present. (Toronto station CKYC was on the air from to 1925 to 1996, but it had changed call letters on numerous occasions. Furthermore, CKYC is no longer on the air. CHKT is not really the same radio station as former CKYC; CHKT is merely a station that took over the frequency formerly occupied by CKYC.) CFRB station was founded by the Rogers Vacuum Tube Company (the precursor of Rogers Communications) to promote Edward S. Rogers, Sr.'s invention of a batteryless radio receiver that could be operated using alternating current and therefore did not need the cumbersome battery that had previously been required. The station itself was a demonstration of Rogers' application of his invention to radio transmitters as well as receivers, a development that allowed for a signal that reproduced voices and music more clearly. The new type of transmitter also made CFRB the world's first all-electric radio station.^[1] The letters "RB" in the station's callsign stand for "Rogers' Batteryless" (the letters "CF" form one of Canada's ITU prefixes). The station began transmitting on an experimental basis in January 1927 as 9RB until March when it began functioning as commercial radio station CFRB with the transmission of a live symphony orchestra concert conducted by Jack Arthur.^[2]

CFRB leased time for several hours a day to "phantom station" CNRX, carrying programming of the Canadian National Railway radio network, Canada's first radio network, until 1932 when the network disbanded. From 1930 until 1935 CFRB also leased time to phantom station CPRY of the rival Canadian Pacific Railway radio service.^[3]

CFRB's first studios were in a mansion on Jarvis Street north of Wellesley built by the Hart Massey family. In 1929 the station became an affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System.^[3]

In the 1930s, CFRB began airing what became Hockey Night in Canada and continued to air the program for decades even though it was also aired on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's CBL for most of that time.^[3]

From the 1930s to 1950s, CFRB was the radio broadcaster for the Toronto Santa Claus Parade.

CFRB has been broadcast at 1010 kHz on AM radio since 1947. Since 1937, the station has been simulcast on shortwave on CFRX at 6070 kHz.^[3]

Following the death of Edward S. Rogers, Sr., Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited was sold in 1941 and became Standard Radio Limited.^[3]

Wally Crouter joined the station in 1946 eventually becoming its morning man, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1996. Also in 1946, Standard Radio Limited was purchased by Argus Corporation.^[3]

Another long-lasting show was Calling All Britons featuring news, sports scores and music from Britain. It was hosted by Ray Sonin from 1965 until his death in 1991. In 1965, CFRB moved its studios from 37 Bloor Street West, where they had been since 1929, to its current location at St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street.^[3]

The station's downtown Toronto studios with sisters CHBM-FM & CKFM-FM.

In 1978, Argus Corporation was acquired by Conrad Black and his brother, thus also giving them ownership of Standard Broadcasting which they sold to Allan Slaight in 1985.^[3] In November 2007, Standard Broadcasting was sold to Astral Media.^[4]

CFRB was the number one station in the Toronto market for many decades according to the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement's ratings. However, it has declined in recent years and in 2006 was rated fifth.^[5]

Ted Rogers, the communications mogul and son of CFRB's founder, had vowed to re-acquire the station that his family had lost after his father's death, and considered his failure to do so his greatest disappointment. Reports indicate he was continuing to pressure Astral, CFRB's current owner, to sell the station right up until his death in 2008.^[6] (It is not clear how this would have occurred under current CRTC regulations, as Rogers already owns two AM stations in Toronto, CFTR and CJCL, the maximum permitted in a single market.)

Transmitter[edit]

The transmitting antennas for CFRB 1010 are a prominent landmark along Toronto's waterfront and are visible from over 100 km away. They are used as a landmark for navigation by pilots, on approach to Toronto Pearson International Airport, or to Toronto Island Airport. The antenna array consists of 4 vertical masts, 550 feet in height. Short wave radio station CFRX-SW; which is affiliated with CFRB, broadcasts at a frequency of 6070 kHz and is operated on the north end of the same site beside the main building.

CFRB was one of few to broadcast in AM stereo, starting in 1984. However, since AM stereo never achieved wide acceptance, the station deactivated its stereo broadcasting system in the mid-1990s.

The transmitter is located on Royal Windsor Drive, formerly King's Highway 122, 200 meters west of the intersection of Lakeshore Road West (former King's Highway 2) and Southdown Road, in the Clarkson area of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada at the coordinates 43°30′21″N 79°37′54″W / 43.505748°N 79.631786°W / 43.505748; -79.631786.

Program changes[edit]

In early 2007, CFRB reported an increase in ratings since programming changes such as Bill Carroll's assumption of morning show duties from Ted Woloshyn.

• Adult listeners of CFRB aged 25–54 have increased 14.8%.
• The Bill Carroll Morning Show saw an increase of 11.2% listeners during the Winter BBM Ratings. Female listeners of the show aged 25–54 have increased 36.6% while male listeners aged 25–54 have only increased 25.8%.
• Listeners aged 25–54 of the 12:00pm to 6:00pm weekend shows increased 67.6%. Listeners aged 25–54 of the 6:00am to 12:00pm weekend shows increased 670.5%, also in the Winter BBM Ratings.^[7]

However, CFRB's morning show has trailed CBC Radio One's Metro Morning with Andy Barrie, a former CFRB host and commentator, in the ratings since 2003.^[8][9]

In August 2009, CFRB announced it was laying off a number of its well known personalities including Michael Coren, Paul and Carol Mott, Jacqui Delaney and newscaster Kris McCusker as part of a move to open a "new chapter" at the station.^[10]

The second phase of the shake up was announced in the fall with John Moore moving from afternoon drive to morning man replacing Bill Carroll who moves to the 9 am to 1 pm slot. Jim Richards takes over the 1pm to 4pm slot formerly held by The Motts and Michael Coren and former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader John Tory takes over the late afternoon slot vacated by Moore.^[11] In 2010, Carroll left CFRB to take a job in Los Angeles and was replaced by Jerry Agar.

Prior to July 2010, CFRB's talk schedule was unlike most private talk radio stations in Canada, in that even in overnights and weekends, it was entirely Canadian, and had no American syndicated programming on its schedule at all. That changed when CFRB added the American-based comedy-talk show The Phil Hendrie Show for overnights.

On the weekend of October 2–3, 2010, a new weekend schedule was revealed which included The Morning Show with Ben Mercer, Saturdays with Ted Woloshyn, Sports Talk with Mike Toth and Sundays with John Downs. As a result many long running shows were cut, including Tech Talk with Marc Saltzman, Car Talk with Alan Gelman, The Dr. Joe Show, The Spider Jones Show, The Dr. Micky Lester Show and The Morning Show with John Donabie.

In early 2013, the station will add Astral's new late night Humble & Fred show.^[12]

Current hosts[edit]

Newstalk 1010's Justine Lewkowicz at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of Seven Psychopaths

Weekdays[edit]

• Robert Turner, The Early Edition - early mornings
• John Moore, Moore in the Morning - mornings
• Jerry Agar, The Jerry Agar Show - midday
• Mike Bullard, Beyond the Mic with Mike Bullard - noon
• Jim Richards, The Jim Richards Showgram - afternoons
• John Tory, Live Drive with John Tory - afternoon drive
• Ryan Doyle, John Downs, Friendly Fire - evenings
• Humble & Fred - midnight^[12]

Overnight programming comes from the U.S.-based 24/7 Comedy Radio.

Weekends[edit]

• Larry Fedoruk, Saturday and Sunday mornings
• Sunday Morning Trivia, hosted by Jason Agnew Sundays 9am - noon.
• Ted Woloshyn, Saturdays with Ted Woloshyn - Saturdays 11am-3pm
• Toronto Mayor Rob Ford and Councillor Doug Ford, The City - Sunday afternoons 1pm-3pm
• Tarek Fatah, The Tarek Fatah Show - Sunday afternoons 3-4pm
• Mark Elliot, People Helping People - Saturday nights
• Steven Skurka, Closing Argument - Sunday afternoons 4-5pm

Other weekend hosts[edit]

• Dr. Joe Schwarcz

Newscasters & Reporters[edit]

• Dave Agar
• Evelyn Macko
• David McKee
• Dave Bradley
• David Woodard
• Kym Geddes
• Amber Gero
• Katie Franzios
• Justine Lewkowicz
• Russ Courtney
• Michelle Rosa
• Siobhan Morris
• James Moore

Alumni[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Newstalk 1010
• CFRB History at Canadian Communications Foundation
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CFRB