[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[IRCA] Radio vet signs off as CFRB cuts back
Radio vet signs off as CFRB cuts back
Parnaby leaves with 50 years under his belt, along with five others;
Syrett's show cancelled
Jan 27, 2009 04:30 AM
GREG QUILL
ENTERTAINMENT COlumnIST
Award-winning reporter and commentator Tayler Parnaby, a 50-year news radio
veteran whose pre-noon daily broadcast was the last link to NewsTalk 1010
CFRB's fabled past, is calling it quits.
Parnaby and controversial shock news radio personality Richard Syrett were
among six long-time news staffers whose positions were lost in a
cost-cutting shakeup at the once-formidable Toronto radio station in the
past week.
They were among 23 jobs cut from Astral Media's English-language radio
division. The specialty TV, radio and outdoor advertising company, which
acquired Standard Radio in 2007 for $1.1 billion, released a statement
citing the need to "maintain and enhance the competitive position of its 82
radio stations."
The positions, which included four held by veteran CFRB news
producers/writers David Bent, Jane Brown, Bill McDonald and John Elston,
will not be replaced, station manager Steve Kowch told the Toronto Star
yesterday.
"Only one show, the Richard Syrett Show, has been cancelled, and that's
because after two years it is not performing the way it should.
"This sort of thing happens in radio all the time."
Parnaby's signature 11:50 a.m. newscast has been a fixture since the Star's
Gordon Sinclair launched it during World War II.
"It's been a hell of a ride," said Parnaby, 67, CFRB's chief correspondent
since 1988 and a former mainstay at CKO, CKEY and CHUM.
"I've been part of the Toronto soundtrack, I guess, since 1964," he told the
Star yesterday from the Caledon home he shares with his wife of 43 years,
Lynda.
Parnaby had been semi-retired for the past 18 months, Kowch said.
"He made the decision to retire for good this past weekend. He asked for two
things: for (news director and Toronto at Noon host) Dave Trafford to do the
newscast (announcing his retirement), and for no fuss to be made on air
about his decision to step away."
Based at CFRB's Queen's Park bureau, Parnaby enjoyed grilling politicians
with an almost patrician formality that frequently gleaned more thoughtful
responses than from other, less polite questioners.
A tireless newshound, Parnaby reported on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in
New York, the 2005 tsunami in Southeast Asia, the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial in
Los Angeles, and numerous federal, provincial and U.S. election campaigns.
But he was most famous for his popular pre-midday newscast and commentary,
which continued a tradition begun around 1942 by Sinclair, a famed Star
correspondent fired for, among other indiscretions, daring to take his act
to CFRB.
"The `10 to 12' newscast, which Gordon Sinclair began, is being retired. I'm
retiring, too," Parnaby said wryly.
"It's clear, I think, that CFRB is suffering from a declining audience and,
in these difficult circumstances, declining revenue," he said.
"It's my understanding ... that CFRB will undergo a fairly substantial
reformatting or refocusing in the coming weeks."
Kowch said there were no plans for a new format, "just a readjustment in the
newsroom and some staffing shifts."
Kowch wouldn't say how many news staff remain at the station. But on the day
the cuts were made, CFRB had a team of about six reporters and producers in
Washington to cover President Barack Obama's inauguration, he said.
"And we have a full team in Ottawa reporting on the budget and Canada's
national political scene. We have more than enough people to do the job.
These changes will have no impact on the Toronto radio operation."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/577706
73
Mike Brooker
Toronto, ON
_______________________________________________
IRCA mailing list
IRCA@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca
Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers
For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org
To Post a message: irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx