Monthly Archives: August 2009

Pete Marier replaces Rob Kemp on CHOM morning show

August 11, 2009 – 12:53 am| Posted in Radio

They're billing it as "Something BAD is coming to CHOM", and rumours are spreading about major changes at Montreal's classic rock station.

The truth, however, is far less interesting. CHOM is simply shuffling their talent around.

The big news is that "Bad" Pete Marier and Rob Kemp will be switching slots on the schedule. Marier will join Kim Rossi and Ted Bird on the morning show, while Kemp will DJ in the afternoons.

The schedule tightens up the shows during weekdays, enough to add a new one: "Jo's Garage" with Musique Plus VJ and CBC radio host Joanne Vrakas, in the late evenings.

The old schedule

Weekdays:

  • Ted, Kim and Kemp in the Morning: 5:30 am to 10:00 am
  • Sharon Hyland Show: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Pete Marier Show: 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm
  • Evenings with Bilal: 7:00 pm to 12:00 am
  • Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am

Saturdays:

  • Best of Ted, Kim & Kemp: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
  • Tootall Weekend Show: 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  • Randy Renaud Show: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
  • CHOM's That 80's Show: 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm
  • Randy Renaud Show: 11:00 pm to 12:00 am
  • Jimmy Spencer Show: 12:00 am to 6:00 am

Sundays:

  • CHOM Rocks Your Weekend Mornings: 6:00 am to 9:00 am
  • The Deep End with Nick Michaels: 9:00 am to 11:00 am
  • Electric Brunch with Tootall: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
  • Tootall Weekend Show: 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
  • Randy Renaud Show: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
  • CHOM's Black Cat Alley Show: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
  • Little Steven’s Underground Garage: 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm
  • Off The Record: 11:00 pm to 12:00 am
  • Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am

The new schedule

Weekdays

  • Ted, Kim and Bad Pete in the Morning: 5:30 am to 9:00 am
  • Sharon Hyland Show: 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
  • The Electric Lunch Hour: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
  • Rob Kemp Show: 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Butt Show (Bilal): 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm
  • Jo's Garage with Joanne Vrakas: 8:00 pm to 12:00 am
  • Overnight Rock w/ Brandon: 12:00 am to 5:30 am

Saturdays and Sundays are unchanged. Tootall and Randy Renaud aren't going anywhere.

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This Week in Me: The New New Democratic Party

August 10, 2009 – 2:48 pm| Posted in My articles
Democratic Party / Parti démocratique

Democratic Party / Parti démocratique

Page A2 of today's Gazette was all me again this week (it's going to be the case for the next few Mondays as well). Below the usual Monday Calendar is a Bluffer's Guide to the NDP's proposed name change (they want to remove the word "New" and become just the "Democratic Party of Canada"), wherein you learn that the previous name for the NDP was, in fact, the New Party.

The NDP is meeting in Halifax this weekend and will debate the name change there.

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Pitter-Patter

August 10, 2009 – 1:48 pm| Posted in Media, Web design
Patrick Lagacé (top), Patrick Lagacé (right) and Patrick Lagacé (bottom)

Patrick Lagacé (top), Patrick Lagacé (right) and Patrick Lagacé (bottom)

HE'S MULTIPLYING! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

It's good that Cyberpresse always has extra images of Patrick Lagacé around, just in case you forget what he looks like.

UPDATE: It seems some people have had enough.

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Montreal Geography Trivia No. 48

August 10, 2009 – 12:00 pm| Posted in Montreal, Pop quiz

Montreal Geography Trivia No. 47

What is this an underexposed photo of?

(Note to Photoshop experts: there is no image to enhance here, so don't even bother) Read More »

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Global Quebec’s new website

August 10, 2009 – 1:14 am| Posted in TV, Web design
GlobalQuebec.com

GlobalQuebec.com

After redesigning its newspaper websites, Canwest has done the same with its Global network, giving each station its own proper domain name and doing lots of Web 2.0 stuff like SEOed URLs and using bluish grey everywhere.

Global Quebec's site still takes virtually all its news content directly from The Gazette (which in turn links to Global videos for major stories).

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CJAD cancels three shows, fires eight

August 6, 2009 – 2:28 pm| Posted in Montreal, Radio

If you notice some of your favourite shows have suddenly disappeared from CJAD's schedule, it's because they've been cancelled.

Montreal's news/talk station has canned four of its shows:

In all, The Gazette reports, eight on-air personalities are leaving the station:

  • Peter Anthony Holder, overnight host
  • Laurie MacDonald, Laurie & Olga host
  • Olga Gazdovic, Laurie & Olga host
  • Kevin Holden, Kevin & Trudie host
  • Al Gravelle, Solid Gold Saturdays host
  • Jake Lawrence, Solid Gold Sunday Nights host
  • Kathryn Coulombe, news anchor
  • Rod Dewar, editorialist

Trudie Mason will remain with the station, expanding her morning news role.

Holder was the latest to get the news... yesterday. He received so little notice that he had to cancel a booked guest. Holder confirmed he's been fired but wouldn't comment further (UPDATE: See below). Laurie MacDonald told The Gazette they were told to give in their pass keys as soon as they were told they were fired.

As for what's taking their places:

  • Dan Laxer will be taking the Kevin and Trudie spot from 2-4 weekdays
  • Laxer's weekday evening slot is taken over by a syndicated show, The Ryan Doyle Show, from CFRB
  • Ray Scott takes over Solid Gold Sundays from Jake Lawrence
  • Former CBC host Anne Lagacé-Dowson takes over (on an interim basis) the spot left by Laurie & Olga at 1-4 Saturdays
  • Saturday evenings will have "weekend" versions of weekday shows

Bendixen says other announcements will be forthcoming "in the next couple weeks." Operations Manager Bob Harris told The Gazette that negotiations are ongoing.

Sports reporter Rob Martier has also left CJAD to move back to Chicago, though that move was for personal reasons and is unrelated to the shakeup.

More coverage:

UPDATE (Aug. 11): Holder talks to The Gazette's Kathryn Greenaway, saying "they can only fire you, they can't kill you." Holder's fans are making themselves heard loud and clear, starting up a Facebook group, Facebook cause and commenting en masse on his Facebook wall. The Gazette piece resulted in lots of feedback from readers.

And The Mirror points us to "Why CJAD sucks", published exactly 10 years ago this week.

Meanwhile, Kim Fraser, who survived the cuts, responds to criticism of her on the Radio in Montreal group.

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CFCF cameraman dies on the job

August 5, 2009 – 1:05 pm| Posted in Montreal, TV
CTV cameraman Hugh Haugland (photo from his Facebook page)

CFCF cameraman Hugh Haugland (photo from his Facebook page)

Today isn't a happy day at CFCF.

Hugh Haugland, one of the station's cameramen - and son of former anchor Bill Haugland - died in a helicopter crash this morning while shooting video of the aftermath of last night's tornado in Mont Laurier. The pilot, Roger Bélanger, also died in the crash. Canadian Press reports that the helicopter had engine failure and was attempting to land when it crashed, but hit a cable holding an electrical pole. Witnesses report the helicopter caught fire after it crashed and nothing could be done to save the occupants.

CFCF led its noon newscast with a clearly distraught, distracted Mutsumi Takahashi breaking the news in a hastily-packaged 40-second brief. Takahashi continued the hour-long newscast with watery eyes despite just being exposed to the devastating news. At 6pm, she again led the newscast with news of Haugland's death, but it wasn't any easier. This time a full report on the crash from Daniele Hamamdjian and an obit from Rob Lurie. The CBC and Global local newscasts both led with Haugland, while the franco newscasts led with the Mont Laurier tornado in general.

Bill Haugland, meanwhile, never expected when he woke up today to be spending the day talking about how his granddaughters are going to live without their father. But even while he was contacting other family members to break the news to them, he accepted interview requests from almost a dozen different news outlets to talk about his son.

Hugh Haugland, 44, is survived not only by his father but by two teenage daughters, Evie (who just celebrated her 19th birthday) and Lianne, 14. He had been working for CFCF for 24 years. His Facebook wall is getting inundated with messages.

More coverage:

And briefs from:

CTV has issued a formal statement and CTV Montreal has put up a piece with condolences. Pauline Marois and the PQ and Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals also issued statements expressing condolences for Haugland and Bélanger.

UPDATE (Aug. 9): L. Ian MacDonald has some thoughts on Haugland and his job.

UPDATE: The official obituary notice, in Aug. 10's Gazette, is here (it's huge by paid obit standards, taking up more than a quarter of a page). A guest book is attached.

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Super soaked

August 5, 2009 – 11:56 am| Posted in Fun, Montreal, Video

Screw MJ. This is the kind of fun I'm taking about.

At the Mont-Royal metro station on Monday (via Ange-Aimée Woods)

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Le métro, l’autobus, c’est très bon, génial!

August 5, 2009 – 1:34 am| Posted in Montreal, Public transit, Video

I'm not familiar with this metro stop.

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Transcon makes bilingual papers French-only

August 5, 2009 – 1:29 am| Posted in Media, Montreal

CTV seems to be the only outlet so far to note that five Transcontinental community weeklies in Montreal have given up on trying to be bilingual and have switched to French-only publication.

The papers in question are:

Transcontinental says they'll keep some English content online (and by that I assume they mean they'll link to stories from the anglo papers like the West Island Chronicle and Westmount Examiner).

The anglos CTV talked to complained about the lack of news about their community as a result of this change, but when we're talking about 12-page issues that contain maybe a page and a half of editorial content (most of which is fluff pieces or borough announcements), I think it's a bit too late to complain about the loss of community news.

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