A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

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A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

Postby jon » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:09 pm

Metro Edmonton edition
March 7, 2014
U of A students launch “girlcotte” against local radio station
By Leah Germain, Metro

What started as a project for a Women’s Study class has now gone viral, as four University of Alberta students campaign to have a local radio station end a series of questionable contests.

The Bear’s 100.3 Best Buns Contest, Party Darts Contest and Babe of the Day Submissions are just three of the promotions that U of A student Vanessa Naoussi argues promotes sexism and the idea women are objects.

“The Bear has run contests like this for such a long time,” she explained. “It always targets women.”

In hopes of raising awareness on the issue, the group launched an online “Girlcotte,” encouraging people to consider the way women are portrayed by the contests.

The foursome is even holding its own “Best Balls” contest to shine a revealing light on The Bear’s promotions.

According to Rob Vavrek, program director for The Bear, not every listener is going to be pleased with certain content from radio stations.

“Radio stations get complaints on a daily basis about everything,” he said. “People will complain about just about anything and everything, which is odd because it is a free service.”

Vavrek explained one of the contests in question, The Best Buns Contest, ended Feb. 14 and was open to both men and women equally to submit a photo of their behind, while the Party Darts Contest has run its course and no longer included as a “audience engagement strategy.”
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Re: A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

Postby jon » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:09 pm

The Bear Ottawa's home page:

The Bear 106.9 Closure

Corus Radio Ottawa is committed to providing the best possible listening experience, therefore, we have decided to take FM 106.9 in a new direction. We thank our listeners, advertisers and community partners for supporting us the past 20 years.

We are confident the new format will be a welcome addition to the Ottawa radio landscape. Your support is important to us and we invite you to listen to the station that we are certain will become an audience favorite.

Mark Dickie
General Manager,
Corus Radio Ottawa / Cornwall
1069ottawa@corusent.com
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Re: A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

Postby jon » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:12 pm

106.9 The Bear signs off for last time
By Doug Hempstead, Ottawa Sun
March 7, 2014

The Bear has gone into permanent hibernation.

A popular FM radio choice in the Ottawa region for 20 years, the Corus-owned station is expected to re-launch as Fresh FM.

General manager Mark Dickie posted a statement on the website Thursday.

"We have decided to take FM 106.9 in a new direction. We thank our listeners, advertisers and community partners for supporting us the past 20 years. We are confident the new format will be a welcome addition to the Ottawa radio landscape. Your support is important to us and we invite you to listen to the station that we are certain will become an audience favorite."

The station — CKQB FM — began in 1982 as an AM station, eventually transitioning to 54 Rock in 1989.

The station switched to the FM The Bear in 1993.

After a sale last decade, the station became Virgin Radio in 2009 for a while before returning to The Bear name in 2011.

It is also broadcast on 99.7 FM in Pembroke.
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Re: A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

Postby jon » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:14 pm

The Bear loses bite in radio shakeup
By Louis Turcotte AND Robert Bostelaar, OTTAWA CITIZEN
March 6, 2014

OTTAWA — The sellout of once-brash Ottawa rock station 106.9 The Bear is complete: It’s going “adult contemporary.”

But not, as one Internet poster suggested, as The Bore.

Most likely name for the reformatted station is 1069 Fresh, in line with Fresh stations already operated by new owner Corus Entertainment in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton and London, Ont.

Corus wouldn’t confirm the new name and format Thursday, but a posted promise of “a fresh new direction” and a 1069Fresh.com website it put up recently — and has since taken down — appeared to reveal its plans.

The Bear got its start in 1988 as upstart AM station 54 Rock, after then-owner Standard Broadcasting abandoned middle-of-the-road and light rock formats. In 1994 it changed its name and jumped to the stronger signal and wider reach of FM, going head-to-head with CHEZ, itself an Ottawa rock trailblazer.

Both stations would later slide into a narrow programmed ghetto of Led Zeppelin, Rush and AC/DC, with The Bear taking a brief side trip as Virgin Radio under a deal with Richard Branson’s commercial empire and playing “re-energized rock.”

Corus snapped up The Bear and another Ottawa station, Boom 99.7, after Bell Media was required by regulators to unload some stations as part of its 2013 acquisition of Astral Media.

A Corus spokesman said Thursday the new station will debut later this month. Until then The Bear will stay on the air playing only music and ads, and without the on-air hosts once famous for such stunts as dropping a Cadillac on a dummy wearing Toronto Maple Leafs gear.

George Pollard, a social psychologist at Carleton University who spent decades in the radio industry, said The Bear never achieved the following of CHEZ. But especially in its early days, it made a connection as a well-run station with a genuine interest in its city.

“They took their responsibility to the community seriously, and they had a good news operation, which is always a good indicator of that,” Pollard said.

In an interview, general manager Mark Dickie said some announcers were let go as part of the change.

“Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to a few really good broadcasters who have been part of the radio station for many years, some of them a very long time, so it’s a sad day in that respect,” he said.

“At the same time, (remaining staff) knows what the future holds, and where we’re going, and there’s a sense of excitement about that.”

As 1069 Fresh, the station will compete with a host of easy-listening and pop outlets on the jammed Ottawa dial. If the Edmonton Fresh playlist is any indication, its offerings will be “familiar and fun with artists such as Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Katy Perry, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and Maroon 5.”
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Re: A Tale of Two Bears' Death Spiral

Postby jon » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:21 pm

All that said, The Bear in Edmonton may well stick it out.

Down from a 6.3 to a 4.9 overall SHARE since the last ratings period, and an amazing 8.1 for the same period last year, the station still does a 9.0 among Men 25 to 54 years of age, according to David Bray's published ratings. And 5.6 for Women 25-54, who are a bit too old to be in Women's Studies at the University of Alberta.

The jury is still out in Edmonton, though The Bear in Ottawa is clearly Toast.
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