CKO Sign On

[cart_machine]

All news radio
Dead air and technical errors greet network listeners
[from the Brandon Sun, July 6, 1977]
TORONTO (CP) — Public reaction to CKO, Canada's first all-news FM radio' network, has been both complimentary and critical, says Terry Mclnnes, the network's station news director in Toronto.
Commenting on the service which began recently, Mclnnes said most complaints have centred on mispronunciation and other slips caused by the on-air jitters of rookie broadcasters.
As an example, he cited an incident at the network's head office in Ottawa where a broadcaster mispronounced the U.S. state — Arkansas — nine times in one story.
"I don't think he's with us anymore," Mclnnes said.
He also said there have missed cues and some of the newscasters have been heard to say, '"Oh boy, I've done it again.'" while on the air.
However, Mclnnes said three of the 11-member staff at the network's Toronto station are starting their first job and some of them were "understandably nervous."
Mclnnes also said there were a few technical errors and on two occasions dead air space greeted listeners.
Besides the Toronto and Ottawa stations, the network will soon begin operating in London, Ont., and stations are planned for Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver by the fall.
The network also has licenses for stations in Winnipeg, Regina, Halifax, Saint John, N.B., and St. John's, Nfld.
The network operates 18 hours a day with a mixture of short-item newscasts, longer treatment of major stories, features and commercials.
Blaik Kirby, writing in The Globe and Mail, said the Ottawa station was an hour late starting Friday due to an overloaded power line.
"Sampling through the day, I heard occasional bad pronunciation, bad reading, inaudible sound levels — all problems you meet when trying to do big job with a small, green staff," Kirby said.
Kirby was also critical of what he said was excessive reliance on U.S. news services.

cArtie notes: CKO's network programming originally came from Ottawa, no doubt to please the CRTC or some such thing. The local news was originally from :02 to :07 and :32 to :37. Dead air was almost understandable; during the local breaks, there was no feed on the network. The cue to rejoin the system was a series of five two-second tones which took 13 seconds (three, a pause, then two). The network announcer/board op rarely sent them at the correct time.

Some time in 1979, spring, I think, the network operations were moved to Toronto, where the company had its corporate headquarters. Not many of the on-air staff made the move; Barry Aldrich is the only one I can recall off-hand.

It seems to me the Sun did a story after the Vancouver station signed on which dealt with mispronunciations; one was either 'Nanaimo' or 'Spokane.' I know I heard both of them butchered at one time or another from back east.