Here’s one that near and dear to my heart, being within earshot of most of eastern Canada, and being an old radio hand.

Years ago, I would often listen to the CBC for a picture of what was happening in the Toronto area… back in the day when CBL was ruling the roost on 740.  That Big ol’ Continental transmitter out in Hornby, Ontario (Off Trafalgar Road and the 401) worked very well indeed for the CBC, and it and it’s antenna mate, the French speaking CJBC/860, also running a 317C, put out a signal that very few in the region could match. Back in the day they could be heard all over the great lakes region day or night.

So, I often got a taste of their morning show, called Metro Morning. Now along about 1999, (June, I think) CBL signed off the air for the last time, after running 24*7 since, basicly, 1941. The intent was to move CBC-1 and CBL’s local programming to an FM station on 99.1FM… Which, as it happens is the next notch over from a local 50kw Rochester station on 98.9, which means that they no longer can be heard in Western NY, as they were on 740.

Someone bought the 740 operation and is running “Music of your life” type programming on it these days under the call of CHWO.

Toward the end of the run of CBL I started noting a leftward shift of their local programming, which I found disturbing, but not altogether unusual for a CBC outlet,and certainly not for a non-commercial broadcaster. Apparently the trend toward the left has not changed, and in fact has gotten worse, Angry in the Great White North has a rather extensive write-up.

Go see.

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