Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Dwight Drummond: Toronto Mike'd #204

Episode Date: November 15, 2016

Mike chats with CBC news anchor Dwight Drummond about his years at City TV and the CBC, being racially profiled by police in 1993 and his cameo in Maestro Fresh-Wes's Let Your Backbone Slide video.

Welcome to episode 204 of Toronto Mic'd, a weekly podcast about anything and everything. Proudly brought to you by Great Lakes Brewery, a local independent brewery producing fresh craft beer. And Chef's Plate, delivering delicious and locally sourced farm fresh ingredients in refrigerated kits directly to your door. fresh ingredients and refrigerated kits directly to your door. I'm Mike from TorontoMike.com and joining me this week is CBC Toronto anchor Dwight Drummond.

Welcome, Dwight. Thank you, Mike. I like that hip-hop funky theme, buddy. That works. This is Ill Vibe, local rapper-producer who made this special for me. This is a one-off. And it's nice.

I like that. I already like you. Thank you for this. My wife and I, she said I'm not cool enough for this theme song. Yo, my kids tell me that too, man. So, daddy, you can't dress like that or listen to that music anymore. But I tell them Jay-Z's like the same age as me, man. That's right. That's right. Age is just

a number, for sure. Exactly. That's right. That's right. Age is just a number for sure. Exactly. It's an absolute pleasure to finally get you over here. We've been working on this for a while. Yeah, the schedules, you know. What are you going to do? What are you going to do? Busy, busy kids, family, work.

It happens. But I'm glad to be here. No, totally. Now, I was kind of doing a little homework on you. Uh-oh. My first question. No, nothing bad. You cheated me.

It's all good. So I need to know this right off the bat. Yeah. You were born in Montego Bay. Yes, man. I was. How old were you when you came to Canada? Came to Canada.

Way back in the 70s. I was, what, seven years old. Seven years old, yeah. Born in Montego Bay. Lived in a little farming village near appleton estates in uh st elizabeth and uh like you know a lot of the immigrant families my mom came to canada before made enough money to bring us here and it you know we're we're a real canadian immigrant story because you know my mom had this plan for us and it worked out man you know the the opportunities that we came to Canada for,

like it really panned out. It said if you worked hard, stayed in school, and did all these things, that you'd be all right. And my sisters and my brother and I were all right. That's awesome. And you ended up like in my old stomping grounds because, for example, I used to live like really close to Renamede High School.

Yes, I went to Renamede. When I landed at jane and woolner that was our first stop and then eventually we moved up to jane and finch you know like the jefferson's moving on up i think people would be like to jane and finch yeah you know so and then i bust down uh to to runnymede and i tell people all the time you know i actually went to runnymede to play basketball you know there were officer champs at the time. In fact, the majority of the team came from Jane and Finch and we just bussed down Jane Street every day. But I went there to play ball and ended up getting a great education, man. Runnymede was a great high school. I had some really good teachers who gave me a lot of

confidence and, you know, probably believed in me a little more than I believed in myself at the time. And it worked out, you know, it really worked out. It was a great school. Here's a question. Do you know, maybe you'll know, P.K. Subban, who obviously is a great student. Yeah, I know P.K. Did he go to, did he go to Renovate? He went, I think, for like a year.

Okay. Right. And then I think, you know, he billeted and went off to play hockey. But I know P.K.'s family pretty well. His dad was a principal up at Brookview in Jane and Finch. And he'd bring me in to talk to the kids. His sister, Nastassia, teaches at Westview. So I know the Subban family pretty well. I'm so proud of those guys, man.

Like, it's a great story. Humbercrest, which is the primary school. Yeah, I know Humbercrest. Yeah. So there's, because my kids, one's still there and one is in high school now. He actually went to Humberside. I urged him to go to Runnymede. He ended up choosing Humberside with some French, he has French immersion. Yes. My kids are doing the french immersion too my daughter goes to harvard now but yeah um humberside is a good school too you know i used to play ball in that gym back in the day a lot of those eastern european ballers from that neighborhood we used to be balling there with the serbians okay because they have the the uh ukrainians and the lithuan And the Lithuanians, man. Lithuanians, yeah. They could ball, believe it. My last guest, actually, for 203, Sofia Yurskovich.

The sports? And she's from Sportsnet. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But her dad was a very popular teacher at Humberside. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. They called him Mr. J. He taught math there. Very cool. And Jeff Merrick. Yeah, I know Jeff. Jeff Merrick went to Humberside. Yeah, he's a high-par kid, yeah.

That was his favorite teacher, was Sofia's dad. What a small world. I know Jeff. Jeff Merrick went to Humberside. Yeah, he's a high park kid. That was his favorite teacher was Sophia's dad. What a small world. I know, isn't that crazy? And I only, yeah, Subban I mentioned because my kids are always telling me about, there's a picture of P.K. Subban in the hallway of Humber Crest. Okay. All the Humbers get me confused. And they're always talking, you know, like they're very excited that P.K. went to their school.

That's very cool. He's a very cool guy. Or she played for the Leafs though, but what are you going to do? Yeah, what are you going to do? No, are you kidding me? I'd love to have a guy like that on this team. Anyway, you know what? You could play defense on this team right now.

Oh, man, it is bad, isn't it? Don't count it out. A couple of quick hits before we get going here. One is we lost Canada, lost a legend this week. Yes. Now, you're a big music guy. We're going to talk about this later. But this Leonard Cohen, man, this cat could write.

This guy was a poet. He was a poet. And that's what he was. He was a better poet, I think, than a singer. Can I tell you, I like the guys who don't have good singing voice. For example, Tom Waits. I like Tom Waits' voice. But more like Dylan. He reminds me more of Dylan. And even Neil Young. People complain about Neil Young a lot. I like, for example, Tom Waits. I like Tom Waits for instance. But more like Dylan.

He reminds me more of Dylan. And even Neil Young. People complain about Neil Young a lot. I like that boy. I like Shane McGowan. I like these guys. But the lyrics are so profound that it's okay that they're not great singers. That's right.

But just an incredible writer. One of the best this country has ever produced. That's for sure. I don't know if they ever announced the cause of death but if you listen like he did a i think it was i want to say new york times but it might have been the new yorker but i think it was new york times he did something like a month ago at the new york times and he basically and he says in there that he's ready to go and when the uh what's it i want to get the marianne the the person is it suzanne suzanne

okay suzanne whoever that was passed away like a year maybe a year ago okay and Leonard Cohen wrote something that was read at her funeral

and it basically said I'm right behind you if you reach out you can almost touch my hand like basically I'm almost there too like I'll see you

very very soon I almost wonder if this guy I don't know because I never announced the cause of death but it's almost like he may have

decided it was time to go. I'm not sure, no. But I mean, he lived a long and full life and left a great legacy, that's for sure. Yeah, for sure. He's a Montreal guy, but we won't hold that against him. And this is my second episode since Donald Trump was elected. Do you have any, you know, I know you're not supposed to have the bias because you're a news guy.

Oh, yeah, I'm not biased, but, you know, I'm Canadian. I have Canadian sensibilities, and, you know, just hug that maple leaf a little tighter, you know. We all have our issues. The fear that I have with him being elected is that, you know, in this country, people always said, you know, it's not in your face, you know, some of the racism and some of the things you go through.

Because I've had issues in America that I could tell you stories that would just blow your mind, some of the things I went through down here. My fear is that people will now be emboldened and feel that because he's been elected and a lot of these alt-right people will come out now and say, hey, it's okay to be that way. hey, it's okay to be that way. When you hear kids in a cafeteria in America screaming, build that wall, when they have Mexican and Latino people in the cafeteria, classmates with them, it's worrying, man. It's worrying the direction.

Do you feel like we got a taste of this, though, when Rob Ford was made? Like on a smaller scale, but we got a taste. I felt like Ford Nation. People said that about Ford, but I covered those campaigns i was in the room it it was canada man it was toronto reflected so whatever you want to say about the man his constituency the people who supported him a very very multicultural

constituency so that's true you can say whatever you want i i mean i was there in the room and he got a lot of support from a lot of people of color. No, you're absolutely right. Where Trump, it feels like this is white America rising up or something. You know, my wife was saying to me, it's your fault. And I'm like, what do you mean by that? Because they said, I think black men in America was like 13% or 14% voted for Trump. And I don't know.

Anyway, and the women, it was only about like 6% or 7%. So it's like, you guys let us down again. It's your fault. I'm like, really, honey? Really? Oh, man. I think this is right, that Trump had less votes maybe than… Hillary won the popular vote, yes.

Right, but far less people voted this time than four years ago. Like overall, far less. Some Democrats, I think, were upset about Bernie Sanders not being the nominee. I think that held some people. And I feel this way. I feel Obama inspired people. Yes.

They wanted to come vote for him. And I feel Hillary failed to inspire people the way Obama did. That's part of it, you know. But I think some of the knocks against Hillary, that it's gender. Like if she was a man

in the way she was, it would be seen as a strength. But as a woman, I think she gets knocked for some of the things that, you know, she wouldn't be knocked for if she was a man. So you can't look at their resumes and not say that she was more, you know, wasn't more qualified for the job,

biased or unbiased. If you just look at the CV side by side, I think that there was a clear choice there. But you know what it's america man they love the cult of celebrity over there they really do that's a big deal in that country so and it gives you like at least uh as a news guy you've got some interesting stuff to cover for four years just like the rob ford when rob ford was elected i said in my news room you know i covered this guy as a counselor it's's going to be fun. He's not going to watch his tongue all the time.

Never a dull moment. Yeah, so I think that it's just scary because you know that, you know, what's the saying? They sneeze and we catch a cold. That's right. So let's hope. You know, with Bush, that Canadian dollar was at par.

Obama seemed to have fixed things. They're no longer at par, but maybe we'll be back at par again and their good and bad comes with that for our economy too. So we'll see what happens. We shall see. You've got some beer in front of you. Okay.

You're taking it home with you. I work for the CBC. I can't be paid in beer. That's a good point. Yeah, I don't know. That is a joke, by the way. No, that's a joke. But there's a question I have.

You're my third CBC guest. All right. So, Matt Galloway. Great guy. And Mike Wise. Another great guy, yeah. Well, you have to say that, right? No, I won't.

If they weren't great guys, what would you say? What if Mike Wise wasn't a great guy? I wouldn't make a comment. I'd just hold my tongue like my mother taught me. If you got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. That would have been a great moment. Matt Galloway, great guy. Mike Wise, silent.

But no, Mike Wise, great guy. But they all did the same thing you did. They all had to seek permission. Is this like a CBC rule? You can't appear on a thing? No, I think it's a media rule because I worked for another station for 20 years. I worked for CBC.

I heard, I heard. And the same thing there. You'd go to your bosses and say, hey, so-and-so wants to do this because I had enough currency and trust with them that they were usually okay with it. you would go to your bosses and say, hey, so-and-so wants to do this because, I mean, I had enough currency and trust with them that they were usually okay with it. But yeah, I think that... I thought maybe it was an Amanda Lang thing or something.

I wasn't sure if this was like follow-up. No, I think pretty much every media person that you have in here, they do let their bosses know that something, because they don't want to be scrolling through the podcast and be like, hey, Gino Red is on that podcast. When did Gino do that? Right? He didn't bring his mustache with him. I'm still a little disappointed.

Yeah. I grew up watching that guy. It was kind of fun listening to your talk with him. You know what? I'm telling you, I've had guys like that and Vic Router, for example, make the fun of it. It's like I'm reliving my childhood, man. It's pretty cool. It's fun. All right. So that beer is from Great Lakes Beer. And enjoy. I don't know if you enjoy beer or not. It doesn't matter because if you don't love it, your neighbor is going to love it. There's a variety pack. I think I've had this before.

One of my neighbors is actually the PR lady for like the micro brewers. There's a lot of summer barbecues in my neighborhood. So we get to taste all the different offerings that our province is putting out there. That's nice. That's nice. So these guys are like, I call them the Southwest craft beer so that's your local craft so enjoy that and it gets better my friends so you're enjoying your cold great lakes beer i'm gonna uh make sure you have some good healthy food with that so there's a company here called chef's plate and i mentioned off the top pre-portioned locally sourced farm fresh

ingredients and then easy to follow recipes. So they send you this kit, like it's in a refrigerated box, shows up at your door. All the stuff, you put it together. It's almost like Lego or whatever. You follow the instructions, you put it together, and you got yourself a healthy, locally sourced meal. And Dwight, because you paid the visit to Toronto Mic'd, the best thing you've done in a long time, two free meals from Chef's Plate. So I'm going to send you a link. You tell me the two meals you like the best and a shipping address. It's just going to arrive like magic. Just make sure there's kale in the box or else my wife

won't let it in the house. A lot of these recipes have kale. I'm pretty sure it does. Not just for decoration. And anyone out there who wants to try Chef's Plate, go to chefsplate.com and use the promo code TORONOMIKE and you get your first two plates for free. So give it a go and enjoy. Yeah, as long as you offer it to everybody. Everybody can get it for free. It's not just me, right? Okay, good. Uh-oh.

Not just you. On the mix. No, take it away, man. I just did it for my two youngest kids like half an hour ago. I can't match Maestro. Oh, I forgot I have this here. No pressure, but he signed that for me a couple of weeks ago. Hey, so I'm starting off with this.

So I recently talked. So I spoke with... The man himself. Yes, I did speak to the man himself. But before that, do you remember, of course you do, Joel Goldberg, we knew him as Jay Gold. I still see Mr., did I see him yesterday?

I think I saw Joel yesterday. Yeah, we work out at the same gym, so we're always chatting. That's funny. He's a good guy. I worked on a lot of videos with Mr. Goldberg back in the day. I was a student at Ryerson, and we worked at City on weekends doing electric circus.

And he did electric circus at the time. And then we would take off and go shoot videos. And we got to work with Joel on Stevie B. I don't know if people remember his videos. I got your letter from the postman just the other day. But that's all I know.

Don't ask me for another Stevie B. Dream Warriors. Oh, yeah. And of course, the Canadian iconic song here, Backbone Slides. So it was cool, though, because we would help to paint the sets. We'd set up the lights. We did all this stuff. And then we're also in the video, right?

It was a budget, low budget productions, man. All right. So, yeah. So Jay Gold, you mentioned Electric Circus. Yeah. And, of course, you mentioned Stevie B. So, Maestro goes on Electric Circus. Yes.

He gets his big break through Stevie B. This is, you know, and he, you know, I can't remember what number, 195 or something. But go listen to the Maestro episode. You got to hear this. So, yeah, they're filming the first big video for Maestro, of course, is Let Your Backbone Slide. And Joel Goldberg, a.k.a. Jay Gold, is directing this video. So, first, let me hear. the first big video for maestro of course is let your backbone slide and joel goldberg aka j gold is directing this video so first let me hear i pulled a clip of maestro talking about you so let's hear from maestro here and then let's talk about that so the the you mentioned so joel

goldberg produces uh directs the video for let your backbone slide so in that video and it's not a it's a pretty common known fact but i bet you some people are going to learn it now for the first time, but Dwight Drummond, CBC anchor, CBC Toronto anchor, Dwight Drummond appears in the video

at the beginning. Dwight Drummond's in Backbone and Drop the Needle. Is that right? Yeah, man. That's my dude right there. And that's because what? You needed bodies, right?

And he was like a production assistant at City. Yeah, he's just a good dude. He was just up and coming just trying to make a contribution and he definitely did so it's so funny me and him just spoke about this yesterday too is that right because i uh i've been talking to him as soon as he has some time he's coming over to do this podcast yeah man yeah so yeah he's as good as as good as advertised yeah he's cool man he's cool people's man cool people's i like that he so tell okay tell me i gotta know so i was actually just today i decided to go revisit that video which i loved i got the 12 inch right here i didn't go buy that

because my history was coming over i bought that in 89 everybody had that come on now um it was a good time so right off the top of the video i'm the guy with a camera on my shoulder i got like my box cut back in the day a la fresh prince i've got my uh africa pendant on and you know it was just really like we knew that something special was happening because they kept playing the song over and over as you shoot the video and you never got tired of it like so we knew it was a good song and at the time you know maestro and and his crew and all these guys like they'd be be rap battling each other, trying to rhyme each other, out rhyme each other.

It was just a really special shoot. I remember that like it was yesterday. Out of all the videos I worked on, that's the one I remember the most. One of the kids that was dancing in the video lived on my building in Jane and Finch. Another lady was like our receptionist at City, one of the dancers.

So it was really, you look at it now and holds up I think I think Joel did a great job I think Maestro did a great job but it was an exciting time and as Maestro said I was still in university at the time studying and it was just an opportunity to learn about this business we we did not know that this song would go on to do the great things it did, but we did have an inkling at the time that yeah, this is something special, and we thought maybe it would stay within the community, right? But then, I mean, that song hit. No, man, it left the community.

It was in Iqaluit they were listening to that. It was right across the country. It's just great to see Maestro still in the game, still acting, still writing, still doing things, because he's a real intelligent guy. And, you know, a lot of people don't understand the intelligence it takes to write lyrics. You could tell a good rapper from a bad rapper just by looking at those lyrics. There's a reason guys make it and guys don't.

And Maestro, you could tell he was a smart kid. It would have been a success at pretty much anything you put his mind to. I mean, you're preaching to the choir. But his latest track, I Know Your Mom, that's that thing. That's great. Even lyrically, it's great. I like these eyes.

Yeah. I'm a fan, not just because I know the guy. Not just because you were in Let Your Backbone Slide. But I'm telling you, if I were in that video, that's all I would say to people. Forget it. I'm not Dwight Drummond, like CBC Toronto guy,

former CBC. I'm the guy holding the camera. My first on-camera appearance, man. And both, I worked on both those videos and all those. So that's okay. That's the revelation.

So, by the way, and no one can see this because it's a podcast, but I got dropped the needle right there. So I had no idea until Maestro said it.

I had no idea you were in the drop the needle videos. Yeah, we worked on all of them with Joel at the time. And it was a good time. Like, I feel bad now because I don't know if kids coming up in this business can get those kind of opportunities anymore.

I guess you can because your phone can make broadcast quality video. Sure, sure. Right? So it's a little different. But to be involved in that and to be painting sets and hanging lights, like, you you got real life experience and i think eventually i even jolted a video for a reggae group for the called the officials or something like that and i think i even had like a more prominent role in that so

he was really using us you were a good luck charm man because you you didn't appear you appear in a video and it blows up on much music you know what mean, it didn't hurt that we all worked at Much Music. Okay, so let's talk about that. So you're at City TV. Yeah, City Metro, we shared crews. So we did for both stations at the time. And this is 299 Queen Street

because this is 89 or whatever. So it says here you're a security guard on Electric Circus. Is that true? So this is what happened. They put up a sign. I was an RTA at Ryerson and they put up a sign saying, was in RTA at Ryerson. And they put up a

sign saying, you know, they're looking for people to come work on this show. Hey, any chance to get in? I had a friend from Runnymede whose dad, also his office was in that building. And she asked her dad to talk to the security guy for me saying, hey, I heard he said they're doing this thing. And so I went down there, I met the security guy for me saying, hey, I heard he said they're doing this thing. So I went down there, I met the security guy and he's like, well, you know, it's kind of a security job, but we need you to pull cables too and do this and that. And I'm like, you know, anything, man.

I just want to get my foot in the door, right? I'm in university. This is the craft I want. This is the, I want to work in TV and I got in. And so what happened was at the beginning, you know, we'd stand outside and we'd help to pick. So they'd have like 12 places and said, okay, we need 12 more people. And we'd be the guys, you know, trying to pick people to go in.

And, you know, I was working out a little bit then. So I looked a little buffer than usual. I was going to say, because height-wise, you're about my height. So no one's ever asked me to work in security. No, no, but it was like a slash production security job. But yeah, I worked, and no shame in my game, man. I just wanted opportunity. I felt if I could get my foot in the door, I could show people what I could do, and it worked out for me because I got to meet the people in the newsroom, which is where I wanted to be eventually, had resumes in my back pocket,

the people in the newsroom, which is where I wanted to be eventually. Had resumes in my back pocket. And, you know, actually when a job came up in that newsroom, the producer actually came looking for me and says, where's that guy always bugging me to try to get into the newsroom? And the fact that he had graduated from the same program I was studying in at the time and I got in there as a teleprompter operator. But I love that. Like a lot of times when I have somebody from the media, similar stories.

Like you've got to be persistent. You've got to work hard. You've got to work hard. You've got to be prepared to work for very little, if anything, for a long time. Yeah. And then you've got to – it's almost you're in the right place at the right time because you're always there. Yes. You know what I mean? And that's what happened with me.

And it was just like I went to school five days a week and then I worked at CD on weekends. And for three years, I didn't want to give up that gig because I was afraid that if I got my foot out of the door, I couldn't get it back in. Right. So even in the summertime, I worked at Sick Kids Hospital as a porter. And I did that for five days a week and still kept that weekend job because I was just determined to, and I needed to work, you know, to pay for school. You just have to go without a girlfriend, right? That'd be the sacrifice. Yeah, we still found time to club, man.

We still found time to party. Hey, I got one quick, like when I remember Electric Circus, I remember there was a moment. So at the beginning, regular looking schlubs could get in there and dance, you know what I mean? I had a buddy, you know,

he actually got murdered at Carleton University. So yeah, and his buddy's name, we called him Warren Peace. Yeah, Warren Blackwood. Good buddy of mine at Michael Power. So Warren Blackwood would, every week would go to Electric Circus. He was an aspiring rapper, and he would do like at our Michael Power talent shows. Okay.

He would perform and stuff, but he would come to Electric, and he would get, you could see him. So I'd be watching like Electric Circus in my living room, and there's Warren Peace and Warren Blackwood dancing at Electric Circus. room and there's warren peace warren blackwood dancing at electric circus and at some point i don't know what year but at some point it changed from guys warren good guy a little heavy set dude regular looking guy okay at some point it became you had to be almost a model to get in there i don't know when the change happened but at some point you had to be styling to get in there and you couldn't be a regular man no i think that um in the beginning you know we would pull people off the street to come to come on the show but i think as that show got more popular people came down dressed ready to impress trying to get on the show so i don't know if it's so much

the show changed but the people trying to get in changed right or maybe maybe a little from column a a little from column b i think a lot of people that danced at the clubs, they'd have the go-go dances, they call them. People dance in the cages or whatever at these clubs downtown. So a lot of them started coming. So you had more professional dancers. Right, for sure. For sure the fitness level improved at some point. Oh, heck yeah.

Remember the guy with the cowboy hat and the muscles? He was famous. But somebody told me, and I don't know if your listeners can confirm this, that he is, I can't remember his first name, Don. I used to know this guy well when I worked on the show, but he's Dalton Pompey's dad. You got to figure that out, man. I'll find out because Maestro talked about this guy on his episode. The cowboy, what was his name? It's driving me crazy. I can't remember, but somebody says that his kid is the one, Dalton Pompey. First of all, that would be the most,

I call it a fun fact, okay? Isn't it though? Dwight Drummond was in the Legend of Backbone Sideview. That's a fun fact. If it turns out that this cowboy hat guy on Electric Circus is the dad, honestly, shut it down. Okay.

Shut it down. I'm going to find out. And you're finding out from your podcast. Joel, maybe Joel, because Joel Goldberg is listening now, and he's working with Retro Ontario. Okay. Shut it down. I'm going to find out. And you're finding out from your podcast. Joel, maybe Joel, because Joel Goldberg is listening now and he's working with, you know, Retro Ontario. Okay. That's what we call him, but his name's Ed Conroy and they do some video production and stuff together. He would know, man, that guy knows all the stuff like this. He does. Retro Ontario. So we're going to find out if that still can pump it and I'll let you

know. That's going to be great. I'll tweet it out. Maybe daddy and son can come on the show. That'd be kind of cool. By the way, Warren Blackwood, because I've never talked to him, this is episode 204 and I've never talked about Warren, but he was breaking up a fight at Carleton University and he was stabbed and died

from breaking up a fight, man. That's just crazy. And we called him Warren Peace, which was a great name for him only because the peace part because he was like the most peaceful, loving guy and just fun-loving guy. I seem to remember the name, so because he was like the most peaceful, loving guy and just fun loving guy.

And I seem to remember the name. So I don't know if we covered, maybe we covered the story in the news, but I do remember that name. That's a sad story. And they have, I know they still have like some bursary or some kind of like. In his name. Yeah. So I have, I have read that.

Warren Blackwood, missed. All right. Now you mentioned the security guard, but you're doing, like you mentioned, you just wanted to be there, but here's the list of things I've got down for you at City TV, okay? Teleprompter operator. Yes.

So that's like, what is that? Now it's a computer. Back then, we had to literally rip the scripts and paste them together, like tape them together, and then they rolled through a conveyor belt so you know the anchor could read so if i was clubbing the night before and i was a little tired the anchor would be reading like this because i'd be messing it up or a little too fast or but it's so crazy now now you know when they drop a page because you know

in the newscast sometimes stories get dropped sometimes they're not ready whatever they They would just press a computer button now to get rid of that page. Back then, I had to keep rolling, somehow rip that page out or really go by it fast. Who was anchoring when I started The Weekends? I think it was Ben Chin. Oh, Ben Chin. And Laura DeBattista, I think, were the first two that I was rolling prompter for.

And I ended up anchoring with Laura years later on the noon show. But yeah, I did that on weekends for three or four years, man. Wow. And then floor director. I did that. Studio cameraman. I did studio camera. Not just in the video.

G-cam. Deputy chief of assignment. This is a real title. I ran the assignment desk because the head of assignment went out to produce the 6 o'clock news. And I ran the assignment desk for a few years. And one of the toughest jobs, assignment is the job in the newsroom

where you only get noticed if things go wrong. So if everything's going smoothly, no issues, then you're dude. It's like being an umpire in a baseball game. If you don't know who it is, that means it's going well. A lot of pressure, but that was city style and that was Moses style. It was baptism by fire, right?

It was sink or swim. They just throw you in. And if you figured it out, they'll then move you up. It was an unforgiving place at times, but you learned a lot because you had no choice. It sounds like it. Well, I just came off speaking to Jay Gold. He was interviewing Christopher Ward for this Much Music reunion I was at at the Royal.

I was just there like two weeks ago. And they were talking about this. Like Ziggy was there. Yes. I mean, Kim Clark Champness and Simon Evans was there. Laurie Brown was there. Yes. Denise Donlan was there. Yeah. Good Evans. Laurie Brown was there. Yes. Denise Donlan was there.

Yeah, good peeps, man. Good peeps. So it's like you're hearing about this, and it sounds like, yeah, you just got kind of baptism by fire, sounds like the best way to put it. Really did. And it was a special time, I think, in broadcasting in this city. And Moses, he was trying to do something special. He was trying to do something different.

He always said that Channel 7 was the perfect spot on the dial because back in the day when you had to turn the dial, you know, you'd keep turning up. You'd go up, you'd go from 6, and you'd go to 7. And when you got to 7, hey, you saw somebody that kind of looked like you or looked like your classmate or looked like your neighbor where, you know, the other channels weren't really reflecting Toronto at the time. And, you know, he kind of showed the other broadcasters that, you know what,

not only was it the right thing to do, it was the profitable thing to do to actually reflect the people you're serving. I remember it well as it felt cool. Like it felt like the cool station. That's where I wanted to work out of high school, man. They covered my high school basketball games. They had those cool bus shelters. By the school. They covered my high school basketball games. They had those cool bus shelters.

By the way, good on your high school basketball team because there was a lot of talk of the Cleveland baseball team and about changing the nickname.

Yes, and we changed to Ravens. Right. And yeah, it was the Redmen. There was a Redmen back in the day and they changed

it a long time ago. That's right. So good on you guys. Very progressive school. Very good. So we're going to talk a bit more. So in these other titles by the way, like Anchor at City News Street Beat.

Yeah, I did Street Beat Anchor. Now, everybody thought I was a weather guy when I did that because Mark Daly trained me for that gig. And we used to have a big map, right? And we talk about things that are accidents that are happening, fire. So that was Street Beat. And it was a lot of fun. But it was my first live thing on TV. And you know what? It about this. So most people that go to a small town, try to work their way back to the city, it was a blessing and a curse

to be able to make my mistakes and put everybody right in front of Toronto. But as I said, we were the rock and roll station. So it was a little more forgiving, I think. And I learned quickly. All right. You mentioned Mark Daly. So that triggers an alarm here at Toronto Mic. So I'm going to just play a little bit of Mark Daly and I want to talk about the man we call The Voice. Here's the latest Golf Watch from City Pulse. I'm Mark Daly. The White House is reacting with skepticism to a Baghdad radio report

that Iraq has ordered its troops out of Kuwait. Intelligent sources are quoted as saying there are columns of tanks, trucks, and troops moving north from Kuwait back into Iraqi territory at this hour. But the White House says it has no information to that effect, and the ground war is continuing on schedule. I can listen to him read the phone book.

Tell me about Mark. That really brings back memories. I miss that guy. Mark Daly was, he was, you know, the constant professional. Once he was on air, off air, he was just a fun dude. Like, he sounds so serious there, but that guy, he was just cool, man. He was an American transplanted up here. He was a teller of tall tales.

We're like, is that really true like we couldn't tell and you know he tells things like he he would do he did security work for like the the temptations back in the day and you know all these kind of because he was totally into like that whole motown sound he lived in detroit for a while like he loved that kind of you know black american era motown music. And he was a real smart guy. He knew everything about it. So he would tell us stories like, oh yeah, Dwight, man. And we'd be like, yeah, yeah,

Mark, whatever, until he would bring them into the station and say, oh, and they'd be like, oh yeah, we've known Mark for years. I'm like, oh my goodness, he was telling the truth. But he taught me a lot about this business. I was a police reporter, and I had some issues. I grew up in reporter and I, you know, I had some issues, you know, I grew up in Jane and Finch. So the issues that come with dealing with police

and coming out of a neighborhood like that and the constant contact and Mark kind of helped me navigate those waters a little bit. He, he got me some introductions to people, said, Hey, you know, and they're like, if Mark thinks you're a cool dude, okay, you know, let's talk or whatever. thinks you're cool dude okay you know let's talk or whatever and um we we had plans man like he um was going to retire to florida and uh siesta key area and i i was looking forward to going down there and drinking beer with this guy into old age man and we lost them way way too soon but definitely one of my mentors in this business taught Taught me a lot, looked out for me. We spent a good amount of time away from the office. He was the kind of guy you could have a beer with

and just talk about life and different things. One of my favorite people, and we miss Mark. We really do. Yeah, gone far, far too soon. Far too soon, man. He's one of your mentors at City TV. Definitely one of my mentors. I got to give you a joke too soon, man. So he's one of your mentors at City TV. Definitely one of my mentors. I gotta give you a joke. Sure, yeah.

Mark Daly used to listen to WBLK and Buffalo. And I'm like, Mark, how'd you hear that song? He'd be singing these tunes, man. He's like, you know, it's my peeps, man. I'm like, are you joking? Like, he was just,

like, you look at MLTV and you wouldn't guess that that's the guy you'd be talking to off the camera, man. Just a real character. Oh, if I only could have him on the show, man. He would have been a great interview for you. He really would have been. Cancer sucks, man. Cancer sucks. It really does.

Speaking of mentors of yours at City TV, I'm going to play a clip of somebody else I want to ask you about here. A little jazz to start off here. It comes in a second here. Backed by Sam Heinemann and Harmon Organ and Mike Hunderbard on drums, Michael Hawkus had a steady gig. Tuesday evening, started around suppertime, he had Joe Marmos on the Kingston Strip for months.

Now, Michael is the kind of artist other musicians come to listen to, but I bet you never heard of him. Joe, Joe. Tell me about, I thought, maybe part of why I liked the station so much was people like Jojo Chinto.

He was real, man. Yeah. And that's the one thing Moses really encouraged us to do. He was like, be yourself. I'm hiring you because of you. I remember I used to wear an earring back then. And I said, you know, Moses, should I take off the earring when I go on air? And he's like, do you wear it off air?

I'm like, yeah. So why would you take it off? It's part of who you are. And Jojo Chinto was a guy with an accent who a lot of stations would be like, you know, and he graduated too. He was looking for work. A lot of stations wouldn't have given him a chance.

But people loved it, man. He said it's real. Like that accent's real. I think that viewers and audiences, they reward authenticity. And JoJo was authentic and he didn't try to change. And that was part of why I think people really gravitated towards City TV was because we were real.

We weren't trying to be people who we weren't. And we didn't hide our background. The fact that I grew up in public housing became an asset there, whereas it might have been a negative somewhere else. And Jojo was a prince. A lot of people don't know that. Where he comes from? Tell me about it, because first of all, how's he doing now? You're still in touch. He's doing fine. I saw him, I want to say about a month ago, I saw Jojo. He's doing fine. His wife was the head of anesthesiology at McMaster.

She also taught. She was a doctor there, and she also taught there. So their kids now are, luckily, they got their mommy's brains, too, because one went to Oxford. I think it was like one doctor, two lawyers. He did a great job, man. Jojo, he's really interested in his horses. And he's another mentor. Those guys like Colin Vaughn and Jojo, he's really interested in his horses. And, you know, he's another mentor.

Those guys like Colin Vaughn and Jojo, they were the foundation of that place. And they welcomed us youngins coming up and taught us, you know, and took us on to their way. It's funny you mentioned Colin Vaughn because I was going to pull a clip of Jojo. So there's lots of Mark Daly clips out there,

but it's not hard to find a good Jojo Chinto clip. Yeah, not as many, of course. You should have him on, man. He'd come down here and tear down the place. He'll give you a few stories. You're like 20 seconds behind me, man. I just had the bell go off.

You've got to get this guy on. You've got to get Jojo in here, man. But I saw a clip of him endorsing Colin's son for MP. Yes. So I was like, it all comes together. It all comes down.

Yeah, yeah. And you know, I worked with Adam. I think the first show I was a camera guy on was a show called Citywide. And I think Adam produced that show. The media is different now. At that time, though, it was a real family atmosphere. The Waters family owned the station and they, we knew them. Like, you knew your bosses. There wasn't some shareholder far away. knew them like you knew your bosses there wasn't some shareholder far away you know Ron Waters would walk the hallways and stop and talk to you say what's going on Dwight how you doing and you knew that this guy you know was running the company's family owned the company and we spent

a lot of time I think that was because of our news director too we spent a lot of time you know after work we'd all go and hang out at the bamboo or we'd all go somewhere so we spent a lot of time away from the office too having a lot of fun and we were right on queen street in the heart of everything that was happening so it was uh it was a real family atmosphere i don't know if that still exists in the media you know i i recently uh i like what you said there about like you knew the owner like at the you know christmas parties you got you know oh that's anytime you know because recent guest uh is ann moroskowski yes speaking of like being authentic, my joke with her right off the top

is that nobody asked, you know, Moses, let her be Ann Muraszkowski. This name that people have trouble spelling. And that's all part of it with Jojo's accent, her last name. Like that was all part of the allure of that place. Yeah. I mean, I think Gord told me once

that they wanted him, another network wanted him to change his name to Martin. Global, I think. I can't remember who it was. Well, he left for a little bit and he came back. He came back and he was at CTV for a minute too at some point in his career. But yeah, they wanted him to change and he said, heck no. And one of the reasons he wanted to work at Citi was because of that.

For Moses, he says, no, your name is Martineau. No, this is Canada. What do you mean? Don't you change your name? Absolutely. Hey, not to put you on the spot, but Ann Roszkowski was very upfront about her relationship with Gord, which was, for us viewers, we would be surprised by this

because we see them on the air and they co-hosted forever. And then she came clean about how, like, for three years, she said, this is her words, Gord Martineau wouldn't even talk to her off camera for three years. And this relationship sounded very strained and stressful. Yeah. I mean, I can't add anything that Anne added,

but I got along with Gordie. I can't, you know, luckily as a reporter, a lot of times I'm out on the road doing my reports. I'd come in and do the head of goa. So I don't have a lot, luckily as a reporter, a lot of times I'm out on the road doing my reports. I'd come in and do the head of go on. So I don't have a lot of insight into what happened there. But, you know, I've had issues with a co-host over the year. But luckily, you know, knock on wood, most of the ones I've had have been great.

Who is that co-host you had an issue with? Give me that name, Dwight. You need to bring them in here. So, yeah, for me, I had a good relationship with Gord. I found one thing Gord taught me was that no matter your station in life or at that, and I saw him just do this, whether he was talking to the big boss or to the guy sweeping, he treated them the same. And that's something I took away from him. He gave them the same amount of respect. He gave them time.

And I always respected that about Gordy, the fact that he knew the name of the guy that was doing the sweeping. And he didn't treat anybody differently. And I've tried to go through my career and be that same kind of person. And that's why you've treated me on Toronto Mike the same as you treat Peter Mansbridge on the national.

There you go. So I appreciate that. It's all good, man. It's all good. You know, I always say, you know, like Drake says, you know, we started from the bottom, man. So who the heck are we to judge people and where they are in life? That's right. And Drake, that line of the back-to-back

diss track where he opens up, I learned the game from William Wesley. I told Maestro, I don't hear it like that. I hear it as Wesley Williams. That's how I hear it. Nice, nice. That's the way it should have been. In fact, at the very beginning, first time I heard the lyric,

I thought that was the reference, and then I did some Googling. I thought it was Michael Jordan, but it was somebody else even. Some agent. Yeah, some agent. Yeah, some agent. Anyway, that's how Maestro and I have decided that, nah, it's an homage to him. So that's the way it should be.

So Gordon and Anne, who were like, I mean, that was a long run. Like, I'm trying to think of my childhood. They were together for a long, long time. So good on them that, you know, good on Anne anyway. You got to be professional. She did her job and, you know. Yeah. It's, yeah professional. She did her job. It was a dynamic place.

And sometimes there'd be negativity involved. I tried to stay clear of the parade, though. So I tried my best. And I know. I don't expect you to start telling tales at a school necessarily. No, no. It's not even that. It's just that I don't know what it was about. Now I want to go back and listen to that podcast.

I'm giving you the same advice I gave Sofia Yurskovich. I've been practicing that, by the way, because I messed up the S last time. Yurskovich, go listen to the Ann Ruscovi. I want to hear it. Do it. Because now, and I'm going to tell all of the old City TV folks, hey, yo, we need to go listen to that. We're getting some insight.

I'm a little disappointed you haven't listened yet. Come on. You got to get in there. By the way, another Ann I need to go listen to that. We're getting some insight. I'm a little disappointed you haven't listened yet. Come on. You got to get in there. By the way, another Anne I want to ask you about because on a different station than City. So on CP24, Anne Romer has retired twice. Yes. What's the buzz amongst you Toronto news people? So I like Anne Romer and I know you work with her.

I love Annie, man. I've known that lady since I was about 19 years old. When I started at City, she had just come over as a sports reporter, right? And she was really nice to me, so I've got nothing to say about that. Honestly, I've been trying to get her on this show. I'm trying to reach out to her. I would love to have her on. Okay, the next time I see her, I'll put in a good word for you. Because I need to know, get her on this show. I'm trying to reach out to her. I would love to have her on. I would love to have her on. Okay. The next time I see her,

I'll put in a good word for you. Because I need to know, forget Toronto Mike. As a listener, I need to know as a viewer. What's going on? Yeah. Like if you retire once,

good for you. You retired. We had huge fanfare. I always say there was cake. Okay. Dwight, there was cake. There was gifts.

Colleagues gave her gift cards, you know, for the bay or for the keg or whatever. I think I wished her well too. Yeah. Okay. Then she comes back, but nobody,

when she comes back, they never acknowledge that she retired in the first place. Fine. That's some decision that CP24 makes. Fine. But then, then she announces her retirement a second time. Again,

Dwight, there was cake. A second time, there's cake. I saw the Instagram photos. Okay. The same people are buying her more gift cards okay so fine she now now it's for real she's retired dwight she's still on she came back

guess who's bazaar yeah and she never they never acknowledged either of the so i know people are like mike you're obsessed like don't be tmz i'm not trying to be tmz i'm not out to find like whatever i need to know though, how do you retire? Like, can she do it a third time? Like, can she? Maybe,

maybe the third time will be the charm, Mike. Does she just like cake? No, I just think maybe she, you know, you, she leaves.

Maybe she felt she left early. She's still good at what she does. People still like watching her. They want her there. They wouldn't be letting her come back. So, um, I'm guessing that Annie just got bored.

She went home and she's like, you know what? I'm not ready for this yet. And her bosses were kind enough to say, okay, come back. And they'll probably take her back again, man. But that's it. I'm with you.

You can retire once and then have some like buyer's remorse or whatever. So that's fine. I'm fine with you. Oh, she came back. Good. She's back. Then you retire again. Oh, good luck, Anne. It was you. Oh, she came back. Good. She's back. Then you retire again.

Oh, good luck, Anne. It was great. Yeah. But now you came back. She's back. I see her all the time on CB24. I would say there may be another one. Knowing my Annie, I could say there'll be another one.

If I gave you beer, you got to get me Anne Romer. That's the trade. I need Anne Romer. I will reach out for you, man. I got to get this for you. She's got a great story, too. She used to be a, I think, was she a cheerleader at one point? Sunshine girl?

She was a stewardess. Like an airline. And you know her father's Major General Romer, right? So she comes from a distinguished Canadian family. There were skiers in her life. I think she was married to Putt Borski for a while. She was married to another friend of mine, camera guy, for a while. But Annie's living her life, man.

She's a modern woman. I'm pro-Anne. I just want answers, man. Yeah, bring her on. I'm going to do it for sure. And one more guy before we move on. I want to talk about something that happened to you in 1995. I was a big Jim McKinney fan.

Who wasn't? And he's another guy. I've got to get him in here too. So tell me what it was like working with Jim McKinney fan. Who wasn't? And he's another guy. I got to get him in here too. So tell me what it was like working with Jim McKinney. Okay, Jim McKinney was just Mr. Cool, man. You know what I mean? He was the jazz man of our newsroom, you know? This guy would ride in from Hyde Park on his bike

with a Marlboro hanging out of his mouth when he smoked back in the days. I'm like, are you serious? Another guy that really into like blues and like, you know, American R&B music. He'd tell me stories like he'd go to Chicago and he'd be playing hockey or whatever. And then when they were done, he'd sneak off into some club in the middle of the hood, man. And he'd be like, don't look around,

I'd be the only white guy there. They'd be like, yo, you lost, man? He's like, no, I'm just here for the music. They'd be like, all right, cool. And then he would go back years and they'd get used to him.

They're like, oh, that hockey player dude is back. Tell me great stories. But yeah, a great character. What you saw on air is what you got, man. That was McKinney, man. I was sad when I heard the news that, I guess, when Rogers told him his services were no longer required, man.

That's the shite part of this business, right? It is. And you know what? It doesn't always end well. And while you're doing it, you've got to prepare for the future. And this on-air business is cutthroat. It is tough. And I'm 25 years in.

And, you know, I'm thankful for the opportunity that the viewers and listeners of the city has given me and the support over the years, man, because it is not an easy business and it's a shrinking business. And, you know, sometimes you worry about local news. But the CRT has said, you know, local news, it's not a choice that, you know, it worry about local news but the crt is csl you know local news it's it's not a choice that you know it's part of the mandate that's why you have the license to get

use the airwaves and make money in these other places right and it's and it's important but it is morphing it is changing it's going to podcasts it's going on your phone and you know like we don't know i think the guy that figures out how to monetize this switch will be the next Bill Gates. But it's still in flux. It's still being worked out and figured out. And we're in the middle of it, man. So I'm still enjoying it. Okay.

So we're going to get to 2010 when you leave city. But before that, I just want to talk briefly about 1995. Okay. So you made news in 1995. Yeah. Well, it hit the courts in 1995, but I think the incident actually happened back in 1993. Okay.

And you're talking about the takedown. Yeah, so talk to me about... You're showing your age, because it's a generational thing, that story. People of a certain generation never heard of it, you know? Well, yeah, I am showing my age, but the people need to hear what happened. So tell us what happened to you.

And you said, so I think of it as 95, I guess, because that's when it hits the news. That's when it hit the court. Oh, I see. Actually, yeah. Okay. So tell us in your words what happened. Okay. So, I mean, I was on air at Citi at the time.

I think I was doing street beat, you know, and I was running assignment. And we had gotten together. A friend of ours from school had gotten a job at CNN, and we were sending her off. And then another guy I went to school with, an architecture student, he needed a ride home. So I was driving him home, and we were just driving along Dundas. And I made that mistake of making eye contact

with a couple of cops parked in a parking lot as I was driving by. Now, the issue was that I'm an assignment editor. They're kind of off in a corner, and I was kind of looking to say, hey, you know, what's going on over there? You have a nose for news. That's what I do. And I think, I don't know, as soon as the kind of eye contact was made, I kept driving.

And I said to my buddy, I said, yo, they're going to start following us, man. And he's like, what do you mean? I said, no, I know. You know, I know how this works. So I started driving, and lo and behold, they pulled out. And they started following us. And they pulled us over. And they did a high-risk gunpoint takedown.

Wow. Which was because they said, oh, somebody had fired shots in the area because it was Regent Park, I guess. And I don't know what the genesis was. The stories told at court were proven, like, untrue. Like, there was no, they said, oh, there was a lady who pointed out your car. There was a lady of the night, but we can't find her. And then another guy says, no, I went looking for her.

But then the other guy said, well, we didn't even have a description. We couldn't remember what she looked like. So what was it? It was just a mess. And, you know, as we go through some of these issues today you know it just it's reminiscent of that so they took us down gunpoint guns to the head glocks laying down in the middle of the street wow you know being told to effing shut up this and that and um after it was done i tried to get their badge numbers i mean i knew the routine i i was smart enough and i was

you know i knew what to do and how to do it, things like that. I'd been trained these kind of things. And, you know, it just reinforced some of the feelings I had about, you know, some of the policing issues that I grew up with. I mean, I was up against the wall being frisked at like, I don't know, nine years old when they would do drug sweeps through our neighborhood. I was like, dude, we're here playing marbles, man. The drug dealer is the guy on the corner all day. Do some intelligence policing. Why are you throwing this nine-year-old up and

patting us down? Anyway, it was a different time. And so I filed a complaint. People thought I sued the officers. It was nothing like that. I just filled out a form, filed a complaint, which was a pretty daunting process because the guy that took the complaint spent the whole time trying to convince me not to do it. And I don't think that's the way things are supposed to work. And then we went to court, and that was also tough, because I'd go to the washroom during the proceedings, and these guys would surround me in the washroom and say, what are you doing this for?

And it was hard. I got run off the road once, and they pulled up beside me after running me off the road and then put on like the police union hats and like pointed to me and like say, hey, we can get to you anytime. I'm like, yo, is this the movies? What's going on here? But, you know, I was a pretty strong, you know, kid and I was able to get through it. They let them off, but I don't know if they let them back on the road.

One of the officers got into trouble for something else with another person of color later on. So it was a difficult time in the life because trying to do my job at the time, it became really hard. I can imagine. Because I had to stand up for myself. And as I said, I pay my taxes. We have a complaints process. All I did was fill out the paperwork and file a complaint. But I would call a police station in doing my job,

and they'd just hang up the phone when they heard it was me. And nobody wanted to talk to me. But then, you know what? The good guys started coming out of the woodwork within the police service, and they were like, no, kid, you did what every citizen has the right to do. We're not going to hold that against you. So I think in the end, I held my head high and turned around, and I think I gained some respect in the end, I held my head high and turned around. And I think, you know, I gained

some respect in the long run. And I tell everybody, listen, not every black kid with a baseball cap is a drug dealer. Not every guy with a gun and a badge and a uniform on is a racist. You can't accuse people of doing something to you by doing the same thing to them, painting them all with the same brush. So I let people prove themselves wrong or right, and I give them the opportunity. But hey, once you prove that's what you are, then I'll deal with you as such. But I try to give people the benefit of the doubt.

As a white guy, I can't imagine you were basically guilty of driving while black. Pretty much. And having those glocks at the back of my head and the threatening behavior they had. But that wasn't new, man. Like if, when you grow up in certain marginalized communities in the city, you have a lot of contact. Like I was in, I say I was in the back of a police car maybe five times in my life. And every single time it was mistaken identity. It was, you know, like it was craziness. Like some of the things you'd get, have contact for,

I would tell like, you would tell peers in the industry, and they'd be like, what? No, that didn't happen to you. I'm like, yeah, it happens. It happens. And luckily, unlike in the States where it can happen and you can lose your life. But that's what I'm thinking.

You got the Glocks. You're right. We know that it could be far worse. It could be far worse. I looked over at my friend. I made the mistake of asking him if he was okay. And this guy just came back to them and told me to shut the F up. And I could feel this gun behind me. And it was like, first of all, we're on the ground handcuffed. Y'all

can put those away now. Anyway. And we wonder where trust issues come from. Anyway. And we wonder where trust issues come from. Yeah, and that's part of the issue. And it is when you have the experiences over and over, you start to lose faith in the system a little bit that you're not being treated fairly within it. But I was smart enough to know how to handle myself in the situation that I could seek recourse later.

I think that if you try to fight... I mean, I made a lot of mistakes during that takedown. I thought I was a streetwise kid, but when they said, put your hands on the roof, I actually rolled down the window and put my hands outside on the roof. What they meant was, put your hands inside

on the roof. They started freaking out when they saw my hands coming out. I could have been shot right then and there, right? I have secondhand fear for you back in 93 or whatever. I'm like, yo, you said put your hand on the roof

and they're freaking out. Like, put your hands in the car. I'm like, but dude, you told me to put my hands on the roof. Is it any better now though? Because, I mean, we just came off

all this controversy about carding and everything. Yes, I can't say that it is better. I have a lot of guys that I grew up with in Jane and Finch that are police officers now. And they'll tell you the same kind of stories, right? And sometimes they get pulled over when they're off work in their baseball cap driving around. And then they let the guy do everything he's doing. And then at the end of it, they're like, oh, by the way, this is what you did wrong. This is what you shouldn't have

done. And I'm your superior, right? Because these guys are yeah so has it changed it's unfair i think for me to really to say it has because i am no longer living within a community that gets police like that and my fear is that yes if you are still because one of the things i think they they really felt that we had no power you know you live with a single mom in the hood. Like, there's nothing you can do. There's no recourse you can see. When they found, like, I had police ID when I got taken down that night that says, you know, crime reported allowed me to come to press conference, hang out at scenes.

When they saw that, the treatment I got was different. Right, I can imagine. They're like, oh, oh, shoot, this is the guy. Because you have a different. Right, I can imagine. They're like, oh, oh shoot, this is the guy. Because you have a voice. Right, and then even in court, the fact that I could articulate what happened to me and I wasn't intimidating, all those things, you know, I was treated differently

after they found out who I was. And that's sad, you know, because it shouldn't matter. Ah, absolutely. All right, so let's talk about 2010 now. So you're at City TV forever, right? Since Let Your Backbone Slide to 2010. Man, since the late 80s, absolutely. All right. So let's talk about 2010 now. So you're at City TV forever, right? Since let your backbone slide to 2010. Since the late 80s, man. It was a long time. So why did you leave City TV in 2010? You know, it was just an opportunity. I'd been talking to CBC over the years at opportunities at pretty much at ctv and at global and um it was a tough time at city because you

know mark daily had passed the place had changed so many of the the old stalwarts had been laid off and um i walked in the newsroom one day and it was like 60 of our staff was gone man it was just that was the day moskowski got it because that was like the batista in moskowski there was there was like a day where Rodgers slashed. Yeah, there was a whole bunch of cuts. And I mean, everybody in this business was cutting at the time, but it just felt like such a ghost town. It just felt like it was time.

I had put in a long time there. And it wasn't an easy break because they didn't want me to leave. So there was a bit of pushback when I tried to leave and get out of the contract because that was my family. I was there for such a long time but CBC just it was just a great opportunity to host the show I had been doing both at City Hosting and Reporting but Anne-Marie Medawake was just a person I liked and I'm like wow you know I would like to work with her and what the the talk about what they were trying to achieve and do with the show really intrigued me. So it was just good timing, you know, because I had opportunities to leave before and I didn't want to leave.

It was just the timing was right for me. So I mentioned earlier that as a young man, my news station was City because it was the cool station. Well, as an old man, I'm a CBC guy. You switch up, right? There you go. And that's what happens, right? And that's kind of what happened to me too. I grew up, you know, it was time.

Also, I don't know if Roger's sort of ruined some things over there, but you don't have to comment on that one. It's okay. You never talk badly about any broadcast

because it's such a concentrated ownership world right now. You don't know where you're going to be working tomorrow. You don't want Rogers to stop their people from coming on your show.

Lots of my guests I enjoy talking to work for Rogers. And I mean, Ted is not around anymore. It's a big conglomerate now. It's not the same, you know? So let me ask you about Anne-Marie Medawake. Yeah. Am I saying that right? Medawake?

Yeah. Okay. She's switched over now. She's switched over now. She's switched over now. But before you took the gig as her co-anchor, I guess. Yeah. You both co-anchored the Supper Hour newscast on CBC News Toronto. Did you...

You mentioned you liked her, but did you do like a chemistry test? Like, you know what I mean? Like, before you take a gig... People do do that, eh? Like, I got offered a morning show hosting job once, and we did do some tests. Actually, I think it was me and Romer and Melissa Grillo, and we did these tests. But I honestly would insist on it, wouldn't you? Yeah, we did not.

And I didn't know her that well. I knew her husband because I had worked with him. He was a global reporter, Daryl. But we did meet early on, and we talked. But I you know, we did meet early on and we talked. But I'm one of those guys that I can get along with. I just like people. You know, I'm a gregarious type of guy. I like people.

So I didn't really. Except that one person. There was one anchor that just, yeah, that's legendary. Whose name rhymes with. I'm sure somebody will come in here and break that down for you at some point. Maybe she'll come in here herself one day. Oh, it's a woman. We've narrowed it down. Oh, yeah, yeah. I've only hosted male female over the years.

But no, there wasn't a test, but you know what? We hit it off, man. We're both immigrant kids. We both love this country. We like what we do. So it worked. And she made you feel six feet tall. There you go, because she's not the tallest. But you know what? I'm the shortest. My daughter, my 14-year-old is taller than me.

My wife is taller than me. And I'm not short. I'm like 5'11 and a half, man. That's not short, actually. That's not short at all. I didn't think so. But when your 14-year-old daughter is taller than you, that's an issue. I'm in the club because my 14-year-old son is taller than me.

Yeah. So I really liked working with Anne-Marie. And we're still friends. We still chat. I'm supposed to be going out for lunch with her this week actually. So do we know

because okay so to catch people up here she left CBC for the new CTV morning show. Morning show, yeah. Which is called do you remember

what this is called? Your Morning. Your Morning. This is the Ben Mulroney thing. Yeah, it's her, Ben, Melissa and who else is on it? A few other people. I have a lot of friends on that show because this industry is pretty small.

So both behind the scenes and in front, I have friends that work on that show. And this is the replacement for Canada AM, which was on forever. I also hosted one of my best friends in Marcy Eaton. I went to Ryerson together. We're in RTA together. And she shows up on The Social, right? She does The Social. My wife's on mat leave, and The Social sometimes pops on. Right're in RTA together. And she shows up on the social, right? She does the social. My wife's on mat leave and the social

sometimes pops on. Right. That's what shows you. That's the crazy juggling that's going on in this business right now. Because Marlissa's doing both, right? Yeah, she's on the social and I think she does some entertainment stuff. Okay, so do we, I mean obviously you can't speak for her, but

is it just she got an offer she couldn't refuse? Is that what this is? Or was she trying to get away from Dwight? What happened? Yeah, yeah. I hope it's not the latter, but is it just she got an offer she couldn't refuse? Is that what this is? Or was she trying to get away from Dwight? What happened? Yeah, yeah. I hope it's not the latter, but I'll let her speak to the specific of it. But I know that.

I mean, it's a good opportunity. I couldn't get up at 3, 4 in the morning because I just don't have it. But she's done it before. She doesn't mind morning. And I wish her the best. And now I'm all alone. It's the Dwight Drummond show, man. Who's going to be the new co-host?

No, I'm hosting the show by myself. We've changed it up. It's exciting, the kind of things we're doing on the show right now. We're doing a lot more interviews. I mean, the premise is that by the time, you know, this appointment viewing at 6 o'clock is not really there anymore. Before, you'd sit down with mom and dad, the family, the dinner. You'd watch the news. Those days are gone.

So we're trying to at least give people an expanded version of some of the stories you heard during the day. So maybe put in some context, put in some interviews, explain the why of these stories. So right now, we're changing things up. And so far, viewers have really been reacting well to it and you know more people are watching which is what you want because we're not doing this ourselves we're doing it for you but as we try to figure

out what going forward in this broadcasting world how to do things differently and still serve the audience you know we're trying some things so you're stuck with me folks for a little while and you know Trudeau is going to start throwing some money at you guys, right? Is this what I hear? The CBC cash has to come back.

Supposedly some is coming back. I don't know what the numbers are right now, but I knew. Isn't Melanie Jolie? I think at one point she was a Radio Canada intern or something. And now she's a new minister. That's her portfolio. But, you know what? It's crazy crazy the landscape like now when you follow media and and i and since i work in the

industry i read a lot about it in the newspaper so i know what the crtc is up to i know what the privates are up to i know what the public broadcaster is up to and you know we could do a a doc not even a doc just a right? Show about what the heck is going on in this business right now. It's intriguing. And so much change right now, like just in terms of the digital aspect, which sort of came out and boom. Well, I mean, it's been bubbling on there for a long

time. It's not like anybody should be surprised. I've been listening to podcasts now for a decade, right? Yeah, and the show I'm loving the most right now is The Crown, and this thing's a Netflix only. Netflix only, right? You told me that 10 I'm loving the most right now is The Crown, and this thing's a Netflix only. Netflix only, right? You told me that 10 years ago. Episodic television has changed so much, but I

think that in the end, I don't think, you know, just like TV didn't kill radio, I don't think the internet will kill TV, but I think what we have to do, you know, you have a lot of intelligent people working in the business, you're going to have to change to give the audience what they want. And that's what TV did.

They're like, okay, so you don't want to come at 8 o'clock every day to watch Dynasty. We'll put the whole season and you watch it at your leisure. Right. And the same thing with the news now. Like, we have a website where whatever you want, whenever you want, you click on the phone. And now when we hear something, we're like, oh, and we click and we look. And, you know, you can have Dwight right there in your pocket walking around.

Hey, adapt or die, right? That is exactly it. And I'm a big, I mean, you mentioned this, of course,

you have the local, but to me, the radio especially, but also television, like the great, to me, local is where it's at. Like,

I can get my stuff anyways. The international stuff is easy to access, but local news is a connector. It's about community. And I don't think that it's going anywhere. It will definitely have to adapt, but I don't think it's leaving us.

And I'm glad we're stuck with you because I think you're great. Hey, I appreciate you having me on, man. I know it took a while for me to get here, but you've had a lot of good people from our industry on the show and I'm glad to be part of it. And I know that sounds like we're me to get here, but you've had a lot of good people from our industry on this show, and I'm glad to be part of it. And I know that sounds like we're wrapping up, but I have one more question for you.

I don't want to kick you out. I mean, I had Matt Galloway in here. I listen to him in the mornings, so I don't watch TV in the mornings, but I'll put on some... That's how I wake up. I wake up to World Report, and I listen to Matt for a little bit. Yeah, that's how I start my mornings. There's a great clip on YouTube of... I think it was called Jam or Not a Jam. Yeah, that's how I start my mornings. There's a great clip on YouTube of,

I think it was called Jam or Not a Jam. Yeah, that Matt and I did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. More of that, please. Like, that was fun. Like, I like that. Yeah, that's the kind of thing. Like, back in the day, you know,

you had to be the serious news anchor above everybody. Now, we're people too. We're allowed to show a little personality. We're allowed to be part of, you know, Matt. A lot of people don't know, like, this guy knows his music because he was up at York... What's the York University station?

Is it CHRY? CK... No, CK... No, CKLN used to be Ryerson. Ryerson, right. And then you have a UFT one too, CIUT, but you can tell

I listen to a lot of radio. Yeah, I don't know the York one, actually. Matt was up there doing a show off at York before he came down and he knows his music, man, so it was kind of fun

doing that with him. But yeah. And like you say, we think of Matt like uber serious, you know what I mean? Like Matt Galloway comes across as a serious guy. Even, I sat there. Yeah. Great chat. Loved it. But he's still a serious guy. He's a serious cat, but no, he loosens up, man.

I mean, he's a dad, right? And he knows his music, obviously. But he's a dad. You can't be totally serious when you're a dad. When you have kids, man, you gotta be silly sometimes, right? Dude, I got a dad, right? And he knows his music, obviously. He knows his music, but he's a dad. You can't be totally serious when you're a dad. When you have kids, man, you got to be silly sometimes. Dude, I got four kids, okay? I'm the silliest. So you know, you know. I got a 10-year-old at home who still thinks that I'm crazy

and I have fun with her, so yeah. And is your 10-year-old into pop music? Can I ask? Yeah, both of my, I find that my 14-year-old, both of my girls play basketball. I'm so proud of my, I find that my 14-year-old, both of my girls play basketball. I'm so proud of my 14. She actually made the provincial team this year. Oh, wow.

I'm very glad for her. She's enjoying it. But she's more like, we're into, I listen to the same music she does. I try to get the clean versions because I still listen to a lot of hip-hop. So even for the 14-year-old, you try to get the clean version? Oh, heck yeah. And I know at school it's different, but if we're in the car together, yeah. We still listen to the clean version.

So, I mean, I listen to a lot of Drake. I listen to a lot of that OVO-type sound coming out of Toronto right now. I think Toronto's putting out some really good music right now. I find my 10-year-old is more of an old head. She's like her mom. She likes old-school R&B. Oh, yeah. Her favorite song is Poison. No, Poison. Yeah, from Bel Beb De school r&b oh yeah like her favorite song is poison no poison yeah from belbev devoe yeah that's her favorite but the

move okay so you know the 93.5 recently rebranded the move how many times are you gonna rebrand that yeah yeah you're right they do some old school r&b so yeah but in my house poison you know you get a little bit of calypso because you know my wife's from grenada originally um you get some reggae because i still love my reggae and um you know i like pop music when i first came to canada all i had was uh this little red trans is there a radio shack you have those little tiny radios like transistor radio transistor radio and the station i i listened to cfr uh was it no cftr wasn't it 680 cftr all hits Hits Radio. It was All Hits Radio. Tom Rivers.

Thank you. That's what I grew up on and that's the kind of music. And you hear like, what would it be like, Phil Collins or Madonna or whatever? When I heard Kanye

sample Steely Dan, I was like, how does he even know Steely Dan? I thought I only knew Steely Dan because I was listening to CFTR back in the day.

But yeah, that's the kind, I'm really open. I mean, I read to classical music. I love my jazz, Coltrane and Miles. So I'm pretty eclectic in my musical taste. Cool. My 12-year-old is all about pop music.

And I keep trying to tell her. When you say pop, you mean like Justin Bieber? I mean like pretty much. Yeah, basically, what's this? Chain Smokers? Yes, yeah. My daughter likes that one, too. That one about how I was going to go into it,

because I've heard it a million times. Because the thing, a million times I've heard it like, hey, dun-dun-dun, before I met you. Yeah, yeah, I know the song. Yeah, yeah. Like all these things. Anything you'd hear, I think her two stations that she likes the most are Kiss 92.5.

That's the one I put on in the car for them the Virgin Radio too 99.9 they listen to also my 12 my boys really deep into Drake

and some different things and Chance the Rapper is a big one right now I like Chance too yeah he's really good but my daughter it's all about pop and I keep trying to like

just hey you know we could try some other things no see for me the I don't know I don't want my 10 year old to listen to hip-hop yet. Now, she does some of the

when we're in the car, but she has no choice. She really likes that song Caroline right now, but I find this thing called Musically that the kids do. Yeah, I guess, yep. Yep, yep.

So the song starts playing and she'll know the words, and I'm like, how the heck do you know the words to that song? She goes, oh, it's on Musically. Yes, you're right. But yeah, I think at 9, 10,

you're still into popular music, but then you kind of find your taste as you gravitate grow up a little bit if i hear that chain smoker song one more time though i'm telling you and it's kind of you know it's funny for a while it's one of those catchy things it gets in your head and i didn't mind it in fact i would sing along to it and i'm trying to remember uh like that thing like that car you can't afford i know the song yeah what I hated though is they come in and they take over the music now. Both of them now.

So they're like, turn off your Bluetooth, daddy. They take over or they punch in the radio station. No, you're right. In fact, my 12-year-old trumps us all. She's the one who controls the music now. Anyway.

It's funny talking about dads dealing with the music. So my last thing I want to talk about before we close up here is the Toronto Raptors. You're a big Raptors fan. I'm a huge basketball fan, period. Go Timo for my daughter and also I used to coach a little bit at the North Toronto Huskies, like house league, the little kids, eight and nine year olds. But yeah, I'm a huge Raptors fan. I love what Masai has done with this team, not only bringing in quality players, but

quality guys, character guys for the squad. Because I think you also, a team has to reflect the city, right? And I think he's done a really good job of that. Damar has just been playing out of his mind for the beginning of the season. Just hope he can continue it into the playoffs. We don't expect him to be Michael Jordan all season, but I just hope that he has a great playoffs like he turned it around last year. Kyle is great.

I don't know. I like Jonas. I like the picks that we have. You know, DeMar, I got to interview DeMar and Corey this summer for some stories I did. So, yeah, I'm excited. It's an exciting time. I remember as a kid in this town, you know, you just pick another team

because we didn't have our own team. Didn't we just pick the Bulls? I picked the Bulls. Thank you very much, man. I walked around in a Chicago Bulls jacket for years and Michael Jordan was my guy. But now that I have a hometown team, I have friends that are like,

oh, no, I like this. Nah, I'm supporting my hometown. Win or lose, I am with these Raptors. I never understood the guys born and raised in Toronto who adopted another team. You're right. I'm similar vintage to you.

When I was growing up, I was about Michael Jordan in the Bulls. That was my team. I had a little fling with the Celtics, but we don't talk about that. No, same here

because I thought that whole, the McHale bird ears with Johnson at the point guard and Parrish in the middle, those were good days. Yeah, yeah. And also I had a resurgence there

with Reggie Lewis. Yeah, I didn't mind in the end. I hated Detroit though, man, because they used to knock Michael out of the air and try to hurt him. Yeah, I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

But my point is that then in 95, no, sorry, I am a Raptor guy in 95. And by the way, in 95 I was really, still a little bit, but I'm used to it now, really against the nickname Raptors. It really felt like Jurassic Park. It doesn't represent anything to do with Canada. It just felt like a fad.

Like the Jurassic Park was a big movie. Oh, at the time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then the last game the Raptors played, they had the court done with the Huskies blue, and they wore the Huskies uniform. Tell me if I'm wrong. Don't had the court done with the Huskies blue, and they wore the Huskies uniform. You wish we went back to the Huskies. Tell me if I'm wrong.

Don't you think we should be the Huskies? Well, we do do it once a season. And you can't buy the Huskies uniform. Now, a lot of people, I don't know if you're listening, know that the Huskies, we were in what? The precursor to the NBA originally. Toronto was one of the original teams. Yeah, we played the Knicks in that first game.

So we were part of that original NBA, and we were the Huskies. So I would have liked them to bring that back, but I don't know why we didn't. To me, at the time I wanted it, now I still want it. I still think the Raptors, and I'm used to it because I cheered for the Raptors for so long. And now, in my opinion, we're the second best team in the Eastern Conference. We are. Top four, and we will be top four again this season. There are some dinosaur bones in

Alberta though so I don't know if that counts. And Raptor. Tor. That's where it comes from. Right.

It's better than the towers but not as good as the. Actually now that I'm out in your neighborhood I got to mention this quickly. Do it.

So Dwight and Drummond intersect out close to where you live. Nothing to do with me. It's just an accident. People call me and ask me about that all the time. That's funny.

I never thought of that. Did they name that after you? Because Dwight and Drummond meet. It is not after you. You want a fun fact? Dwight is the border. Right down the middle of Dwight is where Mimico ends and New Toronto begins. You're in New Toronto right now, but Dwight is that divider line.

That's the line, eh? So everybody thinks this is Mimico. No, Dwight is where Mimico ends. Got it. So you know that. And the McDonald's is right there at Lakeshore and Dwight if you need a Big Mac on the way home. Dwight, that was a pleasure. I appreciate you having me on. Keep doing

what you're doing, man. We like listening to you. And you're going to deliver the Romer. Yeah, I'm going to text her as soon as I leave here. Do it up. And that brings us to the end of our 204th show. You can follow me on Twitter at Toronto Mike, and Dwight is at Dwight Drummond.

And our friends at Great Lakes Brewery are at Great Lakes Beer, and Chef's Plate is at Chef's Plate CA. See you all next week.