Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Stephanie Smyth: Toronto Mike'd #206

Episode Date: November 29, 2016

Mike chats with CP24 news anchor Stephanie Smyth about her years at 680, 640 and CP24.

Welcome to episode 206 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 CP24 anchor Stephanie Smythe. You know what? I was going to say Smith, but I mean, of course, I know it's Smythe, of course. It happens.

You know what it is? I was so impressed with myself that I didn't mess up those ad mentions. I struggle with brewery. And then I struggle coming out of locally sourced farm fresh ingredients and then coming out of that going into in-refrigerated kits. It's a mouthful. And I'm out of breath at that point. I know. And then you see a word that might trip you up.

Been there, done that. I was going to say, so you've been all around, and we're going to talk. You've been in some great Toronto news organizations. Right off the top, though, I have some breaking news, and I know you like breaking news. Ah, love it. So to those listeners who know Erin Davis from her previous episode, Erin Davis, this is not the breaking news, but she announced she's retiring from CHFI and she's going to move out west with her husband. So we now know who's replacing her on CHFI. It is Maureen Holloway of Q107. So she announced on Friday that she was leaving Q and

the other chorus stations that she's on. And although she hasn't actually said it, it is a very well-known fact that she will show up as Darren B. Lamb's co-host on 98.1 CHFI. Great for Maureen. I mean, she's fantastic. Everybody's loved her over the years, you know, at Q and it's a great move for her, sad as it is that Aaron's saying goodbye to CHFI.

Yeah, I know it's sad to lose Aaron, but I think they made a, I think it's a good choice. Maureen Holloway. I was happy to hear that Maureen got to say goodbye on Friday because a lot of times you're saying like you quit your job

because you're going to a competitor station. A lot of times you just disappear. It's so unusual. So I loved hearing that. I love that she was able to say, yeah, I'm going now. I don't think she obviously couldn't immediately say

where she was going, but the fact that she could say, yeah, I'm moving on to another opportunity. I love that because yeah, we often just disappear. And that's actually, I've noticed that's the tough spot when, and it's usually when someone disappears, I'll write about it on my site and then everybody's searching Google, like what happened to X? And then they typically end up on my site and then they leave a comment. So I'm always like well aware of the personalities that are really missed, you know, be it like a Mad Dog or a Billy or you name it,

your favorite radio personality here today, gone tomorrow. So this whole saying goodbye thing, I think it's like a new trend. I think I've noticed it a few times lately. I don't know if this is like... Well, I think it's about just connecting with the people who are loyal to you and your listeners and being honest about where you're going.

I think everything is so much corporate in our business, right? The business doesn't want the listeners or viewers to know that you're leaving. They don't want to lose those loyal people that will go with you. But I understand that. But at the same time, you've got to be honest. So I like that trend. Hopefully, it'll continue. Me too. And there's a few examples recently. Darren B. Lamb is one. So when he left, he was with Roger and Marilyn on 104.5. And then, although, of course, like you

said, you never get to say where you're going, which makes sense. That sounds kind of like, you know, but you get to say goodbye and that you're going somewhere and then eventually you pop up somewhere else. But I just think this is a warmer, kinder environment where they let you say goodbye. But only if, I guess, only if you're resigning, I guess, if you're sort of being turfed, you still don't get to say goodbye. Yeah, that's, no, there's nothing. You get that. All you hear about is that future endeavors memo. He got the future endeavors memo. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. So you've been at a lot of places, and we'll talk about this in much more detail after the break here.

But I have a question about focus groups. So have you participated in several what I would call focus groups where people kind of... I haven't participated, but I've been witness to them. Right. So tell me, because I just did a survey of listeners. And I, a lot of, so you could actually submit it anonymously. So I got a lot of like, what I call like brutal honesty. They'll call it constructive criticism. But I akin, this is sort of my first kind of experience

with what I figure it might be like in a focus group. So do you find like, you know, one person will say, we love it when you do this. And then someone will say, we hate it when you do that same thing. And then you end up, do you find you get turned around and you don't know if you're coming or going? Like, what do you think of focus groups? Well, I don't rule what we do with focus groups. I mean, what we do is at CP24 anyway, is just the news, right? So sometimes it depends, you know, we'll get a lot of feedback on, on topics, news topics, if they're really hot topics, if they're, you know, very politicized, then people will say, oh, you're biased this way, or they'll say you're biased that way. But, you know, we,

we just carry on giving the facts as straight up as we can. People listen through their own kind of earscape, right? Their own filter, if you will. Their own biases. And they're sure they heard us, you know, say it this way. You left-wing media, you know, types are doing this. And, you know, we're pretty straight up. Always our intent is to just get the,

the facts out there without opinion. Right. And so, but, but I'm, so you do periodically though, I guess in terms of... Are you talking about viewer feedback? Right. Like, I guess, how's that? Like, so do you find it a challenge to sort of, if you get a wealth of feedback, sort of kind of parsing it out so you have the constructive part that you could actually implement for positive change as opposed to the parts that, you know, everyone's got an opinion and are often contradictory. And I just wondered how you professionals deal with this kind of feedback

and focus groups. Well, I think everything just gives you pause, right? You have to listen to what people are saying and you have to look at what you're doing always. So everything that is ever submitted to us, say in a viewer feedback or whether it's in a focus group or anything like that, it's really important to listen to. You can see trends starting to emerge. But generally, it would have to be pretty extraordinary to make a huge change, right? But you do want to be very aware of what the discussion is out there. But I can't say that we're going to be viewed or absolutely put in a certain direction because of that alone.

And am I allowed to ask, so just before we started, you said it was amazing you could be here because you're always on, right? So tell me, how difficult was it for you to break away to actually come and do this with me for like an hour? Well, the thing is about the way CB24 operates and what I do is, you know, we're 24-7, right? We're on all the time and we are always in search of news on the go, right? And when there's breaking news, you know, that's our specialty. So what I do is I anchor breaking news coverage when it happens, and that could be any time. So from the time I get into work, I get camera ready, as you might be able to tell.

Sorry, listeners. That's okay, because we're going to take a photo after this. Okay. So you get camera ready, and then, because news can break at any moment, right? Yesterday we had the Ohio State University, what was initially thought to be a shooting, but the attack there, that happened, you know, somewhere around 10 a.m. or 11 a.m., right? You just don't know.

So I have to be ready to go on at any moment. I have the regular anchor slot from 5 to 6. Right. And I act as managing editor as well on the channel. So the input's there, you know, throughout the day. So to kind of escape is tough. So your phone is on right now because, so no, and that's, this is, but this is work related. Are you kidding me? So should breaking news go down right now? Uh, we get to kind of in real, I kind of hope it happens like in real time. We get to watch you kind of go into action. Like, so you'll go to the, you'll go to the HQ. You won't go on my lawn right now with a live remote or anything.

Well, you know what? It all depends where the story is. So say it's around here, then I'll get out there with my iPhone and get on the air. That's exciting. Breaking news. And I even just play it later, but I have the music should you need it. I have the breaking news music. So we'll be ready to go.

Now, a few notes here before we do our deep dive is patreon.com slash Toronto Mike is where people can go should they wish to contribute and crowdfund this project. Give what you can, patreon.com slash Toronto Mike. That beer in front of you, I know you moved it, but it was in front of you, the six pack, that comes from Great Lakes Brewery. Please take it with you.

Enjoy. Share with friends and loved ones. It's good beer. You'll enjoy it. Thank you. And one final thing, because you're getting beer, you need a good meal to go with that. So Chef's Plate will send you two of their meal kits. So this is, I mentioned, pre-portioned, locally sourced, farm fresh ingredients with easy toto-follow recipes. So these refrigerated kits can be delivered directly to your home or office or any address you give to me. So I'm going to give you a link later. You pick your two favorite meals, and Chef's Plate will send you these two meals free of charge. If anyone else wants to get two free plates, use the promo code Toronto Mike at chefsplate.com.

Lovely. There we go. Now in the beginning, Stephanie, where did it all begin for you in our media landscape? Well, in the media landscape, it began at CJBK in London. And that's where Gord Harris was my teacher actually at Fanshawe College when I went there after I went to Western. And Gord hired me after first year as part-time, doing weekends and evenings, anchoring and some reporting. And then I went on full-time there when I graduated.

And I stayed there for, it felt like forever. I was in London, Ontario. I'm originally from Toronto. And then I moved from CJBK back to Toronto. And I was trying so hard to move back home. I loved London, but it was time to move back home. So I was looking for a job in radio at the time. And I applied all over the place.

And finally, something gave. I got a job at Canada's Wonderland. Nice. In public relations. So I worked there. Yeah. It was, you know, and when I took the job, everybody was like, what?

You know, you work so hard to be in broadcasting. And I thought, well, this will, you know, oops, get me into Toronto. So I went to Wonderland and I worked there. Probably, like, the park wasn't even open. I worked for a few months. And this is when there, probably, like, the park wasn't even open. I worked for a few months. And this is when they had that, like, the theme was like,

was it like Old Knights of the Round Table or something? Like, wildfire and they had a Y and an E. You know what? It was so long ago, I don't even remember. I just remember the coaster. Yeah, oh, yeah, yeah. Well, I never got out in the park. I never saw the park. I was in their offices up at, you know, Wonderland.

It wasn't in the mountain. It wasn't. I thought the offices would for sure be in the mountain. Unfortunately, no. So I was there, I think, from about April till, you know, before, honestly, a number of weeks. And then Scott Metcalf hired me at what was then CJCL. Okay, pause right there. Now, you know, my focus group I had told me

I interrupt too much, and I just realized I did it right there. But this is a good reason. People will be glad I interrupted. We're listening to this CJCL promo very briefly, 25 seconds, and we'll come back to that. CJCL AM 1430, and the music of your life,

present Tony Bennett. The dreams we shall will always remember. Remember with the music of your life. The big bands and classic pop vocalists are all here on AM 1430 CJCL. It's the music of your life.

Where did you find that? I have my sources. Very good. Just so everyone knows, that's not the music of my life, but I did work there. I was going to say. But a lot of young people like us know it for Blue Jay Games. This is how we know CJCL.

It was great. So Scott hired me there, and I worked with Dan Shulman, Joe Bowen, Bob McCowan, Bill... Oh, come on. I love Bill. The lovable Bill from CJCL. Come on.

Anyway, can't remember. Sorry, Bill. Bill Waters. Thank you. Thank you. That was a senior's moment. So that was a lot of fun. I did news there back in the day.

And then it changed to Fan 590. So that's when Joe Bowen and Bill Waters and McCallum, I think the morning show was actually a guy named Mike Inglis. They brought him from the U.S., right? Yeah. And so Joe and Mike and I was doing traffic, and that, I think, launched around 92 when the fan launched.

And I'll never forget, we went on sort of a bonding golf thing to get to know each other with Alan Davis, the PD at the time. And we went to Lion's Head, and of course, I couldn't play golf very well, but it was like all to kind of bond. Let's just say it didn't work out.

So I didn't last on the morning show too, too long there. It was probably maybe six months. I don't even remember. And then I was moved to afternoons. Things shuffled around, right, if the teams don't gel. Mike Inglis was a really nice guy. I love Joe Boehm. But it's just you never know what's going to make magic, right?

Right, right, right. So I'm talking about Inglis. I think he's, like, Joe Bowen, but it's just, you never know what's going to make magic, right? Right, right, right. So I'm talking about Inglis. I think he's like doing Miami Heat games. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Always was a big basketball guy. So he's doing all right. Yeah, he's doing great. And so obviously he moved on, right, to go back to what was his comfort zone.

And Bowen still being Bowen. There's still a holy Mackinac coming out of our radios every couple of nights. Yeah, I love Joe. And those were some really great times in radio. I had a lot of fun there. And I worked as a reporter, too. I started working at City Hall. I did some reporting from there as well as police headquarters,

sort of general assignment news radio reporting in that time. And then in, I guess it was June of 93, 680 News around that time went on the air. So were you there for the launch? No, I came just after the launch. And that was when I talked to John Hinnon, who was the news director or PD at the time, and general manager, I guess. And I was five months pregnant at that time, and John hired me to go to 680 News. So you weren't there for the very initial launch,

but I don't have any... I need a good reason to play this, so I'm just going to... Just do it. So this is We Built This City by Starship. Is it Jefferson Starship? They kept changing their name, right? I think it might have been Starship.

I remember it as Jefferson Starship, but it could be Starship. Is it Jefferson Starship? I keep, they kept changing their name, right? I think it might have been Starship. I remember it as Jefferson Starship, but it could be Starship now. Yeah, I know that the guy there kept changing it up, but they played that, which is what's going on in the background right now, as their final song as all hits radio CFTR.

And I won't play this whole thing, just to give a taste. I'm Sandy Sanderson, Executive Vice President and General Manager of CFTR. This is a sad yet exciting moment in the history of this incredible radio station. It marks the end of one era and the beginning of a new one, and like all major transitions, it involves mixed emotions. For nearly a quarter of a century, CFTR has been a powerhouse of today's music, appealing to a large and vibrant audience.

Over the past several years, however, the popularity of contemporary music on the AM band... Bottom line is that it's sad because they're losing the all hits, which means I won't get my fix of a top 40 radio, but they are going to launch something new, the first Canadian all-new station. Absolutely. And do you know who was on the air just before they switched format? Do you remember CFTR?

I do. I'm going to do a guess. I don't actually know, but I don't know. Was it Tom Rivers or was it... Jesse Dillon and Gene Volaitis. There you go. And you know what? Gene Volaitis just celebrated a big birthday

and we were at a party for him a week or so ago. And he had a 640 show, right? Yeah, yeah. Now, I didn't see him when I was at 640, but it was neat to see him and those guys going back in the day before the switch to 680 News. My memories of Jesse and Gene are from Q107, and then I remember distinctly that they would trash AM radio,

like it was part of their shtick. And then I remember they announced that they would trash AM radio like was part of the shtick. They would trash it and then I remember, yeah, and then I remember they announced that they were moving to 680 and yeah, I guess that was, I guess they replaced Tom Rivers on 680. Yeah, they were just fantastic, right?

They were so great and it was neat to see them together again recently. They're a great laugh. Because Jesse's gone off to like sell like, I want to say like New Age crystals and stuff? I'm not exactly sure. He lives in Whistler. And Gene lives in L.A., just outside of L.A., actually, Huntington Beach.

So he's having a great life. He and his wife, Carla. So it was really nice to see them. And at Canada's first all-news radio station, 680 News, which is still on the air today. Were you a news director? Yeah, I became news director in 1999. Tell me what that's like. Just give me a taste of what it was like

to be news director at our only all-news radio station. Well, it's intense. It's constant commitment, right? It's understanding, being completely in touch with what's going on in the city and finding a way to cover it as well. It's so much like CP24. It's like, you know, the carbon. It just made for me, CP24.

That's your specialty, right? This whole local breaking news. Yeah, so 680, which I adored. I was there for 10 years, and I loved working there, and I loved everybody in the – it was, you know, Rogers was fantastic. And it was a great experience and great challenge to, you know, and there was a lot of criticism because, you know, you're doing the same thing all the time, repeating stories.

And, you know, when you've got a lot of real estate to fill, it's going to happen. But, you know, always getting the best news on the air we could, reflecting Toronto and staying current and on top of it and what people are talking about. And you always had the traffic and weather together on the ones. Still do. And it's still, you know, a huge component of 680 News. And, you know, it's hugely successful, continues to be to this day. I have an email from loyal listener Dale.

He writes, Stephanie Smythe working with Paul Cook on 680 News on 9-11 was something I will never forget as I listened all day at work and they spent extra hours covering this horrific story. Tell me what it was like working on 9-11 on a news station. Well, I mean, that was, it was unbelievable. Nobody, you see it now. It's so funny because at the time, CBC, or rather, sorry, Rogers,

happened to be shooting an in-house kind of promo, I guess, of what 680 News does. So they happened to capture the moments when we discovered what was going on. And just looking at the pictures on the television from New York City and looking at the Twin Towers, trying to process. And then understanding how we had to play a part in covering this. So it was like obviously nothing any of us had ever experienced. So it was absolutely overwhelming. And from that day on and for many days going forward, it was such a challenge.

I know what it was like for a regular person to digest things as it unfolded on 9-11. So you're right. It's hard to imagine what somebody who was live on the air at a place where people were going, like people were flocking to you to find out what is happening. And it was the best reality television in the worst way, obviously, that you could ever see because that was news unfolding before our very eyes and everybody kind of digesting. And we've seen that ever since, you know, that's what news has evolved to, right? This is what we do now on CP24 as well. It's just that it's the reality of news, reality television news, this is reality radio. So it was a complete challenge to keep it going and understanding what's happening at the same time. My younger sister was living in New York at the time.

And I remember that feeling of, oh my God, what is, what is going on here? And then, you know, worried about my sister. And you don't know what's next. That's what I distinctly remember is you don't know what's next because this thing has happened and that you never imagined. And then this thing happened that you never imagined. Then this thing happened you never imagined. Like, why not something else you've never imagined? And what could that be? Because you can't imagine.

Right. And everything sort of changed from that day. from that day. You know, we, we do all these sort of fun pieces, um, really lighthearted things on the radio to try to kind of add that extra element, like beyond the news, like some fun think pieces or feature pieces or whatever. And suddenly those were irrelevant. Everything had a new context after that day. Now the pendulum's kind of swung since then again back, you know, but that was a time where we all sort of got a news check, right? We got a life check, a reality check. Absolutely. Absolutely. And so, uh, when Dale wrote that email, he mentioned you were working with some guy named Paul Cook. Was he an interesting guy to work with? He was all right. Am I allowed to, uh, mention that, uh, your relationship with

Paul Cook? Well, yeah, I'm married to him. Yeah, I don't know. For sure, yeah. Paul and I got married in 2003. So we are going to be celebrating our 10th anniversary next year. That's amazing. That's great. And, oh, yeah, no, sorry. Wait, wait, wait, that math is off. Let me get the math right.

I never was good at math. Sorry. We blended our families in 2003 because Paul has two boys and I have two children, a girl and a boy as well. And so we moved in together in 2003, got married in 2007. So our anniversary, our 10th anniversary is next year.

But we've been together as blended families. It's funny because you, that math, I was doing the math quickly and I don't want to call out my guests that they're wrong about their 10th year anniversary. Yeah. And so he's still obviously at 680 News. He's the morning anchor and managing editor there. And, you know, what can I say? I think he's the best in the city. You think he's an okay guy?

Yeah, he's okay. Is that what I hear? That's excellent. That's excellent. And, okay, so this radio station won the Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast in the World. Is that like a great honor? What exactly is this Edward R. Murrow Award? Well, it was because we were, well, that's the US award. So we

won regionally and nationally and then went to the US to compete in their awards. And this was a great honour for a Canadian radio station to win the Edward R. Murrow and that was a first as well. So, and that was all from that US election where history

was on hold, right? The one that we've all been referring to. The chads? Yeah, exactly. The hanging election where history was on hold, right? The one that we've all been referring to. The chads? Yeah, exactly. The hanging chads? Exactly. So it was just a tremendous honour. And we're really thrilled that that happened. It seems like so long ago now, but it's still out there.

First radio station in Canada to achieve that honour. Yeah, so very proud. And it was just understanding continuing coverage, right, in a live news format and being able to keep a story alive in a thoughtful, provocative way. And we were able to do it. It was great. So when you marry Paul Cook, does this ever present, does this present any kind of conflict of interest or anything as news director? Well, you know, it was, oh, when I'm here, I wasn't at 680 News. There, there you go.

Yeah. So when do you leave 680? I left 680 News in 2003 and went to Global Television. So is it that you just had an offer you couldn't refuse and that you wanted to try something different? Yeah, it was, I'd been at 680 for 10 years and there was an opportunity at Global Television to be the news director there. And I thought, you know what, I'm ready. I'm going to try it. And so I left.

And is it fair to say that people in television, just television. I asked this question to my last guest, but television pays better. It seems like people would rather go to television. Like, was it always a goal to go to television? You know what? It, I, it wasn't always a goal. I always look for challenges and opportunities. So for me, this was about the challenge of doing television. Cause I felt like I'd done a lot in radio and I loved it, but it's something I I'm comfortable being out of my comfort zone. And let's just say going to television for me, it was a great opportunity to get out of that comfort zone. And let's just say going to television, for me, it was a great opportunity to get out of that comfort zone. And so it wasn't about money. It was just about the opportunity. News director at Global Television in Toronto. So share a little bit with me about basically what you were doing there and how that went. I do have another award note here. There's an RTNDA News Coverage Award that Global captured while you were there. So

stick that on the resume. Well, yeah. And Global at the time, Global's always been trying to find its way, right? And it's tremendously successful, right? And for me, stepping into Global was a really tough transition. Like that was the greatest challenge I've ever taken on. And it was, um, it lasted about a year and a half and I was fired from that job, which was really devastating to me. And I was so hopeful that it would be a great opportunity and experience, right? Cause I've had such success beforehand. So to have that happen, even with the RTDNA, you know, it, it stuff happens, right? It's a rite of passage, though, right? I've had even recent guests who have been fired by Global.

Liza Fromer and Ann Maroszkowski are two that pop off the top of my head who were recently in that seat you're sitting in now, but were fired by Global. So you're in excellent company. Well, thank you. And I think, you know what, this was as devastating as it was for me. You know what? This was as devastating as it was for me. It was a good learning experience because, you know, there's things I could have done so much better in that position now. It's sort of like it was the right job at the wrong time.

But then I look and I think, wait a minute, I got my dream job. I ended up at CP24, which I think it's, you know, in many jobs for people, it's about fit. What is the right fit? What is your expertise? What are you good at? And how can you translate that into, into an environment and make it successful? And that's it. And it's not always like a direct path, if you will. Sometimes you kind of have to go there to realize that you want to be here. Like it's, it's just interesting how life works. Yeah, it really is. And it's so

devastating when you're, when you're let go, it is horrible. And you think that you'll never make your way back again. And I really thought that I really thought, oh, how am I ever going to get back on my feet? And then, you know, AM640 came along, which was before CB24, right? Right, right. And I ended up there. Gord Harris hired me at AM640, who had, you know, taught me and was my original boss at CJBK back in London. So Gord hired me and I became news director there.

And that was Chorus. And it was a great time. I was about five years there and loved every minute of it. It was a lot of fun. And, you know, so you do find your success again. It's interesting, too, how the landscape, like in terms of ownership, and I know in your career, you've seen it all over the place, where now Bell owns this now and Rogers owns that now.

But even like today, for example, if that would be even possible, because today Global is under the chorus umbrella. I know. And 640 is under the chorus. It's almost like if they fired you from here, you might not have the opportunity there. And that's what's so disturbing in a way, right? Like everything's so corporatized now. When I started in London, it was owned by, I guess, Rick Richardson or something.

And I think CJBK is now owned by Bell. And it's just a whole other corporate. Well, for guys like me who grew up with like the Waters family owned this. And then you have the Moses enterprise here. And it's like, that's all gone. Now it's Bell Rogers. You know what I mean? And it's, I don't know what I think.

All I know is it's very corporate. It's a corporate feel compared to when I started. But, okay. And when they do tell you, and I don't know how many details you want to divulge here, but when you get the, I guess, the folder from HR or whatever, you get when you're being let go, do you just throw the RTNDA News Coverage Award in their face and say, how could you?

Look at this. No, you know what? Because I knew it was the right thing. I knew it was coming. You know when it's not a good fit. And so I wasn't surprised. look at this no you know what because i knew it was the right thing i knew it was coming you know you know when it's not a good fit and so i wasn't surprised and i was like oh thank god i'll never forget that day you know telling paul oh my god it's happened you know and neither of us were surprised no because you saw you sensed it coming oh definitely and you know i just thought okay

it's devastating but it was I had this weight off my shoulders you know so in a good something good in a bad way I guess and then am640 opens up for you yeah and that was um a great uh opportunity to again you know work with Gord and some other great people in the business and have some fun at the same time. And it wasn't so, it wasn't uptight and it was just, um, and always trying to, you know, push it forward and,

and make it a real competitor, you know? Okay. Let me just, uh, make sure I've got the right 640 era here. Okay. So when I'm growing up,

at least for part of when I'm growing up, they're playing rock on 640 and it's like the hog. Oh, right. Yeah. And I still remember like, cause I worked with the X, they had a booth and it was like, I would rock on 640 and it's like the hog. Oh, right. Yeah. And I still remember like, because I worked with the X, they had a booth

and it was like, I would do the imitation but it's like a... Yeah. Yeah. So not that era. Right. And then, of course,

everybody who listens to this show, because I've had Mike Stafford and Humble and Fred and various, there was a Mojo era. That's right. Right. And Mojo Radio

was kind of a neat little thing Chorus tried, talk radio for guys. Yeah. And I can't remember how long they gave it, but Joanne Wilder was recently here, and she talked about it as well. Oh, yeah. But not too long.

Like, I don't know, a few years maybe. I don't even remember. But they gave Mojo a few years, and then I guess it becomes AM640, like just talk. AM640 Toronto Radio. Right. And that's where you kind of come in. You're post-Mojo. So I guess that would have been 2005.

So that was post-Mojo. And everybody's trying to figure out their Mojo. John Oakley in the morning. Right. And in the afternoon, Bill Waters was there. He was doing like a Leafs lunch maybe? Sorry. He was doing Leafs lunch.

With Merrick, right? With Jeff Merrick. And those guys are fantastic. I just love them. Who else? But I can tell you that... Stafford? Like is Stafford

doing afternoons? Yeah, Mike was tossed around a bit. His shifts changed. I can't remember, but he's in the mix there for sure. And there was

a great news team. Catherine Jette, who's on 680 News with Paul now in the morning. There you go. Who's fantastic. James McPhee, was a great news team. Catherine Jette, who's on 680 News with Paul now in the morning, who's fantastic. James McPhee, who's

terrific, who is not there anymore, but I know that he's doing some voice work and stuff. He's a big soccer fan. Yes, he's a great guy. And so Steve Dankoff, who now works at CB24 with me. Katie Simpson, who worked at CB24.

Is at CBC now. Who's at CBC now. And we all know her from the Rob Ford years. Well, yeah. And see, in the 640 days when I was there, this is when Rob Ford would come in once a week to talk with John Oakley. It's actually your fault, I think. Is it?

Because those whole like, hey, somebody bought a cappuccino machine for $300 and all that fervor that would happen on the Oakley show. I think that's where this populist movement was born. Well, you know what? Maybe so. Oakley was onto it, right? And so he would come in once a week and, you know, I'd watch him and go, yeah, this guy's interesting. I'm not so sure of him, right?

He was always so shy, so so painfully shy not exactly able to like connect didn't really meet in the eye and i think he was just very very shy but when he was in his mantra you know uh gravy trains taxpayers money returning all the calls you know that's that's what he knew and felt comfortable in yeah i found he found he, and we're not going to get too political here except to say that he knew the price of everything, but not the value of everything. He got very excited when a counselor would buy a $300 cappuccino machine, and he'd bark about that,

but there's a bit of a big picture disconnect at some point. Sort of a disconnect there. I guess that's a good way of putting it. And that's as nice as I can be about it. But yes, I do believe, and I do remember this era, I do believe though that this all started the whole, I'm going to run for mayor. And of course he wins in 2010. And I believe it does have its roots in that John Oakley morning show. Well, yeah, he gained traction there and got his word out and Ford Nation was getting stronger and stronger. And it just, you know, all, everything collided to have this mayoral win that we all kind of were stunned

by. I don't know as much as the Trump stun thing, but you know. No, the Trump stun is more stunning to me because it was basically two primary candidates. Okay. And I'm still, I'm actually still in a state of, I don't want to call it denial because I do accept the reality I live in, but I'm still kind of stunned. Like I really did not

see that coming. But the Ford one, because there were many candidates and you had a Smitherman that was a strong downtown kind of candidate, but you did have

a few others. I think Rocco Rossi was that? There were a few others. So basically, it lets Ford come up the middle, if you will, and he could do like a 40, I think Rocco Rossi was... Right, yeah. There were a few others. So basically, it lets Ford come up the middle, if you will, and he could do like a 40... I think he had it almost 50%,

but he was able to come up the middle. Yeah, and it's true. We did sort of see it coming near the end. It was clear at the end that he was going to win this thing. Yeah, as much as still, it was a bit of the unlikely candidate, let's say. I still think maybe if it was two primary, not that we would ever have that system,

but if you had two primary candidates in the mayoral system, there would be like an anti-Ford vote that might have won. But this is so silly. We're inventing new rules. But then what would we have done in Toronto News without him? You know what? So this is, yeah, yeah. I'm trying to remember.

How did we get here? Oh, yeah, Katie Simpson. So how many of us were, you know, when Ford was doing something ridiculous, I want to say, and Katie Simpson, we'd go to CP24, and I know we're still at 640, but you mentioned Katie Simpson, but Katie Simpson trying to, you know, running, I can still hear her voice. Well, we called that elevator watch, right? And it's because we had an absent mayor for a long time.

There were times he didn't show up at work at all. And there was no rhyme or reason to where he was, when he was, why he was, what he was doing. And it became evident that if we wanted to get him, that was the only way we could get him. We could find him. You know, we're not going to go stake out his house at that point anyway. And not that we ever really staked out his house at that point anyway. And not that we ever really staked out his house, but we had to, he had to answer some questions along the way, right?

And we needed to be there if it happened. And we're live and, you know, so we just, we planted it and we took every opportunity we could to get him. And as a 24-7 news channel, you always need content. And this is something that people had an appetite for. Absolutely. And because everything was so unpredictable, right?

And unpredictability makes great television and great news. But it was also an important story for the people of Toronto. What is your mayor up to? And when the questions started, you know, we had to start getting answers from the mayor. And more and more things came up, and it got more and more controversial. And the more he sort of dug in, and we didn't see him much. Here's what I'll do. I'll wrap you up at 640 and get you to CP24, because I have a couple of Rob Ford questions. So you're news director, AM640. And one of the things I remember is Dick Smythe

and you were co-hosting a show and you have the same last name and you spell it the same way and you're not related to each other. No, and to this day, I probably get asked like once a week if Dick is my dad and Dick does too. In fact, he was somewhere around the world and introduced himself

and then somebody asked him, I don't know where he was, if I was his daughter. So we thought we'd put it to rest with that show so many years ago, but I guess not. The funny thing is, so Dick and I worked together at CFTR 680 News for a period of time, and Dick did our genealogy. And it turns out that we have the same Irish heritage.

And our names were actually McGowan, and they were anglicized to Smith and then moved to Smythe. Yeah, hence my mistake in the intro where I almost called you Stephanie Smith. Well, I got to be honest, though. I am a Smith. But the word is my grandmother decided that Smith was too common. It is. So she decided to call us Smythe.

My dad, my real dad, who is Billy Smith. He was a goalie with the Islanders. No. No, that's not my dad either. Billy Smith is, he's known as Billy Smith from his younger years and then later on,

Bill Smythe. Now that I think about it, Smythe needs an E at the end, doesn't it? Yeah, technically. You're missing the E. So I'm going back to my intro and I'm going to keep it as Stephanie Smith.

You don't have to apologize. You're kind of right Dick's not my dad and you know what we believe we're distantly related and I just went and visited him actually I didn't see him this summer last summer in Bracebridge he and Marnie are living there

so we had a nice visit and he's doing well I loved his when 680 was on CFMT. Do you remember? Right, yeah. In Channel 4. Yeah.

I remember distinctly the Dick Smythe commentaries on the television, and I liked them on the radio anyways. I came from, 680 was my station for a long time. I love that guy's stuff. Yeah, he's a legend. I'm glad he's still doing well. He really is.

Yeah, he's sharp as a whip. Here's a fun story for you. So everybody figured Dick Smythe was your father, but apparently in a column, my friend mentioned that he was offended because nobody ever asked if you were his wife. And I'm happy. Nobody's ever asked me if he's my husband. That's right. I mean, I think that offends Dick. How come you leave 640? Well, so go back to the global days and that devastation and that feeling of failure and that I didn't tackle something. I didn't get it right. So I thought I really, there was that change then at the time, right?

When City News and everything was being sold and CTV had just taken ownership of CP24. And I heard word that things were going to be changing and they were going to be doing, hiring and doing different things. So essentially they couldn't share things with City TV anymore because Rogers has City TV. Right. So in the sale, they couldn't have both. So Rogers couldn't have CP24 and City TV anymore because Rogers has City TV. Right. So in the sale, they couldn't have both. So Rogers couldn't have CB24 and City TV. So they had to decide on one. So they chose City and City TV got CB24. So I worked technically for City TV,

which is Bell. Right. So I heard that they were doing things. I thought, I gotta slay this. I've gotta, you know, try this again. And I think that this is a better fit for me. So I met with Bob McLaughlin, who was the GM at the time. And I was going to go in and be a writer or producer, you name it. I'll do anything.

I just wanted to get in and do it all. So I never felt like I didn't know enough ever again about television. So if I was going to do it, put me on the writer's desk, put me, you know, in producing. Would you be a videographer? I did not know how to be a camera operator. That wasn't a skill set. So that wasn't going to be possible. But anything on the editorial side, I would happily do.

So Bob hires me and then he says, well, I want you to be a breaking news anchor. I'm like, what's that? I kind of knew what that was, but oh, okay. Are you sure? You know, I'm a little bit older and really? You don't want to keep me like off camera? Also, you were actually prepared to just be a behind the scenes person. Because when you're an editorial person, when you love news,

the thrill, the charge isn't always about being on air. It's just the chase is so fun. But it sounds like you had a sense of some ageism in the industry. Like, it sounds like you're well aware that there might be an expiry date on female anchors. Well, we've all seen it. It's, you know, it's, yeah, you don't often see at that time, you know, someone in their 40s being hired to go on television, especially on a very, very young channel, really, when you think about it. And so I was like, really? Well, great. How

progressive and wonderful. I'm delighted. No, no, it's actually like super great. It's great because this is one of my pet peeves is when I hear this, and I'm not from the industry, as you might know, but I had like Christine Bentley was telling me a story just a few weeks ago and and ann raskowski told me a story and it just makes me kind of sad that there might be like a clock on female uh people in front of the camera that there's a clock and at some point as christine said uh your time is up and i don't feel i don't feel that there's a similar clock on men in the industry well i think that's you know i i can't But you're evident. I mean, I mean, I mean, you don't, you don't look aged. You don't look old. But even if I did, it wouldn't, it shouldn't matter. No, it should not matter. Um, and you know, I, I will. And you know, I, look, I'm 53 and I'm, I'm, I'm in it, but I don't know Christine's experience, but my experience

has been really positive that way. And I think it's maybe I'm lucky. It's just an appreciation for what I've done in my career, you know, the past experiences that I've had, what I bring to the table. And, you know, I think it just. And people like hearing breaking news from a familiar voice, familiar face, somebody, you know, I think that's important, too. Yeah, maybe. news from a familiar voice, familiar face, somebody, you know, I think that's important too. Yeah, maybe. And it's, I think understanding the whole news picture too, because that's what I do, right? It's like understanding where this fits in the big picture of how we cover things hour by hour, minute by minute on CP24. So I was really, I was, I guess, surprised and, okay, I'll try this on air thing. Sure.

Cool. Yeah. So, I so i mean on your even on your twitter bio there's several like you're a managing editor breaking news anchor the anchor of course that live at 5 30 toronto's breaking news yeah so now actually i anchor five to six and nathan downer and i co-anchor that hour which we're having a hoot doing i love it yeah you know so nathan uh he's the guy who mike Tyson wanted to beat up. Is that right? Maybe. Forever is he going to be known as the guy Mike Tyson wanted to beat up? I think that might be

right. You know what? Maybe. And I know you can't speak for Nathan, but you can tell me what it's like working with Nathan Dettler. Because I do see you both on the television. And you seem to have good chemistry. And it does seem like you're having a good time.

Yeah. Nathan is, and he worked at Global as well. He's such a down-to-earth, kind person, and very funny, and I get a real kick out of him. So he's not a downer. Very funny. Thank you. Boom, boom. No, he's just a really respectful, hard worker, and he's got great boom, boom. No, he's, he's just really, uh, respectful, hard worker, very, uh, and he's

got great experience too. And I really enjoy that hour with him. Like we're having a lot of fun. And I think it, it's just great to have somebody else there with you to play off or just, you know, not that we do a lot of chat and doing the news, but just having a partner by yourself like that. But are you throwing together and, or do you, do you get put together because there's already, you've already had some kind of chemistry test? Um, I think we do it because it was, yeah, like we, they know that we get along, right? So, and we know how Nathan performs on air and with me and that's like, Hey, why not try this? Okay. So they knew you had a rapport, so to speak. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And, but you know what, it's, it's not to say that we wouldn't try it with anybody,

but Nathan was anchoring at 5, I was anchoring at 5.30, let's put us together and just try it that way. Is he trying to distance himself from the Mike Tyson clip that went viral? What do you think? Would he be upset? If I had him here and I dove into the Mike Tyson thing, would I get a stink eye from him? Like, can we drop this Mike Tyson?

I think it's something we don't want to talk about too much. I'll keep that in mind when I have Nathan over here. But by the way, I have four pizza places within walking distance of here. Two of them have CP24 on all the time. What are the other two doing? One of the other two has CP24 on when there's no live Toronto sporting event.

Ah, right. And then the fourth, actually, which is the Domino's, does not have any television in that booth. They only have the screen that tells you

whose order is coming up. Oh, that's not good. No, but they don't have anything else on. But I just thought you should know, CP24 is like, I was in a hotel,

I've never, by the way, I have never stayed in a hotel in Toronto in my life until Friday have never stayed in a hotel in toronto in my life until friday night you know and that's a long life i've had in the city and that's the first time i've had a toronto hotel stay probably because i just go home i live in toronto why am i in a hotel but somebody was paying for this hotel so i stayed there fun yes but it this and it's an expensive place i didn't pay for it but But this mirror in the bathroom, mirror in the bathroom, had a television in it.

I took a photo of it. You're in a nice hotel. It was a very nice hotel. And I actually Googled it later to see what it cost. It was like $500 a night for this hotel. This is Toronto.

It's a big smoke. It's, you know, it's a world-class place. That's why I go to the Econo Lodge or something like that. No, no, no, no. Never cheap out in the hotel room. But I had CP24 and I took a photo and I tweeted it.

I had CP24 in the bathroom mirror. That's what I like to hear. Perfect. By the way, did you know that you're not the oldest anchor at CP24? So don't worry about that. There is somebody else there. I think she's still there. I have to check my notes.

Hold on here. I can already hear people yelling at me. I think she's still there. I have to check my notes. Hold on here. I can already hear people yelling at me. Do you mind if we spend a couple of minutes talking about fellow CP24 anchor Ann Romer? Just a couple of minutes.

Sure. If you'd said no, I would have to escort you out of the building. I just have a couple of questions. First of all, I want to preface this by telling you, and I hope you share this with her, that I'm a big Ann Romer fan. I've been enjoying her work forever from the City TV days. Right. And everybody is. Yes. That's absolutely part of this. Everybody. We all are. There's very, you know, the people who are anti Ann Romer need to need to check themselves because they had their priorities and their perspectives are out of whack. This is a veteran journalist who delivers great news and does a great job. But a couple of years ago,

there was a very public retirement party for Ann Romer. You might have been, I'm going to guess you might have been at like a party. I know here. Bear with me here. This won't be painless.

I promise. Okay. Okay. So she did retire and it was a lot of news reports about this. She was leaving the industry and I remember and I, this focus group has messed my head up

because I want to tell you the fact that there was cake. There was cake and colleagues probably gave like gift cards. I can see people probably giving like the keg gift cards or something. Get to the point. Congratulations, Anne, on your retirement. So she goes away. I don't know, six months later or something. She's back on CP24. We can see her on our television. So she's back. Fine. Great. Maybe she changed her mind. It was never acknowledged as far as I know that she left and came back, but she was back and we were happy to have her back.

But then like a year later or something like that, she did another public retirement and I saw the cake again. And is there breaking news going on? No. Okay. It's okay okay uh i saw her phone go off it's just my kid looking for money kidding that is great so uh bottom line is she retired a second time okay good more gift cards more cake but then shortly thereafter and this is what i need to talk to you about she's back again so this is that's fine she retired twice and she came back i'm not like uh're not, I'm not saying you're not allowed to do that. Of course you can. I find it unusual that CP24 never acknowledges the fact that she came back. Like she's just there. Like she's there today. I saw her the other day. She's on CP24 now. She's not a summer fill-in because she's still there and it's almost December. So my question to you is, can you shed any light on, is this just that she loves CP24 so much she can't stay away?

Well, I think it's just we love her too. And, you know, Anne retired and decided that, you know what, maybe I'm not quite done yet. And I think that as far as, you know, I don't know that you, going back to the original discussion we had about acknowledging when people leave and stuff, and we do do that.

And I think that it's just, it's just the evolution of someone's life, right? And we at CP24, you know, Anne is a valued member of our team. And I don't know anything about people who say otherwise, but this is someone that we would don't want to say goodbye to if we don't have to. So basically, I think that the door is always open for someone like Anne Romer, who is an absolute pleasure. She's an incredible professional and she's missed when she's not there. So we're happy. Amen. Yes, absolutely. Come back, please. But that to me, that's great if she does the retirement one time and then she comes back. It's like, OK, she missed it. She wanted to come back, but she did retire twice. So we have the next, you know what I mean?

We're at another level. And I know you work with her. Is she like, okay, she missed it. She wanted to come back. But she did retire twice. So we have the next, you know what I mean? We're at another level. And I know you work with her. Is she a nice person? She's amazing. And she is hilarious. Actually, nobody cracks me up more than Ann Romer. But would she ever do something like, I don't know how to get to her to invite her to come on.

And it wouldn't be like a 90 minutes about her retiring. I actually want to talk about her career and celebrate her success. Would you connect me? Absolutely. Absolutely. Ann is a laugh. She is one of the funniest people I know. She's so irreverent sometimes.

She says things that just, you know, make you howl and spit out your water and coffee. So I love having her around. And she's just a joy. I would love to have her on. And my final statement, and then I'm leaving Ann Romer, I promise, I promise we won't bring her up again.

But is she allowed to have a third retirement party? I think so. I know there's no rules. Ann Romer can probably do whatever she wants. Would people have to buy gift cards or can we stop with that?

It's like getting married like six times. Do you still buy the same gift for six times? I think it shows how beloved she is. I want to be invited. If she retires a third time, I would like an invitation and I will buy the same gift for six times? I think it shows how beloved she is. I want to be invited. If she retires a third time, I would like an invitation.

And I will buy her a gift card because I didn't buy her one the first two times. Well, maybe you can get her one for the show, right? I will totally do something. I will have a cake. If she comes on, I will have a cake. That's how big a fan I am. All right. Now, I do have an email from Linda B.

And she's asking a question. I'm just going to ask what she wrote. But I don't even think this person is gone. I've seen her recently. But what happened to Christine Tenaglia when Anne returned? No announcement, no hint of an explanation, and oddly, nothing even leaked on the internet.

I'd say Toronto needs a really good gossip columnist so the powers that be can't create their own stories. So Linda B, it's unedited. I just read it verbatim. She's still with you guys on CP24, right? Am I right with Christine? Yep. Yes, she is.

So what's Linda talking about? Was she displaced when Anne came back? No, right? No, no. Christine is still with us. So Linda B, you got to check your facts. You're panicking over nothing. Christine is still there.

I see her all the time on CP24. What's Steve Anthony like? Because he's been here, and I loved this guy. I just wanted more Steve Anthony. He's a great soul. He's a ton of energy, just really great to everybody,

fun to work with, just a stand-up Steve Anthony guy, right? It's amazing to watch him. Frenetic? Is that a good word? Manic? Yeah, yeah. That's a great one.

You might have seen him kick that tire, right? We did talk about that. So he's got a lot of energy and positive guy, and we're thrilled to have him on CP24 Breakfast. He's doing an amazing job on that show. That show is doing phenomenally well. And so, yeah, he's great. And even though some people still call it breakfast television because they don't seem...

Who would do that? Commonly, I know. It's very confusing. If you're doing that, then you don't really know the industry. No, you don't. Nick Dixon came over recently from CHCH. So he was on Hamilton. How's he doing?

He's doing fantastic. Nick is such a professional. And ICH. So he was on Hamilton. How's he doing? He's doing fantastic. Nick is such a professional. And I worked with him at Global as well. See, everything comes around. Everybody in the business. It's a very small business. Don't go throwing torches behind you when you've, you know, locked out the door. That's why you need to be careful when I ask these tough questions.

Because you never know who you're going to work with next. Yeah. Nick is just so professional and easygoing. For our reporters, it is such a hard job because we will turn at any moment. So, you know, the assignment will go, okay, you go to place A, excuse me, and then 10 minutes later, no, sorry, you got to go to B. And, you know, an hour later, you got to go to C. And so they know that their assignment can change in a heartbeat and they've got to turn and make that hard turn. And it's very stressful and it's, you know, they don't have a lot of control over their day.

So when I work with people who are like Nick, so amenable and friendly and, you know, take on the challenge, it's so refreshing. It's so fantastic. And we have, you know what, Nick is among all of our reporters. They're there for a reason because they thrive in that environment, they work hard, and they really deeply care about what we do, as well as the camera operators who are, and they don't get enough credit, by the way. A lot of people don't realize TV is the tip of the iceberg.

What you see on air is a fraction of what is going on behind the scenes. Because we have, it's a village to get something on the air, let me tell you. For sure, for sure. And with our camera operators, these guys are dedicated. They are out in that field all the time. They are rushing to various locations. They're working for that shot. They're working for that moment.

And they are, you know, the best. Do you ever root for some breaking news? Like, do you ever have that day where you're like, we need something to happen right now? Oh, yeah. But you know, they just shot a promo with me about it. And it's like I said, the moment you say, oh, it's a slow day. No, don't say that. Because you just, you just never know what's going to happen. But yeah, breaking news is great, but you've got to treat it with care and respect as well. Let's play this then. We mentioned the B word, breaking news. Wow, I gotta go.

In breaking news, SCP-24 told you first. Is there a Pavlovian response to that? Well, sometimes, you know what? It's gone off when it shouldn't have. I'm like, what's going on? You know, just by mistake, like the odd, well, that rarely happens, but it has happened a couple of times.

We have the odd mistake. And yeah, that certainly elicits a response. Anonymous writes me, Anonymous says, would be interesting to get your take on why CP24 feels the need to splash breaking news on everything. I understand it can get people interested, but at what point does it weaken the term and as a result, make the product seem a tad hollow? So this is one person's opinion that maybe sometimes breaking news is used when it's not big breaking news. And this is the ages old discussion about breaking news. This is not new. And I understand exactly what that anonymous is talking about. As I said a second ago, you have to really treat it with respect and understand that it's like,

it's after a while doesn't mean anything anymore right sort of like porn you know it's just like if you do breaking news too much it has no meaning and so um i think that we're very very careful to look at it and consider you know sounding that alarm but do you ever uh and uh do you in your role ever have like okay this can't we can't use breaking news for this story because it will weaken the... All the time. That's what we... Okay. They're like, is this breaking news?

I'm like, hmm, what do you think? I don't know. I'm not sure. And sometimes there's no debate or discussion about it. It's obvious. Well, sometimes, yeah, right. Sometimes it's obvious either way. So the interest...

It's interesting to me, those guys that you're like, you're kind of humming and hawing on the fence. Is there any... Do you have any example of something that barely was breaking news, but you thought maybe wasn't or vice versa? Well, you know, it's really hard. Take, for instance, a week or so ago, there was the dogs that disappeared. Remember the dogs that were in the back of that van?

Right. And I thought, you know, it's kind of, it's like dog napping. It's strange. People can relate to this. It's, it's, we've got to find this van and hopefully be there when we, when it's found, which we were. And then it's like, it just doesn't feel right. You know, I saw other organizations do it as, as that, but. So you didn't, that was not okay. Cause I, I'm actually surprised. Yeah. And then, you know, Ohio State University, and I think it's kind of out of respect for that, right?

You see what happened yesterday when this person drove a vehicle into a crowd of students and got out and attacked them with a knife. So you need to protect the integrity of the breaking news flag, if you will. You know what? We're not always going to get it right, but we're sure going to try. I don't want to sound the alarm too much i don't want to play you know uh just i want i don't want to devalue it so that discussion is always going on good do you find this is me talking now um but do you think maybe you give doug ford to like you're too many opportunities to espouse?

Like, in my opinion, I often think of CP24. If I had a secondary feed, maybe like a Ford-free feed, I would be happier. Well, listen, Doug Ford is not going to go away anytime soon. Doug Ford is either going to run for mayor or he's either going to run provincially. So why does he matter? Well, he almost, you know, he came very close. He ran for mayor in the last's either going to run provincially. So, and why, so why does he matter? Well, he almost, you know, he came very close. He ran for mayor in the last election, don't forget.

So he is, and he has a lot of influence over Etobicoke and Ford Nation. And there is that lasting connection and legacy to Rob Ford, one way or whatever way you want to do it. So he's not a nobody. He does understand politics. And, you know, that's when there's a comment, you know, sometimes we turn to Doug for a comment on things, and sometimes we won't. But he's not going away because he does have political aspirations. And I know he's peddling a book, so he's everywhere right now.

But it just seems like when he does hit the news cycle and he's not running for anything, it feels like... I didn't coin this phrase, but some people have said it's CP20 Ford. I don't know if you've heard that one. I have not. No, maybe we won't spread that one around. Well, you know, I think that Doug pops up anywhere, but, you know, it's not like it's a go-to forward thing. It just so happens certain issues Doug can speak to from his experience as a former mayoral candidate. Look, we'll have George Smitherman on panels all the time as a former politician, this and that, somebody who has a perspective that people, you know, like it or lump it, people are commenting that he's on. And he does draw a response.

Fair enough. I guess Sue Ann Levy recently alleged that you won't let her on CP24 due to a grudge against her. Have you heard that one? Sue Ann Levy. So you have no insight into this. There's no grudge against suan maybe

you don't have grudges no grudges at cp that sounds like that's not yeah it's not about that there's nothing no grudge who types in the news scroll like i just want to know who's actually typing in those words that go on the bottom of my cp24 screen just about anybody could put in what we call a headline headline it's not it's not those are headlines those are what we call a headline. Headline. It's not the news girl. Those are headlines. Those are what we call our black and whites. Yeah. So like there's a lot of people have publishing permissions in that room. Well, they're writers.

It's not like it's, you know, these are writers. I could put in a headline. I, you know, anybody can put in a headline and that is a writer and that works for us. So no, Mike,

you can't come in and put in a headline. I was going to say the guy cleaning the bathrooms isn't putting in a headline there. No. No. So any editorial stuff.

Lindsay recently left for the CTV. The new Lindsay DeLuce is going to the, she's on My Mornings? It's Your Morning. Your Morning. No, it's My Morning. No, Your Morning. It's Your Morning.

So who's on first? It's Your Morning. Yeah. We were sorry to see Lindsay leave cp24 breakfast but you know what she's still in the family so that's good news well that's what even i know katie simpson's at cbc now but uh she let she was in the she kind of was on cp24 and then she was in ottawa for ctv and that's in the family so a lot of people could i always wondered how it works because you've got bell owned radio stations in this market like cfrb 1010. And I always wonder, like, would a news person there be able to get some time at CP24 because

it's the same family and then maybe end up on CTV and next thing you know, you're in Ottawa covering Trudeau. I think we called that back in the day when all this first started, when I was at Rogers. What was it called? Not amalgamation, but, you know, I can't remember the word. It's okay. It's only, it's live. Yeah.

But leveraging all your resources and, you know, I can't remember the word. It's okay. It's only, it's live. Yeah. But leveraging all your resources and, you know. It's not Synergy, but it's like. Well, you know what? Synergy was one of them. Yeah. Synergy was good. That was one of the words. Maybe it was Synergy.

So, you know, conceivably that can happen and you see that. So there's a path, like theoretically, there's a path to like being Lisa Laflamme. Like you can actually like be like a CFRB news person, be on CP24, be on CTV and next thing you know. I guess theoretically that could happen. Will it happen?

Who knows? You know, I had McDonald's and they tell you, I don't know if you know this, but I worked at McDonald's for a brief period as a teenager. And they're like, you know, there's a path from like making the fries to like being like the manager of the store. And you know what I mean? They get you all excited. You know what?

The harder you work, the luckier you get. So I guess you never know. You never know. You never know. I would be keen to hear Stephanie's take on how radio TV stations have become less proactive and more reactive in the last 20 to 15 years. And there's a follow-up here.

But basically, this person thinks there's a reliance on others when you could easily generate your own stories and get your own scoops. But you've got reporters generating their own stories and getting their own scoops. Yeah, I think that what we are is, as I was saying before, we're reality news as it happens. So we are live all the time. And that means that we are going to, we're reflecting the tapestry of Toronto. So if something's happening with the mayor at this time, we'll be there. If something is happening, whether it's, you know, an announcement, or if there's breaking news in one end of the city, we will be

there. So we're following the news flow of the day. And sometimes we create that news as well. And we'll try to break stories when we can as well. Our mandate is breaking news live, you know, as it happens, keep going, right on the move. You know, people talk about lock and load. I talk about lock and leave. So this is our plan right now, but that can change in five moments. So it's not like we have, we do the traditional noon, 6 and 11 or 1130. It's, you know, we don't have all day to package one report.

We're on the move going as we speak, right? It never ends. So it's a new cycle that continues and continues. And that's why your 680 experience has been so invaluable because you're right. This is the same thing here and you've got the chops. Yeah. We're just dealing with, you know, TV is very cumbersome and very different than I couldn't get over when you realize what it takes to get things live to air

and then to change them and turn them around and move on to another topic and get up live again. It's a real challenge. Doing that, people don't understand because we make it look so easy. That's, I think, a credit to us. I'm a little disappointed there was no breaking news during our chat here. Like I kept staring at your screen.

It went off one time, but apparently that was not breaking news. Not yet. You know, all is well in the world right now that I can tell you. I'm trying to think, what did I hear? Yeah, well, of course, there was a Brazilian soccer team on an airplane that crashed in Columbia. Yeah, that kind of breaking news is upsetting to hear. And, you know, we're just still trying to figure out more about what happened with that one.

Right. And with the big game, with the TFC tomorrow, we'll be speaking to them about it. Because, you know, some soccer players were lost in that crash. So it's pretty devastating. Yeah, I think all of them maybe. I'm not sure. There were some survivors, but, you know, that challenge changes. And that's the thing about breaking news.

And it's the evolution of a story that is fascinating. And, you know, we saw that with 9-11 and with breaking news since. You go on the air with one thing, five minutes later, you see something else. So it's so important to cite sources as you're going along, right, to make sure you say, okay, this is where this is coming from. But again, officials haven't confirmed it. This is what's out there. Again, there hasn't been an official. Well, on that note, getting it first sometimes seems to be trumping getting it right.

Yeah, and I think that's what's critical now is if we go up with breaking news, I'm going to cite a source on something if I'm going to say it. It's not like I'm coming up with this or I'm hearing that. You know, it could be a very, with the Boston bombing, there are big lessons learned with that,

like with the major amnets with major mistakes. And we all, everybody kind of fed into, it was just a disaster in many ways for news and how breaking news is handled, but a good lesson to all that when we have breaking news, you have to cite sources, be careful, and at all costs, go for the officials to get it right. I want to thank CP24 for sparing you

for at least an hour here because this was amazing. Yeah, well, it was great to meet you and thank you for asking. No, thank you for coming and you are going to ask Anne Romer to visit as well. Do your best.

I will connect you too and she can answer all those questions about it. Well, that's it. Then I can shut up about it because I'd love to shut up about it. The people are tired of hearing about it. I had no idea it was such an issue. Two times, Stephanie? Two times?

She's welcome back. Anytime. And she's welcome here anytime. And that brings us to the end of our 206th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike and Stephanie Smythe is at Stephanie Smythe. No E at the end though. S-M-Y-T-H no E. Do not put an E at the end. And our friends at Great Lakes Brewery

are at Great Lakes Beer and Chef's Plate is at Chef's Plate C-A. I would normally tell you I'd see you next week but I actually need to leave the country for a little while but I will return well before Festivus. Yeah, the wind is cold, but the snow won't stay today And your smile is fine, and it's just like mine

And it won't go away Cause everything is rosy and green