| CFTR | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Toronto, Ontario |
| Branding | CityNews 680 |
| Slogan | Everywhere |
| Frequency | 680 kHz (AM) |
| First air date | 1962 |
| Format | All-news Radio |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
| Callsign meaning | Canada's First Ted Rogers |
| Former callsigns | CHFI (AM) |
| Owner | Rogers Media |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | CityNews Toronto |
CFTR, broadcasting under the brand CityNews 680, is an all-news radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which broadcasts live 24/7 @ 680 kHz on the AM dial. According to a recent survey by the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM), CityNews 680 has more cumulative listeners than any other radio station in Canada. It reached at least 1.3 million listeners a week.
History of CFTR[]
The station launched in 1962 on 1540 kHz as CHFI-AM, simulcasting the beautiful music of CHFI-FM, 1 of Canada's 1st FM radio stations. Since 1540 was a clear-channel frequency assigned to stations in the United States & the Bahamas, CHFI-AM was authorized to broadcast only during the daytime. In 1963, it sought to pay CHLO in St. Thomas, Ontario to move from 680 to another frequency to free up 680 for CHFI-AM's use. No deal was finalized, but, by 1966, the stations reached an agreement to share 680 & CHFI-AM moved to 24 hour operation @ that frequency. In 1971, it changed it's call letters to CFTR, a tribute to Ted Rogers, Sr., radio pioneer & father of controlling shareholder Ted Rogers.
In 1972, it abandoned the simulcast of CHFI & adopted a Top 40 format for which it became legendary. For many years, it was the primary competition to Toronto's original Top 40 station, 1050 CHUM. Among the station's claims to fame is hiring the legendary John "Records" Landecker away from Chicago's powerhouse WLS in 1981. CFTR surpassed CHUM in the Toronto BBM ratings for the 1st time in 1984, 2 years before CHUM dropped Top 40 in favor of an Adult Contemporary format.
It adopted it's present all-news format in 1993, becoming the "first and only" all-news radio station in Canada since the end of the former CKO network in 1989 (the "only" was dropped after the launch of NEWS 1130 in 1998). With the Toronto station's success, Rogers has since expanded the format to stations in Vancouver (CKWX) & Calgary (CFFR), while using similar branding for news-talk stations in Kitchener (CKGL), Halifax (CJNI-FM), Saint John (CHNI-FM) & Moncton (CKNI-FM).
680 NEWS is the first station in Canada to offer traffic and weather every ten minutes on the ones, sports at :15 and :45, business at :26 and :56. This newswheel is also used on all Rogers' all news stations and during drivetime on all Rogers' news-talk stations.
Hour newswheel[]
The CityNews 680 format is very rigid except in cases of extreme breaking news when they switch to "In-depth Team Coverage" when the format has been known to be loosened a little. The station carries a 60-minute news wheel.
Newsflow & commercials make up the rest of the unscheduled time.
Standard Hour Hotclock:
- 0:00 - Time Signal + Headlines
- 0:01 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:03 - News
- 0:09 - Commercial / En-Pro Gas Price Update
- 0:10 - Commercial
- 0:11 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:13 - Dynamic Funds Market Minute (weekdays 5h30 - 18h30) / Commercial
- 0:14 - Headline re-cap
- 0:15 - Sports
- 0:17 - Commercial
- 0:18 - International
- 0:20 - Commercial
- 0:21 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:23 - Commercial
- 0:24 - Entertainment
- 0:25 - Commercial
- 0:26 - Business
- 0:28 - Commercial
- 0:29 - Traveller's Weather
- 0:30 - Double Time Signal/Headlines
- 0:31 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:33 - News
- 0:39 - Commercial / En-Pro Gas Price Update
- 0:40 - Commercial
- 0:41 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:43 - Dynamic Funds Market Minute (weekdays 5h30 - 18h30) / Commercial
- 0:44 - Headline re-cap
- 0:45 - Sports
- 0:47 - Commercial
- 0:48 - Health
- 0:50 - Commercial
- 0:51 - Traffic & Weather
- 0:53 - Commercial
- 0:54 - Entertainment
- 0:55 - Commercial
- 0:56 - Business
- 0:58 - Commercial
- 0:59 - Regional Conditions
Special features[]
- Canada's most frequent "Dynamic Funds Market Minute" reports at :13 and :43 (while others run from 9am to 5pm, it runs from 6am to 6:30pm)
- The world's first radio station broadcast "All Christmas News" at :25 every hour (11/11-25/12 each year)
- Canada's only radio station airing "En-Pro Gas Price Update" at :09 and :39 each hour (from 8am to 1am every weekday)
- Canada's only radio station runs "Cottage Country Traffic" from May to mid-October every ten minutes on the nines. (Fridays from 10am to 10pm. Saturdays from 8am to 2pm. Sundays or Holiday Mondays from 10am to 10pm. Thursdays before the long weekend from 10am to 10pm.)
Presenters[]
Current[]
News
- Paul Cook
- Catherine Jette
- Zack Bodenstein (also traffic reporter)
- Steve Roberts
- Sladjana Tamindzic
- Sarah Parrott
- Scott Burnett
- James Munroe
- Kaitlin Lee (also reporter)
- Christine Richey
- Asher Roth (also news/traffic reporter)
- Tijuana Turner (also reporter/editor)
- Alex Bloomfield (also reporter)
- James Mackin (also editor/reporter)
- Judy Freedman
- John Sandham
- Jared Launchbury (also reporter)
- Vrajesh Dave
- Brianna Marcello
- Marie Gomez
- Erica Natividad
Traffic
- Jordan Kerr (airborne chopper 680/traffic cruiser)
- Halina Balka
- Eva Fragiskatos
- Kerry Prunskus
- Christine Langos
- Colette Desjardins
- Craig Gear
- Barb Andrews
- Kyle Hocking
- Karling Donoghue (also news anchor/news reporter)
- Camille Wilson
- Jazan Grewal (also news anchor)
- Mike Davey (also news anchor)
- Ari Rabinovitch (also business editor)
- Maria Pardo
- Brandon Dupont
- Carling Marlok
Weather
- Jill Taylor
- Natasha Ramsahai
- Denise Andreacchi
- Michelle Nelson
- Emily Vukovic
- Carl Lam
- Jason Frazer
Sports (from SN590)
- Simon Bennett
- Alex Seixeiro
- Ben Lewis
- Colin Teskey
- Mike Leach
- Caroline Frolic
- Michael Williams
- Taylor Lucas
Business
- Kris McCusker
- Mike Eppel
- Richard Southern
Reporters
- Carl Hanstke
- Jaime Pulfer
- John Stall
- Laura Carney
- Geoff Rohoman
- Charlene Close (also anchor)
- Kevin Misener
- Irene Preklet (also anchor/business editor)
- Cormac MacSweeney (Parliament Hill)
- Fil Martino (also business editor)
- Mark Douglas
- Michelle Mackey (also weather specialist)
- Michelle Morton (also anchor)
- Momin Qureshi
- Adam Steinberg (also editor/producer)
- Madison Fitzpatrick
- Caryn Ceolin
- Enrica Ammaturo (also anchor)
- Shauna Hunt
- Mark McCallister
- Cynthia Mulligan
- Stella Acquisto
- Faiza Amin
- Melissa Duggan
- Dilshad Burman
- Lindsay Dunn
- Maleeha Sheikh
- David Zura
- Cristina Howrun
- Xiaoli Li
- Brandon Rowe
- Nigel Newlove
- Nick Westoll
- Tina Yazdani
Others
- Amber LeBlanc - morning senior news editor
- Samantha Knight - morning editor
- Mitch Burke - morning digital editor
- Neetu Seupersadsingh - afternoon editor
- Millicent Angeles - afternoon technical producer
- John Bowles - midday/afternoon audio editor
- Anne Lavrih - newsroom coordinator/editor
- Colin Robertson - editor
- Diana Pereira - digital editor
- Betty Harrison - midday editor
- Michael Gibbons - editor
- Zaher Hachimi - digital editor
- Patricia D'Cunha - web content writer
- Michael Ranger - digital content editor
- Erika Chorostil - digital editor
- Lucas Casaletto - web producer
- Julie Arounlasy - digital editor
Past[]
- Teresa Kruze - now @ CP24
- Bill Cole
- Mike Wilner
- Michael Gossack
- Dick Smythe
- David Craig
- Stephanie Smyth
- Evelyn Macko
- Larry Silver
- Paul Decourcey
- Mariane McLeod
- Ken Cassavoy
- Marianne Summers
- Mike Cleaver
- Joe Snider
- Karen Parsons
- Carolyn Heldman
- Nancy Daigneault
- Karen Bodirsky
- David Melbourne
- Scott Simpson
- Kathy Hyde
- Michael Kane
- Michael Hainsworth
- Anne Machowski
- Janet Deline was here
- Jim Morris
- Bob Nichols
- Al Zimmer.
- Danny Nicholson
- Mike Dejong t
- John Downs
- Chris Mavridis
- Mark Brennae
- Rick Crabb
- Arlene Healy
- Rob Sands
- Jane Mitchinson
- Cory Galbraith
- Scott Metcalfe
- Darryl Dahmer (airborne)
- Russ Holden
- Harold Hosein
- Adam Stiles
- Brian Hill
- Frank Ferragine
- John Wilson - Now @ CityNews 570
- Brian Fysher
- Jack Roe
- Jon Mace
- Victoria Williston
- Jeffrey Halpenny
- Claire Brassard
- Laurie Turcotte
- Christina Greco
- Peter Gross
- John Ross
- Marlane Oliver
- Peter Coleman
- Ron Adams
- Jackie Rosen
- Rhianne Campbell
- Rudy Blair
- Gloria Martin
- Katie Simpson
- Alison Barnes
- Stuart McGinn - Now @ CityNews 570
- Leah Johansen
- Carl Garnich
- Eden Debebe
- Cam Dorrett
- Tim Chapman
- Veronica Thor
- Steve Burghardt - audio editer
- Michelle Halim
- Jaskiran Kooner
- Andrew Nie
- Maria St. Aubin
- Cherise Smellie
- Andy McNanara
- Brent Gunning (Now on The Golf Show on Sportsnet 590 The Fan)
- Adrian Ghobrial