Friday, February 19, 2016

Ottawa Radio: More C-C-Changes At N/T CFRA 580 AM

Ottawa radio host Mark Sutcliffe was laid off Wednesday morning, immediately following the broadcast of his popular CFRA Today show.

Sutcliffe was called into a meeting at 10 a.m., where he was told that the station was taking the morning show in “a different direction.”

“I was shocked,” he admits. “It was a complete blindside.”

In a statement released Wednesday, Bell Media Radio, which owns CFRA 580 AM, confirmed Sutcliffe’s “departure,” as well as those of hosts John Counsell, Ron Corbett and Nick Vandergragt. “We truly appreciate their many contributions to the station,” it read, “and wish each of them the very best in their future endeavors.”

Sutcliffe’s history with CFRA, now owned by Bell Media, extends back to 1987, when he was first hired to deliver the overnight news.

Sutcliffe is a philanthropic pillar in the community, sitting on numerous boards. He was last year’s co-chair of Ottawa’s United Way campaign, and also chaired the Chamber of Commerce.

“There’s a small silver lining in this,” said Sutcliffe, “which is that I can take my kids to school tomorrow morning. Usually when they wake up, I’m not here.”

CFRA 580 AM (50 Kw-D, 30 Kw-N) Red=Local Coverage
Bill Carroll
Later Thursday CFRA announced that former KFI 640 AM Los Angeles and Toronto veteran radio personality Bill Carroll is the new host of its all-new morning program The Morning Rush, premiering Monday, March 7 at 6 a.m.

In addition, CFRA announced a new evening lineup, welcoming well-known journalist, host, and columnist Brian Lilley as host of Beyond The News, also premiering Monday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

“We are excited to welcome Bill while celebrating the return of Brian to 580 CFRA,” said Richard Gray, Vice-President and General Manager, Radio and TV, Bell Media, Ottawa and Pembroke. “Both are exceptional talents, and their permanent addition to our inimitable lineup of strong opinionators reinforces our committed and ongoing investment in the future of talk radio here in the Ottawa market.”

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