R.I.P.: Ed Mason, Former Edmonton Radio News Voice

Ed Mason

Ed Mason, the man who kept Edmontonians informed for decades Corus radio stations has died. He was 75, reports Global News.

Mason retired in 2014 after nearly 50 years on air, almost 40 of that in the morning on CHQT 800 AM and CHED 630 AM.

“Even though I haven’t met someone of you, and even though I can’t hear most of you, this is the best place on earth and I’ll miss you,” Mason said to colleagues after his final newscast.

“Ed Mason was the ultimate newsperson,” former Corus Edmonton radio news manager Bob Layton said. “I say that not because he is gone, but because it is true.”

Layton remembered staff joking that Mason should take an extra day off every week “just to have the phone surgically removed from his ear.”

“When he finished one of his always creatively written newscasts, he never seemed to relax,” Layton said. “He would immediately be back on the phone, looking for something fresh for the next hour; maybe an update, a clarification, or just to ask what else was happening.”

Layton praised Mason for his mentorship of newer journalists in the newsroom, saying Mason taught them to write for CHED’s audience, while still being accurate and fair.