The TSN Top Radio Prospects – Eric Hallett, Stephen Gomes, Andrew Reis, Hayden Hallett, and Jeff Blagden

Ignite Radio is proud to announce their partnership with TSN 1150 to bring you “The TSN 1150 Top Prospects Radio Show” every Tuesday at 5 PM on Ignite Radio.

          Mike Nabuurs, Program Director for TSN 1150 says, “TSN 1150 is very proud to work with Mohawk College on this new program.  As Hamilton’s all sports radio station we are very interested in helping develop future talent and specifically, future sports broadcasters. We are working closely with the Radio Broadcasting course at Mohawk to identify students who have a desire to get into sports radio and TV and to help them develop the skills that are specific to sports broadcasting.”

         Mr. Nabuurs goes on to explain that, “This year we have found five students and we are now working with them to develop a one-hour sports radio show.  Launching earlier this month on Ignite Radio, it is our goal to improve their skills and then move the show to TSN 1150 this spring. Each student will take turns in different roles on the show so they can improve their overall skills.”

        He finished by saying that, “This partnership will only grow and will lead to an actual sports course being offered by Mohawk as part of their Radio Broadcasting program.”

Long Live Radio!

Alan Cross says radio is not a dying medium, it’s simply in transition.

Canada’s popular host of The Ongoing History of  New Music and the blog A Journal of Musical Things dropped by Mohawk College in January to talk about the future of radio to a group of first and second year radio students.

While the days of  the days of waiting for your favourite song to play on the radio are gone, that should not be confused with the death of the medium. Radio is in transition due to the digital age we live in today.  Instead, the songs you want to hear are at your fingertips immediately in a variety of different ways by using Spotify or Google Play Music.

Cross has an interesting idea. How about a radio station that throws out the old rules of radio? For example, why does a station have to be genre specific? Why not totally eliminate the formats that have worked in radio for years?  Why not program a radio station that  plays many genres of music, old and new?

Another reason that radio is not dying is the fact that Canada is still home to over 700 commercial radio stations that made about 1.6 billion dollars in revenue in 2015. The average Canadian listens to roughly 20 hours of radio each week.  The key to radio’s future success is to build on its past triumphs and decide how to use old and new technologies to attract and hold listeners.

The future of radio is bright and is in the hands of some of the Mohawk students.

Geoff Comer