CFMJ

CFMJ (640 kHz "Global News Radio 640 Toronto") is a news talk AM radio station, licensed to Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Corus Entertainment with studios and offices in the Corus Quay Building at 25 Dockside Drive in Toronto. The station airs a news talk radio format targeted to the Greater Toronto Area.
Although it is licensed to a suburban community north of the city in Richmond Hill, its transmitter is about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Toronto. CFMJ's eight-tower directional antenna is in the town of Lincoln, in Niagara Region, near the southeast corner of Greenlane and Merritt Road. This location allows the station's signal to cover a large part of Southern Ontario beyond Greater Toronto, as well as Western New York state during the day and at night. 
History.
Early Years.
On July 1, 1957, CJRH first signed on. It was a 500-watt station broadcasting at 1300 kHz. The last two letters in the call sign referred to its city of license, Richmond Hill. It moved to AM 1310 in 1959, and changed its call letters to CFGM in 1961. The station adopted a country music format in 1964. A few years later, it became Canada's first 24-hour country station. Don Daynard, longtime personality on CHFI-FM, was a host on CFGM in the 1960s.
The station moved to AM 1320 in 1978, and to 640 kHz on September 16, 1988.
Top 40 Era.
After 26 years as a country station, CFGM changed its format and call letters on June 29, 1990, at 5 p.m., broadcasting a rock-leaning CHR/Top 40 format as "AM 640 The Hog", CHOG (which would later shift towards a more mainstream direction in September 1991). In June 1992, the station rebranded as "AM 640 The Beat Of Toronto". The station adjusted its format to Rhythmic CHR.
Several notable radio personalities were associated with the station during this era, including John Gallagher, Tarzan Dan (Freeman), Pat Cochrane, Adrian Bell, Tony Monaco, Deanna Nason, Randy Taylor, Eric Hollo, Kenny 'The Hitman' Caughlin, Roger Kelly and the Toronto radio team of Jesse and Gene. After CFTR moved from contemporary hits to all-news in 1993, AM 640 (still with the calls CHOG) was the last Top 40 station in the Toronto radio market until CISS-FM adopted the format in February 1999. Talk shows would later come to take up a substantial part of the station's schedule, particularly during midday periods when many of the station's hit music listeners might normally be in school.
Shift to Talk.
On October 10, 1995, at 10 p.m., the station changed to a full-time talk radio format. As "Talk 640", the station aired syndicated shows such as Joy Browne, Rhona Raskin, Dr. Laura and Live Audio Wrestling, along with local programming hosted by personalities such as Gene Valaitis, Jane Hawtin, Bill Carroll, Shelley Klinck, Marsha Lederman, Karen Horsman, Michael Coren, Dave Chalk, Spaceman Gary Bell and Roger Kelly.
Despite regular adjustments, including acquiring the radio broadcast rights to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the station received low ratings. During this period, the station adopted the call letters CFYI. The weekend programming was a hit with "The Touch of Health" a show that started with just a half hour in 1997 to a two-hour nationally syndicated show airing 2 to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Hosted, produced and managed by Christine McPhee, other weekend shows were the "Pet Show" with Mitch Levitsky, a "Cruise Show", a "Law Show", a "Beauty Show", and the "Small Canada Business Show".
Mojo Radio.
In 2000, the station was acquired by Corus Entertainment. On April 23, 2001, at 6:40 a.m., the station re-launched as "Mojo Radio", a hot talk radio format aimed at the male demographic. The station also changed its call letters the same day to the current CFMJ.
The new format featured programs hosted by Humble and Fred, John Derringer, Phil Hendrie, Mike Stafford, Andrew Krystal, Spider Jones, and the syndicated "Coast to Coast AM". Later on, John Oakley replaced Scruff Connors who had taken over from Humble and Fred; the latter pair left for hot adult contemporary station Mix 99.9 in July 2003. Krystal moved to part-time work at CFRB and CKTB before moving to CJNI-FM in Halifax. Derringer's Mojo show was later discontinued as he concentrated on his marquee morning show on co-owned Q107.
AM640 Toronto Radio.
In 2004, due to low ratings (MOJO was typically hovering around a 1.4 share), the station moved away from the male-oriented imaging to a more general news and talk format as "AM640 Toronto Radio". Oakley and Stafford continued to host the major morning and afternoon drive programs. Craig Bromell joined the station as co-host of a new late morning program, "The Beat" (later rebranded as "Bromell!" in 2006), and in 2005, Charles Adler's nationally syndicated radio show was added to mid-afternoons. Award-winning journalist Arlene Bynon was added to the ranks in 2006 to host the Saturday afternoon "Toronto Weekend" program, which expanded to include a Sunday edition as well.
Near the end of July 2007, the programming line-up was shuffled in response to the departure of Craig Bromell, whose show ran until the end of August 2007. Afternoon host Mike Stafford replaced "Bromell". "The Bill Watters Show" was added to the afternoon lineup. Just as the new show with co-host Jeff Marek expanded, Marek moved on to Sirius Satellite Radio. Greg Brady replaced Marek as Bill's co-host. Brady left AM640 in late June 2010 to host a Noon - 3pm program on The FAN 590. Bill Hayes, formerly of Q107, replaced Greg Brady as Watters' co-host. Hayes was fired in January 2011. Co-hosting duties then fell to his son, Brian Hayes. Hayes left AM640 on Friday, April 8 to host his own mid-morning program on TSN Radio 1050. AM640's Leafs play-by-play colour analyst Jim Ralph became co-host of The Bill Watters Show, which ran from 4pm – 7pm covering hockey issues and other major sports news as well, up until July 15, 2011.
Veteran host and reporter John Downs was let go in early August, 2010. His 7pm - 9pm slot was then hosted by Bryan Hayes, whose program was primarily sports-talk, until April 12, 2011 when Bryan took the mid-day host slot at TSN Radio 1050. Charles Adler's 2pm - 4pm program was moved to the 7pm - 9pm slot at the end of August, 2012.
Charles Adler hosted a Toronto-based hour from 1pm - 2pm during the summer of 2010. On Monday, August 30, Arlene Bynon took over hosting duties for the 1pm - 2pm hour, with news anchor Tina Trigiani guest-hosting Friday afternoons. On Monday July 18, 2011 "The Bill Watters Show" was canceled and Arlene Bynon took over the 4-7pm time slot. Tina Trigiani was the host of the 1-2p slot Monday to Friday. On July 2, 2014 Trijiani's hour was taken over by host Jeff McArthur.
Jeff McArthur, former morning show host for both CFPL-FM and CFPL (AM) in London, Ontario, joined AM640 in late August 2012 to host weekdays 2pm - 4pm. On July 2, 2014 his show expanded to add the 1-2pm time slot.
On January 7, 2013, Arlene Bynon's afternoon program was replaced by Bill Carroll. Arlene stayed on as cohost for the following three weeks. Her last day was Tuesday, January 29, 2013. She now hosts a show on "Canada Talks" Channel 167 on Sirius XM Radio. Bill Carroll hosted the 4-7pm weekday slot in Toronto in addition to his a separate show on Los Angeles talk radio station KFI (which is also at 640 on the AM dial)
One of the station's biggest draws was that it was the radio broadcaster of the Toronto Maple Leafs, which it networked into other markets. Its play-by-play announcers were Joe Bowen, Dennis Beyak, Jim Ralph and Dan Dunleavy. Dennis Beyak left in the fall of 2011 to do the play-by-play for the Winnipeg Jets on TSN regional television and on TSN Radio 1290 CFRW. AM640's 7-year contract for the rights to Toronto Maple Leafs radio broadcasts concluded before the start of the 2012-13 NHL seasonLeafs broadcasts are now split between CHUM and CJCL.
CFMJ's studios were in Suite 1600 at 1 Dundas Street West in Toronto, Ontario until Corus moved all of its Toronto-based radio, television and other assets into Corus Quay upon its completion in the summer of 2010. On September 8, 2015, CFMJ began simulcasting on co-owned CING-FM's HD-2 sub-channel.
Global News Radio 640 Toronto.
CFMJ, along with several other Corus's news/talk radio stations across Canada were relaunched under the new national "Global News Radio" brand between November and December 2017. The new moniker matches the Global News brand which is already used for the newscasts on Global Television's owned-and-operated stations, including CFMJ's sister station, CIII-DT, which was acquired by Corus Entertainment as part of its acquisition of the Shaw Communications media unit. The official changeover to "Global News Radio 640 Toronto" occurred on December 1, 2017, with CFMJ maintaining its talk format and on-air roster.
Defunct Programs.
"Leafs Lunch".
Jeff Marek was offered a position with Sirius Satellite Radio and CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" to host a new show. On September 7, 2007 Marek announced that he was leaving "Leafs Lunch" on AM 640 Toronto Radio to pursue a new route in radio broadcasting on the "Hockey Night in Canada" radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 122. Brian Duff from the NHL Network was the program's host for a period of time until he was replaced by TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger. On July 5, 2010, "Leafs Lunch" was canceled. "Leafs Lunch" returned to Talk Radio AM640's Saturday and Sunday lineups, filling the noon - 1pm timeslot until spring of 2011, when it was cancelled.
Tina Trigiani.
Trigiani's show aired weekdays between 1pm and 2pm, this show generally covered lighter news and popular interest topics. Like the "Stafford Show", a main topic was introduced and then Tina took input from listeners via e-mail and phone calls. Adding occasional colour to the show was added by Trigiani's call screener, Ryan Bonnar and technical producer Patrick Malkin. AM640 Host Jeff McArthur's show absorbed the hour in the summer of 2014.
Jeff McArthur.
"The Jeff McArthur Show" filled the 1-4pm slot on AM640 before McArthur left the station to become host of the Global TV The Morning Show. Until late 2013, McArthur would fill in during the afternoon drive slot if there were breaking news events, due to other work commitments by "Afternoon Drive" host Bill Carroll. The show generally begins with "Opening Shots", a series of brief news stories and quick witted commentary by Jeff McArthur. The last segment of the show includes "7 Calls Says it All" in which Jeff tries to take 7 Calls from listeners on a single topic with limited time remaining in the show. On Fridays McArthur hosted the "AM640 News Chain Game" in which listeners have to answer a series of questions about the week's news events in order to win a prize. Jeff added the 1-2pm slot that was formerly hosted by Tina Trigiani in July 2014.
Bill Carroll.
Aired weekdays from 4pm - 7pm. Bill Carroll hosted the afternoon drive slot along with commentary from news anchor Sandy Salerno and producer Chris Chreston until early 2016. The opening segment of each show was known as "Carroll on the News" in which Salerno, Chreston and Carroll discussed the day's major news stories. This portion of the show was taped earlier in the day due to a conflict with Carroll's show on KFI 640 in Los Angeles. Carroll resigned from his position in Los Angeles, but soon after left AM640 in early 2016 for 580 CFRA in Ottawa
"The Post Game Show with Andy Frost".
Following each Toronto Maple Leafs game, radio host and Leafs PA announcer, Andy Frost discussed the ups and downs of the night's game. Much of the broadcast involves taking phone calls from the show's audience. This show was cancelled on the station, however Frost remained an evening and weekend host on AM640's sister station Q107.
"A View from Space".
For over 15 years Gary Bell (nicknamed 'The Spaceman') hosted a show, broadcast on Saturday nights, that dealt with current events, numerology and conspiracy theories . The show was cancelled, following its November 11, 2017 broadcast, when parent company Corus fired the late-night host citing complaints of anti-Semitic content. Bell also worked as a producer for various weekday shows during his time at the station and had previously worked as a technician at CKGM and CFTR. He died of cancer in June 2018.
Tasha Kheiriddin.
Weekdays from 12:00pm–2:00pm Tasha Kheiriddin focused on politics and lifestyle. The show was produced by Jackie Lamport. The show featured a Political Panel every Wednesday from 1:20 - 1:40pm. On Fridays during the same time slot a Top 3 panel took place where three women joined the show to talk about three of the top stories of the week. Notable panelists included Maddie Di Muccio, Lisa Kinsella, Anne Lagacé Dowson, and Sophie Nadaeu. The final edition of the program aired March 1, 2019 when it ended its run after three years.
"The Exchange with Matt Gurney".
Aired weekdays from 9am - 12pm, "The Exchange" was a news based talk show with host Matt Gurney. Heather Purdon, Mike Stafford's former producer, produces the show. The show ended in February 2019.