The Jewel radio station is on the air and ready to shine
They’re sharing space with their sister station in Hawkesbury while they look for a new home. They accidentally hung up a phone call with a colleague live on air because the audio system wasn’t working. They don’t have a public phone number yet and one of the announcers doesn’t have a working email address. But The Jewel 106.7 Hudson is on the air with regular programming as of this week.
The off- island area’s first local English- language radio station is an easy- listening music station that is a bit reminiscent of the old Q92 before it went pop to try to attract a younger audience. And it just so happens that the man who was the program director at Q92 from 1992 to 2007 is in charge of programming for this station.
Ted Silver, who also programs three Jewel stations in eastern Ontario, has five on- air staff with possibly another big name to come soon: Ted Bird, a 30- year Montreal radio veteran of CJAD, CHOM, K103, TSN
Radio and KIC Country: Bird brings with him his popular Revisionist History segment, but also said he wants to try some new tricks to entertain listeners. “We needed to have at least one person with a name that people would recognize,” Silver said. “Ted seemed to be the perfect fit. He relates well to our demographic. They know him and like him, they’re comfortable with him.” Tanya Armstrong, who worked at
CHOM and Team 990: “It was Ted that recommended her,” Silver said. “We brought her in last week and had her do a demo cold for us. It’s obvious that she’s got the goods.” Bob Coley, a Hudson resident who worked at CHOM in the late 1970s
and early ‘ 80s: He worked with Silver at Sherbrooke’s CKTS. Sylvia Asche Bullard, formerly of
Sherbrooke’s CJMQ: She had been doing traffic for The Jewel in Ottawa the past few months. “She was available for this and applied for it, and had the experience we were looking for,” Silver said. Kris Leblanc, a techie with experience at Mix 96, CJAD and 940 News:
“Kris is in the voice- over business, so I knew him from that,” Silver said. “Incredible enthusiasm. He’s my go- to guy if something goes wrong. He’s a problem- solver. He really complements what we need.” He’s producing the morning show for now and will do technical work, weekend shifts and fill in as necessary. The station’s 2,650- watt signal covers its core audience of Hudson/ St- Lazare and areas around it like Rigaud, Oka, Île Perrot and the West Island, but it doesn’t reach into the city of Montreal. That’s both because of limitations of available space on FM and because owner Evanov Radio convinced the CRTC that Hudson is a different market.
“We’re not a Montreal station, though we expect we’ll have significant audience in the West Island,” Silver said. He compares it to CFOX, the former AM station based in Pointe Claire. “They were first and foremost dedicated to their service area,” he said.
With that in mind, The Jewel plans to focus on the local community. Half its newscast is reserved for local news. The main story on launch day Monday was the lifting of a boil- water advisory in part of Vaudreuil- Dorion. The local focus is also a plus for advertisers, who can reach the off- island area without having to pay big money to get on the big stations. The Jewel is at 106.7 FM, and can be streamed live at jewelradio.com. It also has apps for ios and Android.
JEWEL WEEKDAY LINEUP
Mornings with Ted Bird: weekdays 5: 30- 10 a. m. Co- host Tanya Armstrong does news and traffic.
John Tesh Intelligence For Your Life: weekdays 10 a. m. to 3 p. m. The syndicated American host offers tips on well- being between songs during the day.
Stress- Free Drive Home with Bob Coley: weekdays 3- 7 p. m. Co- host Sylvia Asche Bullard does news and traffic.
The Lounge: weekdays 7- 11 p. m. A music show with classic pop hits and standards, hosted by announcers from across the Jewel network of stations.
We needed to have at least one person with a name that people would recognize. Ted ( Bird) seemed to be the perfect fit.
TEDSILVER