1955
CKLG (“LG” for Lions Gate, a local landmark) signed on February 3 at 1070 kHz with a power of one thousand watts. The transmitter was located at Blair Range in North Vancouver, up on a hill where grounding was poor, and so was the signal. Technical problems prevented the station from a planned debut in December 1954. Original programming was “MOR, popular and classical” music with public opinion polls.
Four brothers in the lumber business founded the station, Clarke, Earson, Gordon and Jack Gibson, operating as Lions Gate Broadcasting Ltd. Bob Bowman was station manager, Rudy Hartman program producer and Jim Thom commercial producer. Original personalities included morning man Hal Francis along with announcers John Anthony and Alan Roughton. John Sharpe was news editor and footballer Al Pollard sports director. Chief engineer was Trevor Payne.
Controversial talk show host Pat Burns made his radio debut at CKLG.
1957
CKLG switched frequency to a much clearer 730 kHz, due to problems reaching even southern portions of Vancouver after dark, when major interference was experienced from 50 kilowatt KNX AM 1070 in Los Angeles. Transmitter location was changed to Delta, south of the city, and power was increased to 10,000 watts (full-time, DA-1) utilizing three 300-foot towers. CKLG had applied for this change several times before it was finally granted. Several other stations also wanted the 730 frequency.
1959
Norm Grohmann, started at the station. He later became the very popular BCTV (CHAN-TV Vancouver) weather anchor during the seventies to nineties. Other personalities during the late 50s-early 60s included Monty McFarlane, fishing reports with Tom Sewell, and talk show hosts Jack Webster and Don Wilson.
1961
Moffat Communications Limited purchased the station from the Gibson Brothers.
1963
A new 10,000-watt transmitter was installed, using four 305-foot towers. The station started playing more hit music in rotation with its regular programming.
1964
The unexpected death of Lloyd Moffat early in the year, left his son Randall with eight radio stations across Western Canada, which he began changing to Top 40 programming. In the spring he hired former midday WABC New York DJ, Sam Holman to set up the format for CKLG. Holman installed the WABC format with news every 15 minutes, a tight play list and PAMS jingles calling it “Lion Radio”. The DJs were called the “Top Cats”. The attempt was under-funded and un-researched. An evening talk show continued to be aired and some “middle-of-the-road” DJs still were under contract.
On Saturday August 22 the Beatles played at Empire Stadium. They were booked into Vancouver’s Georgia Hotel and CKLG obtained exclusive broadcast rights. That was used as the launch pad for a full-time contemporary hit station on August 24. Roy Hennessy was hired from Vancouver’s “quality music” station CHQM to do 6–9 p.m. and also got to interview the Beatles.
1965
In July, Hennessy was in Los Angeles for the launch of KHJ as “Boss Radio”. He passed the information back to program director Frank Callaghan, who also flew to L.A. to check out the new sound. The following month, CKLG “Boss Radio” debuted. Within six weeks, it had scooped up many of the listeners from Top 40 rival CFUN.
1966
“Real” Roy Hennessy, who was instrumental in launching the Boss Radio format, moved to morning drive. .
1972
Moffat Broadcasting Ltd. became publicly traded Moffat Communications Ltd. Before this, Donna Hardstaff (nee Moffat) and Randall Moffat each held 50%. Under the new setup, Randall Moffat held 51.2% with the public offering being 38.8%.
1974
On July 26, Moffat Communications Ltd. received approval to increase CKLG’s power from 10,000 to 50,000 watts (different day and night directional patterns). The increase took place before the end of the year. Four 305 foot towers were located at Delta.
1981
Bill Sysak became vice president and general manager of CKLG/CFOX-FM. He had been at CHED Edmonton. Sysak replaced Vern Traill who was moved to CHED.
1984
In March, CKLG began broadcasting in AM stereo using the Kahn system.
1987
Stu McAllister was news director.
1990
Program director Brad Phillips left for South Fraser Broadcasting's new FM station.
Jim (J.J.) Johnston was appointed program director of CKLG. He would also remain PD of sister station CFOX-FM.
1991
Jim (J.J.) Johnson, CKLG and CFOX-FM program director was appointed national PD for Moffat Radio.
1992
On August 20, the CRTC approved the sale of CKLG and sister station CFOX-FM from Moffat Communications Ltd. to Shaw Radio Ltd. This was part of Moffat's sale of its radio division. Transfer of CKLG/CFOX-FM to Shaw was completed September 1.
1993
Talk programming was added in April and gradually increased from 10-15 minute interviews, four times a day to 24-hour talk by September 20. Twenty-nine years of continuous contemporary hit radio put CKLG in a virtual tie with CHUM-AM Toronto as the longest running CHR station in Canada.
Shaw Radio promoted Alden Diehl to industry relations and staff development manager at the company. He had been general manager of CKLG and CFOX-FM. Chris Pandoff moved from the general sales manager position to general manager of the two stations. Gordon Forbes, 16 eyars with CKLG/CFOX, moved from sales supervisor to general sales manager.
1994
With ratings starting to falter, the station went back to full time hit music on February 22.
1999
Shaw communications spun off the radio division to a new entity called Corus Radio Company.
2000
Alden Diehl, 68, died October 27. He had run CKLG and CFOX-FM for a number of years - until his retirement a few years back. Diehl had joined Moffat Vancouver from sister stations CKY / CITI-FM in Winnipeg. Before that, he had worked for CKLW Windsor and CFRA in Ottawa.
2001
Just before midnight on January 31, the music ended on CKLG with the song “I Will Remember You” by Sarah McLachlan. Minutes later at midnight February 1, with no fanfare, “All News NW2 powered by CKNW” hit the airwaves. The official call became CJNW, after its Corus sister station in the Vancouver market. The new format was a news wheel, extremely close in concept to Rogers’ rival “News 1130” CKWX Vancouver, which had been programming 24 hour news since early 1996.
Daryl Burlingham (Daryl B) died February 25. Over the years he had worked at top stations including CKLG, CKY, CFUN, CKLW and CHUM.
2002
On May 28 at 5 a.m., after only about 16 months, CJNW stopped its all news format. In its place was continuous recorded rock music with no commercials, except for live broadcasts of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which had started before the format change. Speculation was widespread as to whether the station would go back to its previous CHR/Hot Adult Contemporary format, turn to hits of the seventies or move on with some sort of talk programming.
On June 14, the station left the air for service and replacement of its aging transmitter and towers. It returned to the air July 19 with modern rock and no DJs.
On July 11 Corus Entertainment officially announced to the press that CJNW would launch on August 6 as MOJO Radio, talk radio for guys, as an offshoot of its Toronto MOJO radio format. It was to provide “a forum for men to discuss and debate issues that matter to them, from health and fitness to cars, careers, beers, business, women and sports”.
As scheduled, Vancouver MOJO Radio launched at 6 a.m. August 6. The call letters were changed to CHMJ to reflect the new slogan.
2004
In early February CHMJ moved from “guy talk” to “sports talk”, leaning initially on programming syndicated from ESPN in the U.S., before moving toward more localized sports talk programming. The station started identifying itself as “MOJO Sports Radio” and became the second all sports station in the Vancouver market. By early August, long-term deals had been agreed to for broadcast rights to the NHL All-Star Game, Westwood One NHL Game of the Week, NHL Conference Finals and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Also inked through 2007 were golf play by play of the Masters, British Open, US Open and PGA Championship.
2005
In late June the station announced a two-year agreement to broadcast Canada West football and basketball plus a two-hour magazine-style show focusing exclusively on university, amateur and high school athletics.
2006
On May 30, after two years and four months with lackluster ratings as Vancouver’s second “sports talk” station, competing with the existing CKST “Team 1040”, CHMJ pulled the plug on the format. Beginning June 5 at 7:30 a.m., after six days of continuous promos, the station became “AM 730, Continuous Drive Time Traffic and the Best of Talk”. It announced that it would also broadcast play-by-play Vancouver Whitecaps, Giants and Seattle Seahawks games, as well as delayed talk shows from sister station CKNW. J.J. Johnston, general manager of Corus Radio Vancouver, said the new format would target motorists who commute on a daily basis and added that while the station did not expect to capture a large audience share, "it should, in time, have huge reach.
On October 10th the station expanded its "Continuous Drive Time Traffic" format to "Continuous All Day Traffic", with continuous reports from 6 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday.
On November 26, coinciding with one of the most severe snow storms on the west coast in several years, CHMJ moved from “Continuous All Day Traffic” to “All Traffic All the Time”. Exceptions to the 24/7 all-traffic format were Vancouver Giants hockey and Seattle Seahawks football play-by-play.
2009
On August 28, the CRTC renewed the transitional digital radio licence of CHMJ-DR-2.
Lewis Roskin passed away December 27. He started his radio career as an announcer (at age 17) at CJOC in Lethbridge. That was in 1937. He went on to work at CFRN Edmonton, CJDC Dawson Creek, CFCN Calgary, CHED Edmonton and CKLG Vancouver. He then went on to co-found CHQT Edmonton where he was president and general manager until he sold the station years later.
Written by Gord Lansdell, Bill Dulmage - updated February, 2010
