Montreal Mirror - Best of Montreal 2006 Readers Poll : Media

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Media

Best Radio Station
1. CKUT 90.3
2. CHOM 97.7
3. Mix 96 (95.9 FM)
4. CBC Radio One 88.5
5. CISM 89.3
6. K103.7 Kahnawake
7. 99.9 The Buzz
8. CKGM Team 990
9. Hits FM 94.7
10. Q92 – CFQR 92.5
Honourable mentions: CJLO • CKOI • CJAD • Techno.fm (internet) • Radio-Canada 95.1 FM • Couleur Jazz 91.9 FM

McGill’s community radio station survived a referendum on its funding future earlier this year and maintains its dominant spot on the list. Montrealers seem unable to get enough of “Hotel California” and “Kashmir,” so CHOM cements its #2 spot, with the Mix also in a holding pattern from last year. The Corpse inches up a notch, while CISM and K103.7 battle it out with their eclectic mix of refreshing programming.

Beyond the jock

>> The Team 990’s Mitch Melnick talks about a lot more than sports in the afternoon

by PATRICK LEJTENYI

“The first competitive sports moment I remember is watching Henri Richard score the [Stanley-Cup- winning] overtime goal against Detroit in 1966,” says Mitch Melnick, host of the Team 990 AM’s Melnick in the Afternoon drive show. “And that summer I watched Sandy Koufax pitch in his last year.”

Forty years later, Melnick is sitting on the terrasse at Hurley’s Irish Pub on Crescent, sipping a Guinness and looking somewhat taken aback by the fact that he’s topped a 2006 Best of Montreal category. “Most Desirable Man?” he asks.

Actually, it’s Best Local Radio Host. He seems pleased. “That’s extremely gratifying,” he says. “It’s humbling.”

In his almost 30 years in the business, Melnick has seen a lot of changes in the Montreal sports world: the Habs’ two-decade decline—despite their two Cup wins—from the early ’80s until they hit rock bottom in the late ’90s, the Alouettes departure and return and, perhaps the most painful of all, the rise, fall and farewell of his beloved Expos. “That,” says Melnick, “was very painful.”

So painful that he briefly considered moving to the States, although eventually decided against it. “I wasn’t the only one involved,” he says, referring to his two school-age daughters.

While baseball in Montreal is as dead as Ted Williams, Melnick, himself a decent pitcher, is by necessity still heavily invested in the local sports scene. But pro sports isn’t the be-all and end-all for Melnick in the Afternoon. A huge music fan, he tries to stay on top of the latest big things and gets the occasional musician as studio guest (a member of Montreal’s the Stills once recounted an anecdote involving a monosyllabic Vincent Lecavalier hitting on his girlfriend). He also makes forays into the realm of politics, railing against taxes and the upcoming smoking ban.

“I like to compare my show to free-form jazz,” he says. “There’s never a sameness to it. Whether there’s 10 or 10,000 people listening, I want them to hear something they’ve never heard before.”

His passion for unscripted, spontaneous radio, the qualities that bring the medium to life, comes through on the air. “I try to do a show I’d like to listen to,” he says.

After his first pint and a tequila shot, Melnick’s voice begins to sound just a bit more like he’s on-air. In person, he’s much softer-spoken, so much so that it can be difficult to hear him over the din of early-evening lower Crescent traffic. Like many radio personalities, he can be shy when not behind the mic, despite fielding dozens of calls a day and hosting the odd TV camera, most recently after the Koivu eye injury.

The afternoon spot works for Melnick, not only because he actually gets to lead a more or less normal life, but also because he’s not going head-to-head against the other big names in Montreal talk radio. Stations like CJAD, CHOM, the Mix and Q92 load their big names in the morning, while Melnick gets to prep the pre-game listeners on the latest of the day’s sports gossip.

The Team 990 turned five last week, and Melnick’s has been their flagship show throughout. “I aim to be provocative,” he says. “The show is about sports, sex, drugs, rock ’n’ roll and skewering politicians.”

Best TV Station
1. CFCF
2. Global
3. CBC
4. MusiquePlus
5. Télé Québec
6. Don’t watch TV/none
7. TQS
8. TVA
9. RDS
10. Radio-Canada

Once again CFCF kills the anglo competition. RadCan falls precipitously from #4 last year to #10, while the TV haters broadcast their contempt for the idiot box for the first time.

Best Local Radio Show
1. Off the Hook (CKUT)
2. Lounge King (Mix 96)
3. WeFunk (CKUT)
4. Terry & Ted in the Morning (CHOM)
5. Melnick in the Afternoon (Team 990)
6. Folk Roots, Folk Branches (CKUT)
7. Aaron & Tasso (Q92)
8. Sports Rage (Team 990)
9. Masters at Work (CKUT)
10. Cat, Lisa and the Sherriff (Mix 96)
Honourable mentions: Street Sounds (K103.7) • Mind, Soul & Spirit (CKUT) • Native Love with Luke Native (www.techno.fm)

Off the Hook hosts Orion, Flow and Budda Blaze are undisputed kings (among Mirror readers at least) of Montreal airwaves. But the Lounge King is coolly stepping up, jumping three spots from last year. CKUT seems to be enjoying a banner year, and the return of the NHL has undoubtedly helped the Team’s ratings.

Best Local Radio Host
1. Mitch Melnick (Team 990)
2. Terry DiMonte (CHOM)
3. Cat Spencer (Mix 96)
4. Budda Blaze (CKUT/K103.7)
5. Don Smooth (K103.7)
6. Orion (CKUT)
7. Mike Regenstreif (CKUT)
8. Gabriel Morency (Team 990)
9. Dave Bronstetter (CBC)
10. Aaron and Tasso (Q92)
Honourable mentions: Jennifer of Mind, Soul & Spirit (CKUT) • Luke Native (www.techno.fm) • Dan Behrman (Radio Canada) • DJ Static (CKUT, www.wefunkradio.com) • PJ Stock (Team 990)

Melnick takes the category for the first time ever, while jolly Terry DiMonte slips to #2. Cat Spencer improves his standing, but CKUT hosts enjoy loyal and enfranchised followings.

Best Local Newscaster
1. Mutsumi Takahashi (CFCF 12)
2. Bill Haugland (CFCF 12)
3. Dennis Trudeau (CBC–retired)
4. Todd van der Heyden (CFCF 12)
5. Frank Cavallaro (CFCF 12)
6. Aphrodite Salas (Global, the New 940)
7. Tara Schwartz (CFCF 12)
8. Jamie Orchard (Global)
9. Ron Reusch (CFCF 12)
10. Raymond Filion (Global)
Honourable mentions: Brian Britt (CFCF 12) • Debra Arbec (CFCF 12) • Murray Sherriffs (Mix 96) • Pierre Bruneau (TVA)

Mutsumi, queen of Montreal news, has dominated this category for as long as anyone can remember. The Ceeb’s Dennis Trudeau recently retired, leaving Michel Godbout a chance to develop his chops and cultivate his own cult following. Maybe next year Michel!

Best Local TV Personality
1. Mutsumi Takahashi (CFCF 12 News)
2. Frank Cavallaro (CFCF 12 News-weather)
3. Guy A. Lepage (Tout le monde en parle, Radio-Canada)
4. Ron Reusch (CFCF 12 News-sports)
5. Orla Johannes (Entertainment Spotlight, CFCF 12)
6. Marc Labrèche (Le coeur a ses raisons, TVA)
7. Mose Persico (Entertainment Spotlight, CFCF 12)
8. Aphrodite Salas (Global)
9. Ben Mulroney (CTV)
10. Jamie Orchard (Global)
Honourable mentions: Dennis Trudeau (CBC–retired) • Inobe Stanislaus • Mitsou (Au Courant, CBC Newsworld) • Bill Haugland (CFCF 12)

CFCF’s co-anchor, weatherman and resident crotchety old man almost sweep the category’s top spot, although Tout le monde en parle’s Lepage stays in the top three, down from #1 last year.

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