Doug McCann

Doug McCann - CKSO AM FM CIGMBirthplace
Sudbury, Ontario

Birthdate
April 28, 1958

First Media Job
1975, CKSO FM (Operator)


Doug was born on a very early Monday morning, April 28, 1958, in the Sudbury Memorial Hospital. Raised in Azilda, Ontario, Doug attended St. Patrick’s Elementary School and then Chelmsford Valley District Composite High School (CVDCS). His final high school year took him to Sudbury Secondary School where he graduated from Grade 13 in 1977. He attended Cambrian College with the intention of studying Business Administration, but after a year he decided it was not what he wanted to do.

In fact, he had already been following his dream of working in the world of broadcast radio. The dream came early in his life as he recalls in Grade 8 heading down to the principal’s office to announce in-school sports happenings over the public address system before the lunch hour. Then in high school and active on the school’s yearbook committee, Doug kept the student body updated over the school’s P.A. system with news of the group’s progress including group picture days, orders and sales.

Like so many who wanted to get that proverbial foot in the door, Doug got his opportunity when he was hired as an operator at CKSO FM. What started in June of 1975 was supposed to be only a temporary summer job replacement, but turned into a permanent part-time arrangement for the next five years! In addition to his undying interest to be on the air, he also had a passion for the production end of radio and seized any opportunity to “experiment” in the production studio. By 1976 Doug was also operating in the AM department. Towards the later part of the 1970s CKSO AM and CIGM FM were preparing to become disaffiliated with the CBC Radio Network. This meant that more local programming would be required and that’s when Doug got his chance to do some over-night on-air hosting on AM and some fill-in from time to time on FM.

In 1979, Doug went to CFGO AM in Ottawa for a short stint in the radio production department but missed the on-air work and returned to CKSO for a few months before working full-time, hosting mid-days in Parry Sound, Ontario at what was then CFBQ AM. Doug next went to CFOR AM in Orillia to handle a variety of shifts in 1982 but returned before the end of that year to open a record retail store in Parry Sound. Doug also kept busy with a mobile disc jockey business established in 1977 and in operation for over 16 years. After selling the store and trying a hand at newspaper advertising sales, it was 1989 when Doug was back at the Parry Sound station, now CKLP FM, with a much greater audience, reaching most of Muskoka, East and West Parry Sound and Georgian Bay. Hosting various time slots and handling some sales, Doug eventually became a permanent morning host for a span of four years before resigning in December of 1996.

Doug went on to write software, handle computer consulting, with CKLP FM as one of his clients and did freelance voice tracking all under the banner of McCann Concept Developments. Eventually Doug and a business partner and relative, David Witt, launched Cambrian Hosting in 2001, an Internet company that provided hosting, web design, e-commerce and related services. The two companies would become known as McCann & Cambrian E-Media Services. In 2011 the company sold its clientele and web related services to a local tech firm. McCann & Cambrian retained its company name and continued in the field of audio and visual production. Under its brand, AirFlight Creative, broadcast radio production services were and continue to be provided.

In the spring of 2019, Doug launched his own Internet radio station, Parry Sound Eastern Shores Online Radio, ParrySoundRadio.com. Streaming 24/7 the station is geared to baby boomers and provides a variety of programming including adult contemporary, Christian contemporary music, modern country and oldies.

In 2013 and on the heels of this website, Doug had the idea of publishing “The Story of the Birth of Broadcasting in Sudbury - Local Visionaries, Canadian Pioneers of Broadcasting”. However, the writing and research began in 2004 intended for the newly launched CKSO.com website, long before a book was in the plans. Doug created this website as a tribute to CKSO Radio and Television in Sudbury. The goal was to create a historical retrospect of the broadcaster in celebration of the many Canadian firsts achieved by the broadcast visionaries back in the first half of the 20th century in the city of Sudbury. This website serves as an online depository, a museum, a multimedia stage where former staff, listeners and the people of the Sudbury area can easily access and share a road down memory lane to an era long gone. Filled with nostalgia, stories, photographs, memorabilia and history the site can keep any visitor entertained for hours! Doug is quick to acknowledge and to appreciate the support of countless individuals including former staff members who enthusiastically contributed notes, photographs and made themselves available for interviews.

CKSO is steeped in the history of Sudbury and through its doors came many personalities who would go on to national and even international fame, whether in broadcast circles, business or even politics. In recognition of all those who were connected to CKSO, its unprecedented accomplishments and in consideration that CKSO is woven into the fabric of the area’s history, the book and this website celebrate the broadcaster. In print and electronic form, it is Doug’s hope that the book will be an ongoing historical resource of how early 20th-century mining led to the affluence of a city which spurred the birth and growth of print and electronic media.

Married in April of 1998, Doug and his wife Josey reside in Parry Sound, Ontario. Doug is serving his second term as Councillor for the Town of Parry Sound.

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