95.7 NewsRadio celebrates 20 years on air

From hurricanes, to wildfires, to elections, 95.7 NewsRadio has been bringing stories to Haligonians for 20 years.

The radio station affiliated with CityNews Halifax is celebrating two decades on the air.

Dan Ahlstrand, interim host of The Todd Veinotte Show, spoke with Amber LeBlanc Director of News and Talk Programming at Rogers Sports & Media about the early days of 95.7.

LeBlanc was working with the renowned Rick Howe in Halifax when 95.7 broke on to the airwaves. She recalls thinking of the station as the “enemy” but expressed just as much gratitude for the ability to watch the station evolve, with both her and Howe becoming a major part of its growth.

“To see it from its beginning to the way it’s evolved and just thinking about 20 years of the critical information that has come from 95.7 that’s helped people in HRM, it’s emotional,” LeBlanc said.

Not only is there a critical mass of information that 95.7 has provided, but the way in which the news has been produced has changed significantly over 20 years.

Katie Hartai worked as a producer for Howe in the early days of her career and recalls him telling endless stories about how things were in the “good ol’ days”.

“If you and I are talking about cutting tape, we’re talking about pulling a clip from an interview that we recorded on a computer,” Hartai said. “But for Rick, he would love to enlighten me that he actually physically had to cut tape and put it into the newscast.”

Hartai continued to work with 95.7 NewsRadio throughout the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic which she said forced constant changes with work from home measures and advanced technologies.

But through two decades of technological advancement, 95.7 NewRadio staff’s commitment to its community has never wavered.

“I think what people don’t know or don’t realize is that when there’s a hurricane or there’s wildfires, the people that work at 95.7 are also impacted by that, but they have to park their personal concerns work for you and work for the people,” LeBlanc said, adding that there is a cot in the office where reporters will often stay during breaking news events to have staff around the clock.

“I want to thank the people at 95.7 for that sacrifice,” she added.

95.7 NewsRadio continues to serve the local community amidst a constantly changing news ecosystem.

“Local news is everything, it connects us, it’s a pillar of democracy,” LeBlanc said.

While many platforms are moving to subscriptions, she wants to remind the community that 95.7 NewsRadio remains free to access. Those who support 95.7 are helping the station support the community.

Rogers is the parent company of CityNews Halifax and 95.7 NewsRadio