VANCOUVER – Following the recent appointment of Simi Sara as new morning show host on the station, Corus Entertainment’s news-talk 980 CKNW announced today Mike Smyth and Jill Bennett have also been added as on-air talents to round out the refreshed schedule.
In order to facilitate an additional show, as Sara moves from midday to mornings, 980 CKNW is shortening the length of its show times to create space for a fourth daytime talk show. After Mornings with Simi, The Mike Smyth Show will air from 9 a.m. to noon, and will be hosted by the longtime columnist at The Province. After 24 years with the newspaper, Smyth joins Corus full-time, as both a columnist for GlobalNews.ca and a CKNW host.
His show will broadcast from the B.C. legislature, where he is joining forces with Keith Baldrey and Richard Zussman to form a strong Victoria bureau for Global News and CKNW.
Former CKNW weekend host and Global B.C. reporter Jill Bennett (pictured) will host The Jill Bennett Show from noon to 3 p.m. each weekday.
As a regular guest and host for more than 20 years, Smyth is already a familiar voice to 980 CKNW listeners. His start in radio saw him analyzing provincial politics and verbally jousting with legendary hosts Frosty Forst, Philip Till and Jon McComb. In 2010 and 2011, Smyth hosted The Mike Smyth Show, stepping in after regular host Christy Clark returned to politics, says the release.
Bennett is an award winning broadcaster who has been working in the Vancouver market since 1997. She has worked as both a radio and television news reporter. For the past 11 years, Bennett, a Jack Webster and RTDNA award-winner, has hosted CKNW’s Weekend Morning News on Saturday and Sunday.
