Former TV anchorman Daryl McIntyre is now comfortably established behind a radio microphone, at what he says is his final career stop.
"This is the last job I'll have in broadcasting. I'll do it for however long they want me or I want them," said the co-host of CHED's This Morning talk radio show.
The radio job has required a big lifestyle adjustment as the show airs from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. from Monday to Friday. McIntyre, who lives on an acreage west of Edmonton, wakes up at 3:30 a.m for the half-hour commute.
"I'm in bed by eight. I wouldn't say I'm used to it." He said he shuns afternoon naps and instead chooses to, "power through it”.
Early hours aside, the amiable news veteran, who turns 60 this fall, has been at CHED for the past two years and says he loves the interaction with listeners and guests.
"You get engagement with the audience for three and half hours straight. It's not scripted like TV, but we do know where we're going," said McIntyre, adding he and cohost J'Lyn Nye cover a range of issues on the program. "We learn something or laugh at something everyday." Nye recently announced she's leaving CHED, so McIntyre will be paired up with a new co-host in coming months.
A forced change
It's a big switch for McIntyre, who was dismissed by CTV Edmonton after 33 years with the station--30 of those years in the coveted 6 p.m. news anchor slot.
Still, his departure in September 2019, due to cutbacks by the Bell-owned affiliate, was not a surprise.
"I sort of half expected it. Viewership was dropping across the board," said McIntyre, who jumped at the chance to get back on the air when the CHED position came up in May 2021.
While CHED's owner, Corus Entertainment, has also had fiscal challenges, McIntyre is quick to point out, "Bell is a wireless company while Corus is a broadcast company. It's nice to work for a company that is still trying to push forward with news locally."
As most broadcast companies in Canada have made major cuts in recent years, the shifting media landscape has occasionally become a topic on CHED’s morning show.
"We bring it up every now and then. It's the same kind of message we tell listeners; Use it or lose it. If you don't watch (or listen) you lose and that trajectory is not going to change,” said McIntyre, pointing to the 1,300 layoffs by Bell Media across Canada in June. "You saw what the future looks like. It is not looking good."
Bound for broadcast career
McIntyre's own trajectory started young, while growing up first in Edmonton and then Vermilion, listening to his favourite AM station--CHED--which was then a Top 40 music format.
"Right from the get-go I listened to CHED. I loved all the DJs," he said.
"As soon as I found out there was something called radio and television arts (program at NAIT) I knew that was where I wanted to go.” said McIntyre.
After completing NAIT’s program, he worked at TV stations in Lloydminster and Prince George, before landing a job at what was then called CFRN-TV (CTV Edmonton) in October 1986.
In the fall of 1989, McIntyre moved to the main anchor desk at the youthful age of 25, where he stayed for nearly three decades.
"Looking back it was amazing and awesome, but it was like having golden handcuffs. You get to that point and the desire to move up or go somewhere else dissipates considerably.”
(McIntyre was honoured as Canada’s best local TV news anchor at the Canadian Screen Awards in 2017).
Although he has been away from the CTV anchor desk for almost four years, McIntyre is still stopped by people who believe he’s a TV anchorman.
"It still happens. I'll have people say, 'I love watching you on the news'. There are a lot of people surprised to find out that I'm even doing radio. It's gratifying."
Away from work, (which also includes freelance gigs as an emcee and auctioneer), McIntyre likes to play his electric and acoustic guitars, but insists his performances are not for public consumption.
"I'm horrible. It's just for fun," said McIntyre. "I've recorded some stuff with friends, but it's not going to be released."
He and his wife, Mary also have two dogs, a 165-pound Great Dane named Duke and a 90-pound rescue dog named Twiggy. It's a good thing, then, that there's room to putter around and play on the acreage's big yard.
While McIntyre has always taken his job seriously, (including meaningful stints emceeing nonprofit fundraisers, galas and more), he has a rather light-hearted view of himself.
When asked by Alberta Prime Times for his favourite words to live by he delivered a zinger.
"Don't you know who I think I am?” he quipped sarcastically.
