Let's just take a time-out for a moment .. minute .. maybe an hour .. if not more !!!   Everyone should head to their respective corners and take a deep breath.
       For the record .. I do not work for iNews .. but we need to remember that iNews has only been on  "the air" for a couple of months.   Any radio station that just hits the airwaves is going through a sifting process and that will happen here as well .. regardless of its affiliation to CHED.  Those working at iNews are working to produce a product palatable to the ears .. or they will fade into silence.  Obviously, some viewing this thread feel the product should have been top-notch from the start .. but reality suggests it will take some time .. just as it has in other major centres.   I do know some of the folks working at iNews .. and those folks are professional.    Let them find their niche and things should smooth out.
        If the station's sound is so ingratiating to you .. think of the first time you picked up whatever musical instrument you might play; -- guitar, trumpet, recorder  (yuck!!).   The sound that you were intending to play was nothing like what it was supposed to be; -- time corrected whatever mistakes were made, even if that meant putting it on a shelf to collect dust.   iNews will go through its formative stages and mistakes will be corrected .. or we will invariably switch to another station......

It's not the fact that they're a new product. That I can live with. There will be bumps at the beginning, but it's the weak talent that's the problem. A newscaster in a market this size should not be booting every few words and they certainly shouldn't have speech impediments. ( 1 particular announcer comes to mind)

Quoted from YIKES

....  it's the weak talent that's the problem. A newscaster in a market this size should not be booting every few words and they certainly shouldn't have speech impediments. ( 1 particular announcer comes to mind)

I have listened at different times of the day .. and it's true that a newsreader should be more proficient than what is being heard at times .. especially in a market the size of Edmonton ..
but I have not heard the latter part of what you refer to as speech impediments.

Unfortunately .. because of what has happened in the industry during the past decade .. with
individual outlets becoming parts of large national conglomerates where 'bean counters' are accountable for the bottom line to an annual shareholders' meeting .. we all know that the more experienced readers have left the industry for more lucrative careers elsewhere.  Ergo .. we have inexperienced readers even in larger markets .. with more boots per breath .. and our difficulties
in listening ....   sigh ...........

Ergo?  LOL.

Ole_Silver_Top = Corus Manager, the only guy in the world defending iNewssoundslikecrap.com.  The station sounds like crap - period.

The problem is that announcers seem to be getting hired by default..... When I got into the business we all aspired to make it to a larger market but we knew that it would take some time in the minors to clean up our sound. When we got to the bigs we still sounded somewhat green but we fit in. I'm hearing news readers on 880 that wouldn't have been good enough to make it on a Southern Sask. 10,000 watt am back in the early 80's.

Quoted from YIKES

The problem is that announcers seem to be getting hired by default..... When I got into the business we all aspired to make it to a larger market but we knew that it would take some time in the minors to clean up our sound. When we got to the bigs we still sounded somewhat green but we fit in. I'm hearing news readers on 880 that wouldn't have been good enough to make it on a Southern Sask. 10,000 watt am back in the early 80's.

Here's the thing -- thanks to voicetracking and automation, those small market minor league gigs have evaporated for the most part.  Getting to the bigs is a lot easier than it used to be, especially in markets with labour intensive formats like all-news (and in Vancouver's case all-traffic as well, where they'll hire an-y-bod-y).

Quoted from NBeaconIsBack

Ergo?  LOL.

Ole_Silver_Top = Corus Manager, the only guy in the world defending iNewssoundslikecrap.com.  The station sounds like crap - period.

NBeacon .. your beacon is way off.   I am not a Corus manager .. and never have been .. but I do have a few decades in the business.   I am not defending what is happening within iNews .. simply saying that given the parameters of the industry right now .. everyone should expect that station performance won't be the greatest .. especially shortly after start-up.

I agree that many of the newsreaders would not be good enough to work in many minor- or even
medium market stations .. but I also know several of the veterans in that newsroom .. and they are doing the the best they can with what they have right now  (and that includes associate personnel).     Hopefully .. everyone will get their act together .. both in terms of reading and what is expected of the format .. and if not, your ability to switch dials will be tested to the limit.

Fair enough, SilverTop.

I think its a bit harsh to say that many of the newsreaders at inews couldn't work in minor or medium market stations...maybe one or two, but many? I think thats a stretch

I don't work for iNews either.  In fact, my tuning in has been long distance via the net.  So no, you don't have to be a Corus employee to think the station is okay.  Its not my format of choice, but after the debate here I thought I would tune in.  

The loss of small town stations for training effects not only the newsrooms of Canada, but the announcers as well.  People who should not be behind a mic in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, or Winnipeg are starting in those cities.  I'd say all stations have that to deal with.