By all accounts, Newstalk 1010 fans enjoyed The Rush with Ryan Doyle and Jay Michaels. That was the name of the afternoon drive show on CFRB. Shortly after the show launched, both Ryan Doyle and Jay "Maddog" Michaels visited my home studio for a lengthy discussion about the show.
I'm referring to the show in the past tense because it's been re-branded "The Rush with Jay Michaels". That begs the question, where's Ryan Doyle?
Ryan hasn't actually been heard on Newstalk 1010 in several weeks, but at first his name remained in the show's title and listeners were told Jim Richards and others were filling in for him. That messaging changed recently and now hosts avoid saying Ryan's name, his voiceover in ads have been removed and, most telling, his presence has been scrubbed from the website.
The complete lack of communication from Bell Media-owned Newstalk 1010 has led to rampant speculation. Every forum and message board with an interest in radio is openly discussing what may have happened with Ryan Doyle. There's even a reddit thread about it. Personally, I've received dozens of emails, tweets, DMs, blog comments, Instagram messages, Facebook messages and even phone calls about this sudden disappearance of a high profile on-air host who has been with the station since he left college.
Adding to the intrigue, during this mysterious absence, Ryan's good friend and longtime colleague Mike Bendixen was also fired by the station. Bendixen was the Program Director at CFRB.
I've asked Ryan if he's ready to share anything on the record, and if he does, I promise to update this post.
