Editing CFNY-FM (section)

===Format change and listener rebellion===
Late in 1988, management at CFNY ordered a change in format. After nearly 13 years of success and popular acclaim as a freestyle rock and alternative radio station, CFNY switched to a primarily [[Top 40]] format and began to identify on-air as ''FM102''. Alternative, which had supported the station for most of its history to that point, was relegated to weekends and late night programming.<ref name=reynolds /> 

In December 1988, then assistant music director Kneale Mann chose to take on hosting the all-night show which remained free-formed. All the music was chosen by Mann and listeners. He hosted the show for the next two years. He came in second in a national competition for his work next to CBC’s ''[[Brave New Waves]]''.

This dramatic shift in the daytime format would not be without consequences. Most significantly, the change sparked a rebellion in its fan base. The station's mid-day phone-in request show was inundated with requests for alternative songs. In support of their new policies and format, station management quickly attempted to put a stop to this by ordering that DJs were to refuse all such calls and fulfill only those requests which were for Top 40 music. Not just unpopular with the station's fan base, the new format also resulted in the dismissal or resignation of much of the on-air staff. Perhaps the most notable of these was the resignation of program director Don Berns after only two years in the role, in protest against station management's decisions.<ref name="broadcasting-history.ca"/>

In response, the more devoted of the station's listeners and fans began signing petitions, even going so far as to file an intervention with the [[Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission|CRTC]] to oppose the station's 1989 licence renewal.<ref>"Hit songs miss the mark for disgruntled radio fans". ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', March 17, 1989.</ref> Certain radio analyst reports suggested that as many as 100,000 new listeners had been gained by the change, but this masked the fact that the market share dropped considerably, to 4.3%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiritofradio.ca/Articles/NOWArticle.asp|title=CFNY 102.1 Articles: NOW, March 1989|publisher=Spiritofradio.ca|access-date=2012-03-16}}</ref>