Alan Cross | |
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| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Winnipeg |
| Occupation | Radio broadcaster |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Employer | Corus Entertainment |
| Website | AlanCross.ca |
Alan Cross is aCanadian radio broadcaster and a writer on music.[1] Based inToronto,Ontario, he is best known nationally and internationally as host of the syndicated radio seriesThe Ongoing History of New Music,[2]The Secret History of Rock,[3] andExploreMusic. In 2013, he started the Geeks & Beats podcast withBNN'sMichael Hainsworth.
Originally from the small prairie town ofStonewall,Manitoba,[4] Cross began his radio career with theUniversity of Winnipeg'scampus radio station,CKUW, in 1980.[5] He subsequently joined radio stations inSelkirk,Kenora andBrandon before returning to Winnipeg'sCHIQ.
He joinedCFNY on October 3, 1986, as an overnight announcer.[5]
In 1989, Cross became the station's afternoondrive-time host.[6] The following year, he moved to the 10 a.m.-2 p.m. slot; in 1993, he returned to afternoon drive and remained there until 2001.[6] Beginning in February 1993, he also became host ofThe Ongoing History of New Music.[7]
Cross left CFNY in 2001 to become program director ofCJXY in Hamilton,[2] where he oversaw the station's frequency switch to become Y108. During this time he continued to hostThe Ongoing History of New Music. He subsequently returned to CFNY as program director in mid-January 2004,[8] remaining in that role until moving to Corus Entertainment's interactive media division, Splice Media (now called Corus Interactive and Integrated Solutions), in 2008 to launch the ExploreMusic project — although CFNY still airedThe Ongoing History of New Music until 2011. He also hosted the television programExploreMusic onaux.tv.[9]
Cross left Corus Entertainment in early July 2011, after the company restructured their online content department.[6] In an interview with theToronto Star, Cross said that there was no ill will between himself and Corus.[6] Cross' departure effectively brought an end toThe Ongoing History of New Music, because Corus Entertainment owned the show.[6]
He then began working on a different show,The Secret History of Rock, forAstral Media.[3] In 2013, he joinedRock95 Broadcasting's newCIND-FM as a music consultant and part-time on-air personality.[10] Throughout this era, Cross also maintained his own personal musicblog,A Journal of Musical Things; in 2009, he attracted international attention when he became the first music critic in the world to post an advance review ofU2's new single "Get On Your Boots".[11]
In 2014, he was named as the head of music curation forSongza's operations in Canada,[12] and curated a museum exhibition on the science of rock music for theOntario Science Centre.[13] In the fall of that year, he returned to CFNY and relaunchedThe Ongoing History of New Music,[1] as well as a new weekday programming feature calledAdventures in Vinyl. In 2015, he formed the company Major League Mixes with colleague Dave Charles; the company currently holds the contract for game music atToronto Maple Leafs games.[14]
Cross is married to Mary Ellen Beninger, a journalist who has been associated with the Toronto radio stations CFNY,CFTR andCHFI.[6]
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