Kim Hughes (radio)
Encyclopedia
Kim Hughes is a Canadian
radio personality and music journalist, who most recently hosted programming on XM Satellite Radio
's The Verge
.
Hughes was most widely known for her work at 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM
) in Toronto
as host of the nightly live music magazine Live in Toronto from 1992 to 1999. Canadian Musician
described her as "one of the best-known music radio personalities in Canada", and the Toronto Star
referred to her as "one of the Toronto pop-music industry's most respected and influential figures". She was seen in the industry as an unusually intelligent interviewer, and was credited for introducing to wider audiences bands that did not neatly fit into her radio station's format. After the station's move to new studios at the Eaton Centre
in 1996, she interviewed bands and had them perform in a glass-enclosed studio at street level, where fans could watch.
She served as freelance music reviewer for CBC Newsworld
's On the Arts, alongside novelist David Gilmour
. Concurrent with her work as radio host, Hughes was music editor at Toronto-based alternative news weekly Now
. In 1999 she continued in her role at Now, but was replaced by George Stroumboulopoulos
at 102.1 The Edge.
Her work has been widely published, appearing in the Toronto Star
, The Globe and Mail
, Billboard
, Salon, the National Post
, Utne Reader
and others. In 2001, Hughes was recruited by Seattle online merchant Amazon.com
to oversee the launch of its Canadian arm, Amazon.ca. Hughes now works as Amazon.ca's music content editor and continues to write reviews of books and music for Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, as well as the Star, Report on Business Magazine and others. She joined The Verge in 2005. Additionally, Hughes also serves as editor-in-chief overseeing content for online dating giant Lavalife.com and their publication, Click.Lavalife.com. Hughes now maintains two blogs for Sympatico.ca: Hollywood North which covers film and a rock blog for InMusic as well as writing freelance for myriad digital and print publications.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
radio personality and music journalist, who most recently hosted programming on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
's The Verge
The Verge (XM)
The Verge is an XM Radio Canada channel featuring new and emerging rock bands from Canada. The channel is produced in Toronto, Ontario for the entire XM platform. The channel's former names included Unsigned, and Signed, which indicated that the channel played a combination of signed and unsigned...
.
Hughes was most widely known for her work at 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM
CFNY-FM, promoted under the branding 102.1 The Edge, is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 102.1 FM. The station rose to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s due to its freestyle DJing format and unique choice to play alternative music...
) in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
as host of the nightly live music magazine Live in Toronto from 1992 to 1999. Canadian Musician
Canadian Musician
Canadian Musician is a Canadian magazine that is published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. Published since 1979, the magazine's primary area of interest is to profile Canadian musicians and musical events. The magazine also writes articles on the Canadian music business and...
described her as "one of the best-known music radio personalities in Canada", and the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
referred to her as "one of the Toronto pop-music industry's most respected and influential figures". She was seen in the industry as an unusually intelligent interviewer, and was credited for introducing to wider audiences bands that did not neatly fit into her radio station's format. After the station's move to new studios at the Eaton Centre
Eaton Centre
Eaton Centre is a name associated with shopping malls in Canada, originating with Eaton's, one of Canada's largest department store chains at the time that these malls were developed. Eaton's partnered with development companies throughout the 1970s and 1980s to develop downtown shopping malls in...
in 1996, she interviewed bands and had them perform in a glass-enclosed studio at street level, where fans could watch.
She served as freelance music reviewer for CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
's On the Arts, alongside novelist David Gilmour
David Gilmour (writer)
David Gilmour is a Canadian novelist and television journalist.He became managing editor of the Toronto International Film Festival in 1980, a post he held for four years. In 1986, he joined CBC Television as a film critic for The Journal, eventually becoming host of the program's Friday night...
. Concurrent with her work as radio host, Hughes was music editor at Toronto-based alternative news weekly Now
NOW (magazine)
Now is a free weekly newspaper in Toronto, Canada. It was first printed on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. Now is an alternative weekly mixing arts and entertainment news with political coverage....
. In 1999 she continued in her role at Now, but was replaced by George Stroumboulopoulos
George Stroumboulopoulos
George Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
at 102.1 The Edge.
Her work has been widely published, appearing in the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Salon, the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
, Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
and others. In 2001, Hughes was recruited by Seattle online merchant Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
to oversee the launch of its Canadian arm, Amazon.ca. Hughes now works as Amazon.ca's music content editor and continues to write reviews of books and music for Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, as well as the Star, Report on Business Magazine and others. She joined The Verge in 2005. Additionally, Hughes also serves as editor-in-chief overseeing content for online dating giant Lavalife.com and their publication, Click.Lavalife.com. Hughes now maintains two blogs for Sympatico.ca: Hollywood North which covers film and a rock blog for InMusic as well as writing freelance for myriad digital and print publications.