Alum Amanda Cupido named Director of Talk and Talent at Global News Radio 640

As the semester draws to a close, the School must temporarily bid adieu to one of its instructors.

Award-winning podcast producer and j-school alum Amanda Cupido is beginning her new position as Director of Talk and Talent at Global News Radio 640 Toronto (external link) .

In this position, Cupido will direct all on-air personalities, producers, and managers of the technical board operations.

“It’s a— it’s a lot.” Cupido says with a laugh.

On top of her new position, Cupido will be hitting a significant journalism milestone as the first woman in Toronto’s history to lead a talk radio station.

“These roles are so few and far between,” Cupido says. “They don’t switch up these roles often.”

When the role did open up, however, Cupido says the job found her.

“This all happened very fast,” she says. “But when the opportunity was presented, immediately my heart skipped a beat. And I knew that was a good sign.”

While it is her first time in a director position, it is not Cupido’s entrance to talk radio.

As a j-school student, Cupido shadowed a host at Newstalk 1010 CFRB before joining the team as a producer. Eventually, she left radio to pursue a career in podcasting. 

This decision ultimately led to Cupido founding her company, Lead Podcasting, in October 2020.

“Leaving radio was one of the toughest decisions I ever made,” Cupido said. “But this just goes to show you that if something is meant to be, it will come back to you. So, I think this is just a sign that I was meant to be back in talk radio, my time in talk radio is not done.”

Regardless of her new position, Cupido will still be CEO of Lead Podcasting and will eventually return to the School of Journalism to teach her course on advanced podcasting and radio documentary (JRN 801).

“The combination of being at my alma mater teaching something I am so passionate about, and then being around students whose work will sometimes literally make me cry... I am so proud of what is being created and submitted, that I get emotional. That is the beauty of teaching for me, which is why I don’t think I will ever completely stop.”

Even with her upcoming teaching break, Cupido is excited to bring her experience to the team at 640 Toronto.

“This is a station that has an incredibly talented team already in place. And I’m so excited to be able to come alongside them and help create amazing audio storytelling,” Cupido says. “I think that we’re going to change the face of talk radio in Canada.”