Bill Welychka is a Canadian television personality, best known as a VJ for MuchMusic and its sister station MuchMoreMusic from 1992 to 2005.[1]

Born and raised in Welland, Ontario, Welychka first joined CHUM Limited in 1988 as a video editor for MuchMusic before transitioning to an on-air role as host of the channel's country music series Outlaws & Heroes in the early 1990s. In 1995, he became host of the world music show ClipTrip, as well as taking on regular duties as a general videoflow host.[2] He stayed with Much for five more years until moving to MuchMoreMusic in 2000.[3]

In 2005, Welychka moved to CKEM in Edmonton to take on hosting duties with Breakfast Television when the station was rebranded as Citytv.[4]

In September 2006, Welyckha moved to A-Channel in Ottawa, as the new weather anchor,[5] remaining in this role until 2011. The following year he joined CKWS-TV in Kingston. He also writes a column for the city's Kingston Whig-Standard, and is a contributor to CKWS's sister radio station CFMK-FM. In 2023, he wrote the autobiography A Happy Has-Been: Exciting Times and Lessons Learned by One of Canada's Foremost Entertainment Journalists.[6]

His job with CKWS was eliminated in January 2024 in a round of cutbacks to Global News's local morning newscasts, although he remained a host on CFMK-FM until July 2024 when all of the station's on-air personalities were laid off.[7][8]

References

edit
  1. ^ Christopher Waters, "Bill's excellent adventure". St. Catharines Standard, March 15, 2002.
  2. ^ Ted Shaw, "MuchChange". Windsor Star, January 5, 1995.
  3. ^ Alex Strachan, "Much ado about Much: Against a backdrop of changing tastes, expanding audiences and the occasional cry of employee exploitation, the nation's music station continues to reinvent itself". Vancouver Sun, February 5, 2000.
  4. ^ Rick McConnell, "Citytv rebrands in bid to boost audience". Edmonton Journal, August 3, 2005.
  5. ^ "A-Channel gets new weatherman from Edmonton". Ottawa Citizen, August 5, 2006.
  6. ^ Nicole Stoffman, "Celebrity broadcaster signs memoir in Timmins". Timmins Daily Press, February 2, 2024.
  7. ^ "Revolving Door". Broadcast Dialogue, January 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "Corus cuts radio, TV jobs in Kingston as part of cost savings". Kingston Whig-Standard. July 18, 2024. Retrieved July 18, 2024.