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Station to Station with Joe Pavia

Up and down the radio dial and other stops

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Good News!

The first story in a radio newscast is the most important in a collection of stories read at the time you tune in. Usually that lead story is the most up-to-date, and appeals to the greatest number of listeners.

Think of the inverted pyramid which is wide at the top, emphasizing the big story. That pyramid narrows until it reaches the bottom where the newscast ends with a “kicker” story, usually a lighthearted good news item that is supposed to send listeners off with a smile. That’s what I was taught at school anyway.

A music radio station I worked for early in my career restructured that pyramid and instituted a “good news” policy whereby the top story needed to be a positive story.

Continue reading “Good News!” →

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@themovies: Ace in the Hole (1951)

Kirk Douglas stars in the 1951 film Ace In The Hole, which tells the story of Charles Tatum, a newspaper reporter in search of a big story. Continue reading “@themovies: Ace in the Hole (1951)” →

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Wayne Gretzky fan photo

Former hockey player and NHL coach Wayne Gretzky once said ‘you miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.’

I completely missed the shot I took of Gretzky and me, a selfie, during a chance meeting at a hotel in Ottawa, Canada in June 2008. Continue reading “Wayne Gretzky fan photo” →

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Chef school

“Enrichments” was the  name of a collection of spoken word audio features that played on the ‘music-of-your-life’ radio station CKLA-FM in Guelph, Ontario in 1989.

Interspersed with sweeping-string-muzak sounds, Enrichments offered listeners pieces by  American broadcaster Paul Harvey in his now classic, The Rest of the Story;  health reports by  Doctor Henry Fishman; a feature about pets;  and reports from the Financial Post about personal finance and business.

One ‘enriching’ report from the Financial Post told the story of a chef school, Istituto Alberghiero, in Villa Santa Maria, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, about three hours east of Rome, and a short drive to the Adriatic Sea.  Continue reading “Chef school” →

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Episode 22: Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia

My friend needed to talk!  They needed to explain the reasons why we hadn’t seen much of each other and why, when we did agree to get together for drinks or dinner, there would be a cancellation at the last minute.

 For years, they explained they experienced panic and anxiety attacks which would physically paralyze them.

They explained the fear of having an attack at a job or while visiting family or friends forced them to stay home.

Continue reading “Episode 22: Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Agoraphobia” →

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Episode 21: Clarence Clemons from the E Street Band

Episode 21 of Station to Station features my 1990 interview with Clarence Clemons, the original saxophone player for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.

Continue reading “Episode 21: Clarence Clemons from the E Street Band” →

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Rocketship 7

Actor Dave Boreanaz announced in 2017 that he was working on a script for a movie about a weekday morning tv kids show.

The star of TVs Bones didn’t have to go far to find his inspiration for the project since his father,  Dave Sr was the star of a weekday morning tv show called Rocketship 7.

I have a great minor story line that Boreanaz can use for his movie that focuses on a kid  getting his first big break in television.   Continue reading “Rocketship 7” →

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@themovies: Christine (2016)

Christine stars Rebecca Hall in the film based on the true story of Christine Chubbuck, a TV reporter in Sarasota, Florida, in 1974.

Anyone who grew up in that era may remember the story and know how this movie is going to end.

But if you didn’t and before reading any spoiler alerts, this dramatic film is worth checking out for Hall’s stellar performance. Continue reading “@themovies: Christine (2016)” →

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Episode 20-David Cassidy part 2

I think they love him! They really love him! 

A group of fans wants David Cassidy inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and they’ve been adding their names to a growing petition. They argue there’s more about the former teen idol than the four years he was on a TV sitcom in the early 1970s.

In this episode, a follow-up to Episode 17:David Cassidy part 1, I’ll speak to Alison, a member of a group in England who launched a campaign to get Cassidy into the Rock Hall and to have his back catalog of music and concert films released.

Continue reading “Episode 20-David Cassidy part 2” →

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Take home pay

I thought I had won the lottery when in 1989 I got my first full-time radio job as a News Anchor/Reporter at 1460 CJOY and CKLA 106.1 in Guelph, Ontario.

At a yearly salary of $15,000 I thought I was loaded, so I made a plan of how I was going to spend my winnings.

Continue reading “Take home pay” →

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Episode 19: John McKay, former network radio reporter

Former network radio reporter John McKay was already in the second decade of his career in the late 1980s when he was assigned by Broadcast News (BN), now the Canadian Press,  to the Washington D.C. bureau. His job was to report the Canadian perspective on American issues including a free trade deal between Canada and the U.S. and acid rain legislation. But a few other high profile events occurred while he was there.
Continue reading “Episode 19: John McKay, former network radio reporter” →

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Bill Thurlow, Flight Sergeant and Warrant Officer Second Class

 

Bill Thurlow, Flight Sergeant and Warrant Officer Second Class in the Royal Canadian Air Force died in July of 1942 along with six others members of the 405 Squadron when the Halifax Bomber they were on crashed after returning from a night time bombing mission in Germany.

There are slightly different versions about what led to that crash. Two of them were recorded in the history books while a third came from a gentleman named George Hexter whose brother Bob was on the crew that died.

Continue reading “Bill Thurlow, Flight Sergeant and Warrant Officer Second Class” →

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@themovies: Call Northside 777 (1948)

Call Northside 777 is the movie based on the true story of a newspaper reporter assigned to respond to an advertisement which offers a $5,000 reward to find the killers of a police officer. Continue reading “@themovies: Call Northside 777 (1948)” →

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Episode 18: Walter Gretzky

A co-worker at a Kitchener radio station I once worked at handed me a fax printout of a news release from a Canadian satellite company with a headline that read, and I’m paraphrasing, “Phyllis and Walter Gretzky will no longer be able to watch their son Wayne play hockey when the Canadian government makes their satellite service illegal.”

“Maybe there’s something you could do with this,” said the co-worker. I said thanks, but didn’t understand what I could do with it. There was a bigger story brewing that day. It was April 13 1999, the day the news broke that Wayne Gretzky, one of the greatest hockey players at that time, was retiring from the NHL after 20 years in the league. His parents wouldn’t need the satellite service if the rumour was true. Continue reading “Episode 18: Walter Gretzky” →

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When will the studio lights be turned on for my TV close-up?

Peter Jennings, the anchor of ABC World News Tonight wasn’t at work the day our third year radio and tv broadcasting class toured the network’s New York bureau in late January, 1989.

But the desk and anchor chair where he sat and read the news to millions of Americans was. And like kids lining up to get a photo with Santa Claus, a few of us lined up to get our photo taken where the respected news anchor worked.

Continue reading “When will the studio lights be turned on for my TV close-up?” →

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