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.
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”
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”
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)”
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”
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?”
My 1991 interview with teen idol, David Cassidy. Continue reading “Episode 17: David Cassidy”
John McKay covered some big stories during his radio news career, but the one report everyone wanted to talk to him about was the Canadian re-write he gave to Billy Joel’s 1989 hit song We Didn’t Start the Fire. Continue reading “Audio: John McKay’s Canadian version of a Billy Joel hit”
Ann Medina discusses her career as a national television reporter with ABC and NBC in the U.S, and in Canada on the CBC, where she worked as a foreign correspondent. Part history lesson, part journalism lecture Ann tells great stories about her life on the road covering a variety of stories including a U.S Presidential election, the middle east, Syria circa 1984 and ‘that hunk’ Dustin Hoffman.
Meet Trudy Medcalf! At the age of 14 she asked about starting a fan club after seeing a band perform at a concert in Margate, England. That band was The Beatles.
Inevitably when you’re on a reporting assignment you sometimes have to spend your own money to pay for gas, parking, a taxi and occasionally a meal. Every radio company I worked for reimbursed me for any expense I’d incurred as long as I had the receipt and it fell in line with the company rules. Continue reading “Audio: Boom go the radio expenses”
CFRB 1010 in Toronto was ranked as the most listened to radio station in Canada in the early 1990s, and I was a part of it. Continue reading “CFRB 1010 radio guide circa 1993”
Telecommunications company Motorola was marketing a really cool product in the early 1990s called SportsTrax that allowed you to receive real-time action from a Toronto Blue Jays game to wherever you were. Continue reading “Episode 14: The Toronto Blue Jays go digital in 1994”
If you want to know how to properly shake a persons hand, follow the lead of a politician as they have mastered the combination of a good grip, perfect posture, eye contact,a smile and a hello. Continue reading “Political handshakes”
One item on my list of lifetime-coolest-moments-ever was being in the audience at the 2013 Farm Aid concert watching folk singer Pete Seeger steal the show.
“Friends, at age 94 I don’t have much voice left,” Seeger said.
“But, here’s a song I think you know. And if you sing it, why, I think we’ll make a good sound,”
Despite, as he put it, his lack of voice, the audience heard him loud and clear. They stood for his two song set, sang along and took video and pictures as a keepsake of the memorable event. Continue reading “Video: Pete Seeger’s final performance”
Up and down the radio dial and other stops
Stories and photos from Scotland
The best longform stories on the web
My story and photos
News, views & other tidbits from the Grace Schmidt Room, Kitchener Public Library
The latest news on WordPress.com and the WordPress community.
Exploring American restaurants over the centuries
Recent Comments