This section is dedicated to a discussion of the different places I have worked in broadcasting. Before beginning that discussion, however, a brief explanation as to how I became involved in broadcasting.
I guess it came from a desire as a teenager, watching episodes of WKRP In Cincinnati. For a long time, I dreamed of being like Dr. Johnny Fever, belting out tunes in a morning show, and acting wild and crazy.
As it turned out, my entrance into the world of radio broadcasting eventually saw me becoming more like Less Nessman (minus daily farm reports on the growing habits of rutabagas).
To begin, it is always handy to start at the beginning, I made my venture into broadcasting in Northern Manitoba. Just select a link below to view a quick history of each place worked at.
The station listing
CJAR, Part I
CKDM
CKOM
CJVR
CJAR, Part II
CJGX
CJYM
CKBI/Power 99 FM
CJAR The Pas, Manitoba.
This was my first gig in radio. I was off and running into my new found career, and was incredibly excited. But, I soon came to realize, I was in bush league radio. CJAR was not the type of radio station that I was used to hearing. I'd grown up listening to CKOM and CFQC (before they became Hot 93 FM) in Saskatoon, CJYM in Rosetown and CKCK in Regina. CJAR in The Pas had to cater to a wide range of listeners. And, as it was a northern Manitoba community with a largely Native population, a wide range of programming. This was a great deal of culture shock to me. But I got used to it, and even found the atmosphere quite laid back. I hosted an afternoon program which in most markets is prime listening time. At the end of a shift, however, I'd patch in to our sister station in Flin Flon, CFAR, to pick up the rest of the day's feed. Which ended at one in the morning with the playing of the Canadian National Anthem and God Save the Queen. One of my fondest memories of CJAR happened to have been the Northern Manitoba Trappers Festival. A festival that took place in winter (it had to, sled dog races in summer just wouldn't be the same). CJAR broadcast live from the festival site. Oddly enough, it was in a shack. I froze my behind off, and played records (yes, those vinyl round things that go on a turntable and play music) while consuming vast quantities of coffee in order to stay warm. But it was where I got my feet wet (or frozen) in broadcasting, and I do have some very fond memories of The Pas. As this place was where I bought my first car, a 1976 Toyota Celica. A piece of garbage then, and more than likely scrap metal now.
CKDM Dauphin, Manitoba
CKDM is short lived in my memories as I only stayed there for three months. I was let go, as the station manager felt I didn't have enough experience in news (you will see the irony of this later). Again, I had an afternoon program, but was classified as a swing announcer, meaning, I filled whatever spot that needed to be filled. Needless to say, while I did meet some interesting people here, my stay wasn't long enough for any real major memories. Let's just say, I remember working in Dauphin.
CKOM Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
This was the moment I had dreamed of. CKOM was one of my favourite stations when I was younger (remember, when I say younger, it was that long ago, I worked at CKOM when I was 20). Hired on as the graveyard shift announcer (meaning working midnight to six in the morning) I also covered some evening shifts as well. There was a whirlwind of things that happened in my life at this time, and not really noteworthy (mostly, as I am attempting to repress those memories). I left CKOM at the dawn of satellite radio, where the overnight DJ was becoming a thing of the past. One thing that I do remember quite well is being in attendance at one of my first WHL hockey games, when the Saskatoon Blades set the attendance record for the WHL at the time (that has since been broken by Spokane and Seattle).
CJVR Melfort, Saskatchewan
CJVR was my first full experience in broadcast news, and where I began to consume even more cups of coffee than I ever had in my entire life. I entered Melfort at a ripe time. The Northern Lights Palace hockey arena and wave pool were just finishing construction, and I managed to make quite a few political contacts and good contacts with the different police detachments in the area. CJVR had a very family oriented feeling to the place, and I have fond memories of all of the people I worked with. I remember seeing Johnny Cash, Hal Ketchum and Sawyer Brown in concert at the Northern Lights Palace (I still remember Mark Miller, lead singer of Sawyer Brown saying "2500 people at this concert. Half the population of Melfort. And the other half is robbing your homes right now." a good laugh had by all). Melfort was also my introduction in provincial politics, as I became the road man during the 1991 provincial election when the New Democratic Party won a majority government in the Legislative Assembly in Regina. It was also the time when I made very good contact with then Liberal Leader Linda Haverstock, who I gained a great deal of respect for. Did I mention that I consumed a lot of coffee in Melfort? At any rate, cut backs and such saw positions being removed, and mine was one of them. So, I ended up working a second time in Northern Manitoba.
CJAR The Pas, Manitoba, The Return
I returned once again to the Northern Manitoba community, where this time, I would be news director. I thought I could handle it, being a news reporter in Melfort, but I was sadly mistaken. I wasn't ready for the rigorous challenge and left after 6 months. One noteworthy aspect, the second time in The Pas marked the purchase of my second vehicle. A 1978 Ford Courier, which by now is even more a piece of crap than what it was when I got rid of it. But at least it was better than the 76 Toyota Celica I bought my first time out in The Pas.
CJGX Yorkton, Saskatchewan
This actually was the first time I began working in Yorkton. But the second time. The first time was a three month news internship. But this time, I was back to an overnight (note the politically correct usage of the term) announcer that was an hourly wage. I was working in that aspect waiting for a news position to open up. And wow, two positions opened up. One in news, and one in on air. I decided to take the on air position. Things went well, for the first year. The second year, distractions got in the way, and I learned that I still had a lot of growing up to do. But it was here in Yorkton that I met Pearce Kilgour, who strangely enough had a familiar history. Pearce wanted to get into broadcasting and sat in on a couple of shifts with me. One was during a hockey broadcast. I found out that Pearce lived in Invermay (not far from Yorkton) where I was born. We began to put the pieces together, and like an X-File, we discovered that the coincidences were just too much. Pearce's grandmother was the nurse working at Invermay hospital when I was born. We later discovered my mother had taught Pearce's mother voice lessons when they lived in Margo (a stone's throw from Invermay). But Pearce played an important role in my next move in broadcasting. Working evening shifts and a lot of Hockey Broadcasts (we covered the Yorkton Terriers, Melville Millionaires and at the time the Lebret Eagles) and it was next to impossible to get scores from the arenas on broadcast nights (we had to phone the different places in order to get up to date scores throughout the SJHL). So, the phone network was formed. A list of broadcast times of other teams throughout the SJHL was formed and contacts were made in Weyburn, Estevan, Melfort, North Battleford and Rosetown (and surprise, Pearce was working in Rosetown at the time). Eventually, I became very lax in Yorkton and needed a change. Pearce told me of an opening in Rosetown for news director and I applied. And got the job. I worked in Yorkton for two years, and still have one momento from that time. Then production manager Judd Niven gave me an alarm clock (I had a nasty habit of sleeping in....a lot, I didn't drink as much coffee in Yorkton as I did in Melfort).
CJYM Rosetown, Saskatchewan
Rosetown was almost like a homecoming reunion for me, as Rosetown is not that far from my stomping grounds. Or, better put, where I grew up. I grew up near Outlook (and just as close to Rosetown and Delisle) on a farm. So, in Rosetown, there were a great number of familiar faces around that I saw. Plus, it gave me a chance to really travel around the area and catch up with old friends. And, of course, I worked news and was the news director. Actually, I was the news department. With the exception of our Farm News Director (we had two, actually, Dean Soluk and then Rod Parker, who I believe is still Farm News Director). When I first got there, I was introduced to Dean. There's many a great tale I could tell about Dean, unfortunately, none can be told here, as it would not be in good taste. After Dean left, I met Rod, who is much more knowledgeable in the farming area, and found him to be quite conservative, and very bold. His mornings on air (you have to remember, we had to sound like we actually liked getting out of bed at 4 in the morning) were very much filled with cheer. Even off the air he was that way. Plus he had a very good work ethic. Now, I mentioned earlier that Pearce was a major reason for my move to Rosetown. Well, he was. And he and I roomed together along with the copywriter at the radio station for several months. There was the three of us, and Pearce's cat, Laz, Prince Squid of Valium, Guardian of Lanolium everywhere, and Stacey's (our female roommate) dog Channel. You know, like the perfume. I spent a little over a year there. A lot of good times and fun was had. Often, I miss working there.
CKBI/Power 99 FM Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
This became my last stop in broadcasting. I worked in Prince Albert for about a year, and truly, I really don't have many memorable stories to come out of that time. I may update this later if I think of one. I think part of the problem was I didn't meet a whole lot of people there. I pretty much hung out with the people from the news room most often. Sorry, but at present, I can't really explain why I don't have many memories as opposed to the other places I've worked. It may have something to do with the fact that I was really starting to become disenchanted with broadcasting and was looking at other avenues to launch a different career.
The links here are in no way affiliated with this web site, nor have paid any monies to advertise on this site. These are simply quick links to web sites that I frequent a lot.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Site design by Tim Holtorf
E-mail: hawkmannequin@hotmail.com
Phone: (306) 384-5648