Hi everyone, I’ll more than admit I’ve been letting frustration and anger get the better of me the last few months, whether it’s related to broadcasting, current events and issues or whatever. This has been happening not just on Big Yella or anywhere else online, but in my personal life and, to an extent, my professional life as a freelancer, and I’m feeling an insane amount of remorse. Yes, there are some rather frustrating things happening these days, including in radio & TV, but I have seriously overreacted for sure.

I’m not sure what is at the root of me being so angry, hair-triggered/short-fused and overreacting so often, but either way, I know I need help, and I have set up an appointment with my family physician to get started, whether it’s meds or counselling or whatever is necessary to break the cycle and get Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde out of me. I am not a generally angry or mean person, it’s just that I’ve been overreacting (and then some) to some things, sometimes faster than I can nip in the bud.

To everyone here, I sincerely apologize for all the times I’ve overreacted or “blown up” on the big yellow board, and I am now doing everything in my power to ensure that these will not happen again. Consider this a pact - I will, effective immediately, limit my posts and comments/replies to calm, non-aggressive content, all related to radio, television and music, primarily around my home base in eastern Ontario. If I need to let my frustration out, I’ll write something to myself on my computer’s text editor and not in my browser at all, let alone on SOWNY.

Thank you for your understanding,

FP

Shorty Wave wrote:

I think it’s crappy that Stingray didn’t allow the stations to do a farewell broadcast. It would have helped the staff to start the healing process and the local viewership would have appreciated it.
It would appear that Stingray is pretty heartless, too bad, I did have a fair impression of them.

Really? You're going to make a blanket statement about each and every Stingray employee, manager and shareholder? Thanks a lot. If you don't like how the company is run, blame it on their powers that be - NOT THE FRONTLINE STAFF!

turkeytop wrote:

When the station in Midland first came on we were living up on the Bruce Peninsula, about 60 mile from Midland across the open water of Georgean Bay. Before they were officially on the air they were in test mode for a week or so. They were asking listeners to call in to report on their signal.

The engineer was quite surprised that I was hearing it that far away. He said they still weren't up to full power. They were only running about 100 Watts.

This newspaper clipping was shared previously here on Big Yella about 3-4 years ago... the CKMP transmitter site was off of Highway 12, at the end of a rough road off Sumac Lane. What I'm seeing on Google Earth from last year suggests that the old tower, maybe the transmitter building too, may still be standing today.

Two of CFOR's former studio locations still exist - the West Street North location, across from the former site of ODCVI, is now home to the offices of a chiropractor and an orthodontist, while 7 Progress Drive, just down the hill from the OPP headquarters, appears to be home to various health and wellness businesses. CICX's current home is at the southwest corner of Ontario Street and Progress Drive, about 300 m north of the previous location.

As a child, on our way to or from various areas in Simcoe County, we'd always pass CFOR's transmitter site, on Highway 12 near Uptergrove, with the letters "C F O R" on the top of the building, and the Telemedia logo on the front door. The site is now occupied by an RV dealer, and after CFOR converted to FM, the site became a Park & Ride facility for Casino Rama.

paterson1 wrote:

How about Haygood Hardy with the Homecoming?  The song was used for a Salada Tea commercial in 1972.  Audiences loved the soft instrumental music in the commercial as much as the tea. Because of requests and the public wanting to know more about the song,The Homecoming as a single was released in 1975.  The song reached #14 on the top 40 in Canada, #6 on the US Easy Listening chart and #41 in the US pop charts. The LP of the same name went gold in Canada.   

Pulled this up on Spotify just now, and recognized the tune, but at first didn't remember where I'd heard it before. The Salada ad was before my time (I'm an '83 model), so maybe I heard it on CKLY Lindsay in its early days on FM, when they'd play instrumentals in the evening. Nope... I'd heard it on Stingray Naturescape, the "slow TV" channel, ch. 300 on Cogeco, as my wife often switches to that channel when she dozes off on the couch while binging PVR'd shows.

Portions of the CKLW documentary from the early 2000s are on the production company's YT channel, but I haven't yet found the doc in its entirety.

...and CKLY will be "Y91.9", continuing the station's classic hits format of twenty years. Returning to the big old house at 249 Kent Street West is Dave Illman, who Bell tossed from 'LY a few years back. Worth noting is that Peterborough's 105.1 has been a country outlet since 1983.

https://www.y919.fm

A legendary character, and a legendary voice actor... used to watch the compilation shows (e.g. the Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show) on Global as a kid. But did you ever notice how, when many of Blanc's characters (including Bugs) would yell/scream, they all sounded pretty much the same?


 

RadioActive wrote:

...one guy - a Florida man who worked at a satellite uplink centre - wasn't having any of it.

Ah yes, "Florida Man!" If you use Reddit as much as I do, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Also don't forget the Max Headroom incident in Chicago... but if I remember correctly, that involved microwave links and not sat.

RadioActive wrote:

Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien was the guy behind Telemedia, which owned 26 radio stations in Canada - including CJCL when it was still at 1430 in the 1980s.

The "CL" in that callsign stands for Canadian Living magazine, one of Telemedia's many properties. The company also owned Toronto's 97.3 for some years, as well as two Simcoe County stations - Orillia's CFOR 1570 and Midland's CKMP 1230, which both flipped to FM by the mid '90s, as CICX-FM 105.9 and CICZ-FM 104.1 respectively. Both stations are now Bell properties after a series of ownership changes in the 2000s and 2010s.

Telemedia also had a few radio stations in northern Ontario, but picked up some more in that neck of the woods, as well as the Ottawa Valley, when Pelmorex (controlled by fellow Montrealer Pierre Morrissette) got out of radio in the late '90s.

After reading the G&M article, I'm wondering if my wife's late uncle, a former pulp & paper exec from MTL, ever crossed paths with Beaubien or other notable names such as Paul Desmarais of Power Broadcasting, or Astral's Greenberg family.

"Even though we're being broadcast on FOX, there's no need for obnoxious hooting and hollering."
WOO! WOO! WOO! WOO!

Binson Echorec wrote:

Zut alors!

Tabarnak de câlisse!

RadioActive wrote:

Your wish is my command. 

CHUM News Goofs

(My favourite has always been the CKLW throw to Grant Hudson about the plane crash. Lots from CFTR and others, not just CHUM.)

Nice to hear the NRC Time Signal "boops" in that clip, and of course the legendary Dick Smyth. Speaking of Smyth, does anyone have audio of when the theatre organ cart went kaput on him during a commentary on CHUM? Or a recording of his ensuing rage and subsequent destruction of said cart?

During my college years at Loyalist, professor Steve "Boogie" Bolton, formerly of CHUM, had a recording of Smyth trying to do an interview, but there was some loud noise (construction/renos?) outside the studio. He got up, slammed his chair against the desk, and screamed at the worker(s) "WOULD YOU PLEASE KNOCK OFF THE (bleep) NOISE? I'M TRYING TO DO AN INTERVIEW IN THERE! ... I WANT NO... FURTHER... NOISE!!!" before returning to the interviewee and calmly apologizing for his tantrum.

Charley Boy is nothing more than a known paid shill for Loblaws and Dal, and publicly attacks other academics, esp. when he doesn't agree with them or they call him on his BS. Leave it to Corus to give this twit airtime... I thought maybe Bell would have done this too.