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January 3, 2022 11:42 am  #1


N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

It's unusual for someone to be able to commit a successful break and enter at a radio station, but the one that happened at Bounce 104.9 in Bathurst, N.B. Sunday is telling about where the industry is. A man is under arrest after allegedly getting inside the station. It's not clear what he may have been looking for. 

What is relevant to me, though, is this sentence from the story:

"According to Bounce Radio's general manager, Trent McGrath, nobody was in the building at the time of the incident."
 
An empty radio station, presumably on automation, is a sad thing. That would never have happened when I was in radio because there was always somebody there - and I'm not being an old man yelling at clouds. There was a time they were a 24-hour a day operation, and would have at least a board op, an engineer and a security guard hanging around. Outside of a fire, there was never a time when it would be empty. I'm actually amazed it doesn't happen more often. 

The other hilarious part of this yarn is in the accompanying video, which shows Bounce is located in a local strip plaza. It's apparently right next door to a place called "Cannabis N.B."

I'm sure that's just a coincidence, but I'm betting the place is always busy!


Man arrested in relation to break-and-enter at Bathurst radio station: Bathurst Police Force

 

January 3, 2022 3:37 pm  #2


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

Would've been great if he cracked open the mic! If he did a good enough job nobody would've noticed. 

Hate to break it you but the vast majority of Canadian and US stations would be empty "at approximately 5:30 a.m. on (a) Sunday" for almost a decade now. CBC and 680 are probably the only two exceptions in Toronto and even then I'm not so sure. 

 

January 3, 2022 3:45 pm  #3


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

I'm well aware that's the case. But I just find it sad. Consider how many people cut their broadcasting teeth on air in small town radio graveyard shifts. It was a great place to start, learn, and yes, make mistakes. There will still be great people finding their way in the biz in the future. But there probably won't be as many of them. 

That experience was invaluable. It's too bad it's no longer available like it once was. 

     Thread Starter
 

January 3, 2022 6:21 pm  #4


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

RadioActive wrote:

I'm well aware that's the case. But I just find it sad. Consider how many people cut their broadcasting teeth on air in small town radio graveyard shifts. It was a great place to start, learn, and yes, make mistakes. There will still be great people finding their way in the biz in the future. But there probably won't be as many of them. 

That experience was invaluable. It's too bad it's no longer available like it once was. 

You're assuming that there's even gonna be a future for radio.  Can't understand why so many here believe that small markets have an obligation to train the next generation.  If they're lucky, they barely make any money.  And what great experience to you gather working overnights in Bathurst, NB anyway?  No one's listening!   And if you did start there, where do you graduate to?  A station in Toronto paying 120 bucks a shift?   Hope you've got a rich grandma...

 

January 3, 2022 6:41 pm  #5


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

Everyone has to start somewhere. Overnights are a great place to learn. And yes, I do believe radio will survive in some form or another. Whatever it morphs into, someone will need to be there to service it. Finding the future Jay Nelson, John Moore or Brady In The Morning is less likely if they never get the chance to try their talents. 

I'm just saying that the graveyard shift was the best place to figure things out, note what did and didn't work for an up and coming hopeful and try to graduate from Bathurst N.B. to a station on Bathurst St. in Toronto or any other larger market. I don't recall saying there was any obligation for anyone to staff those shifts. I'm just lamenting that they've essentially disappeared over the years for those wanting to try their hand at radio. Like so many of us did when we were kids.

Those starting out know it's generally not about the money, it's about the future and getting better. The money, whatever the amount, will come when that happens. Still, it IS radio, so you have to be realistic about it!  

You've mentioned before you work (or have worked) with CBS Radio News - where did those people get their experience? I'm wagering the vast majority didn't start on Day One in the now defunct Black Rock. I'll wager they began in a small market somewhere and worked their way up.

And if no one's listening, I hope you have another gig to fall back on! (But hopefully not on the overnight shift!)

And just how rich is your grandma, anyway?

     Thread Starter
 

January 3, 2022 7:05 pm  #6


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

I misread this as "NB station break is a sign of the times" and was expecting something completely different.

 

January 3, 2022 7:43 pm  #7


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

Mavridis wrote:

Can't understand why so many here believe that small markets have an obligation to train the next generation.

Yeah, it's called an internship. From there, the person is supposed to be so good that the station does not want to lose that person. (or at least, if a sister station is in a larger market, recommend them so they stay with the same company)


 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

January 3, 2022 7:46 pm  #8


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

In the early '80's I arrived for my morning shift around 4:30, only to find the station had been broken into. Thank goodness the only things missing were electric typewriters however it was a mad dash to clean up the control room which was somewhat ransacked, all while organizing the news teletype for RnR's and phoning the OPP to report the incident. Back then the station ran 6a-Midnight. And "yes" people used their AM radio to wake them up with "O Canada" at 5:58a. I know since I did some sound checks "on-air" early one morning only to receive a call from a listener who was laughing at the early sounds coming from their speaker. Gotta love the biz, at least back then. Ciao

 

January 5, 2022 12:07 am  #9


Re: N.B. Radio Station Break & Enter A Sign Of The Times

RadioActive wrote:

Everyone has to start somewhere. Overnights are a great place to learn. And yes, I do believe radio will survive in some form or another. Whatever it morphs into, someone will need to be there to service it. Finding the future Jay Nelson, John Moore or Brady In The Morning is less likely if they never get the chance to try their talents. 

I'm just saying that the graveyard shift was the best place to figure things out, note what did and didn't work for an up and coming hopeful and try to graduate from Bathurst N.B. to a station on Bathurst St. in Toronto or any other larger market. I don't recall saying there was any obligation for anyone to staff those shifts. I'm just lamenting that they've essentially disappeared over the years for those wanting to try their hand at radio. Like so many of us did when we were kids.

Those starting out know it's generally not about the money, it's about the future and getting better. The money, whatever the amount, will come when that happens. Still, it IS radio, so you have to be realistic about it!  

You've mentioned before you work (or have worked) with CBS Radio News - where did those people get their experience? I'm wagering the vast majority didn't start on Day One in the now defunct Black Rock. I'll wager they began in a small market somewhere and worked their way up.

And if no one's listening, I hope you have another gig to fall back on! (But hopefully not on the overnight shift!)

And just how rich is your grandma, anyway?

You’d be surprised.

Most of the folks working in Network newsrooms started there as Desk Assistants and either worked their butts off or hung around long enough to score a decent gig.  Most Network news bosses and EPs don’t waste their time searching far-and-wide for new talent.  They’d rather hire from within or steal someone they know from another net (who also started at the bottom).    

The guys who first hired me "found" me on their Top of Hour newscast filing as a stringer from Toronto - after a few months on the World News Roundup they asked me for an aircheck and made me an offer.   No one even listens to demo tapes anymore.  It’s all “hey, do you know anyone who wants to make 21-grand a year?…”