As The Dial Turns http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/ http://www.eblah.com en McBride's empire grows with 'Spud Valley Radio' http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216950677/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216950677/#num1
Matthew McBride began airing Spud Valley Radio early this June with the song "Bud the Spud" by Stompin' Tom Connors.
Published 2008-07-24


The man behind the airwaves
Matthew McBride building small radio empire with Pemberton roots

By Jesse Ferreras
Pique Newsmagazine
Whistler, British Columbia

He wanted to be a Navy diver, but fate has seen Matthew Gordon McBride swim through waves of a different kind.

McBride, 48, is the brains behind community radio stations that have begun popping up all across the province — and two of them have sprung up in the Sea to Sky corridor.

The most recent one, Spud Valley Radio, is Pemberton’s official community radio station, and has been on the air since early June, broadcasting all kinds of programming, from 1930s-era radio shows to good ol’ rock ’n’ roll.

The station hit the airwaves on June 6, 2008. Its first song? “Bud the Spud” by Stompin’ Tom Connors.


From Navy man to radio man

When asked why he loves the radio so much, McBride points to the intimacy that it has with a listener compared with other mediums.

“The problem with TV is the pictures aren’t very good in my mind, right, whereas radio’s a kind of whole fantasy world (where) you can be who you want to be, sound like you want to sound,” he says.

Comparing radio to print media, McBride says that newspapers are all about covering dead people, whereas radio is all about covering live people.

When reminded that radio also has to report on dead people, he responds, “Yeah, but we get to go dancing with the girls.”

Radio wasn’t always McBride’s main gig. Growing up in Stave Falls, British Columbia, he only ever had two dreams: work in radio or be a Navy diver. He pursued the latter dream first, leaving school early to join the Navy, doing rescue swimming and underwater hull maintenance. He served five years until he suffered a serious diving accident, effectively putting an end to his career in the armed forces.

His Navy dream dead, McBride’s comrades told him to follow his other path.

“If I was going to be a diver, I wanted to be the best diver I can be,” he says. “And in broadcasting, if I want to be a broadcaster, I want to be the best broadcaster I can be.

“That doesn’t mean I’m the best of the best, but it means this is what I can do.”

His desire to be the best took him to BCIT’s broadcast school in 1981, a program that has churned out such staples of the Vancouver broadcast scene as CBC anchor Gloria Macarenko and CTV weather anchor Tamara Taggart.

From there he got his first radio job at CKNW in Vancouver.

“You push buttons, and once an hour you got to go on the radio and do a time-check,” he says. “It was great to be on the radio, nothing like it.”

McBride’s career took him in a series of directions after his first job. He then went to an on-air job in Smithers in northern B.C., did a morning show in Prince Rupert, the afternoon drive in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and then finally back in Vancouver, where he worked at two prominent radio stations: Kiss FM and the now-defunct Z95.3.

Though Z95.3’s blend of pop, hip-hop and electronic dance music has been replaced by the softer sounds of Crave 95, McBride said he’s proud to have played a prominent role at the station famous as much for its bumper stickers as the pounding music you heard on the scariest rides at the PNE.

“At one time that was the biggest, most successful radio station in Western Canada,” he says. “I was their first music director, who built the music department for that radio station.”

Anyone who groaned at hearing Ace of Base three times a day in the mid-90s can thus direct their grievances to him.


Community radio

A lengthy career in a series of radio stations hasn’t dampened McBride’s passion for the medium. Today, he’s starting up stations of his own in smaller markets. He’s the owner of four radio stations, broadcasting in Pemberton, Tofino and Ucluelet and another that has yet to go on the air in Port Moody.

One of his earliest forays into radio entrepreneurship came in 2000, when he helped start a station in D’Arcy. Through contacts he had with First Nations broadcasters in northern B.C., he encountered the N’Quat’qua First Nation in D’Arcy and heard about their desire for their own radio station.

Today the small community at the northern end of the Sea to Sky corridor boasts its own 50-watt rock ’n’ roll station.

“There’s no content at all outside of the music and the DJ’s,” McBride says. “It’s too small to have a full operation.”

Though he had been to Pemberton before, it was during a pit stop on the way to D’Arcy that he discovered Spud Valley.

“The feel of the community is that it’s not a transient community,” he says. “It’s a community of people who really live and believe in where they live, and that’s good for the long term survivability of a small operation like a radio station.

“The problem with Whistler is there’s so many transients, people who sort of come and go through there, it’s hard to build loyalty.”

Starting a station is a long and expensive process, according to McBride, and not everyone can do it.

First you need to find a community that wants to do business with you — and not everyone does. He has a very simple way of doing market research.

“I actually go into the communities and I stand on street corners and I survey people,” he says. “I walked around and I talked to a couple hundred people in Pemberton and asked them, what radio station would you like?

“People will say, ‘I want a radio station that covers local news or carries local sports, talks about the local school board,’ things like that, and then they say, ‘can you play some Eagles?’”

From there, you need to do a technical brief, basically an engineering survey that determines what a signal would sound like if it was put over the air in a given community, and how it would affect other broadcasting operations.

That alone can cost up to $15,000, without any guarantee you’re going to get a station.

And that’s all without the license application you need to make to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission. McBride says the application process for Spud Valley Radio began in 2005 and it took almost exactly three years before it went on the air. Once you get the license, you have two years to get the station on the air.

Spud Valley Radio has made it there, and is now broadcasting radio shows from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s such as The Shadow and Call of the Yukon with Sgt. Preston.

Gord Rutherford, stage name “Gordo,” does the morning show, while Cara Jenner, stage name “Pebbles,” handles sales and marketing but also does the afternoon drive show.

Saturday nights will soon be reserved for “Matt’s Disco,” a weekly revue of ’70s hits hosted by McBride himself.

“We’ll be putting that on probably Saturday nights, and we’re looking at developing a jazz show as well, and Sunday evening for the jazz show,” he says.

As for the station’s future prospects, people in Pemberton have come forward with the idea to have a teen show during the noon hour on school days, when students have their lunch break. It’s an idea that McBride is certainly open to.

“Kids and radio have gone together since there was radio, and if we don’t open the door and welcome them into our station, we can’t expect them to support us when they’re young adults.

“Plus, if anybody knows music and what’s happening today, it’s kids.”

McBride sees a bright future for Spud Valley Radio, so much that he’s put his development of a station in Port Moody on hold, a project for which he just obtained a license.

He says Spud Valley Radio will be broadcasting 24 hours a day during the upcoming Pemberton Festival covering all the events, though not from the site.

According to McBride, community response to Spud Valley Radio has been very positive.

“They’re quite happy to have a local radio station,” he says. “We’ve had ongoing and very positive feedback on what we’re doing and what we should be doing, and our on-air personalities have been warmly received by the community.”

Now that he’s conquered the airwaves in two Sea to Sky communities, is there any chance he’ll start a radio station for Whistler?

“If an opportunity arises for me to provide new original service to Whistler, I would be pleased to be there,” he says.

http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/index.php?cat=C_News&content=Spud+valley+radio+1530

.

]]> Thu, 24 Jul 2008 21:51:17 SAM "A" Morning Show to return to Island http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216808766/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216808766/#num1
http://jobs.workopolis.com/jobshome/db/gi.featured_joblist?pi_employer=72471]]> Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:26:06 ED1 Hollywood Bounces from Kool FM http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216672686/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216672686/#num1 Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:38:06 Donovan TV Week Magazine runs out of ideas http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216330040/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1216330040/#num1
Tell me I just didn't hear this ad on 'NW a minute ago…..

Announcer (breathless drama): "In this week's issue of TV Week Magazine, Global TV morning news anchor Steve Darling and his wife Jen introduce their new little "Darling" …..Hailey-Poppi !!

This special issue includes a special eight page feature, plus "exclusive," "never before seen," pictures and the proud new parents' candid account of the delivery room "drama."

You don't want to miss this special issue!

Now, I like Steve as much as the next person, but come on!

When TV Week Mag did that 80-page spread (seemed like) laying out the minutia of his wedding a few years ago I thought it was over the top.

The only thing this rag missed was a five page spread of the (now successful) Steve Darling wedding night consummation !!

REDDS
  
(Rumour has it TV Week's main rival in the grocery store checkout line TV magazine business, TV Weak, almost outbid them for those "Never before seen" snaps but their Climate Action Dividend was late coming from Victoria)

]]> Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:27:20 REDDS Radio station dials in Tri-Cities http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215845623/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215845623/#num1 What do you do when you own three radio stations?
You start another one, of course.

  
Matthew McBride holds what he calls his ‘million-dollar papers,’
the official nod from the CRTC to open a radio station in Port Moody.
Tri-City Radio could hit the airwaves as soon as fall 2008.
Photograph by : Paul vanPeenen, Coquitlam Now

Radio station owner and former on-air personality Matthew Gordon McBride received approval last month from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to operate a new FM station in Port Moody. Located at 98.7 MHz, the station is billed as the musical home of contemporary pop, world beat and jazz. McBride already operates three radio stations in Pemberton, Tofino and Ucluelet. McBride's decision to put his fourth FM station in Port Moody seemed like the right choice at the right time, he says.

"I love Port Moody. I have lots of friends in the city and I spend a lot of time there," he explained
I intend to open up a network head office and centralize all my broadcasting activities in Port Moody for the rest of my stations," said McBride, who feels that NewPort Village would be the perfect location for the new station. "The idea for the radio station was really built over many coffees at Gallagher's (Coffee Shop) in NewPort Village. I like the zeitgeist of the whole community."

With occupancy rates low in the area, though, McBride and his team have not been able to settle on a site yet. "We've been out looking several times so far. And we'll keep looking until we find just the right place," he said. McBride's goal is to keep his listening audiences involved in their local stations by maintaining an element of fun. When Spud Valley Radio, CFPQ-FM 98.9, opened in Pemberton in June 2008, it officially signed on by playing a version of "O Canada" by David Foster and Celine Dion, followed by Stompin' Tom Connors' song, "Bud The Spud." The station's open house featured potato chip giveaways. Spud Valley Radio's website currently asks for listeners to send in new spud-themed logos, and all three of McBride's stations encourage listeners' contributions and programming suggestions. Temporarily named Tri-City Radio, the new Port Moody station will also appeal for public input. "We are using Tri-City Radio as a business label for now," said McBride. "But, we will be consulting with the public to see what they would like their station called."

McBride says he won't write off the idea of hosting a contest to find a station name. CKPM 98.7 will be heard in the Tri-Cities through to Surrey. "We should have a clear shot to Deep Cove and on into North Vancouver," McBride said. At 48, McBride, who hails from the rural community of Stave Falls, near Mission, said he feels like he's 21 years young. "Age is only a calendar date," he says.

When he was a boy, McBride had two dreams. "I wanted to be a navy diver and a DJ on the radio." When he was older, McBride "ran away from school" and joined the Armed Forces for five years, to be that navy diver.

"I had an uncomfortable accident in the water that ended that career," McBride explained. "When I was in the middle of having a number of surgeries, I started reflecting on that second dream."

McBride remembered running his own radio show from the DJ booths on stationed warships. "Some of the guys would say: You know, if you ever get out of this, you should go into radio," McBride muses. After his convalescence, McBride entered the world of radio and never looked back. "I've worked in almost every major city on air," said McBride, "including Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, Edmonton, Calgary, Prince Rupert, Smithers and Vancouver."

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, McBride was best known as a radio personality. From 1988 to 1991, he was on-air at 97 KISS FM in Vancouver. He moved to Z95 FM from 1991 to 1995, and was Winnipeg's MIX 103 DJ for three years after that.

"That was a different phase of my life," McBride recalled. "I had more of a focus on broadcasting. I was less focused on corporate administration than I am now."

Ten years ago, McBride said, he had worked his way up to operations manager for Craig Broadcasting and, at that point, made the move to set up his own business. He established McBride Communications and Media Inc. as the management contractor for his radio stations. The company currently specializes in broadcast project management and market development.

"Over those 10 years, I had acquired the skills and the good, old-fashioned desire for my own station. But starting up a radio station is not the cheapest thing to do," McBride added. "I didn't have a lot of money, and that's why it's taken me so long."

Later, McBride started The McBride Consulting Group Inc., a strategic partner with MCMI, specializing in project management training and execution. "I act as a consultant to people in Canada and the U.S. who are interested in getting their own radio stations started."

Building up credibility has been a 10-year process. "It takes a long time to develop the right contacts," he said. "For the Port Moody station, I filed my application [with the CRTC] in June, after three months of research, to ensure the application was complete. And that's after nine months researching the location and the idea."

McBride said he doesn't like to fail when he applies for radio station approval. "The challenge is to generate a great radio product in a micro-environment," McBride explained.

"I work really, really hard and spend more time on attention to detail than anything else."
McBride said he likes to predict the questions the CRTC might ask. "I try to analyze what they would say to deny the application and put together the best package possible, so they will let this tiny broadcaster in."

He also relied on public input. "Enough community people phoned up or sent letters of support for the new station, and that really helped," McBride said. Excited about his latest acquisition, McBride said Port Moody's station should be operating before the end of the year.

"I see Port Moody as the jumping-off platform for the return of personality radio," McBride said.

"DJs are more than people who read prepared scripts," he added. "They have to be creative and engage the audience."

McBride said Port Moody's station will not mark his own return to on-air broadcasting. "Not me, personally, but there are some very fine broadcasters who live in the Tri-Cities who are interested in trying it out," he said. According to the CRTC Broadcasting Act, anyone who wants to start a radio-broadcasting company in Canada must first apply for a licence. A decision is normally made a few months after a public hearing is held, and the entire application process can take between eight to 18 months.

"I am totally thrilled about Port Moody," McBride beamed. "It represents the influence an individual can have in a large and intimidating industry."


Tracey Block, Coquitlam NOW

http://www.canada.com/coquitlamnow/news/story.html?id=e2d3de05-c156-4318-bfd2-95cfc5ee4968

.]]> Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:53:43 Gotobreak Media protest in front of C-FAX 1070 studio http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215588702/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215588702/#num1 MEDIA PROTEST IN FRONT OF C-FAX 1070 STUDIO

C-FAX 1070
Jul 8, 2008

A MODEST-SIZED PROTEST OF A FEW DOZEN PEOPLE TARGETED THE C-FAX 1070 AND 'A'NEWS STUDIOS ON BROAD STREET TUESDAY MORNING.

THEY'RE DRAWING ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY CALL THE CORPORATE MEDIA AGENDA -- CLAIMING THE CONTENT YOU HEAR ON OUR STATION, AND ALL THE OTHERS, IS DRIVEN MAINLY BY MONETARY INTERESTS.

LOCAL ACTIVIST JACK ETKIN SAYS THE OWNERS OF C-FAX 1070 SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO MORE SCRUTINY.

"IF YOU WENT AFTER THE THOMPSON [CORPORATION, ownership group of CTV Bell-Globemedia]," ETKIN SAYS, "WHO'VE GOT A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, THE WAY YOU GO AFTER THE POLITICIANS -- IF YOU WENT AFTER THEM, THE CORPORATE BREAKS THAT THEY GET, THE TAX BREAKS -- AND THEIR CONTROL OF OUR DEMOCRACY, FOR TWO DAYS, YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T BE HERE ON THE THIRD DAY. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY AT MY JOB KNOWS WHAT'S EXPECTED OF ME, AND I DO IT."

ACTIVIST MEDHI NAJARI SAYS THE ONLY PLACE TO GO FOR BALANCED COVERAGE IS THE INTERNET.

"THAT'S WHY THE SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE NEWSPAPERS ARE DOWN, THEY'RE GOING BANKRUPT," SAYS NAJARI. "POLL AFTER POLL SHOWS THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT BELIEVING IN THE T.V. NETWORK NEWS. SO THEY'RE GOING TO THE UNTRADITIONAL MEDIA, LIKE INTERNET, TO GET THEIR NEWS AND UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND THEM."

B.C. GREEN PARTY LEADER AND ESQUIMALT COUNCILOR JANE STERK WAS THERE TO LEND HER SUPPORT TO THE DEMONSTRATION -- SHE SAYS CITIZENS ARE BEING SOLD SHORT BY THE MEDIA AS A WHOLE.

"WE'RE AT A TIME IN HISTORY WHICH IS INCREDIBLY COMPLEX," SAYS STERK. "THE ISSUES ARE INCREDIBLY COMPLEX, THEY ALL HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH AT THE SAME TIME. MY SENSE IT THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO SIMPLIFY EVERYTHING, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO LIMIT ALL OF THE NEWS THAT GETS PRESENTED TO THE PUBLIC.

"AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED MORE NEWS, WE'RE GETTING LESS NEWS-WORTHY STUFF, MORE ENTERTAINMENT."

ETKIN SAYS SOME HUGE STORIES ARE BEING LEFT UN-COVERED BY THE MEDIA, CITING AS EXAMPLES THE ACTIVITIES OF CANADIAN SPECIAL FORCES IN AFGANISTAN, AS WELL AS THE SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP.

ETKIN CALLS THE LATTER STORY 'THE NEXT STEP IN THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR DEMOCRACY' -- AND SAYS IT'S A TALE THE MEDIA IS LARGELY IGNORING.

- IRELAND]]> Wed, 9 Jul 2008 03:31:42 Holden West B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame - Jack Webster http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215475444/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215475444/#num1 B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame
  
By Red Robinson
Special to the Sun

Monday, July 07, 2008


   Jack Webster
Photo:Courtesy of
vancouverbroadcasters.com

Most people think of the late Jack Webster as a journalist, a talk show host, an editorialist and a reporter. Jack always preferred the title reporter. However, he was more than all of this. Webster was, in my opinion, a true journalist but also an incredible entertainer. His radio and television shows always featured his wry wit.

Jack Webster's impact on local media is well known. He set the pace for all media presenters. Webster was born in Glasgow in 1915. He worked for newspapers in that Scottish city and also on Fleet Street in London. As a young man he joined the British Army when the Second World War broke out and rose to the rank of major and spent most of his six years of service in the Middle East. At war's end he emigrated to Canada and Vancouver where he covered the labour beat for the Vancouver Sun. In 1953, he moved from the Sun to radio and CJOR where his editorial comments were titled "City Mike" and were heard many times each day.

But, it was the Tupper Enquiry into corruption in the Vancouver Police Department that put his name permanently on the map as one of Canada's foremost reporters. He would go to each day's hearings and race back to the radio station to read the latest developments from his shorthand notes as no tape recorders or cameras were allowed.

He won many international awards for his coverage.

When talk radio was being born in Vancouver (before anywhere in North America) CKNW radio convinced Jack that he should try this new format.

He was reluctant but succeeded beyond his wildest expectations. In 1979, at the age of 60 Webster moved his radio show to television where his familiar expression "9 a.m. precisely" became the moniker for his show. (One of his guests, Shirley Maclean, thought he resembled Archie Bunker. ) In 1987, he was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was made a member of the Order of Canada.

Jack passed away in 1999. His impact on media lives on. His name deserves the honour of being included in the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame as a true pioneer.

Visit me at http://www.redrobinson.com

http://www.canada.com/vancouve.....02-97c0-1025c1489a99

.]]> Mon, 7 Jul 2008 20:04:04 SAM jules ross http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215129072/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1215129072/#num1 Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:51:12 marcia Proud to be Canadian, eh! http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214845820/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214845820/#num1

]]> Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:10:20 CRS Top court dismisses suit against Rafe Mair http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214608458/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214608458/#num1 Top court dismisses libel suit
against B.C. radio personality

Friday, June 27, 2008  
CBC News

The Supreme Court of Canada has overturned a libel ruling against one of B.C.'s most outspoken radio show hosts.

Rafe Mair, a former host with CKNW, was sued for a remark he made about Christian values advocate Kari Simpson in 1999 during an on-air editorial.

But on Friday the Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit.

"I'm just absolutely delighted," said Mair on Friday morning. "This case really is a landmark case on the whole quest for free speech."

In 1999 Simpson had campaigned against schools in Surrey keeping books in their libraries depicting gay couples.

Simpson spoke at a public rally against the books. After hearing a recording of that rally, Mair delivered an editorial calling Simpson a bigot.

Simpson sued for libel soon after and lost, but the B.C. Court of Appeal later ruled in Simpson's favour.

But on Friday the Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling saying Mair's remarks contained no evidence of malice and were fair comment.

Mair told CBC News the decision means he's been vindicated.

"I said many times after the trial that if what I did was libel, there is very little free speech left for anybody in the media. There's little enough as it is, without having that," said Mair.

The former radio host, and one-time Social Credit cabinet minister, said he feels badly for Simpson, who as a private citizen, should not have had to wait nearly nine years for the courts to decide her case.

Mair, a former cabinet minister, no longer works for CKNW, but is a regular guest on the political panel of CBC's Vancouver morning show, The Early Edition.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/06/27/bc-rafe-mair-wins-libal-lawsuit.html

.]]> Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:14:18 SAM Vancouver's FM radio market adds 3 more... http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214517615/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214517615/#num1 Metro Vancouver's FM radio market
gets three new competitors
  
by Malcolm Parry

VancouverSun.com
Thursday, June 26, 2008


PORT CAUGHT: Heavy-hitting names jumped out June 2, when the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission approved three new FM broadcasters to compete in Metro Vancouver's $131-million-per-year advertising market.

Everybody knows billionaire Jimmy Pattison, who'll close his CKBD 600 AM station and open one with an FM frequency of 100.5 MHz. That will entail dumping CKBD's older audience and going for the age-25-to-49 "adult album alternative" listeners broadcasters want today.

Two other biggies, restaurateur David Aisenstat and music-biz mogul Sam Feldman, also got CRTC approval to address the Triple A market, in their case at 104.1 MHz. They'll be partnered by former city disc jockey Roy Hennessey.

Then there's Matthew McBride. He's a Halifax-born on-air veteran of radio stations in Smithers, Prince Rupert. Moose Jaw, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver who snagged the 98.7 MHz frequency to air from Port Moody. It's the fourth link in a broadcasting chain he began with CHMZ-FM Tofino in 2002. CIMM-FM Ucluelet came three years later. McBride's third station, CFPV-FM, began broadcasting from Pemberton May 27 with a signal reaching Mount Currie, Darcy and maybe -- with a favourable bounce and some technical tweaks -- Whistler.

McBride likes small-town radio "because it's visible, it's tactile, it's an integrated part of daily life. If something happens on radio, everybody knows it."

Port Moody is a step up, though. Covering 270,000 potential listeners in the Tri-Cities area, CKPM-FM will be McBride Communications & Media Inc.'s biggest operation by far. Likewise its costliest, with start-up costs of $250,000.

"I have no idea where the money's going to come from, but it will come," non-connoisseur McBride allowed while quaffing "the cheapest white wine you have" at pal Gerry Biggar's Shady Island Seafood Bar & Grill in Steveston. That means debt financing for a chap whose personal income "is over a hundred [thousand], under two. But lenders don't want to loan a quarter-million. They want to loan 10 million."

It's not exactly a replay of 2002, when McBride told wife Caroline: "Honey, I'd like to take all the money we have, borrow a whole bunch on our credit cards, and start a radio station out on the west coast of Vancouver Island." Still, "If you're an entrepreneur, you can't but help to do what you do. And Caroline has never stood in my way."

McBride's aw-shucks delivery is complemented by a mustachioed mug, post-military haircut and an upper skull that looks like it endured over-tight helmets during his six years as a Canadian navy diver. He also wears short-sleeve Hawaiian shirts that, as Sammy the Time Salmon, let him slap his folded forearms to beat out time announcements on-air. The rhythmic precision betrays the seasoned musician, notably on the $2,500 Rickenbacker bass guitar that was his best-ever Christmas present.

"The thing about radio is that, whatever I dream up happens," said McBride. That's why Sammy could become Tommy the Time Trout or Bobby the Time Beaver for stations far from salt water. But microphone goofing ends at his station-owner's desk: "I sign on at the least cost to generate a reliable cash flow, and return every penny to the station until I am satisfied it is properly built -- toys, logo, stationery. That's a pretty simple business idea, isn't it? Then, as soon as possible, start building again."

With a target of?

"Twenty stations by 2015," the seaplane-endorsed six-year pilot replied as crisply as though requesting landing clearance for his Cessna 172.

All in B.C.?

"I didn't say that."

All in Canada?

"I didn't say that, either."

As for his business plan: "If there's a community with 2,000 people and no radio station, there will be."

n

malcolmparry@shaw.ca - 604-929-8456

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=ccdc9e52-cd21-4e18-adf7-198185e7835a

.]]> Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:00:15 SAM Terry David Mulligan's The Tasting Room http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214464665/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214464665/#num1 Thu, 26 Jun 2008 03:17:45 wisemonkey Victoria's  ZONE launched 7 years ago today http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214060033/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214060033/#num1 From Today in Broadcast History

Happy 7th Birthday to the ZONE 91 Three Victoria

In 2001 at noon,
Victoria's CKXM FM 91.3

switched from a country station to modern rock under a new name "The Zone@91.3 FM."  The station had been struggling with ratings since signing on the air in 1995.  It moved from AM 1200 to FM 91.3 in Feb. 2000 and in that time had gone from country to country-crossover back to country on June 4.  
                        
On July 5 the call letters were changed to CJZN FM.

See what else happenned yesterday in "Today In Broadcast History"
http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1214049560/s-new


.
]]> Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:53:53 AirWaves Vista Going After Vernon http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1213996967/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1213996967/#num1
Quoted Text
Vista Radio is very excited to make public their proposed application for a brand new country music radio station to serve Vernon - Vernon Country.

We know there is a need for a country music station in the north Okanagan and Vista�s research has proven that.

We are looking for your written support for the application for Vernon Country as it will promote country music and artists, while assisting up and coming country music artists by:

   1. Committing to 40% Canadian Music more than the regulated 35%%
   2. Airing independent country artists 4 times per day to assist in having their music heard
   3. Significant Canadian Talent Development Pledge to FACTOR


http://www.vernoncountryfm.com/
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=511653013&ref=ts#/group.php?gid=11866754826&ref=mf


Wasn't Rogers just trying to sell their Vernon stick (before the CRTC wouldn't let Pattison)?  Will the CRTC really give another station to Vernon?  Why wouldn't Vista just cough up the 4 million bucks that Pattison was going to give Rogers?]]> Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:22:47 RadioUgly A Q/Zone Announcement http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1213906668/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/forum/m-1213906668/#num1 This is one of those "mixed" emotion type announcements.  

While I'm happy that Doug Bidwell is excited about his new position with the Provincial government,  I'm also sad that Doug, a 19 year veteran of The Q/CKXM/CJZN won't be here nearly as often as he has been.  Doug has been with us through all the good times and the bad times, the ups and the downs, the failures and the successes.  He has and will always be a part of the very fabric that created our little radio stations.  Doug has promised to keep in touch with us and I sincerely hope that he doesn't become the relative that you only see at reunions.  Doug's last day with us will be June 27th but I know that Doug will always be available should we need a "Willie".

Congrats Doug on your new position and with sincerity, we wish you all the success that you deserve.

The search is on for a new creative writer for The q and The Zone!  


John Shields
Senior Program Manager
100.3 The Q / The Zone @ 91 three
2750 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC. Canada
V8T 4E8

Ph: 250.475.0100

]]> Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:17:48 John Shields