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MITV RE-UNION THIS SEPTEMBER |
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Written by Alex J. Walling
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Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
 Can you believe that in six-weeks time it will be 20-years since MITV hit the airwaves?
20 years!
Amazing.
One of the audio gods of that period, a chap by the name of Doug Murray, is heading an unofficial MITV reunion. Doug who worked for many years of the early years is coming into town, from Vancouver or some westward port, and wants as many of ‘the gang’ to either touch base with him or make it down. The date is September 5th which could be the exact date of the 1988 launch of the station.
You can reach Doug at
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MITV launched on Labour Day 1988 and I was there having been hired as Sports Director two weeks before the launch. All the staff on that day was given a MITV star with engraving. Somewhere, if it’s not sold at a flea market, I may have mine.
At the time the most modern tools and toys (computer, video systems, etc) were installed by the Irving’s who owned the station. In fact some felt that MITV stood for More Irving Television. It really meant Maritime Independent TV.
Irving put us in the big league but forgot a few things like a remote satellite truck and the ability to broadcast from selected locations like the Metro Centre.
I had to do ‘fake live cut ins” and one day will deal with that in a separate column.
I’ve been involved in several launches in my media days such as setting up a brand new station in Fredericton in the summer of 1977. Elvis died on Wednesday and we (CIHI) went on air two days later and needless to say it was an “Elvis Weekend’.
CWKW was launched in Corner Brook in August of 84 and a few weeks ago I started a small community radio station in Liverpool.They were great but none compares to the launch of MITV.
Maybe, because it was the first TV station to come to Halifax in over so many years.
Maybe it was the amount of staff with a large news/sports department. With camera people we were over 20.
Maybe it was news director Bruce Graham who had just been hired from ATV and from my viewpoint was easy to work with. He basically gave me the sports department and I did what I wanted. Comments, interviews, editorials, I had it all and appreciated that fact. When Bruce hired me he said “I’m not hiring you to read sports scores.”
Good man that Graham chap who will soon make waves again with his new book, called what else, Anchorman and he was a good one other than the time he said the war has started in Iran. He said it so coolly, so professionally that many never caught the mistake. The fact was, the war had started in IRAQ.
I had my wars with Bruce Graham but overall he was very good to work with and not afraid to go after a story and had the power to do so. He went after some dandies and they will make for good re-union memories.
Maybe it was the unusual mix of veterans a la Wayne Clarke and Jamie Munroe in the photo department and Sue Holly as a top notch director to the many new but energetic kids like Shelly Sandoz and Robyn Smythe straight out of media and journalism schools.
It was probably a combination of all the above but it was an interesting time. Over 10 people came over from ATV (In addition to the camera people we had Laurie Lee, Kelly Ryan, Jeff Collins, Greg Dennis, Katrina Coyle, Kendall Nowe, Bruce, Carol McDade, Mike Trenchard and a few others whose names escape me) and that experience showed.
I thought the best move Graham made was doing the evening news at 7pm and I fought against moving it to six. I lost that fight and as I see it the station fell from people’s minds. There was no way they could compete against CBC and ATV in the six pm time slot. And the numbers have been horrible since. If fact I really don’t understand what market Global is aiming for. ATV has the Maritimes, CBC is after Nova Scotia. What is Global after?
I lasted five years to the date at MITV from August 23/88 to Friday August 23/93 and have countless memories from having to ad lib sportscasts as a result of printing and computer malfunctions to doing a Canadian Airlines Gold Classic (89 and 90). One was in blistering heat and in the other I looked like a duck.
My co host was Laura Lee Langley and she was both on the golf course and at the station a pleasure to work with.
I can write a book in my five full years at MITV. A book on the good, the bad, the ugly and the great. A book on the camaraderie and backbiting of the TV news business. There is no doubt that it would be interesting.
But kudos to Doug Murray who was the audio guy every time I did the weekly sports show ‘The Locker Room’.
The re union is scheduled for Friday September 5th and Doug should be given credit for setting it up.
I wonder if the slowest talking weather man, Dave Michaels will make it. I hear he is in Texas these days.
OTHER NEWS AND NOTES:
It’s a credit to Steve Murphy and Jim Nunn that I have a hard time watching the news when they don’t deliver it. Yes, it is a weird comment because the news is the same but Linda Kelly and Bruce Frisko don’t have the same appeal.
CBC did a story the other day on ‘how to spot counterfeit games’ and the reporter Mari Ito promoted the piece, talked about it but didn’t tell the viewer how we can do it. Never assume the viewers know. If you are going to promote a story at the opening, like this, make sure all bases are covered.
I never realized just how much news is covered by Live at 5. I’ve been watching for the past few months and they are impressive.
In the world of radio, I keep hearing that my buddy Rick Howe will end up somewhere in the fall. I for one hope it’s News 95.7. I already notice some of his ‘regulars’ calling Andrew Krystal. I doubt if Krystal has the patience that Howe has.
I see where News 95.7 has a new afternoon news voice. Maggie Rahr is the news afternoon anchor working with Scott Simpson. They work well together. She can deliver the news but had caused News boss Doug Reynolds a problem and that is he loses a very good reporter. “Maggie is/was a terrific person in the field and I will miss that part.”
Rahr replaces Debbie Rent who is looking at other options. She must have left on good terms with the station because her pic is still on the website.
And, I thought doing that silly “news in review’ was bad enough but I caught it twice on Sunday, once around 7:30 and another time at noon.
I’m sorry to say, while I like most of what I hear on this station, this News in Review is pathetic. News in review was a great show for radio stations 20-30 years ago when we didn’t have Newsnet, CBC Newsworld, and CNN etc. It’s simply a way to fill programming.
In some occasions, especially in sports during playoff season (which seems to be most of the year depending on the sport) we hear a report of what happened on Wednesday and that is contracted by the time this show goes on air. You see, a sporting event can change on a Friday night or Saturday but by then this show is ready for air and outdated.
If News 97.5 wants to do something constructive let them use that airtime in doing topics that affect the area or have each of their many news personnel do a five minute piece on something that we don’t know.
Just a thought.
And I’m sad to hear about the problems with Seaside FM. They are trying to increase frequency and move to another dial location (105.9?) but someone is trying to prevent that.
A mysterious intervention showed up at the last hour.
Now, I feel bad for Wayne but if this party (and it could be any of so many) are prepared to fund the study and handle the cost then what different does it make where Seaside ends up. They have one thing going for them. As an easy listening station their audience will follow them be they at the top, middle or end of the dial.
Take the money and get your power increase.
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