Why radio is my life

As most readers know, music is my passion and the arts beat in general is what I cover in this space on a weekly basis.  But my livelihood for forty years now has been radio, and with a little luck, it will continue to be until retirement looms in the next decade sometime.  So not surprisingly, I sometimes deviate from my chosen subject parameters in this column to write about my livelihood and the challenges of radio.  This week will be one of those weeks.

I was prompted to write today about the importance and immediacy of radio given the news of the past week regarding the election of Pope Francis in Rome, an event covered by press the world over with incredible detail.   No matter your chosen religion if indeed you follow one at all; the election of a Pope is a process so shrouded in tradition and secrecy it struck many younger observers this week as rather archaic and out of touch with the times.  But is it?  The fact Cardinals travelled to Rome to sequester themselves in the Sistine Chapel and secretly vote amongst themselves, burning the votes afterwards with the colour of the smoke signalling the outcome of the vote to the outside world is so, well, old fashioned to be considered rather more than just quaint.

But consider this:  in a world where social media rules and people feel the need to Tweet the second something happens, plus shoot video of the event with their smartphones, it fell upon more traditional media such as newspapers, television and yes, radio, to tell the story and paint the picture for us in greater detail.  Phone signals were reportedly jammed at the Sistine Chapel in order to maintain secrecy;    if you were there, you really had no real advantage over those outside looking in.  While some might deride the decision to maintain secrecy until the Cardinals were darn well ready to announce the outcome, I rather enjoyed it.

We had to do something we are unaccustomed to doing anymore:  wait for the outcome.  Not all things in life are immediate, and the election of a new Pope proved the point this week.  Sure, CNN had a webcam set up near the chimney to catch the moment the white smoke emanated, but really, who wanted to waste their time watching that?  I for one had things to do, and while going about my day, I did what I always do:  tune in to the radio to catch the events unfolding as my own day unfolded.  It was painless, and for me at least, comforting that at least for now, nothing had changed.

I grew up with music radio and when I finally decided to get into the business in 1973 at CHFI-FM in Toronto, music was my eventual area of expertise.  But along the way I learned many other aspects of the business, both on-air and off, as well as developing a healthy interest in news.  So it was when CKTB RADIO decided in the 90s to gradually move to a Newstalk format, I had to change with it and move with the times.  It wasn't always easy and at times I had difficulty adjusting to my new role.  I had  hosted various music programmes at CKTB since I arrived in 1981 as well as conducting literally hundreds of celebrity and entertainment-related interviews over the years, ranging from talking about breakdancing with Ginger Rogers to discovering what made infamous cross-dressing entertainer Divine tick.  But the hard news I left to the news department.

Now all that has changed and I had changed along with it.  Now, I read voraciously from various news sources both online and in traditional newspaper form, and listen constantly in order to stay on top of the news so the show I produce, the Tim Denis morning show, is always on top of the news day in and day out.  As a result the days are long and I must admit, tiring, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  It is important now as it always has been to get the news right, as well as get it fast.  Research, along with developing a 'nose for news' gets you the story every time.  That is something you don't always get with social media.

When news of Cardinal Bergoglio's election broke shortly after 2 pm on Wednesday, I was listening to CKTB Radio as Larry Fedoruk anchored the coverage in the afternoon, describing events as they were unfolding, painting the picture as it were as it developed.  Informed guests were tapped for their input, and Larry provided the insight gained from years in the business to get the story right.  The following morning when Tim and I were in the studio, we were able to expand on the events of the past 24 hours and bring more information to light through guests and news reports direct from Rome.  This is not rocket science; it is simply what we do.

Providing even more insight into the election of a new Pope and exploring even further the role of religion, faith and its place in today's world, talk-show host Tom McConnell chaired an hour-long Interfaith Panel Thursday morning, welcoming guests Roman Catholic Bishop Gerard Bergie, Muslim scholar Samah Marei and Orthodox Jew Daniel Ventressca, organized by Assistant News Director Stephanie Sabourin.  It was insightful and thought-provoking radio, again something you don't always get when surfing the internet.  I encourage you, if you didn't hear the broadcast, to listen to the podcast on Tom's page at www.610cktb.com.  While there you can read Larry's blog on the Pope's election by going to Larry's page.

There was a time when I worked in radio, the main source of news came from a noisy teletype machine in the newsroom.  In the 70s when I worked briefly in Oshawa, that machine chugged away day and night in a tiny closet, spewing out the news as it developed.  In the morning when we came in, there would be literally miles of teletype paper to wade through to make sense of the news.  Now we source news from several mediums at all hours of the day and night from wherever news develops on computers with everything at our fingertips.  On the music side of things, technology was such that every radio studio had turntables in them to play records - remember those?  The engineering staff would be called when a turntable seized up or heaven forbid, we ran out of our supply of stylus needles to keep going.  Don't laugh, back in those days we kept a secret stash of them hidden in the control room to avert minor emergencies, but when that stash was depleted, well. then the fun began.

Radio has changed and continues to change with the times.  It remains as relevant today as it was back in the days of live in-studio broadcasts of entertainers.  It remains theatre of the mind, and makes you think.  And when handled properly by professionals, it gets the story right, now.  It is simply what we do, and I for one, am proud to be a part of it.

Happy Listening!

March 16th, 2013.