Early on in my career, I undervalued myself and took a lower salary than I was worth. In a couple of cases, I later discovered that I could have earned a lot more. If I had had a little more confidence and faith in myself, I would have negotiated harder. It’s something I eventually learned to do. …
Aside from the questions about the timeline and who knew what when and should have told whom, the bottom line is that last week, our police prevented innocent people from getting hurt or killed. To say that the people of nearby Strathroy were shocked by the detonation of an explosion and the killing of Aaron Driver on a residential street, is like saying Michael Phelps is a pretty good swimmer. The RCMP limited the tragedy to one life, instead of whoever was unlucky enough to be in London’s City Centre that night. (Driver died inside a cab and had told the driver that’s where he wanted to go.)Â …
Triumph Over Terror Read More »
My regular job as newscaster and cohost of the News/Talk 1290 morning show is challenging enough. Filling in on The Live Drive for a week while Andy Oudman was on vacation gave me flashbacks to the years I hosted Midday on Hamilton’s 900 CHML. This, my friends, is work! …
What I Learned on Andy’s Summer Vacation Read More »
A couple of years ago, I was hired by a local First Nations group to speak to their chiefs about media relations. They were finding it difficult to talk to reporters and to get stories reported accurately, and wanted some tips. I came away from that session with a tough realization: I had taken on a mild form of racism through osmosis in my years in media, and didn’t even know it. Â …
A Difficult Truth Read More »
Funny 1410 in London is shutting down in the coming months. The company I work for, Bell Media, got approval from the CRTC to revoke its license to operate the station. It’s just not viable anymore. Powering down its frequency brings an end to a legendary radio station, one that I was proud to call my radio home for a couple of years in the 1980s. No jobs will be lost because those jobs were lost years ago. To shut down 1410 it will only take powering down a computer. …
The old Jim Stafford song Spiders and Snakes lumps both icky creatures together as if you must hate both if you hate one. For me, that’s not the case at all, and I proved it when I cohosted the KOOL-FM morning show years ago and a snake wrangler brought one of his slitherly pals into the studio. …
Throwback Thursday – Don’t Look Ma! Read More »
What I know about the workings of a website, you could put on the head of a pin and still have room left over for the lyrics to all of Tom Petty’s songs. …
Me, My Boss and I Read More »
There was a time when I would have campaigned to host my own morning show. Back then, the opportunity never really presented itself. Now it’s here, and it’s not what I really want to do! …
All Hail the (temporary) Morning Queen! Read More »
Last weekend’s fireworks brought to mind what fireworks will always remind me of – The Benson and Hedges Symphony of Fire at Ontario Place in Toronto. Yes, kids, there was a time when cigarette companies could sponsor giant events. The SOF was launched in several Canadian cities in 1990 and I was delighted to emcee the Toronto version for several summers. …
Throwback Thursday – Fire in the Sky Read More »
Nudism versus naturism; they’re two very different things, although to the untrained eye, they’re both collections of naked people. My eBook, The Naked Truth, chronicled my summer as an employee of a nudist resort. My visit late last month to Bare Oaks Family Naturist Park was a different experience. …
Nudism-Naturism Revisited Read More »
Word is getting around that First Thing With Mike Stubbs and Lisa Brandt is no more. It was just about one year ago that Mike and I started working together and we had lots of laughs, collaborations, and great moments on the air. But Mike was always clear with me; First Thing was his second thing when it came to professional satisfaction. …
Reporting on sports is my least favourite part of my job as a newscaster. This is not new. I don’t generally watch sports, with limited exceptions. And I’ve never been such a fan that my happiness – even in the short term – depends on a bunch of people I don’t know scoring more points than a bunch of other people. No offence to rabid fans, it’s just not how I’m wired. Sometimes I’m a band-wagon jumper, but I generally just don’t really care. …
People are often surprised to learn how far back Derek and I go. We worked together at CKSL in London in the early 1980s. After that, we also worked at CKNX in Wingham, although our decisions to go there were separate and although we were pals, we weren’t “together” at the time. Our history is very When-Harry-Met-Sally. But this is about CKNX, which turned 90 on the weekend with an open house, a big birthday bash and the event we attended, an alumni BBQ. …
Our Favourite 90-year-old Read More »
A colleague died suddenly at work a couple of weeks ago. I didn’t know him well, but he was a friendly, cheery guy who always made a point of saying good morning. People who worked closely with him were devastated and he was clearly well liked around the building. …
There Must Be Some Misunderstanding Read More »
The Grammar Nazi. You have nothing to fear from her! …
Don’t Fear the Nazi Read More »
There’s a TV show we watch regularly that ends with nearly everybody on screen, and in our living room, with tears in their eyes. And the other night, I figured out why I like it so much. It’s because it shows the way I think wealthy people should behave. Instead of accumulating more stuff than they could ever use, they could spread a little of it around and improve the lives of those who need a hand up. …