September 2017

Leaping Before You Look

A friend of ours has just purchased a yoga studio. It’s a beautiful space but the previous owner was erratic. She didn’t keep regular hours and that, along with some other aspects of her lack of business savvy, turned off many of her loyal customers. The place has a lot of potential if it’s run properly.  …

Want to Attract the Media? Follow These Tips!

Dear PR professionals and those who wish to be,

Every day we in the media are deluged with emails, social media posts, phone calls and other messages from you. Sometimes, what you have to offer is of value to us. Other times it is not. Regardless, if you want to develop a working relationship with us, here are some blunt and handy tips to follow: …

Voco = Loco

At the suggestion of a former colleague, I listened to a podcast last week about a frightening new piece of technology. It scares me more than Kim Jong Un or Donald Trump with their tiny fingers hovering over their country’s big red buttons.  …

Throwback Thursday: Do I Make You Corny?

You have to be of a certain age to remember Hee Haw. It’s not a reference you can throw into casual conversation when there’s a variety of ages present. The collection of country performers and sketches about hicks aired from 1969-1992. In his autobiography, Buck Owens called it a “cartoon donkey” and admitted to humiliating himself for several weeks a year on the show, strictly for the paycheque. Corny isn’t a strong enough word to describe Hee Haw but it was much-loved anyway. …

Throwback Thursday – The Beautiful Simplicity of the Gentle Giant

My first two full-time on-air radio jobs found me in country music radio, first in Red Deer, Alberta and then in Prince George, BC. I had some earlier experience with what was then called country & western, through my Mom and Dad and my cousin Wayne’s country band. But my exposure was limited and carefully curated. I grew to love Waylon Jennings and appreciate Conway Twitty. But some of the nasally, twangy stuff made me climb the walls. John Anderson’s Swingin’, anyone? …

9/11 2001-2017

This September 11th will forever be the anniversary of the day Floridians and others in the path of Hurricane Irma weathered – or perhaps didn’t weather – the massive storm. We’ve felt empathy and sorrow for the people who have lost so much and had to flee. We’ve shaken our heads at those who decided to stay, including a group of young partiers who gathered on Miami’s South Beach yelling “F— you Irma!”, and claiming the dead friend they were there to honour would protect them from harm.  …

Freelancing 101

The new (not so new anymore) online marketplace is supposed to be a boon for anyone who’s doing freelance work as a full-time endeavor or a sideline. The voice-work realm is probably like any other aspect of creative work in this regard. There’s a bit of wheat and a whole lot of chaff. I’ve been making the rounds for several months and find them mostly wanting.  …

Talk Talk

The TV promos we shot for News/Talk 1290 CJBK are on the air. The idea is to inspire listeners to discuss the reasons why news and talk are important. The promos drive viewers to our website where there’s a forum for discussion. Yeah, I know, a discussion on the Internet. What could possibly go wrong?  …