mike
Article on News Departments and News Coverage 1959 to 1979
Just before the
sixties took hold - CKNW's newsroom direction shifted
from a sports guy (Jim Cox) running it to Warren Barker. - This new manager
would become a legend across the country.
Barker, along with Mark Raines, Barrie McMaster, John McKitrick, Mauri Hesketh, Terry Spence, Scott Dixon, Brian Lord, George
Garrett, Bob Sargent and Carl Waiz
out shone the rest and the management hired the best from other stations. In the early 70’s the veterans
were joined by Brian Coxford, Russ Froese, Pamela Martin, Doriana Temolo, Paul Heeney, George Orr,
John Daly, Belle Puri, Ramona Mar who went on to
local TV fame. George Madden went
on to become a station manager at CJOR and Harry Phillips was hired by ABC
News. In that same period veteran broadcasters John Ashbridge,
Earle Bradford, John McComb, Yvonne Eamor and
The competition
was fierce at times - CJOR tried to compete in the 1972-1975 period when Jack
Webster had a talk show at the station. OR management hired NW people to try to
gain the magic and the numbers but ultimately that station failed to keep up.
The next station to compete was CKWX with many reporters hired but that failed
as the station drifted its direction into a ‘country’ period.
Lately, WX 1130 News - all day all night is giving NW competition for its
breaking-news coverage. NW has cut back on staff as it houses four stations in
its office. New owners have taken a skimpier approach to news which is showing
but the station continues to hold its older talk show audience. The competition
also encouraged CHQM, CBC and CKLG to have reporters on the street. Briefly CKO
provided more reporters covering the city before going broke. Even CFUN tried
in 1969 with its one year experiment CKVN all news before going back to the hit
music. Even NW tried an all news format on the NW2 (CJNW) but that failed in
making a dent into the market.
The time period
also coincides with the development of competition fueled by aggressive TV
newsrooms. Cameron Bell with a history at CKWX and CKNW was hired by BCTV to
head its newsroom. He and Keith Bradbury, assignment editor, carved a niche on
the market by having a news room team "out covering" the town with news that did not follow the norm and made others
chase their crews. BCTV hired NW reporters and print journalists as well - a
strategy that brought journalists like Harvey Oberfeld
and Mike McCardell to television audiences.
CBC Television
and CKVU could not keep up and never have. New competition from UTV, CITY or
CTV could not shake the hold BCTV held on the market. The main reason was that
BCTV covered what it thought best and made others chase them. It was not
interested in routine one-liner news but stories that had action and pictures
and "something different".
Written by Jack
Bennest
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