Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

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Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby jon » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:25 pm

Despite being around nearly a year and a half, Lou Dobbs' career beginnings video hasn't been seen by many.

Lou talks about getting his first broadcast job, as a Radio News Reporter on a 500 watt directional station in Yuma, Arizona. Then moving next door to the TV sister station.
6:34 (you can skip the ad after a few seconds of it)
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby Russ_Byth » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:35 pm

My first on air gig was at 250W CFKC Creston in 1980.

Anyone else start less than 1000W? Not a contest, just curious.
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby jon » Sat Jan 25, 2014 5:56 pm

I can't be sure, but I believe that many of the Edmonton board operators at CJCA-AM in the 1960s, and into the early 1970s, also did some live announcing on CJCA-FM during the evening when it was separately programmed. Power was 414 watts at that time, until becoming CIRK-FM in 1975.

I don't think that they voiced anything on AM.

In my own case, although I worked for a couple of 1000 watt stations, the only time I was actually on-air with no transmitter of at least 1000 watts was in Yellowknife when the power went out. Then we fired up the generator -- pull start Honda generator -- and the 40 watt LPRT transmitter on the roof of the studios, and were back on the air.
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby pave » Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:22 am

My first, actual full-time gig was as a mere child in 1965 at CKOT-Tillsonburg, Ontario - a daytimer that might have been 1000 watts. It was exciting to be on-the-air, but as a daytimer, the summer shifts could go until almost 10:00 PM. That was tough considering I went on the air at 2 PM - six days a week. I was able to get another gig in late May.

The real fun started when I left for CKMP in Midland/Penetang - serving the communities and a good chunk of "cottage country". That was a 250-watter. I did evenings (6-midnight), again, six days a week. But we were playin' the Hits, so a good time was had.
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby Radio Addict » Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:00 pm

pave wrote:My first, actual full-time gig was as a mere child in 1965 at CKOT-Tillsonburg, Ontario - a daytimer that might have been 1000 watts. It was exciting to be on-the-air, but as a daytimer, the summer shifts could go until almost 10:00 PM. That was tough considering I went on the air at 2 PM - six days a week. I was able to get another gig in late May.

The real fun started when I left for CKMP in Midland/Penetang - serving the communities and a good chunk of "cottage country". That was a 250-watter. I did evenings (6-midnight), again, six days a week. But we were playin' the Hits, so a good time was had.


so, does this mean you're actually a born and raised Central Canadian Pave? Having dipped your tiny toe in Calgary for a season, a long time ago!
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby pave » Sun Jan 26, 2014 3:50 pm

When I first got to Calgary (CFCN) in 1976 and after spending the first ten days on remote at the Stampede, I remember saying, "I'm not from here, but I got here as quick as I could! Ya-Hoo!!"

Notwithstanding some job offers from California, a number from T.O. and some sniffing around Vancouver, we stayed until 2009 before heading back to Toronto.
One of the reasons I stayed put was my disgust at how formatic, robo-radio had become so pervasive, so I counted myself as lucky being able to stay in Cowtown and work for outfits where I could still run my mouth - the reason I got into the business in the first place.

My hometown station, C-JOY in Guelph, was where I actually was first cutting my teeth and towelling off the back of my terribly wet ears.
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby PMC » Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:08 pm

jon wrote:Despite being around nearly a year and a half, Lou Dobbs' career beginnings video hasn't been seen by many.

Lou talks about getting his first broadcast job, as a Radio News Reporter on a 500 watt directional station in Yuma, Arizona. Then moving next door to the TV sister station.
6:34 (you can skip the ad after a few seconds of it)


Excellent video from a master of communication, and a great philosophy of life.
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Re: Lou Dobbs on Starting Out at a 500 Watt Radio Station

Postby jon » Sat Feb 08, 2014 8:30 pm

Russ_Byth wrote:My first on air gig was at 250W CFKC Creston in 1980.

Anyone else start less than 1000W? Not a contest, just curious.

As you say, not a contest, but I realized that there were some CBC radio folks who actually worked on-air on 40 watt LPRTs, without being heard on the "master station". Don't know any who did their first gig on a 40 watt LPRT, but one of the more interesting folks who falls in that category is the late Tom Lodge, of British Pirate Radio fame. He began his career doing Mornings Day One when the CBC took over CFYK in Yellowknife in December 1958. But the next May, he moved to Fort Smith to do the Morning Show live on 40 watt CBDI-860. Not as a one shot deal, but a permanent gig.

In the early 1970s, CFPR Prince Rupert ran one hour a day separate from its dozen or so LPRTs, from 5-6pm weeknights, with a show called Line-Up. The LPRTs were also programmed live from Prince Rupert, but with a separate show done in the Production Control Room. Both shows were mostly music, of the announcer's choosing, but there was a heavy emphasis on short reports of community goings-on, both recent past and future. There were even short recorded reports from free-lance reporters in many of the local LPRT communities.

That was AM, but I guess there are some low wattage FM stations now. Only the 12 watt BCIT station comes to mind, but those are unpaid volunteers.
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