Chapter Fourteen

Gathering

All the News

centralized points, at lightening-like speed through the use of satellites. Fifty years ago the gathering of news and its dissem- ination to different radio stations was in its infancy.

CFCY collected the news in a multitude of inventive ways. There was no news-gathering organization whose service we could obtain. On the “Outports Program” Dad, and later Art McDonald would ask lis- teners to alert the station about news-worthy events. “Flo” Fitzgerald who ran the “Home Forum” program would gather news as she went her rounds selling commercial announcements, and Bill Brown, our first reporter, would cover news on the Island and in Nova Scotia. Many items would be clipped from the newspapers and re—written and world news would be prepared from short wave broadcasts. Almost everyone Who worked at the station can recall being involved in gathering news. Wild—eyed staff members or friends would rush in to tell of a fire or an accident happening not far away and ordinary citizens would drop in with a tale of local intrigue and ask to see the Colonel. It might or might not make the news.

I remember once the telephone rang while we were having lunch at home. A caller from the eastern part of the province reported that the famous dirigible R-lOO would be passing north of Charlottetown Shortly. The ship was on its maiden trip to North America. The lunch Was left sitting on the table as we all piled into the car and followed

F I The news on both radio and television comes to us now from

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