Merry Christmas.

Here is opening day on the backyard rink this past week. Yes, that's Jake in a Leafs sweater, and yes, it's a broom and not a stick. I don't get it either.

I saw this on a calendar from an MP in Ottawa. It struck me as funny to find the pizza number with the doctor and emergency.

QUICK....GET ME A PIZZA!!

We have spoken from time to time about the notion of a content factory. The story on the link below came from a jock. Not a newsroom employee. The jock took the picture with a blackberry, wrote the short story and emailed it to news. They put it up.

Imagine if all jocks in all centers did this once a day?

http://urlPass.com/4hpy

Morning!! Here is a great example of what leaving the station with a video camera can do. Hats off to Jamie and the gang at Drum FM.

http://urlPass.com/4hfc

One more in case you missed it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkOYF7Un_iM&feature=email

If you have kids you gotta' try this out. Even if you don't have kids, send one to anyone special to you. They'll get a kick out of it. http://santa.sympatico.ca/home/

Have a great weekend.

A few scattered thoughts on Christmas.....

• Christmas is many things to many people. The one thing most of us agree on is that there is tradition and meaning in the season. Make sure that is reflected in your Christmas music and comments. It's not all shopping and "Run, Run Reindeer". It's also "Silent Night" and stories of love and giving.
• On our portals and in print be sure to use the word "Christmas" and not "X-Mas". It's just who we are.
• Make Christmas shopping a positive thing. Too often we paint it as a chore that no one likes. Not so. Treat it as fun, exciting and exhilarating.
• Get out an experience Christmas events in your community and talk about them on the air. Drop names, get audio on site and make specific comments about what you see and do. It's powerful local stuff.

Ho, Ho, Ho....

The latest Olympic event. BBQ. Some of us may become athletes yet.

Riiiders!!

My friend Trev just send me an article that included some really neat stuff. I liked this idea in particular....

“B105 wants to meet every listener, one neighbourhood and one listener at a time.” For months on end they had neighbourhood block parties where their entire morning show would be on location. They invited people from the neighbourhood to talk about why their place was so special, features, great places to hang out etc. B105 dominated Brisbane for many years based on this one promotion. You can think global but you must be local to win the hearts and minds of your listeners. Street or listener parties work!

I also read this today. It struck me as excellent guerrilla marketing.

November 29 at Credit Union Centre

Southern rock legends ZZ Top understand RIDER PRIDE, as they have toured Western Canada they have witnessed the groundswell the Green & White have generated on their march to the 97th Grey Cup. When the band witnessed the Saskatchewan Roughriders win in the first Western Final hosted at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field in 33 years they decided they wanted to host the ultimate party for Rider fans in Saskatchewan. What better way than to show the 97th Grey Cup live on their 20' W x16' H LED HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO SCREEN!

The game will be shown in its entirety and immediately after the game the trio of Frank Beard, Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons will take to the stage to have the greatest Grey Cup after party in recent history!

Riiiders!!

Got this on Facebook this morning from my old friend Mike Hardy. For any old DJ who use to smoke (hands up everyone) this rings as true.

Led Zeppelin biographer Charles R Cross, claims that 100 radio presenters "literally... swore" that they aired "Stairway" because it was the "perfect length" for a cigarette break."The song became successful by accident," Cross told the New York Post. "[I] had 100 DJs swear to me that they only played the song because ...they needed a long break to go and smoke a cigarette"...well go figure...cute story anyway....lol

"Canadian Railway Trilogy" and the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" gave us the same amount of critical time to grab a dart. Ah. The old days.

Recently published on the site "Inside Radio". This speaks to the size of the prize concept and how you choose to give things away.


The line at a recent KFC free meal giveaway was so large the restaurant chain had to cancel its promotion.



Consultant Fred Jacobs says, "I used to beat up a station for giving away fast food coupons. I said that's not big enough to give away as a prize, but I've totally rethought that. Fast food coupons are not a bad prize at all." Jacobs says anything a station can do to make a person's life a little bit better -- whether it's a free meal or a "Family Fair" -- will be appreciated. Anything not open to the general public such as a station-sponsored movie screening is even more valuable.



Skimpy prizes require more creativity. In the prize closet, bigger is better because as consultant Alex DeMers says, "You're going to catch bigger fish with better bait." Not every station however can give away $1,000 an hour these days so it's more important than ever to focus on how prizes are given away as much as what the gift is. For instance, two tickets can be turned into a "blind date" promotion splitting the prize between two winners -- creating more buzz.



Zapoleon Media Strategies recently completed a study of prize values, and while it cannot make the results public, Guy Zapoleon tells Inside Radio listeners aren't completely desperate. "Obviously a bag of French fries doesn't cut it, but a $10 gift certificate, free MP3s, free gas and those sorts of things do -- it's all about how well a station sells the prize." Zapoleon recommends lower-valued items be given away at station events or remotes rather than on the air. He says, "Anything your gut tells you is too cheap isn't going to do it." DeMers adds, "It's not the prize, it's the context. If that's all you have, the challenge is coming up with a compelling way to give it away."

Spent an hour this morning watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons with Jake. It's interesting that a 7 year old in 2009 would be just as interested in these as I was when I was 7 back in 1968. That's a spread of 40 years!!


It made me wonder why some things are so sticky and timeless. Why do some things seem to last forever, and others come and go. I may be wrong but it might have something to do with these 3 points.....

• Slapstick has always been funny and it always will be.


• There is a certain comfort in seeing all the jokes coming.


• There is a clear line between good and bad. Bugs and Elmer. The coyote and the roadrunner. The lines are easy to see and the good guy is easy to like.

Now time to switch football. I mean cartoons are fun, but, come on.

One of my favorite authors in Mitch Albom. If you haven't read any of his stuff, do yourself a favor and try it out. I guarantee you'll really enjoy it. I picked up his latest book today and here is what it's all about....

Albom’s first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have A Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor – a reformed drug dealer and convict – who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof. Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Mitch observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi, embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Mitch and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers and histories are different, Albom begins to realize a striking unity between the two worlds - and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.

In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor’s wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.

When I'm finished the book I'll let you know what I think of it.

By the way. The cold smoked steak last night was brilliant.

I like to cook. I like almost everything about it. Deciding what to make, selecting the flavors that go together, chopping and simmering, reducing and blending, it's all good. I recently discovered cold smoked meat. Here is the deal...

• "Cold smoking" Smokehouse temperatures for cold smoking should be maintained below 100 °F (38 °C). In this temperature range, foods take on a rich, smokey flavor, develop a deep mahogany color, and tend to retain a relatively moist texture. They are not cooked as a result of the smoking process, however.

I have cold smoked rib steak set for a dinner party tonight. I'm unnaturally excited. Have a good weekend!!

One of our Golden West Radio sales consultants passed this along. The version she sent said clients. I've adapted it to say listeners. Both apply equally.

• We are committed to providing our listeners with quality service.
• There is nothing more important to our business, than our listeners. They ARE our business.
• Listeners are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.
• Listeners do not interrupt our work - they are the purpose of it.
• We are not doing listeners a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by allowing us to do so.

Nothing high tech or flashy in this message. We have heard it dozens of times before, but it may be the single most important thing for broadcasters to wrap their collective heads around. If we get this, we'll make good radio for our listeners and our clients.

I've heard it said that context defines experience. 5 minutes spent doing something you love passes like seconds, but 5 minutes in the dentists chair can seem like an hour.

The football game Saturday night in Regina was very enjoyable for me not just because the Riders won (yes, that's good news) but also because of where we got to watch the game from. Right behind the Rider bench. In row one, mid-field. We got to high 5 players after the win.

Context defines experience. That's why establishing context is very important on the radio. Sound familiar?

By the way, it was pretty chilly Saturday night in Regina. Evidence the gathering around the propane heater.

This is pretty cool!!

Hat's off to Glenn Rogers, Patrick Fisher and the gang down in Weyburn.

They were recently out of town doing a live morning show and made full use of new technology to make it shine. The audio was delivered back to the station via Skype and it sounded great. PCAnywhere was used to run the show off a lap top, allowing Glenn to hit his own spots, hotkeys, music bed, etc.

That's performance. Nice job!!

Next time someone says "the phones light up" think of this.

A really smart guy named Reg Johns (years in media in some big centers) told a story recently about the radio station KISS in Los Angeles. This station is one of the biggest in the country with a cume of about 4,000,000 people.

They have 6 or 8 lines that come into the control room for contests and they were always "ringing off the hook". But they wondered how many people were calling and getting a busy signal. They used some software to find out. The answer? 450. That's all. Out of a cume of 4,000,000 people, less then 500 were calling the station for giveaways.

Most of our stations have 2 or 3 lines coming into control. When your "phones light up" you may be engaging no more then a few people.

I draw three conclusions from this.....

• A large portion of your audience does not care what you are giving away on the radio. They want to be entertained and engaged and that does not come from prizing.
  
• NEVER assume phone activity is an indication of whether a bit is good or not.
  
• ALWAYS look for additional points of contact with the audience. Our local portals, Twitter, Facebook, etc., are becoming more important all the time.

And as Reg said, there is no busy signal on the Internet. Our audience can contact us at any time. When people reach out to us, let's make sure we reach back to them.

Neat little presentation. Go full screen and click through the slides. Good for anyone who presents anything. Like say.....radio. http://urlPass.com/4cvv

Welcome back to work after thanksgiving. In case you feel like being pretentious at work today...

A young businessman had just started his own firm. He rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting there, he saw a man come into the outer office. Wishing to appear the hot shot, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working.

He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments. Finally he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?"

The man said, "Yeah, I've come to activate your phone lines."

This is Boomer the miniature wiener dog sleeping off his Thanksgiving meal. We have only had Boomer for a little over a month but he has taught us a few things....

• It's way easier to get what you want by wagging your tail than by growling.
• With a little effort you can learn new things.
• When you play, play hard. When you sleep, wake up quickly and get at er' again.
• Trust new people because if you're nice they will give you food.
• Don't be afraid to jump off the first step. It's a little intimidating, but you'll make it.
• Always know where the 7 year old kid is and keep one eye on him.
• If you make a mess on the floor someone else will clean it up. They will also make it clear you shouldn't do that again.

I've always enjoyed the wisdom of wiener dogs. They are some of my favorite people. Happy Thanksgiving.

Now go have a turkey sandwich.

Thanksgiving. 15 minutes before my belt exploded.

Had a fun session on the road this week talking to some young announcers about a variety of different radio things. As a springboard, I was using some very cool thoughts that were shared at our recent annual sales meeting.

As our conversation evolved it struck me that much of what we spoke about was not just about being successful in radio. It was about being successful in everything.

• THE POWER OF ONE. Take responsibility for the things you do and say, and understand that you do make a difference. Each one of us is very powerful. Your impact may be good or bad, but understand there will be impact.
• A GAME OF INCHES. Little things matter more then we can possibly imagine. Every big win is a series of hundreds of smaller accomplishments. Small brush strokes paint the big picture.
• ADDERS AND SUBTRACTERS. Each of us is one or the other. We decide every day which side we fall on. We either add value to the people around us, or we take it away. There is no such thing as neutral.

One last thing. Have a great Thanksgiving. I truly hope you cherish the things in your life that matter. Remember, they are gifts that are meant to be appreciated. Take care!!

Interesting comment on the latest news about David Letterman and his on-air confession....

So the darling, media savvy, talk show host is “brilliant” “courageous” “honest” etc…. while anyone else in a similar position is fodder for monologue material and fair game for vicious media attacks for months, ala Mark Sanford and others. I’ve come to believe that most media journalists are utterly biased and couldn't’ sniff out “fair treatment” of a story if they tried. It’s so transparent… if you like the guy with moral failings, well, it’s ok. If you don’t like him, he is to be gored. What a joke.

You have to concede that this guy makes a very valid point. Fair is fair. And too often our personal bias can get in the way.

I've been thinking about content. What if, instead of being disk jockeys and news people, we were all "content providers"? What if our jobs were to create and present audio, video and picture content for every platform we manage? Shows, news casts and online.

What if we managed jocks and news as one department rather than two?

Hummmmmmmm

Check out this link to DiscoverMooseJaw.com. I took the picture with a Blackberry cell phone and sent it to news via email. Took about 90 seconds and gave us a neat visual. EVERYONE at your center with a cell phone can (and should) do this to help out.

Do it this weekend.

http://www.discovermoosejaw.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9664&Itemid=401

Success

The 4 Keys to Success

Stationality

Much of our on-air pop and sizzle will come from how passionate we are about our station. We need to spend plenty of time giving our audience as many reasons as possible to listen. We can best do this by talking in compelling and exciting ways about all the great things that are happening on our station.

• Deliver liners with passion, energy and conviction. Be creative.

• Do at least 3 bits of station related material per hour.

• Do the big stuff every hour. Radio is the science of frequency. The more we mention something (in creative, interesting, ways) the better it will resonate with our audience.

Connection to the music

Our listeners are passionate about the music they love and we need to reflect that passion by showing it ourselves on the air. This means sharing information about the artists, being in touch with what the songs are about, and in general, just sounding like we love the music.

• Do artist info at least 3 times per hour. Make it quick and current. In and out will be best.

• Feel the love in love songs, and feel the energy in upbeat songs.

• Keep the music moving. In sweep positions don’t let the music stop. Edit your content to fit over intros. Keep the station moving forward.

Connection to the community

The thing that makes our stations unique is that they are created especially for the communities they serve. We need to fully exploit that.

• Make yourself aware of local issues, and where appropriate, work that knowledge into your show.

• Name drop shamelessly. People love to hear the name of their town on the radio. They love to hear the names of people they know on the radio. Go nuts with this.

• Be creative with PSA’s. Don’t just read them, know what they are about and make them sound great!!

• Every break needs something local.

Connection with the audience

There are some important things to remember.

• Radio is a one to one medium. We will have thousands of people listening, one at a time. Talk to one person.

• Use the language of “you”, “we”, and “us”. Not “me” and “I”. Think of making everything inclusive.

• In everything you present to the audience think energy and passion. If we show that for your station, the audience will show it too.

• Be totally prepared when you go on the air. Know what you are going to say and how you are going to say it.

A radio station I use to listen to played this song every Friday morning at 8am. I loved it then and I love it now. Have a good long weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZclddLcOYYA

I've had the chance this week to do some aircheck sessions using old audio. I mean OLD audio. It's been fun!!

It strikes me as I listen to our stations that our promos are sometimes old and tired. We have too many details and we use too many words. We don't provide enough feel. So what if....

• We dropped the promo positions in the stopsets.
• We made the maximum length of promos 15 seconds.
• Set a minimum rotation of 3 pieces of copy for each promo.
• Position the promos in between songs as breakers.
• Schedule two "promo breakers" per hour plus two liners per hour.

This will create tighter writing, fewer boring details, and more variety.

What do you think?

The city of Moose Jaw has a new slogan. It's "Surprisingly Unexpected". The local radio stations are part of a campaign to promote and sell the slogan to all Moose Javians and part of that effort is a series of breakers with peoples thoughts on what is "surprisingly unexpected" about Moose Jaw.

The local Co-op bakery took it a step beyond and sent this to the CHAB morning show. Very unexpected. Anyone have a few jars of peanut butter and jam?

I follow the blog of a guy named Mark Ramsey. He had this to say recently, and I wanted to share it with you guys.

Where's your Radio "Experience"?

So I'm in a lovely hotel in Portland OR when I hear through the window a familiar movie score. It's the score to one of the original Universal Frankenstein movies. What had me really mystified was that I was hearing it loud - and through my window.

Who in their right mind would be playing that?

A quick call to the front desk revealed that every Thursday this summer there's a weekly film screening on the roof of the parking structure next door, and tonight's film was - sure enough - Son of Frankenstein

So my wife and I had to check it out. How many folks could possibly be interested in this B movie from the 30's?

Lo and behold, there must have been 150 or more people lined up in folding chairs on this chilly roof - most paying 8 dollars a ticket - for the chance to see under the stars what they can find on Netflix for almost nothing.

If ever there was proof that consumers want experiences, here it was. This movie was hardly the type which could attract a crowd nowadays.

But when you add this family-safe picture to the unique social experience of a group viewing, a live music intro, some culinary tidbits and refreshments - mostly provided by proud sponsors - and the romance of a panoramic view, you have something much more than "content" - you have "content on steroids."

You have an experience.

In my opinion not nearly enough thought, effort, and investment goes into the "experience" of radio. Experiences worth having generally come from the addition of creative inspiration.

If you want to compete with a torrent of creatively inspired distractions, consider whether you're creating "radio" or an authentic, eye-catching and ear-catching consumer "experience."

I had an email question today about using music behind bits to make them flow better. Here's how I answered.

Use only music that fits and adds to the value of the bit. For example if you're doing a bit on weddings use wedding style music. If you're doing a sports bit use sports music.

Using music to add value and pace, without proper context, rarely works. Music that is there just for the sake of having it there won't actually improve the flow.

Want to make the bit better? Make a better bit. Edit it. Rewrite it. Practice it. Add a phone call to it.

Use music where it fits and reinforces context. If it doesn't do those things, don't worry about it.

In some sessions this week I've spend time in conversations about voice acting. Simply put, voice acting is all about bringing words to life and breathing emotion into what we say on the air. The importance of voice acting can't be overstated. It applies to news, music shows, commercials...pretty much everything we do.

Too often in commercials or on the air we "read the words" but we don't communicate any emotion or meaning. Take 10 minutes and watch this video. The last minute about "how" vs. "what" is particularly interesting. Enjoy!!

http://tiny.cc/lATmW

I've been doing a couple of monitors this week and a question has come to me. Why do we give our fax number for psa's (Radio Roundups...Community Calenders..etc) and not our email? Most everyone on the planet will send dozens of email messages every day, but rarely a fax. We communicate via twitter, facebook, email and blogs. Sending messages on chunks of paper that get spit out of machines is a game of diminishing returns.

It is likely time to change our phrasing. I sense the future of the fax is found in this link.

http://tiny.cc/R0aZl

We are all aware of the tragedy in Alberta recently at the Big Valley Jamboree. How do we tell a story like this on our stations and make it local? You'll find a few ideas here from our newspaper friends.

http://tiny.cc/eyOaF

Many radio stations in our group run promos with local sponsor inserts. Typically the station voice reads the body of the spot and the local announcer reads the sponsors. There is a right way and a wrong way to do this.

Wrong.
Image voice: This green tip brought to you by.....
Local announcer: sponsor insert....

Right:
Image voice: This green tip brought to you by these environmentally friendly local businesses...
Local announcer: sponsor insert...

Version two is much smoother and professional. Or think of it this way. Don't let one announcer finish another announcers sentences and thoughts.

Know what I mean?

Take a look at this. Notice how this guy takes the "year in your ear" feature and makes it interesting by delivering good music and lifestyle content. Also note how he quickly moves through calls in his request show.

What helps make the good prep work is that he is "into" what he's doing. He appears to be 100% in the moment. He knows what he's going to say and how he's going to say it.

http://tiny.cc/t0lSD

Someone I love sent this to me this morning. It's worth reading and keeping handy to read again from time to time. Have a great weekend!!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio.

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:



1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.


4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.


5. Pay off your credit cards every month.


6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.


7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.


8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.


9. Save for retirement starting with your first pay check.


10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.


11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.


12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.


13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.


14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.


15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.


16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.


17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.


18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.


19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.


20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.


21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.


22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.


23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.


24. The most important sex organ is the brain.


25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.


26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'


27. Always choose life.


28. Forgive everyone everything.


29. What other people think of you is none of your business.


30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.


31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.


32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.


33. Believe in miracles.


34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.


35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.


36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.


37. Your children get only one childhood.


38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.


39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.


40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.


41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.


42. The best is yet to come.


43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.


44. Yield.


45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

I've been thinking this week about why it's important to go the extra mile. To deliver just a little more than people might expect.

This all started with a hotel stay. I got up in the morning and went down to the exercise room for some quality time on the treadmill. In order to exercise I pretty much NEED a distraction and that's where the good old boob tube comes in. While I'm doing my high stepping and going no where I like to flip between two things. The Food Network and TSN. One makes me hungry and the other makes me want to get in shape. I go from one to the other and the boring half hour flies by.

Imagine my horror when I discovered the TV in the exercise room works, but the remote is misplaced. This of course means no switching between my two favorite distractions.

I figured the front desk could help because at most hotels the remotes are universal and they'll work with pretty much any TV. No such luck. They couldn't find ANY remote that would work with the exercise room TV.

I said "no problem". Really it's not such a hardship. I can watch a half hour of Gordon Ramsay ripping some poor fool, and not have to flip to the baseball highlights when that gets boring. I can do it. I'm adaptable.

So I get walking, and Gordon is just getting ready to tear into somebody, when the door to the exercise room opens and in walks a maintenance guy with a new TV and remote. He hooks it up in 2 minutes, gives me the remote, and for the next 25 glorious minutes I toggle between Hells Kitchen and the latest Roy Halliday trade rumors.

The hotel didn't have to do this. I put no pressure on them. They just went the extra mile and delivered. It's something I'll remember and a story I'll always tell.

Radio listeners will do the same if we give them exceptional local service and deliver beyond their expectations.

News writing should be inclusive and compelling. In order to inform, you must entertain. Look at this story.....

• Two lift stations in Anytown will see improvements this summer. Chief Administrative Officer Joe Blow explains...(insert clip)....Blow adds that other projects lined up for the town this summer include installing utility services along the newly opened Jane Doe street...and installing a new sewer line in the Anderson sub-division to help alleviate flooding during heavy rain.

Chances are a good portion of the audience has no idea what a lift station is. The story should tell them. Other then that there is nothing "wrong" with the story. But it could have been better. The story should also be about the audience and talk to them. It should bring them into the moment. There should be a flash of creativity. Look at this version.

• We all have "to do" lists in the summer (bring me into the story) and Anytown is no different. (short compelling lead line) The work starts this week (bring the story into the now) as two lift stations will see improvements to enhance water quality (tell my why they are spending my tax money). Joe Blow is Anytown Chief Administrative Officer (stop using overused news words like "explains"..."adds"...."comments")....(insert clip here).........other projects keeping town crews busy in summer sun (create a visual image) will be installing utilities along the newly opened Jane Doe street.....and if you live in the Anderson sub-division (land marking and inclusive language) expect improvements in your sewer system to help avoid flooding during heavy rain

Informing is important. So is engaging the audience.

A lesson from my kitchen and why the basics are important in everything.

Last night I'm making salmon with smoked tomato sauce. I did the sauce first and it was awesome. Fresh tomatoes, cilantro, onions, parsley, oregano and olive oil. All hand blended till it was smooth. Like I said....awesome.

Now it's time to make the fish. I get a hot pan and put some canola oil in it. I season the fish. Still awesome.

Here's where I screw up. Instead of following the very basic cooking rule of dropping food away from you in hot oil, I drop it toward myself. Splash. Burn.

Nothing serious. I'll just look kind of...scabby...for a few days. But lesson learned. The basics are there for a reason and need to be followed every time.

Here is a radio station in a small Alberta town doing some excellent work with pictures and video. 100% local. Good on em'.

http://tiny.cc/bYxUz

If you're a fan of MMA you may well have watched UFC 100 this past weekend. It was one of the most anticipated fight cards of all time with the main event pitting heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar against former champ Frank Mir.

The results of the fight and the aftermath are now infamous. Lesnar pounded Mir into a bloody pulp and the referee stopped the fight. What happened next turned Brock Lesnar from potential golden boy into confirmed bonehead boy.

Instead of being classy and saluting his opponent, instead of talking about how lucky he was to be part of the UFC and how hard he trained, Lesnar instead look the low road. He taunted the man he had just beaten, flipped the bird to the crowd, insulted a major sponsor by name, and generally acted like a jerk.

Granted, when he was reprimanded after the fight by UFC boss Dana White, Lesnar made an articulate and proper apology. Granted that he comes from a WWE background where this sort of post fight behaviour would be encouraged. But what if he had just done the right thing to begin with?

We wouldn't be talking about what a jack-ass champion this guy is. We would be talking about how he's a classy guy and a great fighter. He would have used his public comments to build fans rather then to create animosity toward both himself and the UFC. His actions have given more useful fodder to the people who call the UFC no more then a freak-show.

I'm interested to see how he, and the UFC, approach the promotion of his next fight. I have only one piece of advice. If you're giving the microphone to Brock Lesnar, make sure he has a script.

Here in Elbow there is a candy store, run by a couple who moved here from Alberta. She was a school teacher, and he was......we'll I'm not sure what he did but he's a real good person. They both are.

Beside the candy store they also own and operate a small specialty store with fancy nick-nacks, greeting cards, antiques and all that sort of stuff.

These are two of the happiest people we've met here at the lake. They get up every day and get to do exactly what they want to do. I'm sure they aren't making as much money as they were in Alberta. But they GET TO DO WHAT THEY WANT AND LOVE TO DO.

Something to be said for that.

Betty Ann, Jake and I are now into the middle of our second week of holidays. It's funny how it takes this long (and a few rainy days with nothing to do) to feel wound down and relaxed. This is the first 2 week holiday we have taken in a few years and the break has been nice.

One thing I really love is being able to stay in touch with work via email and internet. Maybe it shouldn't be this way, but being in the know with what is happening at our stations actually helps me relax. Never thought I'd be "that guy".

It's also great to able able to check the weather radar anytime you want to see what's incoming. Helps a guy pick when to hit the golf course.

Speaking of golf, Jacob is now 100% capable and excited about playing 9 holes at a time. He's also young enough to pretty much run the entire course so it plays him out good for the evening.

Nothing like holidays.