Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

RCA-BK5A

Date Range From

1955

Date Range To

1970

Materials

STEEL, IRON, FOAM

No. Pieces

1

Height

16.1

Length

17.8

Width

13.8

Description

GREY DESK MICROPHONE MOUNTED ON STAND; MICROPHONE IS CYLINDRICAL WITH TWO ADJUSTABLE DIALS ON SIDES FOR ATTACHING TO STAND. MICROPHONE HAS GREY METAL WINDSCREEN WITH METAL GUARDS; MICROPHONE HAS BLACK CORD EXTENDING FROM BACK WITH SILVER CONNECTOR AND ENGRAVED TEXT ON CONNECTOR, “SWITCHCRAFT, U.S. PAT. 3219961, CAN. PAT. 761114, A3M”. MICROPHONE HAS EMBOSSED TEXT ON BACK, “M V1 V2” WITH LINES POINTING TO SCREW IN CENTER; UNDERSIDE OF MICROPHONE HAS EMBOSSED TEXT, “TYPE BK-5A, M1-11010” AND ENGRAVED TEXT “1365”. MICROPHONE IS ATTACHED BY TWO ADJUSTABLE DIALS TO TWO METAL PRONGS ON THE STAND; STAND HAS BRASS ADJUSTABLE DIALS; STAND IS FIXED TO IRON BASE BY BRASS BOLT. BASE IS “V” SHAPED WITH STAND ATTACHED AT MERGE OF PRONGS; BASE HAS GREY FOAM LINING UNDERSIDE. CORD IS FRAYED AT CONNECTION TO MICROPHONE; DIALS ON MICROPHONE AND STAND ARE TARNISHED; BASE OF STAND IS SCUFFED AND CHIPPED; FOAM IS DISINTEGRATING; MICROPHONE CASING IS SCRATCHED AND CHIPPED, WITH WHITE AND BLUE-GREY RESIDUE ON TOP; OVERALL VERY GOOD CONDITION.

Subjects

SOUND COMMUNICATION T&E

TELECOMMUNICATION T&E

Historical Association

INDUSTRY

History

ON AUGUST 21, 2019, COLLECTION TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED WAYNE DWORNIK REGARDING HIS DONATION OF GLOBAL NEWS STATION ITEMS. DWORNIK WORKED FOR LETHBRIDGE TELEVISION BROADCAST NEWS FROM 1976-1996. HE RETURNED TO THE STATION IN 2008 AS AN ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE, RETIRING IN DECEMBER 2014. ON THE DESK MICROPHONE, DWORNIK RECALLED, “I ORIGINALLY THOUGHT THAT THIS MIC, (AND IT’S A WONDERFUL MICROPHONE FOR ITS TIME)…WAS USED WHEN RADIO WAS DOING THE NEWS AND THE NEWSROOM, BUT RON JOEVENNAZO, ENGINEER, TOLD ME THAT ‘NO, THIS WAS USED BY THE LIVE ANNOUNCER,’ AND HE COULD NOT RECALL ANY OF THE NAMES OF ANNOUNCERS AT THAT TIME…THIS GOES BACK A LONG WAY, BACK TO ’55…IT WAS NO LONGER IN USE WHEN I WAS THERE [BUT IT WAS STILL IN THE BUILDING].” “I KNOW [THE STATION] DID HAVE A DESK MIC IN THE NEWS BOOTH, AND ON THE NEWS SET, FOR A WHILE, THEY HAD A DESK MIC…RON JOEVENNAZO WAS THERE ALMOST FROM THE OUTSET OF THE OPERATION…HE WAS THERE BEFORE I WENT. ANOTHER ONE IS BOB JOHNSON. HE WAS THE STATION PRESIDENT, AND GENERAL MANAGER, AND BOTH OF THEM ARE STILL IN TOWN.” DWORNIK RECALLED HIS TIME WORKING IN LETHBRIDGE FOR BROADCAST NEWS, NOTING, “I WORKED FOR LETHBRIDGE TELEVISION FOR [25] YEARS…I JOINED THE STATION AS A PHOTOGRAPHER IN 1976. I HELD THAT POSITION FOR SEVEN YEARS AS CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER, AND THEN I MOVED INTO MANAGEMENT, AND BECAME PRODUCTION MANAGER FOR TEN YEARS I GUESS, AND THEN I GOT INTO SALES AND MARKETING AND RESEARCH. I LEFT THE STATION IN 1996, AND I WAS ONE THE FIRST, IF NOT THE FIRST OF THE DOWNSIZING IN THAT ERA. AT THE TIME WHEN I LEFT IN ’96 THERE WERE AT LEAST SEVENTY-SIX PEOPLE ON STAFF. [TODAY] I BELIEVE THERE IS MAYBE A DOZEN…I RETURNED TO THE STATION IN THE CAPACITY OF…ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE IN 2008 AND I RETIRED AT…THE END OF DECEMBER 2014…WHEN I CAME TO LETHBRIDGE, I THOUGHT I WOULD ONLY STAY A COUPLE OF YEARS AND MOVE ONTO A BIGGER STATION, YOU KNOW BIG CITY, BRIGHT LIGHTS…BUT I LOVED THE CITY AND THERE WAS SO MUCH TO OFFER HERE. I HAD SO MUCH FUN, THERE WERE SO MANY REMARKABLE, INCREDIBLY REMARKABLE EXPERIENCES I HAD AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND PRODUCTION MANAGER, ESPECIALLY. SOME OF THESE ITEMS HERE GO BACK TO BEFORE MY TIME, BUT AGAIN LETHBRIDGE—LITTLE DIMPLE ON THE PRAIRIE HERE THAT WE ARE, WE ACTUALLY MADE A PRETTY GOOD NAME FOR THE CITY AND FOR THE STATION IN WHAT WE WERE PRODUCING IN NEWS, AND PARTICULARLY IN LOCAL PROGRAMMING. THAT WAS KIND OF ONE OF MY PASSIONS, WAS THE LOCAL PROGRAMMING, DOCUMENTARIES AND THEN OF COURSE, NEWS AS WELL.” “[THERE] WAS A FRIENDLY RIVALRY BETWEEN ALL THE MEDIA ACTUALLY, AND CTV WOULD PRODUCE THE ODD DOCUMENTARY, WHEREAS WE DID A LOT MORE…AT THE MOST THEY HAD I THINK MAYBE TWENTY PEOPLE ON STAFF, SO THEY WERE LIMITED. THEY WERE ACTUALLY A SATELLITE, OR A RE-BROADCASTER, THEY DIDN’T HAVE THEIR OWN LICENSE SO THEY WERE HANDLED DIFFERENTLY BY THEIR OWNERS THAN OUR STATION WAS. THEN AGAIN MANAGEMENT HERE WAS QUITE FORWARD THINKING IN MOST THINGS. I REMEMBER OUR PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER, BOB JOHNSON, DECADES AGO TOUTING THE FACT THAT THE ONLY THING THAT WILL MAKE US SUSTAINABLE AND RELEVANT IS LOCAL NEWS. HE KNEW, BACK THEN, THROUGH BROADCASTER ASSOCIATIONS ALL THE THINGS THAT WERE COMING AHEAD OF US…WE COULD GET NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD…WE CARRIED A LOT OF AMERICAN PROGRAMS…THE ONLY THING THAT IS GOING TO MAKE US DISTINCT IS WHAT WE CAN DO WITH OUR LOCAL NEWS AND AS AN EXTENSION OF THAT, OUR LOCAL PROGRAMMING, OUR DOCUMENTARIES. IT WAS QUITE GOOD FOR THE STAFF AND THE MORALE WAS TERRIFIC…WE HAD A SLOW PITCH BASEBALL TEAM, WE’D PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY THINGS, WITH THE PARADES, WHOOP-UP DAYS AND THE STAFF PARTIES WERE TERRIFIC.” “I WAS A PHOTOGRAPHER, AND I WAS OUT ON LOCATION INTERVIEWING ALL THESE INTERESTING PEOPLE, EDITING THESE PROGRAMS, NEWS STORIES, COMMERCIALS. I WAS IN MY ELEMENT…[I WORKED WITH] THE VISUAL CONTENT…BACK IN THE DAY, THERE WAS A NEWS REPORTER THAT WAS HIS JOB WAS TO BE ON CAMERA, TO RESEARCH THE STORY, SET UP THE CONTEXT, DO THE INTERVIEWS, WE WOULD RECORD THE VISUALS, RECORD THE INTERVIEWS, AND NOW AS YOU REFER TO IT, IT IS ALL DONE BY ONE…THEY CALL HIM A, AT DIFFERENT TIMES, EITHER A VIDEO JOURNALIST OR A VIDEOGRAPHER. MY TRAINING ACTUALLY WAS IN STILL PHOTOGRAPHY BACK IN WINNIPEG, BUT MY FIRST JOB WAS IN TELEVISION, SO I LEARNED ON THE JOB. SHOOTING BLACK AND WHITE FILM, COLOUR—AGAIN, SIXTEEN MILLIMETER FILM FOR COMMERCIALS. WE WERE STILL DOING A LOT OF SLIDE COMMERCIALS AT THAT TIME, AND WE PROCESSED OUR OWN SLIDE FILM IN THE BASEMENT AT THE STATION THERE, WITHOUT USING RUBBER GLOVES.” “AT THAT TIME WE HAD FIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS, WE ONLY HAD TWO VEHICLES TO GO OUT IN BUT, SO THE REPORTERS WOULD SOMETIMES USE THEIR OWN VEHICLES. I KNOW FOR THE FIRST YEAR OR TWO I USED MY OWN VEHICLE TO CARRY THE GEAR BECAUSE AT THAT TIME WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY STATION VEHICLES. OUR FIRST ONES WERE TWO…HONDA CIVIC STATION WAGONS, THEN WE GOT TWO NISSAN STATION WAGONS AND THEN WE WENT TO A FORD BRONCO I THINK IT WAS.” “I WOULD GO WHERE THERE WAS A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR WORK AND—ACTUALLY, ON OUR HONEY MOON, WE PACKED UP FROM SWIFT CURRENT…(I HAD THREE WEEKS HOLIDAY), AND WE MADE OUR WAY OUT TO THE WEST COAST, STOPPING AT EVERY TELEVISION STATION, ALONG THE WAY, HAVING A TOUR, AND LEAVING A RESUME. SO WE STOPPED AT MEDICINE HAT, LETHBRIDGE (WHICH I WAS REALLY IMPRESSED WITH), AND WE WENT THROUGH KELOWNA, (WHICH I WAS AGAIN VERY IMPRESSED WITH), AND SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EITHER LETHBRIDGE, OR KELOWNA, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVE TO, AND THEN FROM THERE MAYBE CALGARY, VANCOUVER. AS I SAID, LETHBRIDGE WON OUT, THEY HAD A JOB OPENING…BECAUSE OF A STRIKE…AT THAT TIME…NABET…NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BROADCAST ENGINEERS AND TECHNOLOGISTS…THEY WERE WANTING TO FORM A LOCAL, AND GET UNION REPRESENTATION AND NEGOTIATIONS CAME TO A STAND-STILL, AND THEY WENT ON STRIKE I THINK, IN APRIL, OR MAY OF ’75 , ’76. SO I HAD JUST FAIRLY RECENTLY PUT MY RESUME IN THERE, AND THEY CALLED ME UP AND [IT WAS] A TOUGH SITUATION, AND I HELD OFF, AND I SAID, ‘WELL I’VE GOT TO WORK WITH THESE PEOPLE, IF I COME IN AS A STRIKE BREAKER, A SCAB—‘ AND SO I WASN’T TOO ANXIOUS TO DO THAT, BUT, AFTER A FEW MORE PHONE CALLS OVER I GUESS IT WAS A COUPLE OR THREE MONTH’S PERIOD, I SAID ‘WELL, YEAH, LET’S DO IT,’ AND I MOVED BACK.” DWORNIK SHARED THE HISTORY OF THE GLOBAL NEWS STATION IN LETHBRIDGE, RECALLING, “[BEFORE THE STATION WAS 2&7, IT WAS] CFAC. IT HAS GONE THROUGH A LOT OF CHANGES, IT STARTED OFF AS CJLH WHICH IS A COMBINATION OF CJOC RADIO AND THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD THAT CO-OWNED THE STATION WHICH OPENED IN [NOVEMBER] 1955…THEN THE HERALD GOT OUT OF IT AND WE WERE BOUGHT BY SELKIRK COMMUNICATIONS AND WE BECAME CJOC TELEVISION…THE STATION OPENED IN ’55, I THINK IT BECAME CJOC AROUND 1960, BUT DON’T QUOTE ME ON THAT. THEN WHEN I CAME IN [FALL] ’76…UP UNTIL THEN WE WERE A CBC AFFILIATE, AND THEN IN ’76 WE BECAME AN INDEPENDENT STATION AND CHANGED OUR CALL LETTERS, AGAIN, TO CFAC TELEVISION. OUR LOGO WAS MODELED AFTER THE RONDELL OF CHC HAMILTON TELEVISION, WHICH WAS AN INDEPENDENT STATION OWNED BY SELKIRK. WE ARE THE SISTER STATION BUT WITH OUR OWN INDEPENDENT LICENSE, WE BECAME PART OF THE INDEPENDENT NETWORK…ABOUT THE TIME OF THE OLYMPICS…WE CHANGED TO TWO AND SEVEN…IT WAS AROUND 1992 MAYBE THAT WE CHANGED OUR CALL LETTERS ONCE AGAIN TO CISA, INDICATIVE OF, ALL STATIONS STARTED WITH ‘C’ RADIO OR TELEVISION IN CANADA, AND THE ‘ISA’ WAS FOR INDEPENDENT SOUTHERN ALBERTA…WITH MY BACKGROUND IN ART AND DESIGN WORKING WITH THAT, WE DID SOME STILL-FRAME ANIMATION. WE DID SOME FUN STUFF WITH THE LOGOS…WHILE I WAS STILL [WITH CISA] WE WENT THROUGH…ANOTHER TWO CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP. SELKIRK SOLD US TO, APPARENTLY TO MACLEAN’S MAGAZINE, AND THAT LASTED FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OR TWO AND THEN I THINK WITH WICK…WESTERN BOUGHT US, THEY BASICALLY BOUGHT ALL OF SELKIRK COMMUNICATIONS AND ADDED US TO THEIR FLOCK OF ITV EDMONTON, BRITISH COLUMBIA TV IN VANCOUVER, AND CHECK TV IN VICTORIA AND I THINK THEY ALSO HAD OKANAGAN TV AS WELL.” “[LETHBRIDGE IS AN ANOMALY] FOR SURE BECAUSE WHEN I CAME HERE WE WERE AROUND FORTY THOUSAND [IN POPULATION], AND THERE WERE TWO OPERATING TELEVISION STATIONS. AS FAR AS I KNOW, WE ARE THE ONLY CITY OF THIS SIZE THAT HAD TWO TELEVISION STATIONS. IN MANY OTHER CITIES THEY WOULD HAVE WHAT THEY CALL A ‘TWINSTICK.’ SO WE WERE CBC, CFCN WAS A CTV AFFILIATE. IN MEDICINE HAT, CBC AND CTV WERE OPERATED OUT OF THE SAME BUILDING BY THE SAME STAFF. THEY WOULD LIKELY HAVE A DIFFERENT ANCHOR OR NEWS DEPARTMENT, BUT THE OTHER COMPONENTS OF OPERATIONS WERE ALL CONTAINED IN THE SAME [BUILDING]—AND THAT’S THE SAME IN, ALL ACROSS WESTERN CANADA…IN A CITY OF OUR POPULATION TO HAVE TWO STATIONS WAS QUITE REMARKABLE, AND VERY COMPETITIVE, AND ALONG WITH THAT, THE RADIO SIDE OF IT…RIGHT NOW WE’VE GOT REALLY SIX RADIO STATIONS, BACK THEN, THERE WERE NEARLY FOUR. AGAIN, QUITE UNUSUAL IN THE FACT THAT YOU’VE GOT TWO AM AND THEN TWO FM. ONE FM STATION ACTUALLY STARTED OFF PLAYING CLASSICAL MUSIC. WHAT THAT LENDS TO THE CITY IS A LOT MORE VARIETY IN PROGRAMMING THAN THEY WOULD OTHERWISE GET. WE HAVE GOT THE BROADCAST PROGRAMMING AT THE LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE HERE, AND THAT FED INTO OUR NEEDS QUITE WELL, IN RADIO AND IN TELEVISION. WE BROUGHT A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT ACTUALLY FROM DOWN EAST BECAUSE THEY HAD SOME REALLY GOOD PROGRAMS FROM FANSHAWE COLLEGE, OTTAWA AND WE WOULD BRING AS WELL, PEOPLE FROM SAIT AND NAIT, AS WELL AS MOUNT ROYAL COLLEGE. THOSE PEOPLE COME STRAIGHT OUT OF COLLEGE, GETTING AN OPPORTUNITY IN A MID-SIZED MARKET…THEY HAD THEIR HANDS INVOLVED IN PROGRAMS, NEWS, COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION AND THEN BEING PART OF THE COMMUNITY.” “I BELIEVE THAT WE WERE STILL A PRETTY GOOD REVENUE-GENERATOR FOR [WICK TO BE SUPPORTIVE OF]. BECAUSE EVEN WITH THAT SIZE OF STAFF, WE WEREN’T PAID AS MUCH AS THEY WERE IN CALGARY, WHICH IS LIKELY WHY EVERYBODY WANTED THE UNION…THEY WEREN’T LOSING MONEY THERE. WE WEREN’T MAKING A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY, BUT…CRTC I THINK CAME INTO PLAY IN THAT, A LOT, TOO, BECAUSE CRTC WAS TO GOVERN THE RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR BROADCASTING. IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT, I THINK, IN ANY PURCHASE OF A STATION, FOR THEM TO GO, AND SHUT THAT STATION DOWN, AT THAT TIME. BUT, WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT RADIO STATIONS HAVE SHUT DOWN, (LIKE RED DEER LOST THEIR STATION; IT WAS A TWINSTICK), AND I LOST TOUCH WITH THE INDUSTRY WHEN THAT SORT OF THING WAS HAPPENING.” “THE GLOBAL PERIOD, WHEN IT WAS OWNED BY CANWEST…ANOTHER REMARKABLE COMPANY (FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESS), AND THEY WERE BUYING UP TELEVISION STATIONS ACROSS CANADA, AND THEN THEY EXPANDED. THEY BOUGHT SOME NEWSPAPERS; THEY BOUGHT A TELEVISION STATION IN ENGLAND, AND I THINK THEIR DOWNFALL ACTUALLY WAS OVER-EXTENDING THEMSELVES, AND GETTING INTO THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET. I JOINED THE STATION IN 2008, WHEN THEY WERE STARTING TO SLIDE. OF COURSE, THE WHOLE ECONOMY WAS STARTING TO SLIDE, AND I CAME ON AS A FRESH, NEW SALESPERSON TO SELL ADVERTISING.” “THAT’S WHEN ALL THE DOWNSIZING OCCURRED [AROUND 2008], JUST IN THAT TRANSITION…WICK STARTED THE DOWNSIZING, AND THEN CANWEST CARRIED ON WITH IT. IT WAS JUST WELL, THE ONSLAUGHT OF GLOBALIZATION, AND THE BIG GET BIGGER, AND SMALL EITHER GET BOUGHT UP, OR SHUT DOWN…WHEN I STARTED AT THE STATION IN 2008, BACK IN SALES, THAT WAS WHEN THINGS REALLY CHANGED, BECAUSE WE STILL HAD A DIRECTOR, AND ONE VIDEOTAPE OPERATOR, AND THEY HAD ROBOT CAMERAS SET UP, BUT WE WERE STILL SWITCHING OUR OWN NEWS, AND ORIGINATING NEWS OUT OF OUR PRODUCTION CONTROL ROOM. THEN, TOWARDS THE END OF 2008, IS WHEN THOSE TWO PEOPLE WERE LET GO, AND WE STARTED WITH CALGARY TELEVISION DIRECTING THE NEWS. AS IT TURNED OUT, THERE WAS NO WAY THAT WE COULD PUT SOMETHING ON THE AIR, BECAUSE THEY DISCONNECTED THE SWITCHING EQUIPMENT…IF THERE WAS LIKE A WEATHER EMERGENCY, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE COULD NOT PUT A CRAWL ACROSS THE SCREEN. IT WAS QUITE UNNERVING, ACTUALLY, THAT WE WERE LOSING THAT KIND OF LOCAL CAPABILITY.” “[I THINK] IT WAS IN 2013…WHERE EVERYONE BUT ME WAS LET GO, AND THEY COULD RE-APPLY FOR THEIR JOB. BASICALLY, IT WAS A WAY OF GETTING AROUND THE UNION. EVERYONE WAS CANNED; THEY GOT A SEVERANCE PACKAGE. IT WAS A PRETTY UNNERVING TIME, AND MORALE REALLY, REALLY HIT A LOW THERE. THEY ASSIGNED AN EDITOR FROM TORONTO, AND ANOTHER FELLOW WHO HAD BEEN BROADCASTING NEWS, THEY WENT…AND THEY WERE GOING TO RE-IMAGINE THE NEWS, AND THEY HAD BIG PLANS TO MAKE THE STATION WHOLLY-NEW, AND A WHOLE NEW WAY OF DOING THINGS, WITH A MINIMUM NUMBER OF PEOPLE…RESPONSIBILITIES WERE CHANGED; MORE LOAD WAS TAKEN ON, BUT, AS WELL, LESS THINGS WERE GOING TO BE DONE. WE DIDN’T HAVE THE ENGINEER, AND SO THEY HIRED A FELLOW TO BE A VIDEOGRAPHER. HE WOULD SHOOT SOME OF THE NEWS STORIES, BUT HE WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR TWEAKING UP THE CAMERAS, AND IF THERE WAS A PROBLEM, SENDING IT UP TO CALGARY…I THINK WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY MEASURED OUT THE NUMBER OF HOURS, THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WHAT THEY WANTED TO COVER, WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO, AND THEY WENT WITH THAT NUMBER—TWELVE OR FOURTEEN PEOPLE, AND SO, CHANGING THE ROLES, WHOLE NEW JOB DESCRIPTIONS. BUT, AS I SAID TO [MANAGEMENT], ‘YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU OVERLOOKED THE FACT THAT ALL THE PEOPLE HERE, ON THE UNION CONTRACT, GET AT LEAST THREE WEEKS’ VACATION. MEANS YOU’VE GOT TWELVE PEOPLE—THAT’S THIRTY-SIX WEEKS—THAT YOU’VE GOT SOMEBODY AWAY. SO, YOU’RE RUNNING SHORT-STAFFED OVER HALF A YEAR.’ THAT’S PRETTY TOUGH ON PEOPLE, BECAUSE THIS GENERATION THAT’S IN THERE NOW, I DON’T THINK THEY HAVE THE SAME KIND OF ATTITUDE, OR WORK ETHIC. WE WOULD WORK. WELL, MY WIFE COULD ATTEST TO THE HOURS THAT I WOULD PUT IN AT THE STATION. AND, I DIDN’T GET PAID OVERTIME. I GOT A…FEE. THIS STUFF, BETWEEN THE CHANGE OF ATTITUDE, AND THE NEWS CYCLE, AND CUTTING BACK HOW THEY COULD, IT WAS REALLY TOUGH ON PEOPLE. BUT, I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO BE LET GO IN 1996, AND I WAS THE MARKETING RESEARCH AND SALES (WE WERE DOING VIDEO PRODUCTIONS), AND THE FELLOW WHO WAS THE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR, JIM MCNALLY, I BROUGHT ON. HE WAS AN EXCELLENT PHOTOGRAPHER OUT OF OTTAWA, AND HE HAD, I THINK, ONE OF THE TOUGHEST TIMES BACK IN ’96 (ACTUALLY, MORE SO IN ’98). THEY MADE HIM GENERAL MANAGER OF THE STATION. HIS ENTIRE RESPONSIBILITY OVER, I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY WEEKS AND MONTHS WAS TO CUT THE STAFF DOWN TO, I DON’T KNOW, SIXTEEN PEOPLE. AND, WHEN THAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED, HE WAS LET GO.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT THE “GOLDEN AGE” OF LETHBRIDGE BROADCAST OR TELEVISION NEWS, DWORNIK SHARED, “TELEVISION HAS ALWAYS BEEN FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE, A VERY EXCITING INDUSTRY BECAUSE THERE’S ALWAYS DEVELOPMENTS, TECHNOLOGY. WHEN YOU THINK THAT BACK IN THE DAY IT WAS IN BLACK AND WHITE, BUT THEY DID LIVE COMMERCIALS AND THAT’S QUITE REMARKABLE TOO, HOW THEY WERE DOING THOSE THINGS. THEY DID A LOT OF PRANKS AND FUN STUFF ON AIR…THE TECHNOLOGY KEPT DEVELOPING. IT LOOKED AS GOOD AS IT COULD GET BACK IN THE DAY, BUT NOW THAT WE ARE UP TO 4K VIDEO…IN MY DAY WE HAD BEEN COLOUR FOR QUITE SOME TIME, BUT WHEN I CAME IN IN ‘76 IT WAS KIND OF THE LAUNCH OF ENG, ELECTRONIC NEWS GATHERING OR EFP, FIELD PRODUCTION. THE EQUIPMENT WAS THREE QUARTER INCH AT THAT TIME, THE CAMERAS WERE BIG AND HEAVY, AND THE TAPE DECK, IT WAS A TWO PIECE UNIT, IT NEEDED A LOT OF LIGHT SO WE CARRIED AROUND ABOUT A THIRTY POUND BOX FULL OF LIGHTING GEAR. TRUCKING THAT FROM ONE END OF THE UNIVERSITY HALL DOWN TO THE OTHER END WHERE THE PRESIDENT WAS.” “FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I THINK I WAS IN THE “GOLDEN AGE” OF TELEVISION IN LETHBRIDGE HERE, BECAUSE WE DID A LOT OF LOCAL PROGRAMS. WE ACTUALLY HAD A SYNDICATED SPORTS PROGRAM CALLED SKI WEST, AND THAT RAN ON HALF A DOZEN MARKETS—INDEPENDENT MARKETS—TELEVISION STATIONS WITH SELKIRK, AND, ACTUALLY THAT WAS WITH WICK AS WELL TOO. WE DID A LOT OF COMMERCIALS, PROGRAM PRODUCTION AND…I THINK IT WAS AROUND ’88 OR ’90, WE WERE ALREADY TALKING AND WE SAW ADVANTAGES IN WHAT WAS CALLED THEN HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION WHICH WAS TEN EIGHTY, BUT IT WAS A LONG WAY BEFORE IT CAME. WE DIDN’T ACTUALLY CONVERT TO DIGITAL TELEVISION IN CANADA UNTIL I THINK IT WAS 2009-2010, AND AS ONE OF OUR ENGINEERS MENTIONED, THAT WAS MOST REMARKABLE TECHNOLOGY-WISE. BECAUSE, WHEN WE STARTED IN BLACK AND WHITE, IT WAS A FOUR BY THREE FORMAT AND THEN THEY ADDED COLOUR, IMAGINATIVE COLOUR IN THE ‘60S. THAT WAS PRETTY SMOOTH BECAUSE YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE BROADCASTING THIS ONE SIGNAL OUT IN COLOUR, BUT IF YOU ONLY HAD A BLACK AND WHITE TV, YOU COULD STILL WATCH IT IN BLACK AND WHITE, AND IF YOU HAD COLOUR ALL THE BETTER. THAT WAS IN THE ERA WHEN CABLE WAS ON ITS UP RISE AND SO IT WENT THROUGH A PRETTY SMOOTH TRANSITION, BUT WHEN WE WENT DIGITAL IT WAS HARD LINE IN THE SAND. YOUR OLD TV SET WOULD NOT BE GETTING NOTHING ON IT. THERE WOULD BE NO SIGNAL COMING IN AT ALL, AND WE HAD TO SWITCH OVER TO EITHER CABLE, WHICH WOULD CONVERT THE DIGITAL SIGNAL INTO THE NTSC SIGNAL FOR YOU, OR ELSE YOU HAD TO GET A BRAND NEW TV THAT’S DIGITAL. IT REALLY DID SPUR THE INDUSTRY, AND IT WAS A HUGE FINANCIAL INVESTMENT. CBC WITH ALL THEIR BROADCAST SATELLITES TO COVER ALL OF CANADA, WAS GIVEN AN EXTRA YEAR TO SWITCH OVER TO DIGITAL. IN THE END THEY SAID, ‘NO WE CAN’T DO IT,’ SO THEY HAD TO ACTUALLY SHUT DOWN THEIR TELEVISION TOWER IN LETHBRIDGE [IN JUNE 2012].” “IN A MARKET LIKE OURS WHERE WE HAVE GOT CABLE THAT WAS OKAY, BUT IN THE RURAL AREAS…SOME [PEOPLE] WERE ALREADY ON SATELLITE, BUT THEN AGAIN, WHEN I WAS IN THE INDUSTRY, THE SATELLITE DISHES WERE HUGE AND WE WERE STILL USING A HUGE ONE…IT WAS MORE THAN 12 FEET, IT WAS HUGE, 20 SOME FEET ACROSS. AGAIN, BACK IN THE ‘80S I REMEMBER OUR PRESIDENT COMING BACK AND TELLING US THAT, ‘YOU KNOW, THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT SATELLITES GOING UP THERE AND THEY’RE GOING TO BE SO POWERFUL YOU COULD USE A SATELLITE DISH NO BIGGER THAN A PIZZA BOX.’…THAT’S WHAT WE’VE GOT NOW REALLY…I THINK IT’S A LOT OF ‘GOLDEN ERAS’ AS YOU WOULD SAY REALLY, BECAUSE NOW WITH DIGITAL IT’S JUST PHENOMENAL, AND IT WENT FROM 1080 UP TO 4K. 8K IS OUT THERE TODAY, BUT I THINK IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BECAUSE IT IS A LOT OF BAND WIDTH FOR PEOPLE…” ON HIS MOTIVATIONS FOR DONATING THE ITEMS TO THE GALT MUSEUM, DWORNIK SHARED, “MY WIFE WHO IS WITH US, SANDRA, SUGGESTED THAT I MIGHT CLEAN UP OUR GARAGE AND OTHER PLACES IN THE HOUSE, BECAUSE I COLLECT A LOT OF STUFF. THE OTHER REASON [I’M DONATING THE ITEMS TO THE GALT MUSEUM] ACTUALLY IS IT MIGHT BE TIME—FROM A HISTORICAL VIEW POINT THAT WHAT IS NOW GLOBAL TELEVISION IS MOVING LOCATION. WHERE THEY HAVE BEEN IN THEIR ORIGINAL SITE…[IN] WHAT IS NOW THE INDUSTRIAL PARK, THEY ARE MOVING OUT OF THERE MID-SEPTEMBER OR SO TO A LOCATION DOWNTOWN AND THEY ARE MOVING INTO WHAT IS NOW THE NEW ROYAL BANK, WHICH USED TO BE THE MARQUIS HOTEL. THEY ARE JUST BUILDING THE STUDIO THERE NOW AND THEY WILL BE JOINING THE RADIO FROM THE PATERSON GROUP IN THAT SAME BUILDING, BUT THEY ARE TOTALLY SEPARATED. ANYWAY, I THOUGHT IT PERHAPS TIMELY AND SOME CONNECTIONS THERE.” “WHEN I RETIRED IT WAS KIND OF A HOLLOW BUILDING AND THERE WAS A LOT OF VIDEO TAPE AROUND, WHICH I CONVINCED THE CURRENT OWNERS OF THE STATION, SHAW MEDIA AT THE TIME…BETWEEN MYSELF AND AN ENGINEER, LARRY LAWDINEY, WE DID CONVINCE THEM THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF HISTORY IN THOSE VIDEO TAPES, WHICH THEY WERE PREPARED TO THROW OUT IN THE DUMPSTER, AND END UP IN OUR LANDFILL. SO, WORKING WITH ANDREW [AT THE GALT ARCHIVES], AND HE HAS GOT—I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY TRUCKLOADS OF THE TAPES NOW.” “SOME OF THESE ARTIFACTS, WHICH I HAVE DISCUSSED WITH YOU BEFORE, I FELT WERE SIGNIFICANT…REPRESENTATIVE OF SOME OF THE HISTORY OF THE STATION. THE STATION PRODUCED SOME VERY REMARKABLE INDIVIDUALS THAT HAVE GONE ON TO WIDE ACCLAIM ACTUALLY, RIGHT THROUGH THE HISTORY OF THE STATION. INCLUDING PEOPLE LIKE DON SLADE…HE WAS A DISC JOCKEY WHEN I WAS LIVING IN WINNIPEG GROWING UP, AND THEN HE ENDED UP BEING IN EITHER CALGARY OR EDMONTON. THE FAMOUS WEATHER MAN…BILL MATHESON, OF COURSE FROM LETHBRIDGE, WENT TO NEW YORK, AND ENDED UP IN EDMONTON. I HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED IN MY DEPARTMENT THAT HAVE GONE ON TO SOME SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS WELL. ONE IN PARTICULAR, DOUG GOAT, WAS A VIDEO JOURNALIST FOR NBC AND HE WENT OVER TO THESE WAR TORN COUNTRIES—HE WAS A LETHBRIDGE BOY, HIS DAD ACTUALLY MADE SOME EQUIPMENT FOR US FOR OUR TRIPODS…RICK LUCHUCK, WHO WAS IN OUR PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT LEFT, WENT TO REGINA, AND THEN I THINK TORONTO…HE CAME BACK JUST THIS PAST YEAR FOR A REUNION AT LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE, FROM WHERE HE GRADUATED IN BROADCASTING. HE IS VICE PRESIDENT OF PROMOTIONS FOR CNN…WE HAVE HAD PEOPLE GO TO SPORTS NETWORK…A LOT OF PEOPLE WENT THROUGH THE STATION, IT WAS A REVOLVING DOOR, BUT I WAS OKAY WITH THAT BECAUSE WE HELPED BUILD THEIR CAPABILITIES, AND THEY WERE VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES AND THE TRAINING THAT WE DID PROVIDE…THE STUFF WE DID WE HAD…A VERY SMALL MOBILE PRODUCTION FACILITY, BUT IT WAS INVOLVED WITH THE OLYMPICS IN ’88, THE TORCH RUN. WE PICKED UP THE TORCH RUN WHEN IT ENTERED ALBERTA IN THE CROWSNEST PASS, BROADCAST THAT LIVE THROUGHOUT ALBERTA. I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET PRINCE CHARLES AND PRINCE ANDREW AND FERGIE…THEY WERE DOWN FOR…THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF HEAD SMASHED IN BUFFALO JUMP.” “THE STATION WON A [NATIONAL] AWARD…[THE] FOUNDERS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR A DOCUMENTARY WE PRODUCED [CALLED ‘WE WON’T LET HIM DIE’], AND I WAS THE PHOTOGRAPHER ON THAT AND SHOT…IT WAS ACTUALLY THIRTY YEARS AGO THAT THIS YOUNG FELLOW, TOMMY JONES, WAS WORKING AT A CHURCH CAMP IN WATERTON AND WENT HIKING WITH SOME FRIENDS IN A MOUNTAIN AND FELL AND HAD A SERIOUS BRAIN INJURY. TWO YEARS LATER—THEY DIDN’T EXPECT HIM TO LIVE…WE DOCUMENTED THAT WHOLE STORY AND RECREATED THE SCENES IN THE DOCUDRAMA…THESE THINGS REMIND ME OF ANOTHER ARTIST CORNY MARTENS, BRONZE ARTIST, WAS OUR STUDIO DIRECTOR, AND SOME OF THE STUFF THEY USED TO DO, BACK IN THE DAYS OF BLACK AND WHITE, THEY DID COMMERCIALS—THEY PAINTED THE FLOOR OF THE STUDIO TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE A SWIMMING POOL, AND THEY HAD A FASHION SHOW WITH SWIMSUITS…THAT’S KIND OF WHAT PROMPTED ME [TO DONATE THE ITEMS], AND THAT’S THE CONNECTION TO THESE ITEMS.” FOR MORE INFORMATION INCLUDING THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION AND ARTICLES ON THE GLOBAL NEWS STATION BEING DISMANTLED, PLEASE SEE THE PERMANENT FILE P20190022001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20190022004

Acquisition Date

2019-08

Collection

Museum

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