In another city...

Through the miracle of technology, I'm co-hosting Popped Culture tonight. It runs tonight (Monday) at 5:30 AST on CKDU -- 97.5 FM in Halifax, or online.

Honour your CKDU pledges

Via the halifaxlocals forum comes news that CKDU's annual funding drive came up short. That could mean for some tough times ahead.

The spoils of its funding drive already account for roughly one-third of its budget. And the station drained its savings this year to buy a new transmitter, antennae and other equipment to increase its output power from 33 to 3,200 watts. Staff wages were increased from $9.65 to $12 per hour to be more in step with national standards and the stations’ student levy is down due to a drop in enrolment.

CKDU is home to some really great programming, like like Popped Culture, Let's Get Baked, Smart Patrol, and The Rose Parade. So honour your pledges. Please.

Sad Goat Replacement Reviews

From the CBC watchblog artichokes and cbc for everyone comes a Roundup of Roundup Replacement Reviews. Honestly, I've not yet heard the new afternoon show Freestyle.

Pillow Fight

I just got back from the giant pillow fight at Dundas Square. Hilariously (and perhaps inappropriately) the organizers didn't know there was a UTAG (Uniting Toronto Against Guns) anti-gun rally going on at the same time. At some point though, the groups realized each other's existence, and the UTAG emcee gave the pillow fighters big props. The journalistic big boys were there (CFRB, CBC, CTV... presumably to cover the UTAG rally), plus lots of little guys (like me) documenting the pillow fight just for kicks. Got some good interviews, including Kevin and Lori from newmindspace. We'll see how it cuts together.

When it rains, it pours

In addition to working at Syndication this week, I:

• Wrote and taped my second talk-tape for Go
• Interviewed Yegor from SmashMyiPod.com for Popped Culture
• Voiced a consumer column for the Content Factory
• Was asked to do a Christmas-time column for the Content Factory

The Syndicate

I spent the past week chase producing for CBC national radio Syndication. It was a fun job because of the variety of stuff I got to do. I set up live interviews for local/regional shows across Canada about pirates, quick fix diets/exercise/surgery, and war correspondents. I also did a couple of interviews myself, sliced my voice out of them, and sent them down the pipe. I got to talk to Canadians and Jordanians about Wednesday's hotel bombings and demonstrations, and to the author of a new handbook about visiting elderly relatives. So, a mixed bag. Syndication is a fun unit. The people I worked with are nice, and funny, and smart. The experience was good for me. If Fight Club is the reason to "cut your hair short and trim your fingernails," Syndication is the reason to pay attention to national and international news. Before this week, I'd only been on the receiving end of syndicated content. Now I think I have a better appreciation of where this stuff comes from, and what its role in local/regional programming is supposed to be.

I'll be on CKDU Monday

I have an item on tomorrow's Popped Culture on CKDU. Last month, I attended the fourth annual World Rock Paper Scissors Championship here in Toronto. I was feeling a bit dejected, because everyone I pitched the idea to didn't want it (it'd been covered to death in past years). But I'd signed up for media credentials, and I thought it sounded fun, so I went anyway. I ended up with a bunch of tape I didn't know what to do with. I sat on it for a couple weeks. Then last week, a serendipitous email from Melissa Buote arrived, telling me the theme of this week's show was "Games." Suddenly, my story had a home. The moral: even if you don't think anything'll come of it, if your gut says go, go. And bring your tape recorder. So if you're in Halifax, and within broadcast range, have a listen. The show airs at 5:30 PM AST at 97.5 FM. Or, tune in live online at ckdu.ca or subscribe to the podcast.

Pals of mine know that I'm always on the lookout for the perfect portable digital audio recorder. Well, over at Engadget, readers are weighing in with their suggestions for the best portable podcasting gear.

Stretching afternoon show resources even thinner

In Tuesday's Globe, there was a good overview of the coming changes to CBC's afternoon lineup. The changes are slated to take effect this Monday. I'm particularly interested to hear how local afternoon shows in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver will deal with an extra half hour to fill every day. Local afternoon shows are notoriously hard up for resources. They don't get the same numbers as morning shows, and consequently, aren't as well staffed. Most shows I've heard seem (and sound) stretched thin as it is. Lots of music and syndicated content. Here in Toronto, Here and Now will be longer by 20 percent, but I highly doubt they were allocated 20 percent more resources. I'll be listening carefully next week.

Listen for me on Go this month

Taped an item for Go this morning. Each week in November, I'm trying a different fad diet. And every Saturday morning this month, I'll be talking about it on the air. Have a listen if you can: Saturdays at 10:00 AM.