Post Script to McMichael Media Preview of Three Art Exhibitions

So, after reading about how the McMichael Canadian Art Collection went against traditional PR practises and staged not one but three art exhibition media previews at the very same time on the very same day, you must be wondering how it played out? Very well -- although the very unstructed nature of the event(s) called for flexibility that even I found difficult to provide.
This is what happened. The National Post did not respond to the Media Alert. Instead, a reporter from the Ottawa Citizen called the gallery and conducted a phone interview about the Brush with War exhibition. His story appeared 10 days before the media event and was picked up by a number of Canwest papers. A few days before the Media Preview, the National Post called the gallery and requested pictures from the War exhibition. Three days before the Preview, the National Post ran a two-page expanded version of the Citizen story.
The Toronto Star called to say they wanted to see the two Karsh shows. "But", they told me, "We can't wait to Thursday. We have to come out Tuesday or we won't be able to come at all." Their reporter did visit the gallery and did get to see the Karsh exhibitions ... sorta. Not all of the pictures had been framed yet and nothing was hung ... we leaned the Karsh masterpieces against the freshly painted walls at floor level to give the reporter an idea of what the show will look like by the time the Media Preview rolls around.
The Vaughan Weekly came out a half-hour early on press preview day, and left just as the event began. The Vaughan Citizen, Rogers TV, a Chinese Daily Newspaper, Beach Digital and the Globe and Mail came out on Thursday at 11 and got to meet six war artists who saw action while covering Canada's involvement in peace keeping assignments and in war time. They also got to interview the three curators of the exhibitions and take pictures of the people installing the art. And, for the first time in years we had coffee and tea thanks to he Canadian Forces.
After the Media Preview ended a TV crew from Bravo came and did a story on all three shows (we asked the curators and artists to stay for the taping). At the very end of the day North Magazine came by to take photographs of the McMichael's CEO and the gallery's new head curator.
Great turnout for the McMichael even if they went, as usual, against Weir's rules for when to hold a press event.

ADVISORY TO NEWS & ARTS MEDIA - CHARLES TAYLOR PRIZE FOR LITERARY NON-FICTION SHORT LIST TO BE ANNOUNCED AT TUESDAY MORNING MEDIA EVENT

ADVISORY TO NEWS & ARTS MEDIA
December 31, 2008

The Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction
2009 SHORTLIST PRESS CONFERENCE
Tuesday, January 6th at 10:00 a.m.

WHAT: Announcement of the finalists for the 2009 Charles Taylor Prize
WHEN: Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Announcement: 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. sharp
WHERE: LE MERIDIEN KING EDWARD HOTEL
Consort Bar, Main Floor, 37 King St. East, Toronto
(Parking: Public lot east of King Edward Hotel on Leader Lane)
WHO: Noreen Taylor, Chair, The Charles Taylor Foundation
Prize Juror Jeffrey Simpson
Prize Trustee & author Dr. David Staines
Canadian book publishers
WHY: The Charles Taylor Prize is the country’s most prestigious literary non-fiction award. Since 2000, the Prize has been the driving force behind increased recognition and growth of Canadian non-fiction.
Now in its 8th year, the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction celebrates Canada’s rich literary voice, and the exceptional authors and journalists who captivate us with their stories, insights and style. The Prize commemorates the late Charles Taylor, one of Canada’s foremost essayists, a foreign correspondent and a prominent member of the Canadian literary community whose dream was to raise the public profile of non-fiction. CTP is presented annually to a Canadian author whose book best demonstrates a superb command of the English language, an elegance of style and a subtlety of thought and perception. Originally awarded every two years, since 2004 the Prize has been awarded annually.
135 submissions are competing for the 2009 CTP Shortlist. The Prize consists of $25,000 for the winning author and an award of $2,000 for each finalist with promotional support for each shortlisted title. The winner of the 2009 Prize will be announced at the CTP Author Luncheon Monday, February 9th. The Prize is presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation with generous support from AVFX, Ben McNally Books, CBC Radio One, CTV, CNW, Le Meridien King Edward Hotel, The Globe and Mail, Quill & Quire, and Windfields Farm. For more information: www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca

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Media are requested to confirm their attendance with Linda Crane, Stephen Weir & Associates

Stephen Weir 416-489-5868 cell: 416-801-3101 sweir5492@rogers.com
Linda Crane: 905-257-6033 cell: 416-727-0112 cranepr@cogeco.ca

Writing about shipwreck finds - let the bun fight begin

Over the past thirty years I have found myself writing about shipwrecks and the men who find them. I wrote a book about the sinking of the Mayflower near Barrys Bay. Ontario. I have had over 10 articles published about the Edmund Fitzgerald (I can't even count the number of Titanic projects I have worked on) and I have interviewed Great Lakes wreck hunters. in ALL cases, the wreck stories have raised a boatload of controversary.

There is no money to be made in finding shipwrecks - Wreck expeditions cost big money, thousands of hours on the water and now and then, the accidental death of divers. Why then such "mashing up" about mashed up ships? It is all about that 15 minutes of fame (20 if you work with Stephen Weir & Associates), the public adulation that wreck hunters always garner after announcing their finds. And, for some, there is the chance that that fame will help them recoup some of their expenses through book deals, movies and speaking gigs.

This summer I was in Kingston, Ontario to take part in a shipwreck festival. One of the highlights was to be a slide show of recent finds in the St Lawence River. I drove to Kingston to sit on the slide show. It didn't go so well, as this unpublished Diver Magazine story documents.

Kingston Underwater: A Celebration of Marine Exploration
Controversy, infighting amongst wreck hunters almost kills Kingston’s first shipwreck festival

Cutline: Kenn Feigelman, the president of Deep/Quest 2 Expeditions pictured in downtown Kingston, Ontario.

It got off to a wobbly start when the featured speaker refused to take to the podium, but, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes was able to right the ship and launch its first annual shipwreck festival in 2008. Kingston Underwater: A Celebration of Marine Exploration, was a three-day event that featured underwater demonstrations, shipwreck displays and lectures and slide shows given by local divers.

Kingston has one of North America’s largest concentrations of fresh water wrecks ranging from 19th century warships, and paddle wheelers to modern tugs and ferries. It is estimated that there are between 400 and 450 wrecks within easy reach of Kingston. In an effort to promote the growing interest in Kingston as a wreck dive destination, the Museum along with the Preserve Our Wrecks-Kingston Association and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation partnered to organize the mid-summer weekend event.

The launch of the shipwreck festival was almost sunk by infighting amongst the very people it meant to put the spotlight on. Kenn Feigelman, the president of Deep/Quest 2 Expeditions, Kingston’s underwater exploration and film documentation organization, was asked to open the conference by giving a multimedia presentation showcasing the work of the association. Mr. Feigelman has reported making a number of important discoveries in the St. Lawrence River, however, his multi-media presentation was going to be about other expeditions his association has made at the “By Invitation Only” talk.

The opening film and lecture night was held in inside the downtown St. Lawrence riverside Museum. Close to 50 people from around Eastern Ontario were in attendance that night to hear Mr. Feigelman’s talk.

Although the wreck hunter was in attendance, the lecture wasn’t given that night. The reason? Apparently an underwater photographer who at one time had been involved in a Deep/Quest 2 expedition, was in the presentation room using another person’s invitation. Mr. Feigelman refused to take to the podium as long as the photographer remained in the audience. For his part, the uninvited guest refused to leave.

As a result the abbreviated evening consisted of curator Ann Blake talking about the work of the Museum and Stewart Deline showing slides of a recent trip he took to the Cayman Islands. Mr. Deline is a traditional Mohawk environmental awareness speaker and faith elder who learned to dive in 1980 while in the Armed Forces.

Saturday and Sunday, the second and last day of the Festival, the problems of opening night had been settled. Northern Tech Divers and Shark Marine Technologies, conducted scuba diving demonstrations, a demonstration of an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) and high definition underwater photography demonstrations took place in the dry-dock adjacent to the Marine Museum. Mr. Feigelman came back to the Museum and gave the talk he was suppose to give the night before.

Interest in the public portions of the Shipwreck Festival was strong enough in 2008 to convince the organizers to make the event an annual event. Details about next year’s weekend symposium, including a list of speakers, will soon be posted on the museum’s website www.marmuseum.ca/

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Sidebar #1

Ontario’s premier shipwreck museum is in Kingston

The Marine Museum of the Great Lakes is located inside an historical building built beside a 19th century dry dock. Floating inside the dock is a 3,000 ton icebreaker, the Alexander Henry (which is both a museum exhibition and functioning Bed and Breakfast operation). The museum's extensive exhibits provide a look at 19th and 20th century shipbuilding and life on the Great Lakes

Sidebar #2

So what has Kenn Feigelman been down to lately?

Diver Magazine attended the abbreviated Opening Night of the Marine Exploration Film Night and interviewed Kenn Feigelman, several times over the summer and fall. Diver asked Mr. Feigelman what he has discovered while exploring the waters around the city of Kingston.

“We found four warships!” he told Diver Magazine in September. “No doubt they are scuttled British warships… we found two of them today and two a few days ago. We found them basically in the St. Lawrence, right off the city of Kingston where the Lake Ontario becomes the St. Lawrence.”

“We know, they were built as war ships,” he continue. “They are sturdy -- one was in 62 ft of water, the other in 50 ft. The same situation holds for the other two ... we found them in 49 and 55 ft of water.”

“We are going crazy (with our finds). Two weeks ago today, we were going down the St. Lawrence towards Hall Island when we came upon an anomaly (on their side sonar screen). At this point the riverbed itself is 60 to 70 feet down. We found valleys or gouges, into the flat river bottom.

“ I stayed on the boat, and kept the engine running, “ said the explorer. “ (Our divers) found the hull and stern post of a large ship. We are finding all kinds of stuff down there.”

Mr. Feigelman will be researching his finds over the winter, but, suspects that he has rediscovered the wreck of the War of 1912 warship the HMS Montreal which he says was sunk in the 1830s and thought to have first been located in the 1980s.

He is unsure of the identity of the other three warships. Next summer he plans to use his SeaLife photographic equipment to take complete digital photographs of the wrecks and create mosaic pictures of all of the wrecks.

Exploring the St. Lawrence Shipwrecks is just one of many projects Deep/Quest 2 Expeditions is involved in. The company will be launching an expedition next year to photograph and film Greenland Sharks in the upper regions of the St. Lawrence River. On the books in 2009 will be underwater expeditions in the waters around Cuba.

The Press Release - very faint voices shouting into hurricane force winds

The Press Release. Aghh! Sometimes light humour can help

Every PR campaign needs a press release. Writers spend days writing only a few hundred words. PR managers spend an equal amount of time rewriting these tomes of commerce. Days are spent crafting the ulitimate quote. Clients agonize over every last comma. Large profitable companies like Canada News Wire Group and PR Newswire Group have armies of young journalism grads working around the clock to email, text, post, fax and mail that release to working journalist around the world.
Yet for all that sweat and bother, the media rarely read a release. At best the headline of the release will be looked at ... for a nano second. Aside from Saturdays and Sundays, thousands of press releases are issued every hour in North America. There are just too many releases arriving at a news outlet computer for a reporter or editor to actually read. As a result, most press releases never end up being used by anyone!
One of the ways a press release can catch the attention of a jaded reporter's eye is by using gentle humour. Below is a release recently written for the state of New Hampshire. It uses rhyme to bring attention to events and places that normally would not make it into print.

For Immediate Release
March 26, 2008

On the first day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me
A Chop and Shop Weekend and a big free holiday fir tree
The Granite State gears up for holiday season with pizzazz and price conscious events

Toronto – Toronto – New Hampshire has so much on the go this winter that it would take more than just 12-days of Christmas to experience the best that the Granite State has to offer. And the State has it all –- which makes it really hard to pick just a dozen unique things that tourists can enjoy before December 25th. Consulting the Official 2008 In-State Visitors Handbook and using a dash of poetic licence, visitors should consider the following:

On the first day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, a Chop and Shop Weekend and a free holiday fir tree! The Gale River Motel and Cottages in Franconia provide two nights accommodation, dinner for two at the Sugar Hill Inn, a 22-inch Balsam Fir Wreath and an 8 ft tall Christmas tree. The special is $290 US and the hotelier will help load the tree onto the roof of your car! www.galerivermotel.com/aspecials.html

On the second day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, amazing holiday shopping that is always tax-free. This is the best time to get one’s Christmas shopping done sans tax in the outlet stores of Settlers' Green Outlet Village and North Conway Village. For just $198 the Cranmore Mountain Lodge in North Conway has an affordable Shop Till You Drop package for visiting couples. Package includes a bag of samples and coupons and a standard room for two nights. www.cranmoremountainlodge.com

On the third day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, an antique hunter’s map and a bottle of wine for thee. In December The Glynn House Inn in Ashland has an Antique Get Away For Two. Guests receive a delicious picnic lunch for two, including a bottle of wine, plus a special folder containing information about the best antique shops and auctions. www.glynnhouse.com

On the fourth day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, ten-minutes of quality time up on Santa’s knee. The North Colony Motel & Cottages in Bartlett offers a Santa’s Village two-night package (starting at $212) for families which includes 2-nights lodging for 2 adults and 2 children and 4 Santa's Village tickets. www.northcolonymotel.com

On the fifth day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, turkey dinner and a huge Bingo win under B Three! Join the Lake Winnipesaukee Historical Society at the Funspot Bingo Hall every Tuesday in December . Doors open at 4:00 pm. The charity Bingo is catered by Hart's Turkey Farm Restaurant. Weirs Beach www.LakeWinnipesaukeeMuseum.org

On the sixth day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to me, a mountain hike to photograph a moose behind a tree! Grab your camera and come see the views and maybe a moose, December 20th and 21st. Outdoor Escapes New Hampshire holds its popular 2-day Guided Nature Backpacking Tour, in the Great North Woods. The price for 2 days of guided hiking with a nature/history focus and 1 -night remote camping is $200 per person. www.outdoorescapesnewhampshire.com

On the seventh day of Christmas New Hampshire gave to sis, a hayride in the snow you don’t want to miss! This December 13 th tourists are invited to the Farm Museum in Milton to celebrate Christmas on the Farm. Take a sleigh or hayride, make a gingerbread man and tour the beautifully decorated farmhouse. www.farmmuseum.org

On the eighth day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to you, a walk in the park with the state’s solstice crew! The Margret and H.A.Rey Observatory in Waterville holds a very popular walk every winter solstice. The free annual winter solstice hike to the Solstice Stone on Dickey Mountain will be held on Saturday December 20th. www.visitwatervillevalley.com

On the ninth day of Christmas New Hampshire gave to me, snowshoeing followed by eggnog for free! From December 19 to 29 children and adults of all ages will find winter merriment at Mount Washington Resort. Enjoy a festive celebration of sleigh rides, snowshoeing, skiing, stories with Santa and holiday refreshments. Snuggle in front of the fire before being tucked in by one of Santa's elves. Christmas Day invites a full day of skiing and outdoor adventure! www.mountwashingtonresort.com
On the tenth day of Christmas, New Hampshire gave to dad, a guided snowmobile ride that is really really rad. Alpine Adventures have guided snowmobile tours through the White Mountain’s Franconia Notch during the holiday season. www.alpinesnowmobiling.com/

On the eleventh day of Christmas New Hampshire gave to us, a magic light show worthy of a fuss. After a day on the slopes head to the White Mountain Holiday Magic Light Park in Campton where you can ride through a mile of animated light displays with thousands of enchanting lights. Take a family portrait with Santa, snuggle up on a free wagon ride, build a free craft with the kids, and sip hot cocoa by the bonfire. www.holidaymagiclightpark.com

On the twelfth day of Christmas New Hampshire gave to families, an invitation to ski on New Year’s Eve above the trees. Ring in 2009 at Cranmore Mountain’s Crantastic New Year's Party. Ski until midnight, and enjoy tubing, music, fireworks, party favours and more. www.cranmore.com

The 2008 Visitor’s Guide Book is supported by a sophisticated, user-friendly website (www.visitnh.gov ) which has comprehensive sections geared specifically to the Travel Trade. The site is updated daily and has the latest information on holiday season event listing throughout the state.

To find out more about New Hampshire or to receive the new free visitor’s guide, call 1-800-FUN-IN-NH (386-4664) or visit www.visitnh.gov. Canadian travel trade and media may call 1-888-423-3995, or email visitnh@travelmarketingexperts.com.

A Calvacade of New. Giving 2-bite brownies for dogs 20 seconds of fame.

cutline: John Scott on the set of Canada AM, showing new food products coming to a store near you this winter.

Three days of PR work (and some midnight veggie shopping) for a brief but fruitful food segment on the Canada AM news show

The media consumes New. New movies. New faces. New problems. New leaders. New messiahs. New ideas on old themes. New New New. And that was just last week's headlines.

Public Relations practitioners who represent clients that have New, will find a welcome reception from usually frosty television show bookers when pitching new. A broadcast favourite is a 5 minute segment that puts the spotlight on a procession of new products - be it clothing, cars, tools, gadgets or new foods. The biggest challenge for PR people is not finding a TV show interested in New, but, deciding which show to offer the Cavalcade of New to.

One of the best places to showcase freshly minted products is on CTV's nationally broadcast morning news/talk show Canada AM. Although its numbers have dropped, it is one of the few Toronto created shows that has a daily cross-Canada English audience. A show and tell with purveyors of New is a welcome break from stories of fires, murders and scandals.

Every so often I help Crane Communications (an Oakville PR firm) with the pitching and servicing of Cavalcade of New segments for Toronto television shows. Owner Linda Crane has a well respected expertise in placing new products on TV, be it on Canada AM or CITY TV's Breakfast TV, Global Television's morning show, Rogers Daytime and now and then the Weather Network. Crane has showcased everything from new boat products (bikini clad models with its bitsy life jackets), to home show cleaning products. Last month I assisted her with the Grocery Innovations Canada trade exhibition and the PR campaign which included bringing shopping carts filled with NEW food products onto Canada AM. Viewers got a chance to see new products that will be making their way onto store shelves this fall and coming winter.

Grocery Innovations Canada, is the country’s largest grocery trade show and conference. Staged for the owners of independently owned food stores, the conference was held on Sunday, October 26 and Monday, October 27 at Toronto Congress Centre.

John F.T. Scott, president, Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (pictured above on the set of Canada AM), was our presenter on a Thursday morning Canada AM broadcast. Along with host Seamus O'Regan, the pair managed to look over 50 new things that you will soon see in independent food stores. The show-and-tell ran the gambit from 2-bite brownies for dogs (people can eat them too), to squeeze bagged Ketchup sweetened with honey instead of sugar. Seamus O'Regan sampled new cream cheese spreads on new glutton-free crackers. He took a pass on peanut butter made with soya and only sniffed at 100% peanut free chocolate chip cookies but seemed to be fascinated by new East Indian sauces made in Saskatoon.

The whole process, like the medium itself, is fast, furious and not particularly in depth. Unless viewers have a pen and pencil beside their TV sets, it is unlikely that consumers will actually be able to remember the names of the products they saw flash across their screens. Despite the lack of specific brand recognition, the broadcasted food segment did reap rewards for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers -- the producers of the trade-only exhibition where the new products were debuted to food store owners.

Scott's performance graphically showed consumers that small independent food stores continue to be an important part of the country's economy. A 2008 Kraft Canada/Canadian Grocer sponsored study reports that independent grocers (including franchises) comprise 40.2 % of Canada’s $76 billion grocery industry.

The independent stores continue to be strong even though their competition is huge -- think WalMart, Price Club, Metro, Soebys and the Loblaws Superstores. The Canada AM segment not so subtlety showed that the corner store is the place to shop to find cutting edge new products.

The under current messages? Independents are concerned about the health of its customers. Many of the product labels shown on TV that morning included the word organic in their names. Some of the new products answer the dietary concerns of a changing population. There were many new ethnic foods launched and the segment also showed that the independents have a desire to go with the 100-mile diet concept ... selling food that is processed within 100 miles of where their ingredients are grown.

5-minutes of television on the run doesn't come easy. Three people spent two 8-hour-days collecting product samples from producers and another 8-hr day to get even more samples (after it was determined that the line-up was a little light). Scripts and back-grounders had to be written, and one run through with John Scott was held via phone conference. Scott had to know everything about every project displayed on TV in anticipation of an out-of-left-field question from a sometimes wacky Seamus.

I personally scoured the market for ornamental gourds, dried Indian corn and orange squashes to decorate our show-and-tell TV set table. I bought veggies at midnight (to be fresh under the lights at 7-am the next morning) and drove an SUV filled with product to Canada AM's east-end Toronto studio at the crack of dawn. Two of us spent an hour dressing the table with the products prior to John Scott going on air.

After the show ended the producers of Canada AM came on set and congratulated the Grocery people for a job well done. We were asked to come back next year ... provided we had something Newer than this year's New to talk about.

How Not To Get Radio Coverage Of Your Event

Cutlines: Dave Trafford outside Studio 1010 interviewing Minister Fonseca and pannist Joy Lapp at the Scotiabank Caribana City Hall launch 2008.
Cutlines: The crowd at the Scotiabank Caribana launch
Cutlines: The crowd at the Scotiabank Caribana launch

This Blog is nominally about how public relation people like me can help clients get that extra 5 minutes of fame. As this item will show, the Blog is also about what NOT to do when dealing with the media.

Getting publicity is not usually a difficult task. The "secret" is to really understand the event/persons/thing that is to be promoted and determine what aspects of the project will have some interest to the media. Media outlets do not all have the same interests in stories; so, a publicist has to match up the news worthiness of a project with the appropriate outlet.

Timely informing the proper media contacts by email and phone calls, coupled with an informative data package, does wonders for getting coverage. Reporters and Assignment Editors get to know publicists and usually will listen to their pitches ... and positively respond to their calls.

There is also a growing trend that publicists help create partnerships between media outlets and events/persons/things.

Media partnerships come in many different forms, but, typically it means free advertisements, story coverage ("good" coverage is not guaranteed by any means) and access to the people that matter are given in return for the media's name, logo and, sometimes their "stars" given top billing by the event/persons/thing that you are promoting. Often times the media outlets are given exclusive access over their competition.

For their part, publicists have to support the responding media by getting what they need, on time, and in a form that they need. That could mean a succinctly written, honest press clip, or, an interviewee that can perform well on camera, or a good voice on radio. In short, they must make good for their client in supporting the media partnership.

The annual Scotiabank Caribana festival depends on media partnerships. Television networks, radio stations and newspapers have paid monies to attach their name to a Festival that attracts over a million participants every summer. It delivers an audience that mainstream media has had difficulty in reaching.

For years CFRB has been a media partner with Caribana. It has given the parade cash donations, free advertising and live broadcast coverage of the parade. That relationship crashed and burned this year, and, as the publicist of record, it was my fault.

CFRB is a Toronto talk station and at first blush would seem to be an odd station to supporting a Caribbean Canadian event. It tends, at least in the high rating weekday mornings drive, to lean heavily to the right. Its prime time hosts are almost exclusively white and male. The one black host has a short Sunday shift when the ratings are very low. Both the CRTC and the broadcast standards association have received complaints from minorities -- blacks, Jewish listeners and even overweight Canadians -- about so called unfair comments made on air.

Despite that all, CFRB has been a strong voice for Caribana. It even went live – with our help – for four hours from the 2007 parade.

This summer things did not go well. This is what happened.

After getting verbal agreement from CFRB to be our sponsor. I arranged to have their broadcast truck - studio 1010 – to have exclusive radio access onto the City Hall property for the Scotiabank Caribana launch in early summer (not a mean feat, City Hall doesn't want heavy trucks on the patio).

CFRB promised to go live at noon and asked that Joe Halstead, the CEO of Scotiabank Caribana, come over to their booth for an interview at 12.02. We agreed.

The Square was bedlam. TV crews, reporters, and over 5,000 spectators crowded onto a space meant for 2,000. Loud Soca music boomed over the speakers and politicians jostled to get onto stage.

At noon Halstead was standing 50 feet from the CFRB truck. I sent him over for his interview. On his way, a Global TV crew grabbed him and started interviewing him live. I went over to extract him. By the time I got him to the CFRB booth to be interviewed by News Director Dave Trafford, the spot was lost. (Picture taken of Global broadcast wrap-up seconds after Joe left for CFRB http://www.stephenweir.com/gallery1/main.php?g2_itemId=474)

Personal apologizes to the news director and later the station's PR person, fell on deaf ears. CFRB did not formalize the partnership agreement and much of the support that was given in previous years did not occur (but their news team did cover events and there were in studio appearances by Caribana people including Joe Halstead). A 40-some relationship appears to be over.

What follows are 3 emails sent during the summer. The first is from me, to, a producer who had called to see if we were going to have our regular Thursday Caribana update on the CFRB noon package.


Stephen Weir: (The Launch Broadcast) didn't go well at 12.01. Dave (Trafford, news director) is pretty pissed. Sent Joe (Halstead) over for his inte'rview at CFRB and Global grabbed him. By the time their just "one minute" was up the (CFRB) interview was lost. Tried to apologize to Dave afterwards but ... Tourism Minister and musician (we brought on for the second interview) was great radio.

Thanks. Let me know about Thursday, ain't holding my breath on David chilling out

Dave Trafford saw that email and responded. This is the email a publicist never wants to get!


Stephen,

You certainly got the right read yesterday.

I wouldn't be so annoyed if this were something new. We deal with all the major festivals and their organizers and dealing with you is the most trying. Whether it's slack response or no-show guests, doing LIVE remote broadcasts from Caribana events present unnecessary stresses. I don't expect things to run perfectly, but I do expect that you don't just abandon us when things fall apart at your end. That's what happened yesterday.

Pointing Joe in our direction is not good enough. You should have delivered him as promised, made Halstead keep his commitment with us.12 noon is 12 noon...not 12:08 when I'm in the middle of another segment. Apologies and excuses are meaningless to our audience. The opening of our show didn't deliver as promised. It was an "on location" Caribana special...with nothing "on location" from Caribana! You made us sound weak.

We committed a full hour of LIVE programming to the event, based on your commitments, and you blew us off WITH NO NOTICE so the TV guys could get a 20 second quote from Joe. If our coverage of Caribana is not a priority for you, I'm happy to accommodate. I'm not interested in wasting time, resources and programming.


Dave Trafford
News Director
Newstalk 1010 CFRB
Astral Media Radio GP
2 St. Clair Ave. West
Toronto, ON, M4V 1L6
dave.trafford@cfrb.com

I responded a week later by email. My associate Alicia Sealey (a broadcaster who had been our voice on Radio Noon the year before) made several calls to Mr. Trafford. Neither of us got a response but, that is par for course when you are a publicist.

Dave:

Got your email. Wanted to wait a week before responding -- time has a way of putting things in perspective.

First off, your email is right on. If I had it all to do again I would have taken Joe by the arm and dragged him to 'RB. I went through hoops with city hall to get the mobile truck on the plaza, and it was personally disappointing to loose the opportunity to have our CEO talk to your audience (and your numbers are way better than Global at Noon). Our CEO only had to walk 50 feet without me to make the interview. I can't believe he didn't make it. Joe Halstead is mortified; I sent him a copy of the CFRB letter. He did try to apologize, but you had left by the time he got off stage.

I have worked with CFRB on a variety of live broadcasts over the years, from the boat show to the gourmet food and wine show, to the home show and others that I have long since forgotten. So to say all those remotes went without a hitch would not be an accurate statement. But, because of the very nature of Caribana (run by a variety of committees and thousands of volunteers), our shortcomings are much more spectacular than the failings of events that are run by private industry. Sorry that this is the way it ends between CFRB and Caribana. Historically our festival and the station have had a strong relationship even though one would immediately identify your audience as being interested in Caribana.

In the early days Gary (Slaight - the former owner of the station) would write a personal cheque to Caribana's Caribbean Cultural Committee. The first time I met him was in 1999 when I came by the building to pick up one of those cheques. FLOW, which at one time Standard owned 25% of, donated monies as well to the parade and now, I believe gives support to individual mas bands in our parade.

The Festival Management Committee (representatives from the city, the province, the mas bands, the Calypsonians and the pan artistes and the CCC) is aware of your concerns and the end of your sponsorship. I have tried to remove the CFRB logo from our list of proud sponsors, but I am afraid it is too late. All of our print material deadlines have long since passed.

The City Hall launch fiasco does have a certain amount of irony for me. The last time Caribana worked with CFRB was at the parade launch in 2007. Your station was to go live for four hours from the route.

In preparation for the day I took parking passes, maps and press kits over to your host's Riverside home and briefed her on getting into the grounds. I drove her son around for part of an afternoon in preparation for his being on the line during the parade and reporting back to his mother. I had my staff seek out suitable interviewees (including Joe Halstead), and scheduled them to come on air during the parade.

The day of the parade I met your truck at Yonge and Eglinton and drove with them into the grounds to make sure they got on location without problems. We moved them around a couple of times until they got the spot they wanted within the confines of the judging area.

One of my staff members, Alicia Sealey, was to help on-air by describing the floats marching by to your host. Like me she has worked in radio and is comfortable behind the mike, but, up until that day didn't know how 'RB physically put a show together (what buttons to push, what spots to throw to etc)

Just before CFRB was to go on air, Alicia, our first guest and myself came over to your truck. Nancy (the PR director) meet us as we came across the parade route. She gave us the news. No host! Your host was lost/stuck in traffic. And, there was no one back at the studio that could take over ... So, Alicia put on the headphones and filled in. With Taggart's (sp?) help she did very very well.

Your host didn't have a cell phone with her, but, I was able to put out a call to our 300-security force and we did locate the missing announcer and bring her to the trailer. I can't remember how long Alicia was in the chair, but she says it felt like 24 hours.

Anyway, as you can see, with 'RB and Caribana, it isn't always the guest that misses their time check.

I hope you have a good summer. I have copied Nancy on this email. The Festival Management Committee understands why CFRB will not be covering the festival and again I do apologize again for not being able to remove your logos from our many banners and printed materials.

Stephen Weir

ps - not one for e-mails, but when I did try to apologize in person, but as you know you were not having anything of that.

Death - the ultimate media magnet

This is a website about getting that extra 5 minutes of fame, beyond the quarter hour that Andy Warhol promised us all. However, because of my involvement in the sport of diving and because I have posted a few thoughts on scuba diving dive fatalities, I continue to get letters from people looking for information about recent scuba accidents. Sadly I have to post another item about a diving death.

A diver has died in Tobermory, Ontario. I think that this is the first dive fatality of the year here in the province of Ontario. The Ontario Underwater Council will probably post information about the accident on their website. I did a quick search for media reports on the incident. There isn't much available and what I have seen so far has little information (which wreck he was diving on, name of the boat he was diving off and the club he was diving with (if indeed he was diving with a group).

I haven't dove in Tobermory for a few years. It is a long 5-hour drive from Toronto and when you are a single diver it is hard to get passage on a summer weekend dive boat. Clubs and shops book the boats months in advance. The town, located in a National Park at the tip of the Bruce Penn. is where Lake Huron splits off into Georgian Bay. The weather can be harsh in Tobermory (hence all the shipwrecks) and it is not unusual for dive boats to cut back on their trips because of high seas.

Still the dive community continue to visit Tobermory every summer. A number of hotels, B&Bs and campgrounds have sprung up to service the dive community. There is hyperbaric chamber in the town and a well qualified medical staff is in place. Dive fatalities are rare but do occur - probably one every two or three years. The waters are usual crystal clear and the shipwrecks (husbanded by the National Park) are worth seeing. What makes the diving difficult is the extreme cold of the water. Even in July a depth of 30 feet, the water temperature can be in the low 50s. The deeper you get the colder it gets.

Originally the only information that I had came from newspaper and radio reports, which, I now find are much different that what the Ontario Underwater Council has posted on its accident site. What follows is an excerpt from the Ontario Underwater Council followed by two samples of media clippings collected a day afer the accident.

Excerpt from 2008 Report on Scuba Diving Related Incidents in Ontario
http://www.underwatercouncil.com/dow...ts_in_2008.pdf

Date of Incident: 2008-07-13
Summary: 53 year old Craig Whitehouse, of Niagara on the Lake, died while diving in Tobermory this past weekend. Craig was apparently a very experienced technical diver who was highly regarded in his group.
Apparently Craig was diving solo, on technical equipment (a rebreather).
The dive was planned to depths of 200 feet or more.
Craig surfaced at some distance from the boat. The boat was unable to move to expedite the rescue due to other divers doing deco/safety stops on the anchor line.
Craig received CPR but was pronounced dead a short time later. The coroner has reported the cause of death as massive air embolism.
The coroner is still investigating the equipment and will make other information available as appropriate.
Details to be confirmed as more information becomes available.

OUC Recommendations:
• Insufficient information to be able to make any recommendations at this time.
• Once more facts are known, OUC would appreciate representatives from Ontario’s
growing Technical Diving community contacting us to help ensure any recommendations drafted are relevant and applicable.


The following brief news story was broadcast on an Owen Sound, Onatario radio station dated July 14, 2008.

Diving death in Tobermory
Written by Manny Paiva
A 53 year old man is dead while diving at Tobermory.

Bruce Peninsula OPP were called to the diving destination in Northern Bruce Peninsula around 10:40 Sunday morning.
Police say the diver -- who was operating off a dive boat -- surfaced in medical distress.
CPR was administered but the man was pronounced dead a short time later.
The man has been identified as Craig Whitehouse of Niagara on the Lake.
The Canadian Coast Guard and Parks Canada personnel were called to assist.
A post mortem will be done today at the Owen Sound hospital to determine the exact cause of death.

A similiar, very brief, oddly written report appeared in the July 15th edition of the Owen Sound newspaper.

Experienced Diver Dies In Tobermory;
Posted By THE SUN TIMES

A 53-year-old diver who surfaced in the waters around Tobermory in a state of medical distress died Saturday despite attempts to save him.
Police say Craig Whitehouse of Niagara- on-the-Lake was an experienced diver and was part of a large group of people who chartered a dive boat on the weekend.
At the time of the incident, Whitehouse was diving alone, away from the main group, which was working with a dive master. The boat was anchored in 35 feet of water.
"He was off on his own, away from the group that was getting instruction from the dive master," said Staff Sgt. Brad Fishleigh of the Bruce Peninsula OPP.
"He was very experienced and they weren't in very much water at the time."
The cause of death is under investigation by the police, coast guard and Fathom Five National Marine Park officials. The man received CPR but was pronounced dead a short time later.

This Obituary was posted earlier this week

Obituary for Craig Ian Whitehouse

WHITEHOUSE, Craig Ian - Resident of Niagara-on-the-Lake, age 53, died tragically on Sunday, July 13, 2008 at Tobermory, Ontario. Mr. Whitehouse was born in Hamilton, Ontario on September 25, 1954, the son of Freda and Len Whitehouse. He married Deborah Ginter on May 17, 1980. Mr. Whitehouse was a member of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, NOTL, a graduate of General Motors Institute and Harvard University. He was a manager at General Motors, St. Catharines for 33 years. He was active in motor sports, sailing and scuba diving. Surviving are his wife Deborah Whitehouse, of NOTL, sister Zena Elizabeth and her husband Jim Barkey, of Stoney Creek, sister-in-law Judith Anne and Steven Wieneke, of White Lake, Michigan, and Little Brother, Chris Doucette. He will be missed by all of his friends and family. Cremation has taken place. Visitation will be held at the NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE- CHAPEL of the MORGAN FUNERAL HOMES, 415 Regent Street on Thursday evening from 7-9 p.m. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, NOTL, with the Rev. Gordon Ford officiating on Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Interment will follow in the church cemetery. Donations may be made in lieu of flowers to Big Brothers Big Sisters Niagara and St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church. Online guest register at www.morganfuneral.com. 11167002

Deb has said to Matt that she would love to see the church filled to capacity with divers. Diving was one of Craigs many passions.

and finally from the St Catharine's Standard:

Scuba diver was group's 'unofficial' leader

Wife fondly remembers her soulmate, who died diving at Tobermory



Debbie Whitehouse called him her soulmate.
She also referred to her husband, Craig, as Mr. Wizard because he was someone who friends and family say could do anything.
"If the world really was flat, Craig, my soulmate and the love of my life, would have been working on a means to turn it perpendicular to the universe so he could live on the edge," she said in her husband's eulogy Thursday.
Craig Whitehouse died Sunday while scuba diving at Dufferin's Wall in Tobermory, a popular spot that boasts deep water and the remains of many shipwrecks.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake resident was 53.
Matthew Mandziuk, who taught Whitehouse to dive five years ago, said details surrounding his death aren't known. The experienced diver's equipment is being tested and police are investigating.
But Thursday evening as friends and family gathered at the Little Red Rooster restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake, most of the dozens who came together were remembering and celebrating Whitehouse's life rather than ruminating about what went wrong.
Mandziuk was with Whitehouse when he died. He and fellow divers Terry and Christine Davidson, who were also in Tobermory with them, said he was always there for them, every Wednesday night, when the club from Dan's Dive Shop met for their weekly immersions into the region's rivers, quarries, lakes or the Brock pool.
He was the group's "unofficial" dive leader, Christine Davidson said. Unofficial because Whitehouse refused to take credit or be the centre of attention, even when he deserved it, friends said.
At those dive nights, he would be anyone's dive buddy and especially their mentor.
"We referred to him as Mother Craig," said diving friend Brian Buchanan. "He was the dad. We were the kids."
Christine Davidson often introduced him to new divers as "our everything."
"I'll never introduce anyone else like that again," she said.
He was also the club's MacGyver, Terry Davidson said.
Any time someone needed something or had a conundrum, Whitehouse was there with a pen and paper, drawing up the plans for a solution.
Whitehouse was more than a diver, however.
He was a longtime General Motors employee, spending much of his 33 years with the company in supervisory roles. He was an avid motorcyclist, sailor, car buff, a Big Brother to Chris Doucette, handyman, welder, mechanic, metal worker -- a renaissance man who was more inclined to make a bolt in his basement than go to the hardware store to buy one, brother-in-law Steve Wieneke said.
"There was very little he did not do," said Nick Trach, who worked with Whitehouse at General Motors' Glendale plant.
He was also a great conversationalist. That's why John Kernahan, who works with Debbie Whitehouse at the Niagara Parks Commission, always sought him out at parks commission events.
"He knew everything," Kernahan said. "The guy was really a wizard, a genius, so you never had a boring discussion. He's going to be really missed, I'll tell you that."
The Whitehouses, both highly regarded in their professions, were also perfectly matched, he said.
"The two of them, the energy they had, it was like walking into a high-energy force field," Kernahan said. "You almost felt a buzz about them. They were great together, and I can't imagine them apart."
The couple met about 30 years ago when Debbie and childhood friend Susan McDonald attended a frat party at the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich., where Craig, who also graduated from Harvard University, was studying.
Three years ago, the couple renewed their wedding vows for their 25th anniversary.
"In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, until death do us part," Debbie Whitehouse said in her eulogy. "I just did not expect this last bit to happen so soon after our renewal of vows ..."
Craig Whitehouse is also survived by a sister, Zena.