The 37-year radio newscaster, who helms Barrie stations KOOL-FM and ROCK 95, spent more than two decades in the Toronto market, at CFTR (now 680 News), CHUM AM and CHUM FM, as well as helping launch satellite radio in this country. Then, as so often happens in media, cutbacks led to layoffs and Dan found himself out of a job.
It wasn’t long before the home of the Spirit Catcher hearkened to him once more.
“When the opportunity at ROCK 95 and 107.5 KOOL FM arose six years ago it was easy to say ‘yes’. There have been no regrets.
“Having worked as news director at then AM radio station CKBB I had always thought this would be a place I’d come back to eventually. I liked it then. I like it even more now. It has pretty much everything I need in terms of essentials (what I can’t get here is only an hour’s drive away) and it’s smack dab in the middle of all the fun country.”
Dan contrasts covering a town like Barrie with the quicker pace, congestion and noise of “the Big Smoke”.
“One of the advantages of working in this kind of market, compared to Toronto, is the close working relationship you can develop with news sources - police, fire, politicians, etc. There's an opportunity for a trust to build up, while still maintaining some distance to remain objective.
“Our contacts know we will take them to task if need be, but they also know it will be done in a fair and impartial manner.”
Not that Blakeley has totally forsaken Toronto; he helped inaugurate a station there for independently-produced musicians, an experience he’s found rewarding.
“INDIE 88 is doing very well, filling what had been a void in the Toronto market. Ratings continue to improve, in fact, have been better than anticipated. It’s always exhilarating to be a part of building something new or retooling something old into something new.”
Dan notes the medium of radio has been changed almost beyond recognition since he began in the business in Lindsay.
“In the late 70s we ripped copy from a wire service, typed local stories on a manual typewriter, compiled a newscast, read it on-air, came out of the booth and started the process over again.”
Social media has changed all that.
“Now there are websites to update, Twitter and Facebook to feed, pictures to be sourced and sized and checked for legal usage, video to be shot and uploaded. And there are just two of us in the newsroom full-time sifting through all this information, packing what we can into a three-minute newscast. In the 80s, at CKBB, I had a staff of eight and some of the newscasts were 10 minutes.”
Plus, besides other radio stations, the competition includes TV and newspapers to include so-called “citizen journalists” doing their thing on social media, putting a greater onus on accuracy,
“I remember two cases in particular where media went with information before waiting for confirmation - in both instances, someone was reported dead before their time. We still take the time to check the facts with our own sources if it's a local story, or several sources if it's outside our area. We may not always be first with the story, but we will have it right.”
Still, Dan Blakeley concludes, it’s a whole lot of fun.
“Thirty-seven years in this business, more ups than downs, and still feel like I haven't worked a day in my life - despite the 2:30 a.m. wake-up call!”
