GE 1995 Season 2 Episode 3: Paulitorial
Note: this is not a transcript, but a working draft of the script, so there may be differences in the aired version.
PAULITORIAL - 3
PAUL: Signs, symbols, omens, portents. Everything
means something. But it also means something else.
Think of the contrast between BCN's coal-fired tower and the new
more efficient one. The old tower meant work for the members of
the Coal Fired Transmitter Stokers Union. A dodgy broadcast
signal, perhaps, but solid employment for people.
Our new tower dramatically improves your reception, but at what
cost ? A saving to us, but what about the tax-payer of Nfld who
will now have three or four more families on the dole ?
Is Aaron Zagner right ... is the BCN archaic and expendable ?
Will it be left on the ash heap of history ?
How soon we have forgotten, that by day six of Blackout `94, the
biggest winter storm in a century, the coal fired transmitter of the
BCN triumphed, the solitary voice in the darkness into which Nfld.
was plunged.
Granted, it's the dawn of a new radio era, who am I to question
the irresistable forces of progress ? The clear air around the new
transmitter site, the appearance of clotheslines again all along Mt.
Scio, the absence of the infamous "BCN Coal-throat."
But what happens in Blackout `95 ? Or Blackout `96 ? Oh, yes,
my friends, we know they will come.
We know the poles carrying the power from Bay D'espoir will
someday crack like tinder under the force of the icy gales that
regularly haunt our shores.
We know that traffic and life will grind to a halt as snow and ice
again fill our streets tit deep.
Then we'll long for the days when a coal-fired transmitter told us
that everything was going to be okay, that help was on the way,
that a boiler had burst at MacPherson Junior High, that Mrs Kitty
Kavanaugh was up and around and would be home once the road
was cleared.
Oh, yes, these things will come to pass.
Hail, good stokers. And farewell.
The Broadcasting Corporation of Nfld. proudly beams The Great
Eastern live from its studios on Duckworth St. in St. John's, Nfld.,
directly to your radio set, wherever you may be. And we love
hearing from you, wherever that is. Get your pencils and paper
now, I'll give you a whole raft of addresses and things ... your
choice of how you can be in touch with us. All set ? Okay, here
goes.
Our mailing address is The Great Eastern, care of the
Broadcasting Corporation of Nfld, 342 Duckworth St., St. John's
Nfld, A1C 1H5. Or, you can leave a message on our answering
machine, at area code 709-576-5389. If you're phoning from
outside the St. John's calling area, we do not accept collect calls.
You can also get at us through the CBC. They've lent us an e-
mail site for the summer. Our address there is
greateastern@stjohns.cbc.ca. Great Eastern is all one word. So
is St. John's, and with no punctuation, please. We've even got a
FAX machine, its number is 709 - 576 - 5524. That's an awful lot
of ways for you to reach us ... so there's absolutely no excuse.
Our engineer is Hollis Duffett, ably assisted this week by Tommy
Codner. Director of Radio at the BCN is Ish Lundrigan. My name
is Paul Moth. Don't forget to come back next week for The Great
Eastern, Nfld's Cultural Magazine.