PAUL:	It was a black tie gala on Saturday night.  All 
	those with an evening free showed at the Titanic Room 
	of the Hotel Palmer Hotel for the annual Marconis, 
	Nfld's radio award presentation.

	Last year I had the distinction of hosting the event, 
	but this year I was just as glad to warm the leatherette 
	of a tin fold-up chair at the back of the hall in the 
	overflow section, as the elite of local broadcasting 
	coochied down to one another for yet another mutually 
	stimulating wank.

	Don't get me wrong.  It would be an honour to win one 
	of those beautiful statuettes named in commemoration of 
	one of the greatest names in radio transmission, a name 
	right up there with Buckminster, and Fuller.

	An honour, if you could only figure out what it was that 
	the Acacemy of the College of the Institute of Telecommunications 
	Systems of Science was looking for in any of the categories.

	I mean,last year I was nominated in the "best host" category.  
	I was up against Jim Brown over at the CBC, and the eventual 
	winner, Harvey McCarthy, VOZG All-Zagner Radio's flagship host.  
	I don't mean to disparage my competition, but Harvey McCarthy 
	is a moron, a gobshite and a mental invalid.  How did he ever 
	win last time?  What was it about him that appealed to a broader 
	audience?  The lowest common denominator can't be the only answer.  
	And I was up against the same two ... personalities this year.

	Not only what is the Academy looking for, but just who is the 
	Academy ?  Who are these guys ?  I asked around and nobody 
	knows.  They make decisions that affect people's lives, incomes 
	and trophy cases.  They should be held accountable for allowing 
	someone of Harvey's ... ilk, to sully the Marconi hardware.

	In any event, I attended last weekend's function merely as a 
	courtesy.  And because Harvey was the MC that night and I couldn't 
	wait to see him fall flat on his, flushed, surgically-improved phizog.

	Somebody at the Academy this year a modicum of sense, though. 
	They dubbed Jim Brown best host of `97. I knew Jim, you know, 
	back when he was a street person.  He's certainly pulled himself 
	up by the bootstraps and come a long way.  Good on you, Jim.

	BCN was shut out again at last week's event, with the single 
	ironic exception that our Radio Awards show coverage from last 
	year won this year's Marconi as Best Awards Show.

	Take that, Harvey Ham-hock.

	A little programming note here for you.  I'm going on the road 
	Monday with local slag rockers Love Blister.  So in a couple 
	of weeks we'll bring you a report on that experience.  But 
	next week, we'll present our award winning Radio Awards program.