While enjoying an education at Conestoga College Radio TV Arts, I was proud to be taught by Larry Solway (CHUM AM) of the Larry Solway Show Talk Show. Great lot of fun, but in the end you needed a “ballsy Voice” to be in radio. I had the interest, but not the voice.
________Talk radio pioneer Larry Solway let listeners speak their minds
If he loved to learn, he also loved to instruct – by-example the craft of broadcasting to young colleagues teaching at Conestoga College ————-
During the same time period, as a 21-year-old, I was working for free at the local campus radio station Radio Varsity (UofT Radio) to become CUIT-FM. I was working the poor empty nights and was lucky to have even one listener. Having a passion for people, (and ‘selflessly’ brown-nosing my way to a better shift than Monday at 2am), I got to know the current manager Roland. To my surprise, I was told the position of managing Radio Varsity was up for election and Roland encouraged me to campaign. Strange — but Roland did not see himself getting re-elected because the staff of important radio announcers had another person in mind for the job. It was quickly becoming a political shit show. So, being a natural born salesman without a job, I started sell myself to the other voting on-air djs. The election was a shocker. IT WAS AN EVEN SPLIT between PAUL MURTON TORONTO (me!), Roland and Paul Cutler. Only after counting everyone’s secondary ballots did i win by a SINGLE VOTE. I Should have resigned then and there. But Roland was so humoured by the “important radio announcers” losing their guy, that he happily handed over the keys to a person who had never run a lemonade stand. I enjoyed my $84.32 a week and waited to be fired. But lady luck threw me another bone when Hart House called and wanted Radio Varsity to bring down all of it’s mobile radio gear and run a radio show from their pub. They wanted, in 1974, to hear “Barry White” music. The girls wanted to dance. I was a BEATLE’S fan who knew nothing of “dance music”, but was willing to wing it for $50 a night, and all the draft you could drink at $0.45 a glass. A pretty girl told me EXACTLY which records to get, and I zoomed back to the radio station’s record library and started my DJ career. Unconcerned about the voluntary staff at Radio Varsity, who all want to be radio DJ stars. I did my job, but was focused on being the DJ for the New College Pub, and The Vic Pub. The “important radio announcers” were running the station as they had all the key jobs, but THEY were not getting paid. As this was flying by, SAC was looking as getting the station a FM licence, and felt the budget was better spent on that venture than keeping it up and running for a mediocre, ungrateful radio DJ who won by one vote. By now, I was working Thursdays at the Vic Pub for $75/night and suddenly ‘my’ dj equipment was locked up in a closed-down radio station. Off to good old Long & McQuade for my first rental before becoming a decades-long customer, and eventually close friend of the wonderful and talented late Jon Long. So that’s what happen to PAUL MURTON Toronto But the story printed in the local student paper makes it out to be a pretty big deal, when in fact, my use of the station records and equipment (borderline CRIMINAL!) was never even mentioned as an issue. Nobody knew except Roland, who worked with me at the pubs on the U of T campus until 1976. Yes that’s JOHN TORY, Our Mayor as one of the commission members who fired me.
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STORY FROM —- By JOSEPH WRIGHT (Varsity Newspaper Jan 1975)
Radio Varsity managing director Paul Murton announced his resignation last Thursday during a meeting with SAC’s communication commission. Murton’s action followed, the report of the commission of inquiry into Radio Varsity which recommended he be dismissed,. In a letter to communications commissioner Michael Sahia Jan, 8, Murton said: “I feel that the recommendation calling for my dismissal is unfair. But, in the interest of Radio Varsity’s good, I have submitted my resignation realizing that the current situation at the station makes my continuing as manager difficult for all concerned Referring to Murton ‘s letter of resignation, Saba said, We received it, but we haven’t accepted it or rejected it.” The matter will he brought forward at a SAC general meeting Wednesday, he said Sabia said SAC’s options regarding Radio Varsity at present are either to .shut, down the station until March or find a way to correct the present situation, lf SAC decides to continue the station operations. one suggestion is to set up an interim board of directors to manage the station with a model to be determined, Sabin. said_ The commission of inquiry report, issued last week, calLs for the permanent establishment of an in-dependent seven-person board of directors to provide a continuous overview of the station, “There’s a fairly wide consensus that we’re not going to let the station remain as it is,” Saba said. Murton said yesterday he didn’t know what he would do if his resignation was rejected, adding he would have to await the outcome of the SAC meeting Wednesday, The three-person commission of inquiry into the station was named by SAC in November, following complaints by staff members and the resignation of news director Frank Cockram, The report, by Commission members Paul Carson, Rick Clutch and John Tory made 21 recommendations including a call for dismissal of Murton, establishment of a board of directors and a restructuring of the executive, Despite the release of the commission’s report., controversy continues to plague Radio Varsity. In a letter posted in the station’s offices, member Carson condemns what he termed rumors of his motives in serving on the SAC COM mission. The letter said: “Should Mr. Murton be dismissed, I not apply, and 1 never have had any intention of applying, for either the interim or permanent directorship. In the unlikely event that either position is offered to me. shall refuse to accept it.’ Carson resigned his position as executive assistant to Scarborough College’s students’ council claiming mismanagement of council business, and he is now unemployed. The other inquiry commission members, Tory and Outerbridge, said they had seen no evidence of any self-interest on Carson’s part, Tory said when he once made a joking reference to proposing, Carson for the position, Carson immediately replied that he could not consider it. All three commission members also denied the rumor thatort had been rewritten after Tory had viewed the final draft. Tory said there had been some “twisting of words” in the final report but added he was generally satisfied with it. He said he was only able to view the finished report briefly Monday morning before its release. Sabia said some disagreement he the commission members when they appeared before the communications commission Thursday evening “gave my commission some cause for concern-. Tory said his chief reservation was that Murton be given a chance to defend himself before he was dismissed. The third recommendation of the report said “if SAC concurs this recommendation (that Murton he dismissed’, Mr. .Murton should be Offered both severance pay and the opportunity to defend himself at a public SAC meeting, if he so desires.” “I thought he should have been fired, but with a chance to have a public hearing before.” Tory said. Tory also said he had some reservation concerning the report’s recommendation that • neither Murton or staff members Ricard Morochov and Paul Cutler be able to apply for the position on the executive or as manager until March,. John Tory said he felt this penalty was a bit harsh.
