Day 2 — Countdown to Launch
Everything seems ready for tomorrow’s launch of the new Maritime-wide radio talk show, Let’s Talk, or is it?
As the show’s producer and host, I cannot help but think “Things are not always as they seem.”
Yes, we are in a temporary studio and it is a messy former workshop and storage room, with no heat or any of the amenities one might expect in a radio studio.
However, it works.
We installed new equipment to handle callers with questions and opinions, and we tested same for the last few days in our Morning Talk program.
And, it works.
We also added gear to connect our live feed to Moncton to ensure a smoother transition to the eight stations on the Inspire FM network. We had planned they take the feed directly from our internet streamer, but that is fraught with inconsistencies in lag time between when something is said and when it is heard. The direct to Moncton link almost ensures a consistent one second lag, much better for participating stations down the road and farther afield.
So, it works better.
We announced that Mark Collins will be the program’s first guest. As the National Director of the Nazarene Church of Canada, Mark’s presence shows this is not your local variety talk show, but a serious endeavour of national, if not international importance.
Not only is Mark a national leader, but he also brings a curious theme or question to the first program — his view on the death of Christendom. He will offer and defend his perspective in the current culture, which seems bent on removing Christian thinking from our North American society.
As first guest, he works very well.
Future guests are lining up to address many, current and potentially disturbing topics, including: political nationalism, separation of church and state, artificial intelligence, a fatherless society, the future of the Christian church, the life-threatening climate crisis, and, ultimately, the threat of war.
Our bank of authors, scientists, politicians, faith leaders, cultural icons, coupled with our insatiable curiosity and our demand to know “WHY” ensures a steady stream of programs well into the future.
Our future guests will work.
We affirmed the Let’s Talk network reaches broadly across the Maritimes. In fact, it is a great start with more stations throughout Atlantic Canada considering the syndication opportunity.
Many are music stations that never considered talk radio as a break and addition to their programming. However, as the program draws nearer to launch, more and more are realising that everyone in our so-called western culture is affected by the same social and political concerns, and that Christians are neither unaffected nor without opinion on solutions to cure what ails us.
The launch network includes:
Nova Scotia - Amherst 91.1 FM, Annapolis Valley 83.3 FM, and Halifax 93.9 FM
New Brunswick - Buctouche 107.7 FM, Moncton 105.1 FM, and Sussex 107.3 FM
Prince Edward Island - Charlottetown 91.3 FM, and Summerside 92.5 FM
Internet radio, listen directly at www.sixrivers.ca or www.hopecentre.ca.
As for the network, it works.
That just leaves the host, me. Am I ready? Well, after nearly twenty years of hosting talk radio, I better be.
Over that period I have interviewed Prime Ministers, sports professionals, movie and recording stars, authors, community and issue leaders, and downright interesting people who think, who do, who care, who give, and who love.
As long as I remember it is about them, it will work.
Join us tomorrow for the launch of Let’sTalk at 3:00 o’clock Atlantic Time, where you are an important part of the program. Please call with your questions and opinions at 1-833-FAITH-4-1, that’s toll free at 1-833-324-8441.
If you are there, it will certainly work.
Add your comments below.