If I can reinvent myself ....  you can too

2011 was the year I got off the couch and did something with my life

From where I sit On The Kowch, 2011 was a year of reflection, reinventing myself to take advantage of new opportunities and proving that there is life after radio if you get off your ass and stop feeling sorry for yourself.

I began to reinvent myself in February with the creation of my consulting company, kowchmedia

You can't spend 40 years in media without becoming an expert in something. I started in newspapers, was the Canadian correspondent for People Magazine and wrote for numerous magazines including Macleans. So writing was what I did for 12 years before I was lured away from print to radio in 1980. Along the way I was a broadcast journalist, producer, executive producer, news director, program director of Canada's two largest talk stations CFRB in Toronto and CJAD in Montreal. I ran a national news service and even managed to return to print to help launch the Montreal Daily News.

So one day in January, while staring out the window shouting to the world "Why ... what is the reason I'm no longer working in radio" it finally dawned on me. Because shit happens so get over it ... do something with your life!

So I joined a gym and returned to the Harvey Brooker Weight Class For Men to start losing the weight I had gained by falling back into old habits of eating comfort food to drown out my sorrows.

I was taking charge of my life and it's amazing when you wake up from feeling sorry for yourself how many people out there are willing to give you a hand.

Harvey Brooker was among the first to help by hiring me to write scripts and train his Brooker Success Team presenters for a new week night weight loss class for men. I also wrote material for his website at http://harveybrooker.com to promote the new class.

Writing, as I discovered, was how I would reinvent myself. It wasn't a total surprise.

A year earlier, the president of the 99 Book Series, Helen Georgaklis had asked me to write a book about my experiences in media. 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before Making It BIG In Media was to be a guide to avoiding being eaten alive in the media jungle. It was to help media students in colleges and universities chase their dream to be in radio, newspapers & television. It has become required or recommended reading in many J-schools across Canada. Many of my students at Humber and Seneca have signed copies of the book. Today, the 99-series website shows my book with a gold sticker proclaiming it's one of the top sellers of the series.

In January I was introduced to Juan Fanzio who was making a name for himself with a local news portal on the internet. TorontoNews24 is just one of the many news portals he has created. We struck up a partnership where I would write news copy for his websites. In exchange his Media 5.0 Company would create the kowchmedia website. Media 5.0 is responsible for some of the more innovative online news networks across Canada. He distributes news releases on his social media newswire, designs websites and produces corporate videos and bio videos.

Since February's launch of the kowchmedia website my consulting business has been busy working with J-students and broadcasters improve their on air sound by airchecking their newscasts and on air presentations. My radio clients include:

At the OAB my experience in helping set up the Amber Alert system for abducted children in Ontario led to my working on updating the Amber Alert Ontario media contact list. Tietolman, Tetrault & Pancholy Media used my experience running newstalk radio stations to help write and present their application for French and English language newstalk radio stations at the Montreal CRTC public hearings.  We were successful to win the the license for the French talk station and final negotiations are ongoing to secure a frequency for the English talk station. Read my account of those hearings at http://kowchmedia.com/blogs/archives/191-on-thekowch-looks-at-montreal-crtc-hearings

My non media clients let me use my writing talents to help people. At the Brooker for Men Weight Loss Classes we helped more than 170 men lose more than two tonnes of fat in 2011!

Working for Brooker introduced me to an incredible woman by the name of Sue Lacher who has her own consulting company. She is a great projects manager, coach and knows her way around the internet, social media and power point presentations. She is also a big believer in my writing abilities which opened the doors to some of her clients including Ryan Mitchell involved in helping people.  Show Kids You Care operates Breakfast Clubs across Canada that provides meals to disenfranchised children before school.  Pure Water Box has developed specialized water purification container units to provide clean drinking water where none exists.

Sue introduced me to videographer Nicholas Li whose company Group 45 Multimedia Inc. helped us produce videos to promote the work of these two companies. To view the videos just click on their logos below. You'll need a tissue while watching the video of Kristy Taylor, the executive director of Show Kids You Care.

From where I sit On the Kowch, the events of 2011 has reinforced my belief that everything happens for a reason. All you have to do is look around and recognize the signs. It took me a while to figure this out. But once I got off the couch and put my mind to reinventing myself, a lot of the pieces began falling into place. Thanks in part to all the people mentioned in this blog. But most of all because of the support of my wife Elisabeth and daughters Melissa and Layla.

I have no idea what 2012 has in store for me. But I go into the New Year with eyes wide open and ready to seize the moment and continue the momentum that began in 2011. My New Year's message to all who have found themselves out of work through no fault of their own is: If I can reinvent myself, you can too! You just gotta believe in yourself.

Happy New Year!

Steve was in charge of programming Canada's two largest newstalk radio stations for 14 years

You can email Steve at steve@kowchmedia.com

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