[Professional Blog] Gerry Phelan Departs VOCM

Dawn

- March 3, 2013 at 10:06:34

VOCM lost two Good men in Gerry and in Bill Rowe.

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B..Port cove

- February 22, 2013 at 06:42:33

Good Luck in your endeavours. Doesn't matter why he is leaving, that's his business. Stay Healthy and Happy, that's the main thing!

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Anon

- July 24, 2012 at 23:24:02

You guys must be kidding me. This guy needed to go. Professionally, he may have knew his stuff but he did not treat the people underneath him good at all. Perhaps this had something to do with his departure. After so long, something gotta give and I knew it was only a matter of time. I have a bit of an inside perspective on this and he was not very kind.

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LARRY COLE

- June 2, 2012 at 06:40:54

I REMEMBER WHEN GERRY STARTED AT VOCM. I INTRODUCED HIM TO HIS BEAUTIFUL WIFE. HE WAS GREAT TO WORK WITH, AND A GREAT FRIEND. I KNOW HE WILL DO GREAT AT WHATEVER HE CHOOSES TO DO IN THE FUTURE. POLITICS MAYBE?

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Mr. Juannabee

- February 18, 2011 at 07:35:20

To Doug Scott - thanks for the background on this. Interesting stuff.

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Doug Scott

- February 15, 2011 at 13:41:24

To Mr. Juannabee: While I don't buy into the conspiracy theory that Clyde Power suggests here regarding Gerry's role in the Money for Nothing issue, it is - nevertheless- interesting that Gerry was the chairman of the panel that made the decision on behalf of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. The council runs as a kind of volunteer agency - it is not an agency of government. Complaints filed against CBSC members (and most radio and television stations in Canada are members) are heard by a volunteer panel. The complaint against Money for Nothing was filed against OZ-FM, and the Atlantic Region Panel that ruled on behalf of the CBSC included Gerry Phalen as chair, and B. A. (Rocky) Jones as vice-chair. Mr. Jones is a Halifax-based lawyer. Panel members (called Public Adjudicators by the CSBC) included Kathie Hicks, a well-known former broadcaster and news reader who worked with a couple of media outlets here (Q-Radion and CBC Radio) and is now COO with Spirit of Newfoundland Productions; Bob MacEachern, President of MacEachern Broadcasting in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, and the General Manager of CIGO-FM Radio; Randy McKeen, News Director of Astral Media Radio Atlantic which operates CKHJ-AM, CIBX-FM and CFXY-FM in Fredericton, New Brunswick; and Roberta Morrison, co-chair of the Black Women's Business Network and co-owner (with her husband) of Black Bear Ice Cream Emporium in Halifax. These are the people who wrote the decision. You can read the decision and the complete bios of all panel members at the CSBC's website at www.cbsc.ca. It would be interesting to know if that decision, which Clyde Power suggests brought tremendous attention to OZ-FM, had anything to do with Gerry's leaving VOCM. I am very skeptical that it did, as it would look extremely bad on VOCM management. But the ratings wars could lead to some fairly outrageous behaviour. So, who knows? It might just be true.

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  Rob

  - February 16, 2011 at 10:11:27

  As chair, Mr. Phelan did not vote in the Dire Straits Debacle. As such, there's not much credence to the conspiracy theory.

David Kennedy

- February 14, 2011 at 18:07:52

I worked in the VOCM News Room with Gerry Phelan in the 1980s.I don't know what's up with VOCM, but the extraordinary excellence of Gerry's work cannot be matched.His dedication to the listeners of VOCM News was remarkable,and again, peerless.I cannot understand how the management of such a successful player in the radio business could let someone like Gerry Phelan slip through their fingers. It has the appearance of an act of idiocy.

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Mr. Juannabee

- February 11, 2011 at 12:10:01

To Clyde Power: You lost me with all the $5 words in your comment, but I am intrigued. Can you explain (in regular 10 cent words) what was Gerry Phelan's role in the "Money For Nothing" affair? Wasn't the complaint lodged against OZ-FM?

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Clyde Power

- February 10, 2011 at 13:05:38

It is entirely possible that Gerry Phelan is a casualty of the Money for Nothing debacle that galvanized consensus public sentiment of outrage at the banning of the unedited version of the 25-year old Dire Straits classic hit song from the public airwaves and resulted in tremendous international exposure for rival OZ FM, the now self-proclaimed "original outlaws of Canadian Rock Radio." I make that remark somewhat facetiously, but the sudden timing of his departure on the heels of the recent firestorm certainly suggests some validity to the comment. In the ultra-competitive environment of terrestrial radio where ratings books drive advertising revenue, which is the lifeblood of the industry, serious financial repercussions can result from the inadvertent provision of free publicity to the competition. I certainly hope I am incorrect given that Mr. Phelan was merely attempting to respond appropriately to a complaint in his capacity as CBSC member. However, larger economic considerations may be at play with perhaps a defensible and legitimate business reason for an end to his long association with the Company in light of the certain embarrassment caused by his involvement in the decision that may have damaged its brand and undeniably presented an exposure windfall to its main competitor.

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Doug Scott

- February 10, 2011 at 08:31:48

Geoff: Thanks for this. I, too, was astonished - even shocked - when I heard the news that Gerry had left VOCM. I would join you in wishing Gerry all the best in his future endeavours. I've known Gerry for more years than I can remember. He was always a stand-up guy. A true gentleman and a great news man. His integrity as a journalist is unquestioned. In his various roles at the national and international levels of the radio and television news directors association he has made an invaluable contribution to the business of news gathering. I'm sure we'll be hearing from him again... even if its a simple comment on the 'Money for Nothing' issue...

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  paul crummell

  - February 6, 2012 at 21:19:23

  hey geoff Long time no see my friend. Did not know gerry but his reputation preceded him. Too bad for vocm Paul crummell