John Martin (Canadian broadcaster)

John Martin (Canadian broadcaster)

John Martin (1947 – February 24, 2006) was a Canadian broadcaster, credited with "almost single-handedly" creating music television in Canada.

Early life and career

Born in Manchester, England, Martin left school at 16 and moved to London, where he worked as a rock drummer and freelance writer. At 20, he moved to Canada, finding work as a researcher for CBC Radio, then CBC Television. On the radio side, he was the first Canadian to break the story of the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War; on the television, he produced segments for series like "Weekend" and Peter Gzowski's "90 Minutes Live". (Filling in once on the current affairs series "Viewpoint", he hired the Cambridge University Choir to sing the Canada Elections Act in harmony.)

"The New Music" and MuchMusic

After the cancellation of "90 Minutes Live", Martin found himself driving a taxicab and pitching a new concept to Canadian TV broadcasters: "rock and talk," bringing a sensibility like those of "Rolling Stone" and the "New Musical Express" to bear presenting and interpreting musical culture in a documentary television newsmagazine.

The idea didn't sell to Canadian television networks of the day – at the CBC, it was caught between the departments of variety and current affairs – but Moses Znaimer, the impresario of Toronto independent station CITY-TV, took on Martin's plan, and "The NewMusic" launched in 1979. It was a great success, becoming Canada's most popular syndicated television series.

Martin then began to plan an entire station devoted to music, and the result, MuchMusic launched in 1984 under Znaimer, Martin and CITY's corporate parent CHUM Limited. "We were a bunch of loonies," Martin later recalled. "My gig was to sort of mould the anarchy. It was a bunch of absolutely crazy people reinventing their lives every day. It was fun." Much went on to great success in its own right, inspired spin-off, joint venture and licensed sister networks and programs, within Canada and internationally, and underwrote the music video arts foundation VideoFACT.

After Much

After leaving Much and CHUM in 1993 – "His mercurial temperament and guerilla management style," CITY's news website would recall after his death, had started "to clash with others in the industry" – he worked on specials, directing "The Genius of Lenny Breau" (1999), which explores the short and tragic life of Canadian guitar legend Lenny Breau, and also directing "Hank & Jimmie: A Story of Country" (2000), a portrait of the troubled lives and relationship of Hank Snow and his only child, singer-turned-preacher Jimmie Rodgers Snow. Martin was also program director for the Canadian dance music specialty channel .

He died in 2006, of esophageal cancer.

External links

* [http://www.pulse24.com/Showbiz/Top_Story/20060223-002/page.asp Music Man Mourned] (Pulse 24, February 23, 2006)
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/02/24/john-martin-obit.html MuchMusic Pioneer John Martin dies] (CBC, February 24, 2006)
* [http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2006/02/2409.cfm The New Music/MuchMusic Mastermind Succumbs To Cancer] (ChartAttack.com, February 24, 2006)
* [http://www.rrj.ca/issue/1997/summer/244/ I'm With the Band] ("Ryerson Review of Journalism", Summer 1997)
* [http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/muchmusic/muchmusic.htm MuchMusic] (Museum of Broadcast Communications)
*" [http://www.triadfilms.ns.ca/cat/hank.html Hank & Jimmie: A Story of Country] ", distributor's catalogue page


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • John Martin — may refer to: *John Martin (baseball) (born 1956), American baseball pitcher *John Martin (businessman) (1820–?), American lumberman and flour miller *John Martin (Canadian broadcaster) (1947–2006), English born Canadian broadcaster *John Martin… …   Wikipedia

  • John Gray (Canadian author) — John Gray is a former Ottawa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail and the author of Paul Martin: The Power of Ambition , a biography with an emphasis on Martin s life long quest to be Prime Minister.Recently, John Gray has been among those cited… …   Wikipedia

  • John Kerr — may refer to one of the following:Government and politics* John Kerr (Governor General) (1914 ndash;1991), Australian Governor General * John Kerr (US politician) ( c. 1778 ndash;1823), Irish born mayor of Columbus, Ohio * John Leeds Kerr (1780… …   Wikipedia

  • Canadian Broadcasting Corporation — Infobox Network network name = Canadian Broadcasting Corporation en icon Société Radio Canada fr icon network | country = Canada network type = Broadcast radio network Television network available = National; available on terrestrial and cable… …   Wikipedia

  • Canadian Idol (season 6) — Canadian Idol Season 6 Broadcast from June 3, 2008–September 10, 2008 Judges Sass Jordan Farley Flex Zack Werner Jake Gold Host(s) Ben Mulroney …   Wikipedia

  • Canadian Idol (season 5) — Canadian Idol Season 5 Broadcast from June 5, 2007–September 11, 2007 Judges Sass Jordan Farley Flex Zack Werner Jake Gold Host(s) Ben Mulroney …   Wikipedia

  • John Warwick Montgomery — was born October 18, 1931 in Warsaw, New York. In 2007 he was named Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Christian Thought at Patrick Henry College. [cite news last = Halbrook first = David title = Renowned Apologist John Warwick Montgomery… …   Wikipedia

  • John le Carré — in Hamburg, 2008 Born David John Moore Cornwell October 19, 1931 (1931 10 19) (age 80) Poole, Dorset, England …   Wikipedia

  • Martin Savidge — hosting CNN Born May 27, 1958 (1958 05 27) (age 53)[citatio …   Wikipedia

  • List of Canadian journalists — This is a list of Canadian journalists.A*Sandra Abma CBC News *Keri Adams CTV News at Six Weekend (and alternating CTV News at 11:30 Weekend) Vancouver anchor, fmr CTV Edmonton CFRN TV anchor *Charles Adler Global Sunday , Adler OnLine *Jelena… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”