Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland
| Type | Radio network |
|---|---|
| Country | Dominion of Newfoundland |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | Dominion of Newfoundland government |
|
Key people
|
William Fenton Galgay (general manager) |
|
Launch date
|
1939 |
| Dissolved | 1949 (operations absorbed into CBC) |
The Broadcasting Corporation of Newfoundland (BCN) was the government-owned public radio service of the dominion of Newfoundland. Following Newfoundland's admission as a Canadian province in 1949, the BCN was absorbed into the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and its three main AM radio transmitters remain in operation today as CBC Radio One stations.
The radio service was founded in 1939 by the Commission of Government. Later that year, it bought the Dominion Broadcasting Company, owner of VONF (640 AM) in St. Johns, from the Dominion Broadcasting Company (a subsidiary of the Avalon Telephone Company, forerunner of NewTel). Not long after taking control, the corporation acquired two transmitters at Mount Pearl that had been built during World War I as Royal Navy HMS Wireless Station (BZM) for North Atlantic communications with Royal Navy ships. BCN's studios were at the sixth floor of the Hotel Newfoundland in St. John's.
The general manager of the BCN for its 10 years of operation was William Fenton Galgay, who with Joseph Butler had founded the service in 1932. Notable broadcasters also included Aubrey MacDonald, known as Aubry Mac, and the musician Robert MacLeod.
BCN accepted advertising on the station whose programming consisted of commercial, educational and entertainment shows. Notable programmes included future Newfoundland Premier Joey Smallwood's The Barrelman, which spun information and history with island folklore, and the Gerald S. Doyle News Bulletin, which interspersed family and community news about islanders with more serious journalism.
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Wikipedia