Yesterday's News
by Nix Wadden

>

ISBN 098093697-7 214 pages, b&w photos Price: CDN$16.95 Qty:

Book Description Political controversy, bitter federal-provincial power struggles, and larger than life personalities, notably Premier Joey Smallwood and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, dominated the early years of Newfoundland's emergence as Canada's tenth province. In Yesterday's News, Nix Wadden recalls dramatic highlights of that exciting era - including the IWA loggers strike and Term 29 squabble in 1959 - from the unique perspective of a front line news reporter who also dabbled in backroom politics. The 1950s marked the dawning of competitive radio and television news in Newfoundland with the launching of CJON Radio and TV (forerunner of today's OZ-FM and NTV) by Geoff Stirling and Don Jamieson, and the beginnings of a rival VOCM news service. Whimsical recollections of personalities and events involved in the evolution of news media, both in print and broadcasting, during those tumultuous years round off an enduring portrait of a significant period in Newfoundland's history. "What a glorious, frolicsome romp through the fallow fields of yesteryear!!! I laughed a lot, wept a wee bit, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Nix Wadden is to be congratulated for a super piece of work which captures the essence, colour, and personalties of an historic era in journalism and politics." - Edsel Bonnell, Public Relations Professional, St. John's, NL "Nix Wadden has given us an important window on the early days of our evolution as a province. His take on the development of news media makes great reading, especially for those of us who lived through it." - James A. McGrath. P.C., former Federal Cabinet Minister and Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, NL "I read it in two sittings - which illustrates how much I enjoyed it. I guess 1 liked it so much because it's a little section of Newfoundland history made personal. In describing his experiences as a news reporter, and by bringing in so many others who either made the news or reported it, Nix Wadden both informs and entertains. So the history lesson there is not merely painless, it's a pleasure!" - Joan Forsey, freelance writer and former Telegram reporter, Toronto, ONeee