Browns WI Tweedsmuir Community History, 1971, p. 30

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In the next four hours, in an average day, 300 calls pour in, to be answered by Mrs. Byrne. Most deal with "lost and found" items, and requests for information. Anita handles most of these. The calls being forâ€" warded to Brady take their turns on four lines â€" a fifth is soon to be installed. Calls are taped, to give Brady control over calls from kooks and cranks, and to facilitate the calls‘ smooth insertion between newscasts, weather reports, and announcements. To squeeze nearly all the calls â€" about 60 â€" on the air, Brady must be constantly on top, encouraging the nervous, urging on the wanderers, .andâ€" seeking out. the. caller‘s point. are Mrs. Byrne, deftly juggling her own "capsule" show, from 6 to 6.30, and taking early calls for Brady, and the unflappable operator, Barry Rutledge. By now, the three have worked together long enough to know each other‘s reaction to almost any situation or type of call. It worries him that many calls reflect cyâ€" nicism and suspicion about government, but he thinks such disaffection is probably a natâ€" ural result of expanding government losing its human touch. One of Open Line‘s funcâ€" tions, as Brady sees it, is to provide an airâ€" ing that will help remove the sting from such views. Of the people who get to Brady, the bigots bother him most. Sometimes their hangâ€"up is youth (whom Brady happens to think a lot of}; sometimes they are spouting a narrow religious or racial, viewpoint. Brady puts such calls on the air, if he thinks some good will come of exposing the lack of logic in their argument. Sometimes he exercises his (Continued from Page 1M) While his main objective is to draw out other people, he usually states his own view firmly, on contentious issues. Children and old people strike an especialâ€" ly responsive note. He recognizes that pure loneliness leads many of his callers to phone him just to hear his voice, and perhaps hear themselves on radio. He jollies these people along, sometimes with a slightly naughty comment that brings a giggle from the other end of the line, and at the same time brightâ€" ening visibly himself. prerogative as host, and refuses to air the call. His standing rule is never to "put down" a caller, but he is sometimes criticized for sounding impatient with bumblers. Brady critiecs (who wouldn‘t know if they didn‘t lisâ€" ten to his show) periodically tell him he is opinionated, and again he agrees. He has certain dislikes which he makes no attempt to hide: Women‘s hats â€" ‘"Women have such gorâ€" geous hair and spend hours making it look nice. Why hide it under a hat?" Parsnips â€" "I ate them once when I was a kid and they made my nose hurt"; Excessive eye makeâ€"up on women â€" "Those big false eyeâ€"lashes look like spiders sitting on their cheeks". But he holds out hope: He has just celeâ€" brated his 39th birthday, and thinks he may be on the point of becoming more mellow and tolerant. : At 10:30, Open Line runs out of time. Ofâ€" ficially, the work day of "air personality‘" Brady is just about over. Apparently, in the view of the Chamber of Commerce judges, the important work day of "private citizen‘" Brady is just beginning. (Mrs. Linden, a former Free Press reâ€" porter, now does free lance writing.)

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