Ravi Baichwal: from Canada to Chicago

06/05/23 • -1 min

Ravi Baichwal is an anchor at ABC 7 Chicago and talks about his hockey documentary Summit 72; his hometown Toronto and Canadian culture; his radio career at CKNW in Vancouver before he went to CTV National News, then doing CTV and being on the air at CFRB radio in Toronto (where I previously interviewed Jerry Agar and John Moore); filling in at WLS Radio; why he thinks radio is fun and important; doing TV vs radio; his accent; corruption; why fair pay is important; how he got into media; advice for getting into TV news; challenges he faced; why TV news is still important; diversity; perseverance; what makes a good anchor; elements of a story; what is integrity; why he likes working in Chicago; why he loves radio, and much more!

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here. But there is also extra content that wasn't in the livestream about his radio career (done in a separate follow-up interview specially for the Radiogirl podcast).

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG193.mp3

Note: this is the video he didn’t want me to play during the interview: a van crashed into the ABC 7 studio while he was on the air (back in 2007, just one year after he started anchoring there).

Watch the Radiogirl livestreams and videos at the Radiogirl FB page and on YouTube (also live-streaming on Radiogirl Twitter, Metrolingua Twitter, and my own Fakebook page).If you like what I'm doing, Buy Me a Coffee...thanks!

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG193.mp3

Note: this is the video he didn’t want me to play during the interview: a van crashed into the ABC 7 studio while he was on the air (back in 2007, just one year after he started anchoring there).

Previous Episode

Justin Roman: media master, from music to radio to TV!

Justin Roman has done a lot during the 21st century: he hosts The MVP Game (sign up there to be a guest on the show) with Kenzie K (who was his fiancée when this was recorded); it's a super-fan Cubs game show (and a couple of Bears shows during the off season) on the Marquee Sports Network. He talks about his media and performing career, which includes the Vi3 boy band and their hit Eyes Closed so Tight before he started at B96 in 2004; producing music with the Jump Smokers and DJ Flipside (who also does the music for The MVP Game) and their popular remix My Flow So Tight. Roman explains how he got on the air at B96 when he was a super-fan, doing nights and afternoons for several years with Stylz then mornings at US99 in 2016 until they had to leave (get the full story in episode 2 of The Stylz & Roman Uncensored Podcast); being the entertainment host at the Chicago Bulls games; famous people he's met and toured with; why he likes Pitbull; success and failure; appearing with Kenzie K on the Windy City Live TV show and ABC 7, why he and Stylz did their podcast for only a year, why he's positive, and more.

This is from a livestream that we did; watch the full interview here.

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG192.mp3

Next Episode

Word Balloon's John Siuntres: longest podcast!

John Siuntres (host and creator of the popular Word Balloon livestream and podcast and I often talk on the phone for at least an hour, so we decided to do a livestream conversation, and it ended up being much longer! Topics covered: how entertainment and the media have changed, the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, creativity and syndication in TV and radio, innovation, digital access and viewpoints, media and cultural nostalgia, podcasting and the radio biz, Instagram and influencers, Gen X, nerd culture, Hollywood and media pay, streaming vs broadcasting, Chicago and national radio, live and recorded broadcasting, job opportunities, working in radio, TV shows and movies, popular music, British vs American actors, vocal fry and people's voices, beauty, and more!

Click the link below to play, or download it by right-clicking (on a PC) or holding down the CTRL key and clicking on it (for Mac).

http://radiogirl.us/audio/RG194.mp3