Golden West president hangs up his headphones

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This article was published 27/03/2021 (1494 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It may be up to historians to determine how profoundly the internet will change traditional media models, but Lyndon Friesen can say he’s worked through major developments from the beginning.

Last week, Friesen, president of Golden West Broadcasting Ltd., announced his retirement. Friesen has worked for the company, which is headquartered in Altona, for 45 years. He will remain as an advisor to his son Carter, who will become president and chief operating officer.

Friesen was hired at 19 out of high school, and he said he was lucky to have received the chance. Prior to the radio station gig he had a few smaller jobs.

“I said to many people ‘I don’t know if I would hire me,’ but they did,” Friesen said. “My job was to call customers and try to convince them that radio was going to be a good advertising vehicle for them.”

Early on, three people sold advertising as part of a group of three radio stations in southern Manitoba, Friesen said.

The station he sold advertising for was known as 1250 CHSM. Friesen eventually became station manager in Steinbach.

In 1975, Friesen said, the company expanded east and west. Expansions included the purchase of radio stations in Ajax, Ont., High River, Alta., and Swift Current, Sask. Friesen managed stations in Ajax and Hamilton, and eventually ended up back in Steinbach, where he still resides. The company would go on to expand to 44 radio stations in four provinces, Friesen said, often growing by buying existing “ma and pa” radio stations.

Country music is important to the Golden West brand—which in Steinbach includes MIX 96.7, Country 107.7, and AM 1250—but Friesen said programming over the years has been eclectic. Musical genres have also included classical music and easy listening.

Golden West’s most important feature, Friesen said, is its local information, which includes news, sports, and weather.

Like the newspaper business, radio has evolved tremendously over the years. Over airwaves, people played their vinyl records, then their cassette tapes, then their CDs, then their MP3s, and then their vinyl records again. Radio these days, Friesen said, is in competition with the widespread availability of music and information in digital formats, including on-demand streaming platforms.

Music distribution has been a major change over the years, Friesen said, but when people wake up in the morning they still want local information. Some other things also haven’t changed.

“It’s always been challenging to generate revenue,” Friesen said, adding media consumption is highly diverse. In some sense, radio is in competition for ad dollars with newspapers, television, and social media, but Friesen said the mediums are different and reaching customers likely takes a blend of all of them.

Golden West has been able to thrive in part because it concentrates on smaller markets, unlike many larger media companies, which tend to stick to large cities.

“The big guys kind of ignore rural Canada,” Friesen said, but said they’re paying more attention now.

Industry changes have motivated large consolidations too, including Rogers’ recent $26-billion acquisition of Shaw, and Bell Media’s decision to replace Winnipeg sports talk radio with stand-up comedy.

The radio advertising model will continue to change, and Friesen said Golden West’s future plans include online expansion.

Friesen also said he’s proud of his community service, including board roles on the Steinbach Chamber of Commerce.