Live to Air: The Craig Broadcast Story

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

Live to Air is well-written and absorbing account of Craig Broadcast
Systems, private radio and television network based in Brandon,
Manitoba.

The Craig brothers—Drew, Boyd, and Miles Craig—now control the
network their grandfather, Johnny B. Craig, founded and their father,
Stuart, expanded from Manitoba to Alberta and beyond. Johnny Craig, who
worked as advertising sales manager for CKX Radio and was a star goalie
for the Brandon Wheat Kings, pioneered the concept of play-by-play
hockey broadcasts and, along with 53 investors, bought the station in
1948. Accompanying the network’s remarkable expansion over the years
were constant battles for control, drawn-out court disputes, and endless
feuds with both competitors and family members. Craig Broadcast Systems
owes its current success to vision, hard work, and the ability to take
huge risks. Live to Air is an instructive and inspirational story of
triumph over adversity.