Anyone who listens to CBC radio, knows about O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion. This show has become the benchmark for quality programming. Mike Tennant and Terry O'Reilly put these great shows together each week. But there seems to be some confusion about Terry's past. CBC listeners keep asking: 'Didn't Terry O'Reilly play NHL Hockey for the Boston Bruins back in the seventies? 
I hope this clears up the confusion. Go Terry Go!
Toronto, Canada, June 11, 2007
I'm a shameless fan of the CBC Radio program: O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion, so when my brother Mike, invited me to watch a taping of the show at Pirate Radio, I was thrilled. A few weeks ago I was doing some carpentry at Mike's home and I got a chance to see him preparing the script and sound bites for the show. I am in awe of how much care he takes and how much work he does to give the show the extras that put it above and beyond most other shows on the air. And now I have a chance to see the show being made.
I show up at the Pirate Studio in downtown Toronto. Terry O'Reilly is one of the six partners of this Advertising agency. It's a very inviting building with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of comfortable chairs and a small cafeteria with many jars of candy on a counter for anyone to sample. I arrange to meet my mom and Mike's wife, Lorrie here at Pirate. As it happens, the three of us meet right outside the building as if on cue. Mike comes out of the sound room to greet us and takes us back to meet Terry and to watch the taping for a while.
He gives us a copy of the script so we can follow along. What impresses me the most, is how much care Mike puts into every line that is read. He helps with the tempo and inflection. 
It's great to finally meet Terry O'Reilly. Terry is a very quiet, self effacing man who has a genuine manner and makes us feel very welcome. The combination of Mike and Terry together brings a fresh, exciting element to the program. The people standing in front of the sound booth, from left to right are: Don Dickenson ( the guy who says "And now... Terry O'Reilly and the Age of Persuasion" in the opening), Terry O'Reilly (former NHL Hockey star and host of the show), Keith Ohman, a.k.a. "The Duke of Decibel", a.k.a. "The Sonic Swede" and Mike Tennant (former bed-wetter).
This is the receptionist for Pirate Radio; 'Justice Darragh (There are so many puns here, I won't even start). I have included her here because she's lovely, and I want to. Thanks Mike and Terry for inviting us to see your show in production. They have completed their second season of shows and are now waiting for final approval for the third season which I have no doubt, CBC will give them (if they don't want a full scale riot from the listeners of Canada). Mike and Terry are also negotiating a book deal based on the show. Now that I've had a chance to watch this taping, I can truly say: 'I saw it on the radio'.
Waterloo, Ontario, May 9, 2007
I’m going to do a shameless plug for a show on CBC radio. The show is [O'Reilly And The Age Of Persuasion]. There are two very good reasons for me to do this plug. First of all, I love the show. I think it’s the best thing on radio today. The other reason is that one of the two creators of the show is my brother; Mike Tennant. Mike’s been writing for radio for a long time and when he teams up with Terry O’Reilly, the combination is Magic.
Mike and Terry met years ago while Mike was doing freelance work for CHUM Radio. A bunch of guys from Advertising and Radio started getting together four times a year to talk shop and just hang out. They called themselves 'The Gashouse Gang'. Mike says that Terry would start telling anecdotes from his years of experience in Advertising and everyone just had a great time together.
At one of these sessions someone suggested Terry should do a Radio show and that Mike write it with him. They all agreed it was a pretty good idea. Mike was already doing a regular spot for the CBC program ‘D.N.T.O.’ [Definitely Not The Opera] so he agreed to call Chris Boyce; who was one of the production execs on that show. Mike thought that if Chris liked the idea, he might be able to get them a meeting with the right people at CBC. But when Mike phoned Chris and ran the idea past him, Chris Boyce replied: "Mike, you know I'm now in charge of Program Development right?" Mike was shocked. He had no idea he had just done the pitch right there and then. Chris helped Mike and Terry navigate the twists and turns of CBC bureaucracy so they could produce a pilot for the first series of shows; [O'Reilly On Advertising].
The show was a hit right from the start. Terry O'Reilly is a Legend in Advertising and knows the business inside out and he knows some great stories. But what really makes the show work is that 
Terry has an easy-going, homespun voice that really comes across on Radio. He just tells stories about the business and we enjoy listening. I get a personal kick out of hearing Mikes influence. I can hear Mike speaking through the script as he draws on many of the experiences we remember from our time growing up; like the bits with Stan Freeburg and other comedy Greats.
Mike showed me a script he’s working on right now. Once he and Terry have a theme for a show, Mike starts putting his research together and organizes the line-up using Post-em notes. Then he and Terry talk about the script and and between them they mold the segments into the final program.
Terry and Mike make every moment in the show count. They’re not satisfied to just come up with a different show each week; they also change the opening theme and create crazy credits to finish each show. Mike tells me that he is often racking his brain on the way to the studio to come up with a sound bite to start each show off with a laugh.
I asked Mike what it is that makes this collaboration between Terry O’Reilly and Mike Tennant works so well. He put it this way:
“…Terry’s personality, Terry’s charm, Terry’s experience, Terry’s wisdom, Terry’s Wit, Terry’s War stories, Terry’s narratives…but it’s MY Show.”
I hope this clears up the confusion. Go Terry Go!
I show up at the Pirate Studio in downtown Toronto. Terry O'Reilly is one of the six partners of this Advertising agency. It's a very inviting building with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of comfortable chairs and a small cafeteria with many jars of candy on a counter for anyone to sample. I arrange to meet my mom and Mike's wife, Lorrie here at Pirate. As it happens, the three of us meet right outside the building as if on cue. Mike comes out of the sound room to greet us and takes us back to meet Terry and to watch the taping for a while.
He gives us a copy of the script so we can follow along. What impresses me the most, is how much care Mike puts into every line that is read. He helps with the tempo and inflection. 
It's great to finally meet Terry O'Reilly. Terry is a very quiet, self effacing man who has a genuine manner and makes us feel very welcome. The combination of Mike and Terry together brings a fresh, exciting element to the program. The people standing in front of the sound booth, from left to right are: Don Dickenson ( the guy who says "And now... Terry O'Reilly and the Age of Persuasion" in the opening), Terry O'Reilly (former NHL Hockey star and host of the show), Keith Ohman, a.k.a. "The Duke of Decibel", a.k.a. "The Sonic Swede" and Mike Tennant (former bed-wetter).
This is the receptionist for Pirate Radio; 'Justice Darragh (There are so many puns here, I won't even start). I have included her here because she's lovely, and I want to. Thanks Mike and Terry for inviting us to see your show in production. They have completed their second season of shows and are now waiting for final approval for the third season which I have no doubt, CBC will give them (if they don't want a full scale riot from the listeners of Canada). Mike and Terry are also negotiating a book deal based on the show. Now that I've had a chance to watch this taping, I can truly say: 'I saw it on the radio'.
Mike and Terry met years ago while Mike was doing freelance work for CHUM Radio. A bunch of guys from Advertising and Radio started getting together four times a year to talk shop and just hang out. They called themselves 'The Gashouse Gang'. Mike says that Terry would start telling anecdotes from his years of experience in Advertising and everyone just had a great time together.
At one of these sessions someone suggested Terry should do a Radio show and that Mike write it with him. They all agreed it was a pretty good idea. Mike was already doing a regular spot for the CBC program ‘D.N.T.O.’ [Definitely Not The Opera] so he agreed to call Chris Boyce; who was one of the production execs on that show. Mike thought that if Chris liked the idea, he might be able to get them a meeting with the right people at CBC. But when Mike phoned Chris and ran the idea past him, Chris Boyce replied: "Mike, you know I'm now in charge of Program Development right?" Mike was shocked. He had no idea he had just done the pitch right there and then. Chris helped Mike and Terry navigate the twists and turns of CBC bureaucracy so they could produce a pilot for the first series of shows; [O'Reilly On Advertising].
Terry has an easy-going, homespun voice that really comes across on Radio. He just tells stories about the business and we enjoy listening. I get a personal kick out of hearing Mikes influence. I can hear Mike speaking through the script as he draws on many of the experiences we remember from our time growing up; like the bits with Stan Freeburg and other comedy Greats.
